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+Project Gutenberg's Henry IV, Makers of History, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Henry IV, Makers of History
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29603]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY IV, MAKERS OF HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Makers of History
+
+ Henry IV.
+
+ BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT
+
+ WITH ENGRAVINGS
+
+ NEW YORK AND LONDON
+ HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
+ 1904
+
+
+
+
+ Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
+ hundred and fifty-six, by
+
+ HARPER & BROTHERS,
+
+ in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District
+ of New York.
+
+ Copyright, 1884, by SUSAN ABBOT MEAD.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+History is our Heaven-appointed instructor. It is the guide for the
+future. The calamities of yesterday are the protectors of to-day.
+
+The sea of time we navigate is full of perils. But it is not an
+unknown sea. It has been traversed for ages, and there is not a sunken
+rock or a treacherous sand-bar which is not marked by the wreck of
+those who have preceded us.
+
+There is no portion of history fraught with more valuable instruction
+than the period of those terrible religious wars which desolated the
+sixteenth century. There is no romance so wild as the veritable
+history of those times. The majestic outgoings of the Almighty, as
+developed in the onward progress of our race, infinitely transcend, in
+all the elements of profoundness, mystery, and grandeur, all that
+man's fancy can create.
+
+The cartoons of Raphael are beautiful, but what are they when compared
+with the heaving ocean, the clouds of sunset, and the pinnacles of the
+Alps? The dome of St. Peter's is man's noblest architecture, but what
+is it when compared with the magnificent rotunda of the skies?
+
+                         JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+Brunswick, Maine, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ Chapter                                                    Page
+
+    I. CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH                                   13
+
+   II. CIVIL WAR                                             45
+
+  III. THE MARRIAGE                                          68
+
+   IV. PREPARATIONS FOR MASSACRE                             93
+
+    V. MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW                          109
+
+   VI. THE HOUSES OF VALOIS, OF GUISE, AND OF
+       BOURBON                                              137
+
+  VII. REIGN OF HENRY III                                   167
+
+ VIII. THE LEAGUE                                           196
+
+   IX. THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF GUISE
+       AND OF HENRY III                                     220
+
+    X. WAR AND WOE                                          256
+
+   XI. THE CONVERSION OF THE KING                           281
+
+  XII. THE REIGN OF HENRY IV. AND HIS DEATH                 306
+
+
+
+
+ENGRAVINGS.
+
+                                                            Page
+
+ THE BIRTH OF HENRY OF NAVARRE                               19
+
+ THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE                          52
+
+ THE MARRIAGE                                                87
+
+ THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW                            115
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE                161
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE                  228
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.                            238
+
+ THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM                          292
+
+ THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE                            309
+
+
+
+
+KING HENRY IV.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.
+
+1475-1564
+
+Navarre.--Catharine de Foix.--Ferdinand and Isabella.--Dismemberment
+of Navarre.--Plans for revenge.--Death of Catharine.--Marriage of
+Henry and Margaret.--Lingering hopes of Henry.--Jeanne returns to
+Navarre.--Birth of Henry IV.--The royal nurse.--Name chosen for the
+young prince.--The castle of Courasse.--Education of Henry.--Death of
+the King of Navarre.--Jeanne d'Albret ascends the throne.--Residence
+in Bearn.--Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots.--Betrothal of
+Henry.--Henry's tutor.--Remark of Dr. Johnson.--Henry's motto.--La
+Gaucherie's method of instruction.--Death of Henry II.--Catharine de
+Medicis regent.--Influence of Plutarch.--Religious agitation.--The
+Huguenots.--The present controversy.--The Sorbonne.--Purging the
+empire.--The burning chamber.--Persecution of the Protestants.--Calvin
+and his writings.--Calvin's physical debility.--Continued
+labors.--Execution of Servetus.--Inhabitants of France.--Antony
+of Bourbon.--Jeanne d'Albret.--The separation.--Different
+life.--Rage of the Pope.--Growth of Protestantism.--Catharine's
+blandishments.--Undecided action.--Seizure of the queen.--Civil
+war.--Death of Antony of Bourbon.--Effects of the war.--Liberty of
+worship.--Indignation and animosity.--Religious toleration.--Belief of
+the Romanists.--Establishment of freedom of conscience.
+
+
+About four hundred years ago there was a small kingdom, spreading over
+the cliffs and ravines of the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees,
+called Navarre. Its population, of about five hundred thousand,
+consisted of a very simple, frugal, and industrious people. Those who
+lived upon the shore washed by the stormy waves of the Bay of Biscay
+gratified their love of excitement and of adventure by braving the
+perils of the sea. Those who lived in the solitude of the interior, on
+the sunny slopes of the mountains, or by the streams which meandered
+through the verdant valleys, fed their flocks, and harvested their
+grain, and pressed rich wine from the grapes of their vineyards, in
+the enjoyment of the most pleasant duties of rural life. Proud of
+their independence, they were ever ready to grasp arms to repel
+foreign aggression. The throne of this kingdom was, at the time of
+which we speak, occupied by Catharine de Foix. She was a widow, and
+all her hopes and affections were centred in her son Henry, an ardent
+and impetuous boy six or seven years of age, who was to receive the
+crown when it should fall from her brow, and transmit to posterity
+their ancestral honors.
+
+Ferdinand of Aragon had just married Isabella of Castile, and had thus
+united those two populous and wealthy kingdoms; and now, in the
+arrogance of power, seized with the pride of annexation, he began to
+look with a wistful eye upon the picturesque kingdom of Navarre. Its
+comparative feebleness, under the reign of a bereaved woman weary of
+the world, invited to the enterprise. Should he grasp at the whole
+territory of the little realm, France might interpose her powerful
+remonstrance. Should he take but the half which was spread out upon
+the southern declivity of the Pyrenees, it would be virtually saying
+to the French monarch, "The rest I courteously leave for you." The
+armies of Spain were soon sweeping resistlessly through these sunny
+valleys, and one half of her empire was ruthlessly torn from the Queen
+of Navarre, and transferred to the dominion of imperious Castile and
+Aragon.
+
+Catharine retired with her child to the colder and more uncongenial
+regions of the northern declivity of the mountains. Her bosom glowed
+with mortification and rage in view of her hopeless defeat. As she sat
+down gloomily in the small portion which remained to her of her
+dismembered empire, she endeavored to foster in the heart of her son
+the spirit of revenge, and to inspire him with the resolution to
+regain those lost leagues of territory which had been wrested from the
+inheritance of his fathers. Henry imbibed his mother's spirit, and
+chafed and fretted under wrongs for which he could obtain no redress.
+Ferdinand and Isabella could not be annoyed even by any force which
+feeble Navarre could raise. Queen Catharine, however, brooded deeply
+over her wrongs, and laid plans for retributions of revenge, the
+execution of which she knew must be deferred till long after her body
+should have mouldered to dust in the grave. She courted the most
+intimate alliance with Francis I., King of France. She contemplated
+the merging of her own little kingdom into that powerful monarchy,
+that the infant Navarre, having grown into the giant France, might
+crush the Spanish tyrants into humiliation. Nerved by this determined
+spirit of revenge, and inspired by a mother's ambition, she intrigued
+to wed her son to the heiress of the French throne, that even in the
+world of spirits she might be cheered by seeing Henry heading the
+armies of France, the terrible avenger of her wrongs. These hopes
+invigorated her until the fitful dream of her joyless life was
+terminated, and her restless spirit sank into the repose of the grave.
+She lived, however, to see her plans apparently in progress toward
+their most successful fulfillment.
+
+Henry, her son, was married to Margaret, the favorite sister of the
+King of France. Their nuptials were blessed with but one child, Jeanne
+d'Albret. This child, in whose destiny such ambitious hopes were
+centred, bloomed into most marvelous beauty, and became also as
+conspicuous for her mental endowments as for her personal charms. She
+had hardly emerged from the period of childhood when she was married
+to Antony of Bourbon, a near relative of the royal family of France.
+Immediately after her marriage she left Navarre with her husband, to
+take up her residence in the French metropolis.
+
+One hope still lived, with undying vigor, in the bosom of Henry. It
+was the hope, the intense passion, with which his departed mother had
+inspired him, that a grandson would arise from this union, who would,
+with the spirit of Hannibal, avenge the family wrongs upon Spain.
+Twice Henry took a grandson into his arms with the feeling that the
+great desire of his life was about to be realized; and twice, with
+almost a broken heart, he saw these hopes blighted as he committed the
+little ones to the grave.
+
+Summers and winters had now lingered wearily away, and Henry had
+become an old man. Disappointment and care had worn down his frame.
+World-weary and joyless, he still clung to hope. The tidings that
+Jeanne was again to become a mother rekindled the lustre of his fading
+eye. The aged king sent importunately for his daughter to return
+without delay to the paternal castle, that the child might be born in
+the kingdom of Navarre, whose wrongs it was to be his peculiar destiny
+to avenge. It was mid-winter. The journey was long and the roads
+rough. But the dutiful and energetic Jeanne promptly obeyed the wishes
+of her father, and hastened to his court.
+
+Henry could hardly restrain his impatience as he waited, week after
+week, for the advent of the long-looked-for avenger. With the
+characteristic superstition of the times, he constrained his daughter
+to promise that, at the period of birth, during the most painful
+moments of her trial, she would sing a mirthful and triumphant song,
+that her child might possess a sanguine, joyous, and energetic spirit.
+
+Henry entertained not a doubt that the child would prove a boy,
+commissioned by Providence as the avenger of Navarre. The old king
+received the child, at the moment of its birth, into his own arms,
+totally regardless of a mother's rights, and exultingly enveloping it
+in soft folds, bore it off, as his own property, to his private
+apartment. He rubbed the lips of the plump little boy with garlic, and
+then taking a golden goblet of generous wine, the rough and royal
+nurse forced the beverage he loved so well down the untainted throat
+of his new-born heir.
+
+"A little good old wine," said the doting grandfather, "will make the
+boy vigorous, and brave."
+
+We may remark, in passing, that it was _wine_, rich and pure: not that
+mixture of all abominations, whose only vintage is in cellars,
+sunless, damp, and fetid, where guilty men fabricate poison for a
+nation.
+
+[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF HENRY IV.]
+
+This little stranger received the ancestral name of Henry. By his
+subsequent exploits he filled the world with his renown. He was the
+first of the Bourbon line who ascended the throne of France, and he
+swayed the sceptre of energetic rule over that wide-spread realm with
+a degree of power and grandeur which none of his descendants have ever
+rivaled. The name of Henry IV. is one of the most illustrious in the
+annals of France. The story of his struggles for the attainment of the
+throne of Charlemagne is full of interest. His birth, to which we have
+just alluded, occurred at Parr, in the kingdom of Navarre, in the year
+1553.
+
+His grandfather immediately assumed the direction of every thing
+relating to the child, apparently without the slightest consciousness
+that either the father or the mother of Henry had any prior claims.
+The king possessed, among the wild and romantic fastnesses of the
+mountains, a strong old castle, as rugged and frowning as the eternal
+granite upon which its foundations were laid. Gloomy evergreens clung
+to the hill-sides. A mountain stream, often swollen to an impetuous
+torrent by the autumnal rains and the spring thaws, swept through the
+little verdant lawn, which smiled amid the stern sublimities
+surrounding this venerable and moss-covered fortress. Around the
+solitary towers the eagles wheeled and screamed in harmony with the
+gales and storms which often swept through these wild regions. The
+expanse around was sparsely settled by a few hardy peasants, who, by
+feeding their herds, and cultivating little patches of soil among the
+crags, obtained a humble living, and by exercise and the pure mountain
+air acquired a vigor and an athletic-hardihood of frame which had
+given them much celebrity.
+
+To the storm-battered castle of Courasse, thus lowering in congenial
+gloom among these rocks, the old king sent the infant Henry to be
+nurtured as a peasant-boy, that, by frugal fare and exposure to
+hardship, he might acquire a peasant's robust frame. He resolved that
+no French delicacies should enfeeble the constitution of this noble
+child. Bareheaded and barefooted, the young prince, as yet hardly
+emerging from infancy, rolled upon the grass, played with the poultry,
+and the dogs, and the sturdy young mountaineers, and plunged into the
+brook or paddled in the pools of water with which the mountain showers
+often filled the court-yard. His hair was bleached and his cheeks
+bronzed by the sun and the wind. Few would have imagined that the
+unattractive child, with his unshorn locks and in his studiously
+neglected garb, was the descendant of a long line of kings, and was
+destined to eclipse them all by the grandeur of his name.
+
+As years glided along he advanced to energetic boyhood, the constant
+companion, and, in all his sports and modes of life, the equal of the
+peasant-boys by whom he was surrounded. He hardly wore a better dress
+than they; he was nourished with the same coarse fare. With them he
+climbed the mountains, and leaped the streams, and swung upon the
+trees. He struggled with his youthful competitors in all their
+athletic games, running, wrestling, pitching the quoit, and tossing
+the bar. This active out-door exercise gave a relish to the coarse
+food of the peasants, consisting of brown bread, beef, cheese, and
+garlic. His grandfather had decided that this regimen was essential
+for the education of a prince who was to humble the proud monarchy of
+Spain, and regain the territory which had been so unjustly wrested
+from his ancestors.
+
+When Henry was about six years of age, his grandfather, by gradual
+decay, sank sorrowingly into his grave. Consequently, his mother,
+Jeanne d'Albret, ascended the throne of Navarre. Her husband, Antony
+of Bourbon, was a rough, fearless old soldier, with nothing to
+distinguish him from the multitude who do but live, fight, and die.
+Jeanne and her husband were in Paris at the time of the death of her
+father. They immediately hastened to Bearn, the capital of Navarre, to
+take possession of the dominions which had thus descended to them. The
+little Henry was then brought from his wild mountain home to reside
+with his mother in the royal palace. Though Navarre was but a feeble
+kingdom, the grandeur of its court was said to have been unsurpassed,
+at that time, by that of any other in Europe. The intellectual
+education of Henry had been almost entirely neglected; but the
+hardihood of his body had given such vigor and energy to his mind,
+that he was now prepared to distance in intellectual pursuits, with
+perfect ease, those whose infantile brains had been overtasked with
+study.
+
+Henry remained in Bearn with his parents two years, and in that time
+ingrafted many courtly graces upon the free and fetterless carriage he
+had acquired among the mountains. His mind expanded with remarkable
+rapidity, and he became one of the most beautiful and engaging of
+children.
+
+About this time Mary, Queen of Scots, was to be married to the Dauphin
+Francis, son of the King of France. Their nuptials were to be
+celebrated with great magnificence. The King and Queen of Navarre
+returned to the court of France to attend the marriage. They took with
+them their son. His beauty and vivacity excited much admiration in the
+French metropolis. One day the young prince, then but six or seven
+years of age, came running into the room where his father and Henry
+II. of France were conversing, and, by his artlessness and grace,
+strongly attracted the attention of the French monarch. The king
+fondly took the playful child in his arms, and said affectionately,
+
+"Will you be my son?"
+
+"No, sire, no! that is my father," replied the ardent boy, pointing to
+the King of Navarre.
+
+"Well, then, will you be my son-in-law?" demanded Henry.
+
+"Oh yes, most willingly," the prince replied.
+
+Henry II. had a daughter Marguerite, a year or two younger than the
+Prince of Navarre, and it was immediately resolved between the two
+parents that the young princes should be considered as betrothed.
+
+Soon after this the King and Queen of Navarre, with their son,
+returned to the mountainous domain which Jeanne so ardently loved. The
+queen devoted herself assiduously to the education of the young
+prince, providing for him the ablest teachers whom that age could
+afford. A gentleman of very distinguished attainments, named La
+Gaucherie, undertook the general superintendence of his studies. The
+young prince was at this time an exceedingly energetic, active,
+ambitious boy, very inquisitive respecting all matters of information,
+and passionately fond of study.
+
+Dr. Johnson, with his rough and impetuous severity, has said,
+
+"It is impossible to get Latin into a boy unless you flog it into
+him."
+
+The experience of La Gaucherie, however, did not confirm this
+sentiment. Henry always went with alacrity to his Latin and his Greek.
+His judicious teacher did not disgust his mind with long and laborious
+rules, but introduced him at once to words and phrases, while
+gradually he developed the grammatical structure of the language. The
+vigorous mind of Henry, grasping eagerly at intellectual culture,
+made rapid progress, and he was soon able to read and write both Latin
+and Greek with fluency, and ever retained the power of quoting, with
+great facility and appositeness, from the classical writers of Athens
+and of Rome. Even in these early days he seized upon the Greek phrase
+[Greek: "_� nikan � apothanein_"], _to conquer or to die_, and adopted
+it for his motto.
+
+La Gaucherie was warmly attached to the principles of the Protestant
+faith. He made a companion of his noble pupil, and taught him by
+conversation in pleasant walks and rides as well as by books. It was
+his practice to have him commit to memory any fine passage in prose or
+verse which inculcated generous and lofty ideas. The mind of Henry
+thus became filled with beautiful images and noble sentiments from the
+classic writers of France. These gems of literature exerted a powerful
+influence in moulding his character, and he was fond of quoting them
+as the guide of his life. Such passages as the following were
+frequently on the lips of the young prince:
+
+     "Over their subjects princes bear the rule,
+     But God, more mighty, governs kings themselves."
+
+Soon after the return of the King and Queen of Navarre to their own
+kingdom, Henry II. of France died, leaving the crown to his son
+Charles, a feeble boy both in body and in mind. As Charles was but ten
+or twelve years of age, his mother, Catharine de Medicis, was
+appointed regent during his minority. Catharine was a woman of great
+strength of mind, but of the utmost depravity of heart. There was no
+crime ambition could instigate her to commit from which, in the
+slightest degree, she would recoil. Perhaps the history of the world
+retains not another instance in which a mother could so far forget the
+yearnings of nature as to endeavor, studiously and perseveringly, to
+deprave the morals, and by vice to enfeeble the constitution of her
+son, that she might retain the power which belonged to him. This proud
+and dissolute woman looked with great solicitude upon the enterprising
+and energetic spirits of the young Prince of Navarre. There were many
+providential indications that ere long Henry would be a prominent
+candidate for the throne of France.
+
+Plutarch's Lives of Ancient Heroes has perhaps been more influential
+than any other uninspired book in invigorating genius and in
+enkindling a passion for great achievements. Napoleon was a careful
+student and a great admirer of Plutarch. His spirit was entranced with
+the grandeur of the Greek and Roman heroes, and they were ever to him
+as companions and bosom friends. During the whole of his stormy
+career, their examples animated him, and his addresses and
+proclamations were often invigorated by happy quotations from classic
+story. Henry, with similar exaltation of genius, read and re-read the
+pages of Plutarch with the most absorbing delight. Catharine, with an
+eagle eye, watched these indications of a lofty mind. Her solicitude
+was roused lest the young Prince of Navarre should, with his
+commanding genius, supplant her degenerate house.
+
+At the close of the sixteenth century, the period of which we write,
+all Europe was agitated by the great controversy between the Catholics
+and the Protestants. The writings of Luther, Calvin, and other
+reformers had aroused the attention of the whole Christian world. In
+England and Scotland the ancient faith had been overthrown, and the
+doctrines of the Reformation were, in those kingdoms, established. In
+France, where the writings of Calvin had been extensively circulated,
+the Protestants had also become quite numerous, embracing generally
+the most intelligent portion of the populace. The Protestants were in
+France called Huguenots, but for what reason is not now known. They
+were sustained by many noble families, and had for their leaders the
+Prince of Cond�, Admiral Coligni, and the house of Navarre. There were
+arrayed against them the power of the crown, many of the most powerful
+nobles, and conspicuously the almost regal house of Guise.
+
+It is perhaps difficult for a Protestant to write upon this subject
+with perfect impartiality, however earnestly he may desire to do so.
+The lapse of two hundred years has not terminated the great conflict.
+The surging strife has swept across the ocean, and even now, with more
+or less of vehemence, rages in all the states of this new world.
+Though the weapons of blood are laid aside, the mighty controversy is
+still undecided.
+
+The advocates of the old faith were determined to maintain their
+creed, and to force all to its adoption, at whatever price. They
+deemed heresy the greatest of all crimes, and thought--and doubtless
+many conscientiously thought--that it should be exterminated even by
+the pains of torture and death. The French Parliament adopted for its
+motto, "_One religion, one law, one king._" They declared that two
+religions could no more be endured in a kingdom than two governments.
+
+At Paris there was a celebrated theological school called the
+Sorbonne. It included in its faculty the most distinguished doctors of
+the Catholic Church. The decisions and the decrees of the Sorbonne
+were esteemed highly authoritative. The views of the Sorbonne were
+almost invariably asked in reference to any measures affecting the
+Church.
+
+In 1525 the court presented the following question to the Sorbonne:
+"_How can we suppress and extirpate the damnable doctrine of Luther
+from this very Christian kingdom, and purge it from it entirely?_"
+
+The prompt reply was, "_The heresy has already been endured too long.
+It must be pursued with the extremest rigor, or it will overthrow the
+throne._"
+
+Two years after this, Pope Clement VII. sent a communication to the
+Parliament of Paris, stating,
+
+    "It is necessary, in this great and astounding disorder,
+    which arises from the rage of Satan, and from the fury and
+    impiety of his instruments, that every body exert himself to
+    guard the common safety, seeing that this madness would not
+    only embroil and destroy religion, but also all principality,
+    nobility, laws, orders, and ranks."
+
+The Protestants were pursued by the most unrelenting persecution. The
+Parliament established a court called the _burning chamber_, because
+all who were convicted of heresy were burned. The estates of those
+who, to save their lives, fled from the kingdom, were sold, and their
+children, who were left behind, were pursued with merciless cruelty.
+
+The Protestants, with boldness which religious faith alone could
+inspire, braved all these perils. They resolutely declared that the
+Bible taught their faith, and their faith only, and that no earthly
+power could compel them to swerve from the truth. Notwithstanding the
+perils of exile, torture, and death, they persisted in preaching what
+they considered the pure Gospel of Christ. In 1533 Calvin was driven
+from Paris. When one said to him, "Mass must be true, since it is
+celebrated in all Christendom;" he replied, pointing to the Bible,
+
+"There is my mass." Then raising his eyes to heaven, he solemnly said,
+"O Lord, if in the day of judgment thou chargest me with not having
+been at mass, I will say to thee with truth, 'Lord, thou hast not
+commanded it. Behold thy law. In it I have not found any other
+sacrifice than that which was immolated on the altar of the cross.'"
+
+In 1535 Calvin's celebrated "Institutes of the Christian Religion"
+were published, the great reformer then residing in the city of Basle.
+This great work became the banner of the Protestants of France. It was
+read with avidity in the cottage of the peasant, in the work-shop of
+the artisan, and in the chateau of the noble. In reference to this
+extraordinary man, of whom it has been said,
+
+     "On Calvin some think Heaven's own mantle fell,
+     While others deem him instrument of hell,"
+
+Theodore Beza writes, "I do not believe that his equal can be found.
+Besides preaching every day from week to week, very often, and as much
+as he was able, he preached twice every Sunday. He lectured on
+theology three times a week. He delivered addresses to the Consistory,
+and also instructed at length every Friday before the Bible
+Conference, which we call the congregation. He continued this course
+so constantly that he never failed a single time except in extreme
+illness. Moreover, who could recount his other common or extraordinary
+labors? I know of no man of our age who has had more to hear, to
+answer, to write, nor things of greater importance. The number and
+quality of his writings alone is enough to astonish any man who sees
+them, and still more those who read them. And what renders his labors
+still more astonishing is, that he had a body so feeble by nature, so
+debilitated by night labors and too great abstemiousness, and, what is
+more, subject to so many maladies, that no man who saw him could
+understand how he had lived so long. And yet, for all that, he never
+ceased to labor night and day in the work of the Lord. We entreated
+him to have more regard for himself; but his ordinary reply was that
+he was doing nothing, and that we should allow God to find him always
+watching, and working as he could to his latest breath."
+
+Calvin died in 1564, eleven years after the birth of Henry of Navarre,
+at the age of fifty-five. For several years he was so abstemious that
+he had eaten but one meal a day.[A]
+
+[Footnote A: In reference to the execution of Servetus for heresy, an
+event which, in the estimation of many, has seriously tarnished the
+reputation of Calvin, the celebrated French historian M. Mignet, in a
+very able dissertation, establishes the following points:
+
+     1. Servetus was not an ordinary heretic; he was a bold
+     pantheist, and outraged the dogma of all Christian
+     communions by saying that God, in three persons, was a
+     Cerberus, a monster with three heads. 2. He had already been
+     condemned to death by the Catholic doctors at Vienne in
+     Dauphiny. 3. The affair was judged, not by Calvin, but by
+     the magistrates of Geneva; and if it is objected that his
+     advice must have influenced their decision, it is necessary
+     to recollect that the councils of the other reformed cantons
+     of Switzerland approved the sentence with a unanimous voice.
+     4. It was of the utmost importance for the Reformation to
+     separate distinctly its cause from that of such an
+     unbeliever as Servetus. The Catholic Church, which in our
+     day accuses Calvin of having participated in his
+     condemnation, much more would have accused him, in the
+     sixteenth century, with having solicited his acquittal.]
+
+At this time the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of France
+were Catholics--it has generally been estimated a hundred to one; but
+the doctrines of the reformers gained ground until, toward the close
+of the century, about the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, the
+Protestants composed about one sixth of the population.
+
+The storm of persecution which fell upon them was so terrible that
+they were compelled to protect themselves by force of arms. Gradually
+they gained the ascendency in several cities, which they fortified,
+and where they protected refugees from the persecution which had
+driven them from the cities where the Catholics predominated. Such was
+the deplorable condition of France at the time of which we write.
+
+In the little kingdom of Navarre, which was but about one third as
+large as the State of Massachusetts, and which, since its
+dismemberment, contained less than three hundred thousand inhabitants,
+nearly every individual was a Protestant. Antony of Bourbon, who had
+married the queen, was a Frenchman. With him, as with many others in
+that day, religion was merely a badge of party politics. Antony spent
+much of his time in the voluptuous court of France, and as he was, of
+course, solicitous for popularity there, he espoused the Catholic side
+of the controversy.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret was energetically a Protestant. Apparently, her faith
+was founded in deep religious conviction. When Catharine of Medici
+advised her to follow her husband into the Catholic Church, she
+replied with firmness,
+
+"Madam, sooner than ever go to mass, if I had my kingdom and my son
+both in my hands, I would hurl them to the bottom of the sea before
+they should change my purpose."
+
+Jeanne had been married to Antony merely as a matter of state policy.
+There was nothing in his character to win a noble woman's love. With
+no social or religious sympathies, they lived together for a time in a
+state of respectful indifference; but the court of Navarre was too
+quiet and religious to satisfy the taste of the voluptuous Parisian.
+He consequently spent most of his time enjoying the gayeties of the
+metropolis of France. A separation, mutually and amicably agreed upon,
+was the result.
+
+Antony conveyed with him to Paris his son Henry, and there took up his
+residence. Amidst the changes and the fluctuations of the
+ever-agitated metropolis, he eagerly watched for opportunities to
+advance his own fame and fortune. As Jeanne took leave of her beloved
+child, she embraced him tenderly, and with tears entreated him never
+to abandon the faith in which he had been educated.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, with her little daughter, remained in the less
+splendid but more moral and refined metropolis of her paternal domain.
+A mother's solicitude and prayers, however, followed her son. Antony
+consented to retain as a tutor for Henry the wise and learned La
+Gaucherie, who was himself strongly attached to the reformed religion.
+
+The inflexibility of Jeanne d'Albret, and the refuge she ever
+cheerfully afforded to the persecuted Protestants, quite enraged the
+Pope. As a measure of intimidation, he at one time summoned her as a
+heretic to appear before the Inquisition within six months, under
+penalty of losing her crown and her possessions. Jeanne, unawed by the
+threat, appealed to the monarchs of Europe for protection. None were
+disposed in that age to encourage such arrogant claims, and Pope Pius
+VI. was compelled to moderate his haughty tone. A plot, however, was
+then formed to seize her and her children, and hand them over to the
+"tender mercies" of the Spanish Inquisition. But this plot also
+failed.
+
+In Paris itself there were many bold Protestant nobles who, with arms
+at their side, and stout retainers around them, kept personal
+persecution at bay. They were generally men of commanding character,
+of intelligence and integrity. The new religion, throughout the
+country, was manifestly growing fast in strength, and at times, even
+in the saloons of the palace, the rival parties were pretty nearly
+balanced. Although, throughout the kingdom of France, the Catholics
+were vastly more numerous than the Protestants, yet as England and
+much of Germany had warmly espoused the cause of the reformers, it
+was perhaps difficult to decide which party, on the whole, in Europe,
+was the strongest. Nobles and princes of the highest rank were, in all
+parts of Europe, ranged under either banner. In the two factions thus
+contending for dominion, there were, of course, some who were not much
+influenced by conscientious considerations, but who were merely
+struggling for political power.
+
+When Henry first arrived in Paris, Catharine kept a constant watch
+over his words and his actions. She spared no possible efforts to
+bring him under her entire control. Efforts were made to lead his
+teacher to check his enthusiasm for lofty exploits, and to surrender
+him to the claims of frivolous amusement. This detestable queen
+presented before the impassioned young man all the blandishments of
+female beauty, that she might betray him to licentious indulgence. In
+some of these infamous arts she was but too successful.
+
+Catharine, in her ambitious projects, was often undecided as to which
+cause she should espouse and which party she should call to her aid.
+At one time she would favor the Protestants, and again the Catholics.
+At about this time she suddenly turned to the Protestants, and
+courted them so decidedly as greatly to alarm and exasperate the
+Catholics. Some of the Catholic nobles formed a conspiracy, and seized
+Catharine and her son at the palace of Fontainebleau, and held them
+both as captives. The proud queen was almost frantic with indignation
+at the insult.
+
+The Protestants, conscious that the conspiracy was aimed against them,
+rallied for the defense of the queen. The Catholics all over the
+kingdom sprang to arms. A bloody civil war ensued. Nearly all Europe
+was drawn into the conflict. Germany and England came with eager
+armies to the aid of the Protestants. Catharine hated the proud and
+haughty Elizabeth, England's domineering queen, and was very jealous
+of her fame and power. She resolved that she would not be indebted to
+her ambitious rival for aid. She therefore, most strangely, threw
+herself into the arms of the _Catholics_, and ardently espoused their
+cause. The Protestants soon found her, with all the energy of her
+powerful mind, heading their foes. France was deluged in blood.
+
+A large number of Protestants threw themselves into Rouen. Antony of
+Bourbon headed an army of the Catholics to besiege the city. A ball
+struck him, and he fell senseless to the ground. His attendants placed
+him, covered with blood, in a carriage, to convey him to a hospital.
+While in the carriage and jostling over the rough ground, and as the
+thunders of the cannonade were pealing in his ears, the spirit of the
+blood-stained soldier ascended to the tribunal of the God of Peace.
+Henry was now left fatherless, and subject entirely to the control of
+his mother, whom he most tenderly loved, and whose views, as one of
+the most prominent leaders of the Protestant party, he was strongly
+inclined to espouse.
+
+The sanguinary conflict still raged with unabated violence throughout
+the whole kingdom, arming brother against brother, friend against
+friend. Churches were sacked and destroyed; vast extents of country
+were almost depopulated; cities were surrendered to pillage, and
+atrocities innumerable perpetrated, from which it would seem that even
+fiends would revolt. France was filled with smouldering ruins; and the
+wailing cry of widows and of orphans, thus made by the wrath of man,
+ascended from every plain and every hill-side to the ear of that God
+who has said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
+
+At last both parties were weary of the horrid strife. The Catholics
+were struggling to extirpate what they deemed ruinous heresy from the
+kingdom. The Protestants were repelling the assault, and contending,
+not for general liberty of conscience, but that their doctrines _were
+true_, and _therefore_ should be sustained. Terms of accommodation
+were proposed, and the Catholics made the great concession, as they
+regarded it, of allowing the Protestants to conduct public worship
+_outside of the walls of towns_. The Protestants accepted these terms,
+and sheathed the sword; but many of the more fanatic Catholics were
+greatly enraged at this toleration. The Guises, the most arrogant
+family of nobles the world has ever known, retired from Paris in
+indignation, declaring that they would not witness such a triumph of
+heresy. The decree which granted this poor boon was the famous edict
+of January, 1562, issued from St. Germain. But such a peace as this
+could only be a truce caused by exhaustion. Deep-seated animosity
+still rankled in the bosom of both parties; and, notwithstanding all
+the woes which desolating wars had engendered, the spirit of religious
+intolerance was eager again to grasp the weapons of deadly strife.
+
+During the sixteenth century the doctrine of religious toleration was
+recognized by no one. That great truth had not then even dawned upon
+the world. The noble toleration so earnestly advocated by Bayle and
+Locke a century later, was almost a new revelation to the human mind;
+but in the sixteenth century it would have been regarded as impious,
+and rebellion against God to have affirmed that _error_ was not to be
+pursued and punished. The reformers did not advocate the view that a
+man had a right to believe what he pleased, and to disseminate that
+belief. They only declared that they were bound, at all hazards, to
+believe the _truth;_ that the views which they cherished were _true_,
+and that _therefore_ they should be protected in them. They appealed
+to the Bible, and challenged their adversaries to meet them there. Our
+fathers must not be condemned for not being in advance of the age in
+which they lived. That toleration which allows a man to adopt, without
+any civil disabilities, any mode of worship that does not disturb the
+peace of society, exists, as we believe, only in the United States.
+Even in England Dissenters are excluded from many privileges.
+Throughout the whole of Catholic Europe no religious toleration is
+recognized. The Emperor Napoleon, during his reign, established the
+most perfect freedom of conscience in every government his influence
+could control. His downfall re-established through Europe the dominion
+of intolerance.
+
+The Reformation, in contending for the right of private judgment in
+contradiction to the claims of councils, maintained a principle which
+necessarily involved the freedom of conscience. This was not then
+perceived; but time developed the truth. The Reformation became, in
+reality, the mother of all religious liberty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+CIVIL WAR.
+
+1565-1568
+
+Henry but little acquainted with his parents.--Indecision of
+Henry.--Hypocrisy of Catharine.--She desires to save Henry.--A
+significant reply.--Indications of future greatness.--The
+prophecy.--Visit of Catharine.--Endeavors of Catharine to influence
+the young prince.--The return visit.--Obstacles to the departure.--The
+stratagem.--Its success.--Home again.--Description of the
+prince.--Evil effects of dissolute society.--Influence of Jeanne
+d'Albret.--Catharine's deity.--Principle of Jeanne d'Albret.--The
+cannon the missionary.--Devastation.--Indecision of the
+prince.--Arguments pro and con.--Chances of a crown.--War
+again.--Arrival of the Queen of Navarre.--Education of the
+prince.--The Prince of Cond�.--Slaughter of the Protestants.--The
+battle.--Courage of the Prince of Cond�.--The defeat.--Death
+of the Prince of Cond�.--Retreat of the Protestants.--Fiendish
+barbarity.--Advice of the Pope.--Incitement to massacre.--The
+protectorate.
+
+
+While France was thus deluged with the blood of a civil war, young
+Henry was busily pursuing his studies in college. He could have had
+but little affection for his father, for the stern soldier had passed
+most of his days in the tented field, and his son had hardly known
+him. From his mother he had long been separated; but he cherished her
+memory with affectionate regard, and his predilections strongly
+inclined him toward the faith which he knew that she had so warmly
+espoused. It was, however, in its political aspects that Henry mainly
+contemplated the question. He regarded the two sects merely as two
+political parties struggling for power. For some time he did not
+venture to commit himself openly, but, availing himself of the
+privilege of his youth, carefully studied the principles and the
+prospects of the contending factions, patiently waiting for the time
+to come in which he should introduce his strong arm into the conflict.
+Each party, aware that his parents had espoused opposite sides, and
+regarding him as an invaluable accession to either cause, adopted all
+possible allurements to win his favor.
+
+Catharine, as unprincipled as she was ambitious, invited him to her
+court, lavished upon him, with queenly profusion, caresses and
+flattery, and enticed him with all those blandishments which might
+most effectually enthrall the impassioned spirit of youth.
+Voluptuousness, gilded with its most dazzling and deceitful
+enchantments, was studiously presented to his eye. The queen was all
+love and complaisance. She received him to her cabinet council. She
+affected to regard him as her chief confidant. She had already formed
+the design of perfidiously throwing the Protestants off their guard by
+professions of friendship, and then, by indiscriminate massacre, of
+obliterating from the kingdom every vestige of the reformed faith. The
+great mass of the people being Catholics, she thought that, by a
+simultaneous uprising all over the kingdom, the Protestants might be
+so generally destroyed that not enough would be left to cause her any
+serious embarrassments.
+
+For many reasons Catharine wished to save Henry from the doom
+impending over his friends, if she could, by any means, win him to
+her side. She held many interviews with the highest ecclesiastics upon
+the subject of the contemplated massacre. At one time, when she was
+urging the expediency of sparing some few Protestant nobles who had
+been her personal friends, Henry overheard the significant reply from
+the Duke of Alva, "The head of a salmon is worth a hundred frogs." The
+young prince meditated deeply upon the import of those words.
+Surmising their significance, and alarmed for the safety of his
+mother, he dispatched a trusty messenger to communicate to her his
+suspicions.
+
+His mind was now thoroughly aroused to vigilance, to careful and
+hourly scrutiny of the plots and counterplots which were ever forming
+around him. While others of his age were absorbed in the pleasures of
+licentiousness and gaming, to which that corrupt court was abandoned,
+Henry, though he had not escaped unspotted from the contamination
+which surrounded him, displayed, by the dignity of his demeanor and
+the elevation of his character, those extraordinary qualities which so
+remarkably distinguished him in future life, and which indicated, even
+then, that he was born to command. One of the grandees of the Spanish
+court, the Duke of Medina, after meeting him incidentally but for a
+few moments, remarked,
+
+"It appears to me that this young prince is either an emperor, or is
+destined soon to become one."
+
+Henry was very punctilious in regard to etiquette, and would allow no
+one to treat him without due respect, or to deprive him of the
+position to which he was entitled by his rank.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of Navarre, was now considered the most
+illustrious leader of the Protestant party. Catharine, the better to
+disguise her infamous designs, went with Henry, in great splendor, to
+make a friendly visit to his mother in the little Protestant court of
+Bearn. Catharine insidiously lavished upon Jeanne d'Albret the warmest
+congratulations and the most winning smiles, and omitted no courtly
+blandishments which could disarm the suspicions and win the confidence
+of the Protestant queen. The situation of Jeanne in her feeble
+dominion was extremely embarrassing. The Pope, in consequence of her
+alleged heresy, had issued against her the bull of excommunication,
+declaring her incapable of reigning, forbidding all good Catholics, by
+the peril of their own salvation, from obeying any of her commands. As
+her own subjects were almost all Protestants, she was in no danger of
+any insurrection on their part; but this decree, in that age of
+superstition and of profligacy, invited each neighboring power to
+seize upon her territory. The only safety of the queen consisted in
+the mutual jealousies of the rival kingdoms of France and Spain,
+neither of them being willing that the other should receive such an
+accession to its political importance.
+
+The Queen of Navarre was not at all shaken in her faith, or influenced
+to change her measure, by the visit of the French court to her
+capital. She regarded, however, with much solicitude, the ascendency
+which, it appeared to her, Catharine was obtaining over the mind of
+her son. Catharine caressed and flattered the young Prince of Navarre
+in every possible way. All her blandishments were exerted to obtain a
+commanding influence over his mind. She endeavored unceasingly to lure
+him to indulgence in all forbidden pleasure, and especially to crowd
+upon his youthful and ardent passions all the temptations which
+yielding female beauty could present. After the visit of a few weeks,
+during which the little court of Navarre had witnessed an importation
+of profligacy unknown before, the Queen of France, with Henry and
+with her voluptuous train, returned again to Paris.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret had seen enough of the blandishments of vice to excite
+her deepest maternal solicitude in view of the peril of her son. She
+earnestly urged his return to Navarre; but Catharine continually threw
+such chains of influence around him that he could not escape. At last
+Jeanne resolved, under the pretense of returning the visit of
+Catharine, to go herself to the court of France and try to recover
+Henry. With a small but illustrious retinue, embellished with great
+elegance of manners and purity of life, she arrived in Paris. The
+Queen of France received her with every possible mark of respect and
+affection, and lavished upon her entertainments, and f�tes, and
+gorgeous spectacles until the Queen of Navarre was almost bewildered.
+
+[Illustration: THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE.]
+
+Whenever Jeanne proposed to return to her kingdom there was some very
+special celebration appointed, from which Jeanne could not, without
+extreme rudeness, break away. Thus again and again was Jeanne
+frustrated in her endeavors to leave Paris, until she found, to her
+surprise and chagrin, that both she and her son were prisoners,
+detained in captivity by bonds of the most provoking politeness.
+Catharine managed so adroitly that Jeanne could not enter any
+complaints, for the shackles which were thrown around her were those
+of ostensibly the most excessive kindness and the most unbounded love.
+It was of no avail to provoke a quarrel, for the Queen of Navarre was
+powerless in the heart of France.
+
+At last she resolved to effect by stratagem that which she could not
+accomplish openly. One day a large party had gone out upon a hunting
+excursion. The Queen of Navarre made arrangements with her son, and a
+few of the most energetic and trustworthy gentlemen of her court, to
+separate themselves, as it were accidentally, when in the eagerness of
+the chase, from the rest of the company, and to meet at an appointed
+place of rendezvous. The little band, thus assembled, turned the heads
+of their horses toward Navarre. They drove with the utmost speed day
+and night, furnishing themselves with fresh relays of horses, and
+rested not till the clatter of the iron hoofs of the steeds were heard
+among the mountains of Navarre. Jeanne left a very polite note upon
+her table in the palace of St. Cloud, thanking Queen Catharine for all
+her kindness, and praying her to excuse the liberty she had taken in
+avoiding the pain of words of adieu. Catharine was exceedingly
+annoyed at their escape, but, perceiving that it was not in her power
+to overtake the fugitives, she submitted with as good a grace as
+possible.
+
+Henry found himself thus again among his native hills. He was placed
+under the tuition of a gentleman who had a high appreciation of all
+that was poetic and beautiful. Henry, under his guidance, devoted
+himself with great delight to the study of polite literature, and gave
+free wing to an ennobled imagination as he clambered up the cliffs,
+and wandered over the ravines familiar to the days of his childhood.
+His personal appearance in 1567, when he was thirteen years of age, is
+thus described by a Roman Catholic gentleman who was accustomed to
+meet him daily in the court of Catharine.
+
+     "We have here the young Prince of Bearn. One can not help
+     acknowledging that he is a beautiful creature. At the age of
+     thirteen he displays all the qualities of a person of
+     eighteen or nineteen. He is agreeable, he is civil, he is
+     obliging. Others might say that as yet he does not know what
+     he is; but, for my part, I, who study him very often, can
+     assure you that he does know perfectly well. He demeans
+     himself toward all the world with so easy a carriage, that
+     people crowd round wherever he is; and he acts so nobly in
+     every thing, that one sees clearly that he is a great
+     prince. He enters into conversation as a highly-polished
+     man. He speaks always to the purpose, and it is remarked
+     that he is very well informed. I shall hate the reformed
+     religion all my life for having carried off from us so
+     worthy a person. Without this original sin, he would be the
+     first after the king, and we should see him, in a short
+     time, at the head of the armies. He gains new friends every
+     day. He insinuates himself into all hearts with
+     inconceivable skill. He is highly honored by the men, and no
+     less beloved by the ladies. His face is very well formed,
+     the nose neither too large nor too small. His eyes are very
+     soft; his skin brown, but very smooth; and his whole
+     features animated with such uncommon vivacity, that, if he
+     does not make progress with the fair, it will be very
+     extraordinary."
+
+Henry had not escaped the natural influence of the dissolute society
+in the midst of which he had been educated, and manifested, on his
+first return to his mother, a strong passion for balls and
+masquerades, and all the enervating pleasures of fashionable life. His
+courtly and persuasive manners were so insinuating, that, without
+difficulty, he borrowed any sums of money he pleased, and with these
+borrowed treasures he fed his passion for excitement at the
+gaming-table.
+
+The firm principles and high intellectual elevation of his mother
+roused her to the immediate and vigorous endeavor to correct all these
+radical defects in his character and education. She kept him, as much
+as possible, under her own eye. She appointed teachers of the highest
+mental and moral attainments to instruct him. By her conversation and
+example she impressed upon his mind the sentiment that it was the most
+distinguished honor of one born to command others to be their superior
+in intelligence, judgment, and self-control. The Prince of Navarre, in
+his mother's court at Bearn, found himself surrounded by Protestant
+friends and influences, and he could not but feel and admit the
+superior dignity and purity of these his new friends.
+
+Catharine worshiped no deity but ambition. She was ready to adopt any
+measures and to plunge into any crimes which would give stability and
+lustre to her power. She had no religious opinions or even
+preferences. She espoused the cause of the Catholics because, on the
+whole, she deemed that party the more powerful; and then she sought
+the entire destruction of the Protestants, that none might be left to
+dispute her sway. Had the Protestants been in the majority, she would,
+with equal zeal, have given them the aid of her strong arm, and
+unrelentingly would have striven to crush the whole papal power.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, on the contrary, was in _principle_ a Protestant. She
+was a woman of reflection, of feeling, of highly-cultivated intellect,
+and probably of sincere piety. She had read, with deep interest, the
+religious controversies of the day. She had prayed for light and
+guidance. She had finally and cordially adopted the Protestant faith
+as the truth of God. Thus guided by her sense of duty, she was
+exceedingly anxious that her son should be a Protestant--a Protestant
+Christian. In most solemn prayer she dedicated him to God's service,
+to defend the faith of the Reformers. In the darkness of that day, the
+bloody and cruel sword was almost universally recognized as the great
+champion of truth. Both parties appeared to think that the thunders of
+artillery and musketry must accompany the persuasive influence of
+eloquence. If it were deemed important that one hand should guide the
+pen of controversy, to establish the truth, it was considered no less
+important that the other should wield the sword to extirpate heresy.
+Military heroism was thought as essential as scholarship for the
+defense of the faith.
+
+A truly liberal mind will find its indignation, in view of the
+atrocities of these religious wars, mitigated by comparison in view of
+the ignorance and the frailty of man. The Protestants often needlessly
+exasperated the Catholics by demolishing, in the hour of victory,
+their churches, their paintings, and their statues, and by pouring
+contempt upon all that was most hallowed in the Catholic heart. There
+was, however, this marked difference between the two parties: the
+leaders of the Protestants, as a general rule, did every thing in
+their power to check the fury of their less enlightened followers. The
+leaders of the Catholics, as a general rule, did every thing in their
+power to stimulate the fanaticism of the frenzied populace. In the
+first religious war the Protestant soldiers broke open and plundered
+the great church of Orleans. The Prince of Cond� and Admiral Coligni
+hastened to repress the disorder. The prince pointed a musket at a
+soldier who had ascended a ladder to break an image, threatening to
+shoot him if he did not immediately desist.
+
+"My lord," exclaimed the fanatic Protestant, "wait till I have thrown
+down this idol, and then, if it please you, I will die."
+
+It is well for man that Omniscience presides at the day of judgment.
+"The Lord knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."
+
+Europe was manifestly preparing for another dreadful religious
+conflict. The foreboding cloud blackened the skies. The young Prince
+of Navarre had not yet taken his side. Both Catholics and Protestants
+left no exertions untried to win to their cause so important an
+auxiliary. Henry had warm friends in the court of Navarre and in the
+court of St. Cloud. He was bound by many ties to both Catholics and
+Protestants. Love of pleasure, of self-indulgence, of power, urged him
+to cast in his lot with the Catholics. Reverence for his mother
+inclined him to adopt the weaker party, who were struggling for purity
+of morals and of faith. To be popular with his subjects in his own
+kingdom of Navarre, he must be a Protestant. To be popular in France,
+to whose throne he was already casting a wistful eye, it was necessary
+for him to be a Catholic. He vacillated between these views of
+self-interest. His conscience and his heart were untouched. Both
+parties were aware of the magnitude of the weight he could place in
+either scale, while each deemed it quite uncertain which cause he
+would espouse. His father had died contending for the Catholic faith,
+and all knew that the throne of Catholic France was one of the prizes
+which the young Prince of Navarre had a fair chance of obtaining. His
+mother was the most illustrious leader of the Protestant forces on the
+Continent, and the crown of Henry's hereditary domain could not repose
+quietly upon any brow but that of a Protestant.
+
+Such was the state of affairs when the clangor of arms again burst
+upon the ear of Europe. France was the arena of woe upon which the
+Catholics and the Protestants of England and of the Continent hurled
+themselves against each other. Catharine, breathing vengeance, headed
+the Catholic armies. Jeanne, calm yet inflexible, was recognized as at
+the head of the Protestant leaders, and was alike the idol of the
+common soldiers and of their generals. The two contending armies,
+after various marchings and countermarchings, met at Rochelle. The
+whole country around, for many leagues, was illuminated at night by
+the camp-fires of the hostile hosts. The Protestants, inferior in
+numbers, with hymns and prayers calmly awaited an attack. The
+Catholics, divided in council, were fearful of hazarding a decisive
+engagement. Day after day thus passed, with occasional skirmishes,
+when, one sunny morning, the sound of trumpets was heard, and the
+gleam of the spears and banners of an approaching host was seen on the
+distant hills. The joyful tidings spread through the ranks of the
+Protestants that the Queen of Navarre, with her son and four thousand
+troops, had arrived. At the head of her firm and almost invincible
+band she rode, calm and serene, magnificently mounted, with her proud
+boy by her side. As the queen and her son entered the plain, an
+exultant shout from the whole Protestant host seemed to rend the
+skies. These enthusiastic plaudits, loud, long, reiterated, sent
+dismay to the hearts of the Catholics.
+
+Jeanne presented her son to the Protestant army, and solemnly
+dedicated him to the defense of the Protestant faith. At the same time
+she published a declaration to the world that she deplored the horrors
+of war; that she was not contending for the oppression of others, but
+to secure for herself and her friends the right to worship God
+according to the teachings of the Bible. The young prince was placed
+under the charge of the most experienced generals, to guard his person
+from danger and to instruct him in military science. The Prince of
+Cond� was his teacher in that terrible accomplishment in which both
+master and pupil have obtained such worldwide renown.
+
+Long files of English troops, with trumpet tones, and waving banners,
+and heavy artillery, were seen winding their way along the streams of
+France, hastening to the scene of conflict. The heavy battalions of
+the Pope were marshaling upon all the sunny plains of Italy, and the
+banners of the rushing squadrons glittered from the pinnacles of the
+Alps, as Europe rose in arms, desolating ten thousand homes with
+conflagrations, and blood, and woe. Could the pen record the
+smouldering ruins, the desolate hearthstones, the shrieks of mortal
+agony, the wailings of the widow, the cry of the orphan, which thus
+resulted from man's inhumanity to man, the heart would sicken at the
+recital. The summer passed away in marches and counter-marches, in
+assassinations, and skirmishes, and battles. The fields of the
+husbandmen were trampled under the hoofs of horses. Villages were
+burned to the ground, and their wretched inhabitants driven out in
+nakedness and starvation to meet the storms of merciless winter. Noble
+ladies and refined and beautiful maidens fled shrieking from the
+pursuit of brutal and licentious soldiers. Still neither party gained
+any decisive victory. The storms of winter came, and beat heavily,
+with frost and drifting snow, upon the worn and weary hosts.
+
+In three months ten thousand Protestants had perished. At Orleans two
+hundred Protestants were thrown into prison. The populace set the
+prison on fire, and they were all consumed.
+
+At length the Catholic armies, having become far more numerous than
+the Protestant, ventured upon a general engagement. They met upon the
+field of Jarnac. The battle was conducted by the Reformers with a
+degree of fearlessness bordering on desperation. The Prince of Cond�
+plunged into the thickest ranks of the enemy with his unfurled banner
+bearing the motto, "Danger is sweet for Christ and my country." Just
+as he commenced his desperate charge, a kick from a wounded horse
+fractured his leg so severely that the fragments of the bone protruded
+through his boot. Pointing to the mangled and helpless limb, he said
+to those around him, "Remember the state in which Louis of Bourbon
+enters the fight for Christ and his country." Immediately sounding the
+charge, like a whirlwind his little band plunged into the midst of
+their foes. For a moment the shock was irresistible, and the assailed
+fell like grass before the scythe of the mower. Soon, however, the
+undaunted band was entirely surrounded by their powerful adversaries.
+The Prince of Cond�, with but about two hundred and fifty men, with
+indomitable determination sustained himself against the serried ranks
+of five thousand men closing up around him on every side. This was the
+last earthly conflict of the Prince of Cond�. With his leg broken and
+his arm nearly severed from his body, his horse fell dead beneath him,
+and the prince, deluged with blood, was precipitated into the dust
+under the trampling hoofs of wounded and frantic chargers. His men
+still fought with desperation around their wounded chieftain. Of
+twenty-five nephews who accompanied him, fifteen were slain by his
+side. Soon all his defenders were cut down or dispersed. The wounded
+prince, an invaluable prize, was taken prisoner. Montesquieu, captain
+of the guards of the Duke of Anjou, came driving up, and as he saw
+the prisoner attracting much attention, besmeared with blood and dirt,
+
+"Whom have we here?" he inquired.
+
+"The Prince of Cond�," was the exultant reply.
+
+"Kill him! kill him!" exclaimed the captain, and he discharged a
+pistol at his head.
+
+The ball passed through his brain, and the prince fell lifeless upon
+the ground. The corpse was left where it fell, and the Catholic troops
+pursued their foes, now flying in every direction. The Protestants
+retreated across a river, blew up the bridge, and protected themselves
+from farther assault. The next day the Duke of Anjou, the younger
+brother of Charles IX., and who afterward became Henry III., who was
+one of the leaders of the Catholic army, rode over the field of
+battle, to find, if possible, the body of his illustrious enemy.
+
+"We had not rode far," says one who accompanied him, "when we
+perceived a great number of the dead bodies piled up in a heap, which
+led us to judge that this was the spot where the body of the prince
+was to be found: in fact, we found it there. Baron de Magnac took the
+corpse by the hair to lift up the face, which was turned toward the
+ground, and asked me if I recognized him; but, as one eye was torn
+out, and his face was covered with blood and dirt, I could only reply
+that it was certainly his height and his complexion, but farther I
+could not say."
+
+They washed the bloody and mangled face, and found that it was indeed
+the prince. His body was carried, with infamous ribaldry, on an ass to
+the castle of Jarnac, and thrown contemptuously upon the ground.
+Several illustrious prisoners were brought to the spot and butchered
+in cold blood, and their corpses thrown upon that of the prince, while
+the soldiers passed a night of drunkenness and revelry, exulting over
+the remains of their dead enemies.
+
+Such was the terrible battle of Jarnac, the first conflict which Henry
+witnessed. The tidings of this great victory and of the death of the
+illustrious Cond� excited transports of joy among the Catholics.
+Charles IX. sent to Pope Pius V. the standards taken from the
+Protestants. The Pope, who affirmed that Luther was a ravenous beast,
+and that his doctrines were the sum of all crimes, wrote to the king
+a letter of congratulation. He urged him to extirpate every fibre
+of heresy, regardless of all entreaty, and of every tie of blood
+and affection. To encourage him, he cited the example of Saul
+exterminating the Amalekites, and assured him that all tendency to
+clemency was a snare of the devil.
+
+The Catholics now considered the condition of the Protestants as
+desperate. The pulpits resounded with imprecations and anathemas. The
+Catholic priests earnestly advocated the sentiment that no faith was
+to be kept with heretics; that to massacre them was an action
+essential to the safety of the state, and which would secure the
+approbation of God.
+
+But the Protestants, though defeated, were still unsubdued. The noble
+Admiral Coligni still remained to them; and after the disaster, Jeanne
+d'Albret presented herself before the troops, holding her son Henry,
+then fourteen years of age, by one hand, and Henry, son of the Prince
+de Cond�, by the other, and devoted them both to the cause. The young
+Henry of Navarre was then proclaimed _generalissimo_ of the army and
+_protector_ of the churches. He took the following oath: "I swear to
+defend the Protestant religion, and to persevere in the common cause,
+till death or till victory has secured for all the liberty which we
+desire."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE MARRIAGE.
+
+1568-1572
+
+Emotions of Henry.--His military sagacity.--Enthusiasm inspired by
+Jeanne.--The failure of Catharine.--The second defeat.--The wounded
+friends.--The reserve force.--Misfortunes of Coligni.--His
+letter.--The third army.--The tide of victory changed.--The treaty
+of St. Germaine-en-Laye.--Perfidy of Catharine.--The court at
+Rochelle.--The two courts.--Marriage of Elizabeth.--The Princess
+Marguerite.--Effects of the connection.--A royal match.--Repugnance
+of Jeanne d'Albret.--Objections overcome.--Perjury of Charles
+IX.--Displays of friendship.--Indifference of Marguerite.--Preparations
+for the wedding.--Death of Jeanne.--Demonstrations of grief.--Different
+reports.--The King of Navarre.--Indifference.--Coligni lured to
+Paris.--He is remonstrated with.--The nuptial day.--The scene.--Small
+favors gratefully received.--Mass.--National festivities.--The
+tournament.--Strange representations.--Regal courtesy.--Impediments
+to departure.--Mission from the Pope.--The reply.
+
+
+Young Henry of Navarre was but about fourteen years of age when, from
+one of the hills in the vicinity, he looked upon the terrible battle
+of Jarnac. It is reported that, young as he was, he pointed out the
+fatal errors which were committed by the Protestants in all the
+arrangements which preceded the battle.
+
+"It is folly," he said, "to think of fighting, with forces so divided,
+a united army making an attack at one point."
+
+For the security of his person, deemed so precious to the Protestants,
+his friends, notwithstanding his entreaties and even tears, would not
+allow him to expose himself to any of the perils of the conflict. As
+he stood upon an eminence which overlooked the field of battle,
+surrounded by a few faithful guards, he gazed with intense anguish
+upon the sanguinary scene spread out before him. He saw his friends
+utterly defeated, and their squadrons trampled in the dust beneath the
+hoofs of the Catholic cavalry.
+
+The Protestants, without loss of time, rallied anew their forces. The
+Queen of Navarre soon saw thousands of strong arms and brave hearts
+collecting again around her banner. Accompanied by her son, she rode
+through their ranks, and addressed them in words of feminine yet
+heroic eloquence, which roused their utmost enthusiasm. But few
+instances have been recorded in which human hearts have been more
+deeply moved than were these martial hosts by the brief sentences
+which dropped from the lips of this extraordinary woman. Henry, in the
+most solemn manner, pledged himself to consecrate all his energies to
+the defense of the Protestant religion. To each of the chiefs of the
+army the queen also presented a gold medal, suspended from a golden
+chain, with her own name and that of her son impressed upon one side,
+and on the other the words "Certain peace, complete victory, or
+honorable death." The enthusiasm of the army was raised to the highest
+pitch, and the heroic queen became the object almost of the adoration
+of her soldiers.
+
+Catharine, seeing the wonderful enthusiasm with which the Protestant
+troops were inspired by the presence of the Queen of Navarre, visited
+the head-quarters of her own army, hoping that she might also
+enkindle similar ardor. Accompanied by a magnificent retinue of her
+brilliantly-accoutred generals, she swept, like a gorgeous vision,
+before her troops. She lavished presents upon her officers, and in
+high-sounding phrase harangued the soldiers; but there was not a
+private in the ranks who did not know that she was a wicked and a
+polluted woman. She had talent, but no soul. All her efforts were
+unavailing to evoke one single electric spark of emotion. She had
+sense enough to perceive her signal failure and to feel its
+mortification. No one either loved or respected Catharine. Thousands
+hated her, yet, conscious of her power, either courting her smiles or
+dreading her frown, they often bowed before her in adulation.
+
+The two armies were soon facing each other upon the field of battle.
+It was the third of October, 1569. More than fifty thousand combatants
+met upon the plains of Moncontour. All generalship seemed to be
+ignored as the exasperated adversaries rushed upon each other in a
+headlong fight. The Protestants, outnumbered, were awfully defeated.
+Out of twenty-five thousand combatants whom they led into the field,
+but eight thousand could be rallied around their retreating banner
+after a fight of but three quarters of an hour. All their cannon,
+baggage, and munitions of war were lost. No mercy was granted to the
+vanquished.
+
+Coligni, at the very commencement of the battle, was struck by a
+bullet which shattered his jaw. The gushing blood under his helmet
+choked him, and they bore him upon a litter from the field. As they
+were carrying the wounded admiral along, they overtook another litter
+upon which was stretched L'Estrange, the bosom friend of the admiral,
+also desperately wounded. L'Estrange, forgetting himself, gazed for a
+moment with tearful eyes upon the noble Coligni, and then gently said,
+"It is sweet to trust in God." Coligni, unable to speak, could only
+_look_ a reply. Thus the two wounded friends parted. Coligni afterward
+remarked that these few words were a cordial to his spirit, inspiring
+him with resolution and hope.
+
+Henry of Navarre, and his cousin, Henry of Cond�, son of the prince
+who fell at the battle of Jarnac, from a neighboring eminence
+witnessed this scene of defeat and of awful carnage. The admiral,
+unwilling to expose to danger lives so precious to their cause, had
+stationed them there with a reserve of four thousand men under the
+command of Louis of Nassau. When Henry saw the Protestants giving way,
+he implored Louis that they should hasten with the reserve to the
+protection of their friends; but Louis, with military rigor, awaited
+the commands of the admiral. "We lose our advantage, then," exclaimed
+the prince, "and consequently the battle."
+
+The most awful of earthly calamities seemed now to fall like an
+avalanche upon Coligni, the noble Huguenot chieftain. His beloved
+brother was slain. Bands of wretches had burned down his castle and
+laid waste his estates. The Parliament of Paris, composed of zealous
+Catholics, had declared him guilty of high treason, and offered fifty
+thousand crowns to whoever would deliver him up, dead or alive. The
+Pope declared to all Europe that he was a "detestable, infamous,
+execrable man, if, indeed, he even merited the name of man." His army
+was defeated, his friends cut to pieces, and he himself was grievously
+wounded, and was lying upon a couch in great anguish. Under these
+circumstances, thirteen days after receiving his wound, he thus wrote
+to his children:
+
+     "We should not repose on earthly possessions. Let us place
+     our hope beyond the earth, and acquire other treasures than
+     those which we see with our eyes and touch with our hands.
+     We must follow Jesus our leader, who has gone before us. Men
+     have ravished us of what they could. If such is the will of
+     God, we shall be happy and our condition good, since we
+     endure this loss from no wrong you have done those who have
+     brought it to you, but solely for the hate they have borne
+     me because God was pleased to direct me to assist his
+     Church. For the present, it is enough to admonish and
+     conjure you, in the name of God, to persevere courageously
+     in the study of virtue."
+
+In the course of a few weeks Coligni rose from his bed, and the
+Catholics were amazed to find him at the head of a third army. The
+indomitable Queen of Navarre, with the calm energy which ever
+signalized her character, had rallied the fugitives around her, and
+had reanimated their waning courage by her own invincible spirit.
+Nobles and peasants from all the mountains of Bearn, and from every
+province in France, thronged to the Protestant camp. Conflict after
+conflict ensued. The tide of victory now turned in favor of the
+Reformers. Henry, absolutely refusing any longer to retire from the
+perils of the field, engaged with the utmost coolness, judgment, and
+yet impetuosity in all the toils and dangers of the battle. The
+Protestant cause gained strength. The Catholics were disheartened.
+Even Catharine became convinced that the extermination of the
+Protestants by force was no longer possible. So once more they offered
+conditions of peace, which were promptly accepted. These terms, which
+were signed at St. Germaine-en-Laye the 8th of August, 1570, were more
+favorable than the preceding. The Protestants were allowed liberty of
+worship in all the places then in their possession. They were also
+allowed public worship in two towns in each province of the kingdom.
+They were permitted to reside any where without molestation, and were
+declared _eligible_ to any public office.
+
+Coligni, mourning over the untold evils and miseries of war, with
+alacrity accepted these conditions. "Sooner than fall back into these
+disturbances," said he, "I would choose to die a thousand deaths, and
+be dragged through the streets of Paris."
+
+The queen, however, and her advisers were guilty of the most extreme
+perfidy in this truce. It was merely their object to induce the
+foreign troops who had come to the aid of the allies to leave the
+kingdom, that they might then exterminate the Protestants by a general
+massacre. Catharine decided to accomplish by the dagger of the
+assassin that which she had in vain attempted to accomplish on the
+field of battle. This peace was but the first act in the awful tragedy
+of St. Bartholomew.
+
+Peace being thus apparently restored, the young Prince of Navarre now
+returned to his hereditary domains and visited its various provinces,
+where he was received with the most lively demonstrations of
+affection. Various circumstances, however, indicated to the Protestant
+leaders that some mysterious and treacherous plot was forming for
+their destruction. The Protestant gentlemen absented themselves,
+consequently, from the court of Charles IX. The king and his mother
+were mortified by these evidences that their perfidy was suspected.
+
+Jeanne, with her son, after visiting her subjects in all parts of her
+own dominions, went to Rochelle, where they were joined by many of the
+most illustrious of their friends. Large numbers gathered around them,
+and the court of the Queen of Navarre was virtually transferred to
+that place. Thus there were two rival courts, side by side, in the
+same kingdom. Catharine, with her courtiers, exhibited boundless
+luxury and voluptuousness at Paris. Jeanne d'Albret, at Rochelle,
+embellished her court with all that was noble in intellect, elegant in
+manners, and pure in morals. Catharine and her submissive son Charles
+IX. left nothing untried to lure the Protestants into a false
+security. Jeanne scrupulously requited the courtesies she received
+from Catharine, though she regarded with much suspicion the adulation
+and the sycophancy of her proud hostess.
+
+The young King of France, Charles IX., who was of about the same age
+with Henry, and who had been his companion and playmate in childhood,
+was now married to Elizabeth, the daughter of the Emperor Maximilian
+II. of Austria. Their nuptials were celebrated with all the
+ostentatious pomp which the luxury of the times and the opulence of
+the French monarchy could furnish. In these rejoicings the courts of
+France and Navarre participated with the semblance of the most
+heartfelt cordiality. Protestants and Catholics, pretending to forget
+that they had recently encountered each other with fiendlike fury in
+fields of blood, mingled gayly in these festivities, and vied with
+each other in the exchange of courtly greetings and polished
+flatteries. Catharine and Charles IX. lavished, with the utmost
+profusion, their commendations and attentions upon the young Prince of
+Navarre, and left no arts of dissimulation unessayed which might
+disarm the fears and win the confidence of their victims.
+
+The queen mother, with caressing fondness, declared that Henry must be
+her son. She would confer upon him Marguerite, her youngest daughter.
+This princess had now become a young lady, beautiful in the extreme,
+and highly accomplished in all those graces which can kindle the fires
+and feed the flames of passion; but she was also as devoid of
+principle as any male libertine who contaminated by his presence a
+court whose very atmosphere was corruption. Many persons of royal
+blood had most earnestly sought the hand of this princess, for an
+alliance with the royal family of France was an honor which the
+proudest sovereigns might covet. Such a connection, in its political
+aspects, was every thing Henry could desire. It would vastly augment
+the consideration and the power of the young prince, and would bring
+him a long step nearer to the throne of France. The Protestants were
+all intensely interested in this match, as it would invest one,
+destined soon to become their most prominent leader, with new ability
+to defend their rights and to advocate their cause. It is a singular
+illustration of the hopeless corruption of the times, that the
+notorious profligacy of Marguerite seems to have been considered, even
+by Henry himself, as no obstacle to the union.
+
+A royal marriage is ordinarily but a matter of state policy. Upon the
+cold and icy eminence of kingly life the flowers of sympathy and
+affection rarely bloom. Henry, without hesitation, acquiesced in the
+expediency of this nuptial alliance. He regarded it as manifestly a
+very politic partnership, and did not concern himself in the least
+about the agreeable or disagreeable qualities of his contemplated
+spouse. He had no idea of making her his companion, much less his
+friend. She was to be merely his _wife_.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, however, a woman of sincere piety, and in whose bosom
+all noble thoughts were nurtured, cherished many misgivings. Her
+Protestant principles caused her to shrink from the espousals of her
+son with a Roman Catholic. Her religious scruples, and the spotless
+purity of her character, aroused the most lively emotions of
+repugnance in view of her son's connection with one who had not even
+the modesty to conceal her vices. State considerations, however,
+finally prevailed, and Jeanne, waiving her objections, consented to
+the marriage. She yielded, however, with the greatest reluctance, to
+the unceasing importunities of her friends. They urged that this
+marriage would unite the two parties in a solid peace, and thus
+protect the Protestants from persecution, and rescue France from
+unutterable woe. Even the Admiral Coligni was deceived. But the result
+proved, in this case as in every other, that _it is never safe to do
+evil that good may come_. If any fact is established under the
+government of God, it is this.
+
+The Queen of Navarre, in her extreme repugnance to this match,
+remarked,
+
+"I would choose to descend to the condition of the poorest damsel in
+France rather than sacrifice to the grandeur of my family my own soul
+and that of my son."
+
+With consummate perjury, Charles IX. declared, "I give my sister in
+marriage, not only to the Prince of Navarre, but, as it were, to the
+whole Protestant party. This will be the strongest and closest bond
+for the maintenance of peace between my subjects, and a sure evidence
+of my good-will toward the Protestants."
+
+Thus influenced, this noble woman consented to the union. She then
+went to Blois to meet Catharine and the king. They received her with
+exuberant displays of love. The foolish king quite overacted his part,
+calling her "his great aunt, his all, his best beloved." As the Queen
+of Navarre retired for the night, Charles said to Catharine, laughing,
+
+"Well, mother, what do you think of it? Do I play my little part
+well?"
+
+"Yes," said Catharine, encouragingly, "very well; but it is of no use
+unless it continues."
+
+"Allow me to go on," said the king, "and you will see that I shall
+ensnare them."
+
+The young Princess Marguerite, heartless, proud, and petulant,
+received the cold addresses of Henry with still more chilling
+indifference. She refused to make even the slightest concessions to
+his religious views, and, though she made no objection to the
+decidedly politic partnership, she very ostentatiously displayed her
+utter disregard for Henry and his friends. The haughty and dissolute
+beauty was piqued by the reluctance which Jeanne had manifested to an
+alliance which Marguerite thought should have been regarded as the
+very highest of all earthly honors. Preparations were, however, made
+for the marriage ceremony, which was to be performed in the French
+capital with unexampled splendor. The most distinguished gentlemen of
+the Protestant party, nobles, statesmen, warriors, from all parts of
+the realm, were invited to the metropolis, to add lustre to the
+festivities by their presence. Many, however, of the wisest counselors
+of the Queen of Navarre, deeply impressed with the conviction of the
+utter perfidy of Catharine, and apprehending some deep-laid plot,
+remonstrated against the acceptance of the invitations, presaging
+that, "if the wedding were celebrated in Paris, the liveries would be
+very crimson."
+
+Jeanne, solicited by the most pressing letters from Catharine and her
+son Charles IX., and urged by her courtiers, who were eager to share
+the renowned pleasures of the French metropolis, proceeded to Paris.
+She had hardly entered the sumptuous lodgings provided for her in the
+court of Catharine, when she was seized with a violent fever, which
+raged in her veins nine days, and then she died. In death she
+manifested the same faith and fortitude which had embellished her
+life. Not a murmur or a groan escaped her lips in the most violent
+paroxysms of pain. She had no desire to live except from maternal
+solicitude for her children, Henry and Catharine.
+
+"But God," said she, "will be their father and protector, as he has
+been mine in my greatest afflictions. I confide them to his
+providence."
+
+She died in June, 1572, in the forty-fourth year of her age. Catharine
+exhibited the most ostentatious and extravagant demonstrations of
+grief. Charles gave utterance to loud and poignant lamentations, and
+ordered a surgeon to examine the body, that the cause of her death
+might be ascertained. Notwithstanding these efforts to allay
+suspicion, the report spread like wildfire through all the departments
+of France, and all the Protestant countries of Europe, that the queen
+had been perfidiously poisoned by Catharine. The Protestant writers of
+the time assert that she fell a victim to poison communicated by a
+pair of perfumed gloves. The Catholics as confidently affirm that she
+died of a natural disease. The truth can now never be known till the
+secrets of all hearts shall be revealed at the judgment day.
+
+Henry, with his retinue, was slowly traveling toward Paris,
+unconscious of his mother's sickness, when the unexpected tidings
+arrived of her death. It is difficult to imagine what must have been
+the precise nature of the emotions of an ambitious young man in such
+an event, who ardently loved both his mother and the crown which she
+wore, as by the loss of the one he gained the other. The cloud of his
+grief was embellished with the gilded edgings of joy. The Prince of
+Bearn now assumed the title and the style of the King of Navarre, and
+honored the memory of his noble mother with every manifestation of
+regret and veneration. This melancholy event caused the postponement
+of the marriage ceremony for a short time, as it was not deemed
+decorous that epithalamiums should be shouted and requiems chanted
+from the same lips in the same hour. The knell tolling the burial of
+the dead would not blend harmoniously with the joyous peals of the
+marriage bell. Henry was not at all annoyed by this delay, for no
+impatient ardor urged him to his nuptials. Marguerite, annoyed by the
+opposition which Henry's mother had expressed in regard to the
+alliance, and vexed by the utter indifference which her betrothed
+manifested toward her person, indulged in all the wayward humors of a
+worse than spoiled child. She studiously displayed her utter disregard
+for Henry, which manifestations, with the most provoking
+indifference, he did not seem even to notice.
+
+During this short interval the Protestant nobles continued to flock to
+Paris, that they might honor with their presence the marriage of the
+young chief. The Admiral Coligni was, by very special exertions on the
+part of Catharine and Charles, lured to the metropolis. He had
+received anonymous letters warning him of his danger. Many of his more
+prudent friends openly remonstrated against his placing himself in the
+power of the perfidious queen. Coligni, however, was strongly attached
+to Henry, and, in defiance of all these warnings, he resolved to
+attend his nuptials. "I confide," said he, "in the sacred word of his
+majesty."
+
+Upon his arrival in the metropolis, Catharine and Charles lavished
+upon him the most unbounded manifestations of regard. The king,
+embracing the admiral, exclaimed, "This is the happiest day of my
+life." Very soon one of the admiral's friends called upon him to take
+leave, saying that he was immediately about to retire into the
+country. When asked by the admiral the cause of his unexpected
+departure, he replied, "I go because they caress you too much, and I
+would rather save myself with fools than perish with sages."
+
+At length the nuptial day arrived. It was the seventeenth of August,
+1572. Paris had laid aside its mourning weeds, and a gay and brilliant
+carnival succeeded its dismal days of gloom. Protestants and
+Catholics, of highest name and note, from every part of Europe, who
+had met in the dreadful encounters of a hundred fields of blood, now
+mingled in apparent fraternity with the glittering throng, all
+interchanging smiles and congratulations. The unimpassioned bridegroom
+led his scornful bride to the church of Notre Dame. Before the massive
+portals of this renowned edifice, and under the shadow of its
+venerable towers, a magnificent platform had been reared, canopied
+with the most gorgeous tapestry. Hundreds of thousands thronged the
+surrounding amphitheatre, swarming at the windows, crowding the
+balconies, and clustered upon the house-tops, to witness the imposing
+ceremony. The gentle breeze breathing over the multitude was laden
+with the perfume of flowers. Banners, and pennants, and ribbons of
+every varied hue waved in the air, or hung in gay festoons from window
+to window, and from roof to roof. Upon that conspicuous platform, in
+the presence of all the highest nobility of France, and of the most
+illustrious representatives of every court of Europe, Henry received
+the hand of the haughty princess, and the nuptial oath was
+administered.
+
+Marguerite, however, even in that hour, and in the presence of all
+those spectators, gave a ludicrous exhibition of her girlish petulance
+and ungoverned willfulness. When, in the progress of the ceremony, she
+was asked if she willingly received Henry of Bourbon for her husband,
+she pouted, coquettishly tossed her proud head, and was silent. The
+question was repeated. The spirit of Marguerite was now roused, and
+all the powers of Europe could not tame the shrew. She fixed her eyes
+defiantly upon the officiating bishop, and refusing, by look, or word,
+or gesture, to express the slightest assent, remained as immovable as
+a statue. Embarrassment and delay ensued. Her royal brother, Charles
+IX., fully aware of his sister's indomitable resolution, coolly walked
+up to the termagant at bay, and placing one hand upon her chest and
+the other upon the back of her head, compelled an involuntary nod. The
+bishop smiled and bowed, and acting upon the principle that small
+favors were gratefully received, proceeded with the ceremony. Such
+were the vows with which Henry and Marguerite were united. Such is too
+often _love in the palace_.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE.]
+
+The Roman Catholic wife, unaccompanied by her Protestant husband, who
+waited at the door with his retinue, now entered the church of Notre
+Dame to participate in the solemnities of the mass. The young King of
+Navarre then submissively received his bride and conducted her to a
+very magnificent dinner. Catharine and Charles IX., at this
+entertainment, were very specially attentive to the Protestant nobles.
+The weak and despicable king leaned affectionately upon the arm of the
+Admiral Coligni, and for a long time conversed with him with every
+appearance of friendship and esteem. Balls, illuminations, and
+pageants ensued in the evening. For many days these unnatural and
+chilling nuptials were celebrated with all the splendor of national
+festivities. Among these entertainments there was a tournament,
+singularly characteristic of the times, and which certainly sheds
+peculiar lustre either upon the humility or upon the good-nature of
+the Protestants.
+
+A large area was prepared for the display of one of those barbaric
+passes of arms in which the rude chivalry of that day delighted. The
+inclosure was surrounded by all the polished intellect, rank, and
+beauty of France. Charles IX., with his two brothers and several of
+the Catholic nobility, then appeared upon one side of the arena on
+noble war-horses gorgeously caparisoned, and threw down the gauntlet
+of defiance to Henry of Navarre and his Protestant retinue, who,
+similarly mounted and accoutred, awaited the challenge upon the
+opposite side.
+
+The portion of the inclosure in which the Catholics appeared was
+decorated to represent heaven. Birds of Paradise displayed their
+gorgeous plumage, and the air was vocal with the melody of trilling
+songsters. Beauty displayed its charms arrayed in celestial robes, and
+ambrosial odors lulled the senses in luxurious indulgence. All the
+resources of wealth and art were lavished to create a vision of the
+home of the blessed.
+
+The Protestants, in the opposite extreme of the arena, were seen
+emerging from the desolation, the gloom, and the sulphurous canopy of
+hell. The two parties, from their antagonistic realms, rushed to the
+encounter, the fiends of darkness battling with the angels of light.
+Gradually the Catholics, in accordance with previous arrangements,
+drove back the Protestants toward their grim abodes, when suddenly
+numerous demons appeared rushing from the dungeons of the infernal
+regions, who, with cloven hoofs, and satanic weapons, and chains
+forged in penal fires, seized upon the Protestants and dragged them to
+the blackness of darkness from whence they had emerged. Plaudits loud
+and long greeted this discomfiture of the Protestants by the infernal
+powers.
+
+But suddenly the scene is changed. A winged Cupid appears, the
+representative of the pious and amiable bride Marguerite. The demons
+fly in dismay before the irresistible boy. Fearlessly this emissary of
+love penetrates the realms of despair. The Protestants, by this
+agency, are liberated from their thralldom, and conducted in triumph
+to the Elysium of the Catholics. A more curious display of regal
+courtesy history has not recorded. And this was in Paris!
+
+Immediately after the marriage, the Admiral Coligni was anxious to
+obtain permission to leave the city. His devout spirit found no
+enjoyment in the gayeties of the metropolis, and he was deeply
+disgusted with the unveiled licentiousness which he witnessed every
+where around him. Day after day, however, impediments were placed in
+the way of his departure, and it was not until three days after the
+marriage festivities that he succeeded in obtaining an audience with
+Charles. He accompanied Charles to the racket-court, where the young
+monarch was accustomed to spend much of his time, and there bidding
+him adieu, left him to his amusements, and took his way on foot toward
+his lodgings.
+
+The Pope, not aware of the treachery which was contemplated, was much
+displeased in view of the apparently friendly relations which had thus
+suddenly sprung up between the Catholics and the Protestants. He was
+exceedingly perplexed by the marriage, and at last sent a legate to
+expostulate with the French king. Charles IX. was exceedingly
+embarrassed how to frame a reply. He wished to convince the legate of
+his entire devotion to the Papal Church, and, at the same time, he did
+not dare to betray his intentions; for the detection of the conspiracy
+would not only frustrate all his plans, but would load him with
+ignominy, and vastly augment the power of his enemies.
+
+"I do devoutly wish," Charles replied, "that I could tell you all; but
+you and the Pope shall soon know how beneficial this marriage shall
+prove to the interests of religion. Take my word for it, in a little
+time the holy father shall have reason to praise my designs, my piety,
+and my zeal in behalf of the faith."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+PREPARATIONS FOR MASSACRE.
+
+1572
+
+The attempted assassination of Coligni.--Escape of the
+assassin.--Arrival of Henry.--Christian submission of
+Coligni.--Indignation of Henry.--Artifice of Catharine and
+Charles.--Perplexity of the Protestants.--Secret preparations.--Feeble
+condition of the Protestants.--The visit.--The secret
+council.--Preparations to arm the citizens.--Directions for the
+massacre.--Signals.--Feast at the Louvre.--Embarrassment of
+Henry.--The Duke of Lorraine.--His hatred toward the Protestants.--The
+assassin's revenge.--Anxiety of the Duchess of Lorraine.--Scene in
+Henry's chamber.--Rumors of trouble.--Assembling for work.--Alarm
+in the metropolis.--Inflexibility of Catharine.--The faltering of
+Charles.--Nerved for the work.--The knell of death.--"Vive Dieu et
+le roi!"
+
+
+As the Admiral Coligni was quietly passing through the streets from
+his interview with Charles at the Louvre to his residence, in
+preparation for his departure, accompanied by twelve or fifteen of his
+personal friends, a letter was placed in his hands. He opened it, and
+began to read as he walked slowly along. Just as he was turning a
+corner of the street, a musket was discharged from the window of an
+adjoining house, and two balls struck him. One cut off a finger of his
+right hand, and the other entered his left arm. The admiral, inured to
+scenes of danger, manifested not the slightest agitation or alarm. He
+calmly pointed out to his friends the house from which the gun had
+been discharged, and his attendants rushed forward and broke open the
+door. The assassin, however, escaped through a back window, and,
+mounting a fleet horse stationed there, and which was subsequently
+proved to have belonged to a nephew of the king, avoided arrest. It
+was clearly proved in the investigations which immediately ensued
+that the assassin was in connivance with some of the most prominent
+Catholics of the realm. The Duke of Guise and Catharine were clearly
+implicated.
+
+Messengers were immediately dispatched to inform the king of the crime
+which had been perpetrated. Charles was still playing in the
+tennis-court. Casting away his racket, he exclaimed, with every
+appearance of indignation, "Shall I never be at peace?"
+
+The wounded admiral was conveyed to his lodgings. The surgeons of the
+court, the ministers of the Protestant Church, and the most
+illustrious princes and nobles of the admiral's party hastened to the
+couch of the sufferer. Henry of Navarre was one of the first that
+arrived, and he was deeply moved as he bent over his revered and
+much-loved friend. The intrepid and noble old man seemed perfectly
+calm and composed, reposing unfailing trust in God.
+
+"My friends," said he, "why do you weep? For myself, I deem it an
+honor to have received these wounds for the name of God. Pray him to
+strengthen me."
+
+Henry proceeded from the bedside of the admiral to the Louvre. He
+found Charles and Catharine there, surrounded by many of the nobles
+of their court. In indignant terms Henry reproached both mother and
+son with the atrocity of the crime which had been committed, and
+demanded immediate permission to retire from Paris, asserting that
+neither he nor his friends could any longer remain in the capital in
+safety. The king and his mother vied with each other in noisy,
+voluble, and even blasphemous declarations of their utter abhorrence
+of the deed; but all the oaths of Charles and all the vociferations of
+Catharine did but strengthen the conviction of the Protestants that
+they both were implicated in this plot of assassination. Catharine and
+Charles, feigning the deepest interest in the fate of their wounded
+guest, hastened to his sick-chamber with every possible assurance of
+their distress and sympathy. Charles expressed the utmost indignation
+at the murderous attempt, and declared, with those oaths which are
+common to vulgar minds, that he would take the most terrible vengeance
+upon the perpetrators as soon as he could discover them.
+
+"To discover them can not be difficult," coolly replied the admiral.
+
+Henry of Navarre, overwhelmed with indignation and sorrow, was
+greatly alarmed in view of the toils in which he found himself and his
+friends hopelessly involved. The Protestants, who had been thus lured
+to Paris, unarmed and helpless, were panic-stricken by these
+indications of relentless perfidy. They immediately made preparations
+to escape from the city. Henry, bewildered by rumors of plots and
+perils, hesitated whether to retire from the capital with his friends
+in a body, taking the admiral with them, or more secretly to endeavor
+to effect an escape.
+
+But Catharine and Charles, the moment for action having not quite
+arrived, were unwearied in their exertions to allay this excitement
+and soothe these alarms. They became renewedly clamorous in their
+expressions of grief and indignation in view of the assault upon the
+admiral. The king placed a strong guard around the house where the
+wounded nobleman lay, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting him
+from any popular outbreak, but in reality, as it subsequently
+appeared, to guard against his escape through the intervention of his
+friends. He also, with consummate perfidy, urged the Protestants in
+the city to occupy quarters near together, that, in case of trouble,
+they might more easily be protected by him, and might more
+effectually aid one another. His real object, however, was to assemble
+them in more convenient proximity for the slaughter to which they were
+doomed. The Protestants were in the deepest perplexity. They were not
+sure but that all their apprehensions were groundless; and yet they
+knew not but that in the next hour some fearful battery would be
+unmasked for their destruction. They were unarmed, unorganized, and
+unable to make any preparation to meet an unknown danger. Catharine,
+whose depraved yet imperious spirit was guiding with such consummate
+duplicity all this enginery of intrigue, hourly administered the
+stimulus of her own stern will to sustain the faltering purpose of her
+equally depraved but fickle-minded and imbecile son.
+
+Some circumstances seem to indicate that Charles was not an accomplice
+with his mother in the attempt upon the life of the admiral. She said
+to her son, "Notwithstanding all your protestations, the deed will
+certainly be laid to your charge. Civil war will again be enkindled.
+The chiefs of the Protestants are now all in Paris. You had better
+gain the victory at once here than incur the hazard of a new
+campaign."
+
+"Well, then," said Charles, petulantly, "since you approve the murder
+of the admiral, I am content. But let all the Huguenots also fall,
+that there may not be one left to reproach me."
+
+It was on Friday, the 22d of August, that the bullets of the assassin
+wounded Coligni. The next day Henry called again, with his bride, to
+visit his friend, whose finger had been amputated, and who was
+suffering extreme pain from the wound in his arm. Marguerite had but
+few sympathies with the scenes which are to be witnessed in the
+chamber of sickness. She did not conceal her impatience, but, after a
+few commonplace phrases of condolence with her husband's bosom friend,
+she hastened away, leaving Henry to perform alone the offices of
+friendly sympathy.
+
+While the young King of Navarre was thus sitting at the bedside of the
+admiral, recounting to him the assurances of faith and honor given by
+Catharine and her son, the question was then under discussion, in
+secret council, at the palace, by this very Catharine and Charles,
+whether Henry, the husband of the daughter of the one and of the
+sister of the other, should be included with the rest of the
+Protestants in the massacre which they were plotting. Charles
+manifested some reluctance thus treacherously to take the life of his
+early playmate and friend, his brother-in-law, and his invited guest.
+It was, after much deliberation, decided to protect him from the
+general slaughter to which his friends were destined.
+
+The king sent for some of the leading officers of his troops, and
+commanded them immediately, but secretly, to send his agents through
+every section of the city, to arm the Roman Catholic citizens, and
+assemble them, at midnight, in front of the Hotel de Ville.
+
+The energetic Duke of Guise, who had acquired much notoriety by the
+sanguinary spirit with which he had persecuted the Protestants, was to
+take the lead of the carnage. To prevent mistakes in the confusion of
+the night, he had issued secret orders for all the Catholics "to wear
+a white cross on the hat, and to bind a piece of white cloth around
+the arm." In the darkest hour of the night, when all the sentinels of
+vigilance and all the powers of resistance should be most effectually
+disarmed by sleep, the alarm-bell, from the tower of the Palace of
+Justice, was to toll the signal for the indiscriminate massacre of the
+Protestants. The bullet and the dagger were to be every where
+employed, and men, women, and children were to be cut down without
+mercy. With a very few individual exceptions, none were to be left to
+avenge the deed. Large bodies of troops, who hated the Protestants
+with that implacable bitterness which the most sanguinary wars of many
+years had engendered, had been called into the city, and they,
+familiar with deeds of blood, were to commence the slaughter. All good
+citizens were enjoined, as they loved their Savior, to aid in the
+extermination of the enemies of the Church of Rome. Thus, it was
+declared, God would be glorified and the best interests of man
+promoted. The spirit of the age was in harmony with the act, and it
+can not be doubted that there were those who had been so instructed by
+their spiritual guides that they truly believed that by this sacrifice
+they were doing God service.
+
+The conspiracy extended throughout all the provinces of France. The
+storm was to burst, at the same moment, upon the unsuspecting victims
+in every city and village of the kingdom. Beacon-fires, with their
+lurid midnight glare, were to flash the tidings from mountain to
+mountain. The peal of alarm was to ring along from steeple to steeple,
+from city to hamlet, from valley to hill-side, till the whole
+Catholic population should be aroused to obliterate every vestige of
+Protestantism from the land.
+
+While Catharine and Charles were arranging all the details of this
+deed of infamy, even to the very last moment they maintained with the
+Protestants the appearance of the most cordial friendship. They
+lavished caresses upon the Protestant generals and nobles. The very
+day preceding the night when the massacre commenced, the king
+entertained, at a sumptuous feast in the Louvre, many of the most
+illustrious of the doomed guests. Many of the Protestant nobles were
+that night, by the most pressing invitations, detained in the palace
+to sleep. Charles appeared in a glow of amiable spirits, and amused
+them, till a late hour, with his pleasantries.
+
+Henry of Navarre, however, had his suspicions very strongly aroused.
+Though he did not and could not imagine any thing so dreadful as a
+general massacre, he clearly foresaw that preparations were making for
+some very extraordinary event. The entire depravity of both Catharine
+and Charles he fully understood. But he knew not where the blow would
+fall, and he was extremely perplexed in deciding as to the course he
+ought to pursue. The apartments assigned to him and his bride were in
+the palace of the Louvre. It would be so manifestly for his worldly
+interest for him to unite with the Catholic party, especially when he
+should see the Protestant cause hopelessly ruined, that the mother and
+the brother of his wife had hesitatingly concluded that it would be
+safe to spare his life. Many of the most conspicuous members of the
+court of Navarre lodged also in the capacious palace, in chambers
+contiguous to those which were occupied by their sovereign.
+
+Marguerite's oldest sister had married the Duke of Lorraine, and her
+son, the Duke of Guise, an energetic, ambitious, unprincipled
+profligate, was one of the most active agents in this conspiracy. His
+illustrious rank, his near relationship with the king--rendering it
+not improbable that he might yet inherit the throne--his restless
+activity, and his implacable hatred of the Protestants, gave him the
+most prominent position as the leader of the Catholic party. He had
+often encountered the Admiral Coligni upon fields of battle, where all
+the malignity of the human heart had been aroused, and he had often
+been compelled to fly before the strong arm of his powerful adversary.
+He felt that now the hour of revenge had come, and with an assassin's
+despicable heart he thirsted for the blood of his noble foe. It was
+one of his paid agents who fired upon the admiral from the window,
+and, mounted upon one of the fleetest chargers of the Duke of Guise,
+the wretch made his escape.
+
+The conspiracy had been kept a profound secret from Marguerite, lest
+she should divulge it to her husband. The Duchess of Lorraine,
+however, was in all their deliberations, and, fully aware of the
+dreadful carnage which the night was to witness, she began to feel, as
+the hour of midnight approached, very considerable anxiety in
+reference to the safety of her sister. Conscious guilt magnified her
+fears; and she was apprehensive lest the Protestants, when they should
+first awake to the treachery which surrounded them, would rush to the
+chamber of their king to protect him, and would wreak their vengeance
+upon his Catholic spouse. She did not dare to communicate to her
+sister the cause of her alarm; and yet, when Marguerite, about 11
+o'clock, arose to retire, she importuned her sister, even with tears,
+not to occupy the same apartment with her husband that night, but to
+sleep in her own private chamber. Catharine sharply reproved the
+Duchess of Lorraine for her imprudent remonstrances, and bidding the
+Queen of Navarre good-night, with maternal authority directed her to
+repair to the room of her husband. She departed to the nuptial
+chamber, wondering what could be the cause of such an unwonted display
+of sisterly solicitude and affection.
+
+When she entered her room, to her great surprise she found thirty or
+forty gentlemen assembled there. They were the friends and the
+supporters of Henry, who had become alarmed by the mysterious rumors
+which were floating from ear to ear, and by the signs of agitation,
+and secrecy, and strange preparation which every where met the eye. No
+one could imagine what danger was impending. No one knew from what
+quarter the storm would burst. But that some very extraordinary event
+was about to transpire was evident to all. It was too late to adopt
+any precautions for safety. The Protestants, unarmed, unorganized, and
+widely dispersed, could now only practice the virtue of heroic
+fortitude in meeting their doom, whatever that doom might be. The
+gentlemen in Henry's chamber did not venture to separate, and not an
+eye was closed in sleep. They sat together in the deepest perplexity
+and consternation, as the hours of the night lingered slowly along,
+anxiously awaiting the developments with which the moments seemed to
+be fraught.
+
+In the mean time, aided by the gloom of a starless night, in every
+street of Paris preparations were going on for the enormous
+perpetration. Soldiers were assembling in different places of
+rendezvous. Guards were stationed at important points in the city,
+that their victims might not escape. Armed citizens, with loaded
+muskets and sabres gleaming in the lamplight, began to emerge, through
+the darkness, from their dwellings, and to gather, in motley and
+interminable assemblage, around the Hotel de Ville. A regiment of
+guards were stationed at the gates of the royal palace to protect
+Charles and Catharine from any possibility of danger. Many of the
+houses were illuminated, that by the light blazing from the windows,
+the bullet might be thrown with precision, and that the dagger might
+strike an unerring blow. Agitation and alarm pervaded the vast
+metropolis. The Catholics were rejoicing that the hour of vengeance
+had arrived. The Protestants gazed upon the portentous gatherings of
+this storm in utter bewilderment.
+
+All the arrangements of the enterprise were left to the Duke of Guise,
+and a more efficient and fitting agent could not have been found. He
+had ordered that the tocsin, the signal for the massacre, should be
+tolled at two o'clock in the morning. Catharine and Charles, in one of
+the apartments of the palace of the Louvre, were impatiently awaiting
+the lingering flight of the hours till the alarm-bell should toll
+forth the death-warrant of their Protestant subjects. Catharine,
+inured to treachery and hardened in vice, was apparently a stranger to
+all compunctious visitings. A life of crime had steeled her soul
+against every merciful impression. But she was very apprehensive lest
+her son, less obdurate in purpose, might relent. Though impotent in
+character, he was, at times, petulant and self-willed, and in
+paroxysms of stubbornness spurned his mother's counsels and exerted
+his own despotic power.
+
+Charles was now in a state of the most feverish excitement. He hastily
+paced the room, peering out at the window, and almost every moment
+looking at his watch, wishing that the hour would come, and again half
+regretting that the plot had been formed. The companions and the
+friends of his childhood, the invited guests who, for many weeks, had
+been his associates in gay festivities, and in the interchange of all
+kindly words and deeds, were, at his command, before the morning
+should dawn, to fall before the bullet and the poniard of the midnight
+murderer. His mother witnessed with intense anxiety this wavering of
+his mind. She therefore urged him no longer to delay, but to
+anticipate the hour, and to send a servant immediately to sound the
+alarm.
+
+Charles hesitated, while a cold sweat ran from his forehead. "Are you
+a coward?" tauntingly inquired the fiendlike mother. This is the
+charge which will always make the poltroon squirm. The young king
+nervously exclaimed, "Well, then, begin."
+
+There were in the chamber at the time only the king, his mother, and
+his brother the Duke of Anjou. A messenger was immediately dispatched
+to strike the bell. It was two hours after midnight. A few moments of
+terrible suspense ensued. There was a dead silence, neither of the
+three uttering a word. They all stood at the windows looking out into
+the rayless night. Suddenly, through the still air, the ponderous
+tones of the alarm-bell fell upon the ear, and rolled, the knell of
+death, over the city. Its vibrations awakened the demon in ten
+thousand hearts. It was the morning of the Sabbath, August 24th, 1572.
+It was the anniversary of a festival in honor of St. Bartholomew,
+which had long been celebrated. At the sound of the tocsin, the signal
+for the massacre, armed men rushed from every door into the streets,
+shouting, "_Vive Dieu et le roi!_"--_Live God and the king!_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.
+
+1572
+
+The commencement of the massacre.--The house forced.--Flight of the
+servants.--Death of Admiral Coligni.--Brutality.--Fate of the Duke
+of Guise.--Excitement of the Parisians.--Fiendish spirit of
+Charles.--Fugitives butchered.--Terror of Marguerite.--Flight of
+Marguerite.--Terrors of the night.--Remarkable escape of
+Maximilian.--Efforts to save his life.--The disguise.--Scene in the
+street.--The talisman.--Arrival at the college.--His protection.--Henry
+taken before the king.--He yields.--Paris on the Sabbath
+following.--Encouragement by the priests.--The massacre
+continued.--Exultation of the Catholics.--Triumphal procession.--Extent
+of the massacre.--Magnanimity of Catholic officers.--The Bishop
+of Lisieux.--Noble replies to the king's decree.--The higher
+law.--Attempted justification.--Punishment of Coligni.--Valor
+of the survivors.--Pledges of aid.--Prophecy of Knox.--Apology
+of the court.--Opinions of the courts of Europe.--Rejoicings at
+Rome.--Atrocity of the deed.--Results of the massacre.--Retribution.
+
+
+As the solemn dirge from the steeple rang out upon the night air, the
+king stood at the window of the palace trembling in every nerve.
+Hardly had the first tones of the alarm-bell fallen upon his ear when
+the report of a musket was heard, and the first victim fell. The sound
+seemed to animate to frenzy the demoniac Catharine, while it almost
+froze the blood in the veins of the young monarch, and he passionately
+called out for the massacre to be stopped. It was too late. The train
+was fired, and could not be extinguished. The signal passed with the
+rapidity of sound from steeple to steeple, till not only Paris, but
+entire France, was roused. The roar of human passion, the crackling
+fire of musketry, and the shrieks of the wounded and the dying, rose
+and blended in one fearful din throughout the whole metropolis. Guns,
+pistols, daggers, were every where busy. Old men, terrified maidens,
+helpless infants, venerable matrons, were alike smitten, and mercy
+had no appeal which could touch the heart of the murderers.
+
+The wounded Admiral Coligni was lying helpless upon his bed,
+surrounded by a few personal friends, as the uproar of the rising
+storm of human violence and rage rolled in upon their ears. The Duke
+of Guise, with three hundred soldiers, hastened to the lodgings of the
+admiral. The gates were immediately knocked down, and the sentinels
+stabbed. A servant, greatly terrified, rushed into the inner apartment
+where the wounded admiral was lying, and exclaimed,
+
+"The house is forced, and there is no means of resisting."
+
+"I have long since," said the admiral, calmly, "prepared myself to
+die. Save yourselves, my friends, if you can, for you can not defend
+my life. I commend my soul to the mercy of God."
+
+The companions of the admiral, having no possible means of protection,
+and perhaps adding to his peril by their presence, immediately fled to
+other apartments of the house. They were pursued and stabbed. Three
+leaped from the windows and were shot in the streets.
+
+Coligni, left alone in his apartment, rose with difficulty from his
+bed, and, being unable to stand, leaned for support against the wall.
+A desperado by the name of Breme, a follower of the Duke of Guise,
+with a congenial band of accomplices, rushed into the room. They saw a
+venerable man, pale, and with bandaged wounds, in his night-dress,
+engaged in prayer.
+
+"Art thou the admiral?" demanded the assassin, with brandished sword.
+
+"I am," replied the admiral; "and thou, young man, shouldst respect my
+gray hairs. Nevertheless, thou canst abridge my life but a little."
+
+Breme plunged his sword into his bosom, and then withdrawing it, gave
+him a cut upon the head. The admiral fell, calmly saying, "If I could
+but die by the hand of a gentleman instead of such a knave as this!"
+The rest of the assassins then rushed upon him, piercing his body with
+their daggers.
+
+The Duke of Guise, ashamed himself to meet the eye of this noble
+victim to the basest treachery, remained impatiently in the court-yard
+below.
+
+"Breme!" he shouted, looking up at the window, "have you done it?"
+
+"Yes," Breme exclaimed from the chamber, "he is done for."
+
+"Let us see, though," rejoined the duke. "Throw the body from the
+window."
+
+The mangled corpse was immediately thrown down upon the pavement of
+the court-yard. The duke, with his handkerchief, wiped the blood and
+the dirt from his face, and carefully scrutinized the features.
+
+"Yes," said he, "I recognize him. He is the man."
+
+Then giving the pallid cheek a kick, he exclaimed, "Courage, comrades!
+we have happily begun. Let us now go for others. The king commands
+it."
+
+In sixteen years from this event the Duke of Guise was himself
+assassinated, and received a kick in the face from Henry III., brother
+of the same king in whose service he had drawn the dagger of the
+murderer. Thus died the Admiral Coligni, one of the noblest sons of
+France. Though but fifty-six years of age, he was prematurely infirm
+from care, and toil, and suffering.
+
+For three days the body was exposed to the insults of the populace,
+and finally was hung up by the feet on a gibbet. A cousin of Coligni
+secretly caused it to be taken down and buried.
+
+The tiger, having once lapped his tongue in blood, seems to be imbued
+with a new spirit of ferocity. There is in man a similar temper, which
+is roused and stimulated by carnage. The excitement of human slaughter
+converts man into a demon. The riotous multitude of Parisians was
+becoming each moment more and more clamorous for blood. They broke
+open the houses of the Protestants, and, rushing into their chambers,
+murdered indiscriminately both sexes and every age. The streets
+resounded with the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their
+victims. Cries of "Kill! kill! more blood!" rent the air. The bodies
+of the slain were thrown out of the windows into the streets, and the
+pavements of the city were clotted with human gore.
+
+Charles, who was overwhelmed with such compunctions of conscience when
+he heard the first shot, and beheld from his window the commencement
+of the butchery, soon recovered from his momentary wavering, and,
+conscious that it was too late to draw back, with fiendlike eagerness
+engaged himself in the work of death. The monarch, when a boy, had
+been noted for his sanguinary spirit, delighting with his own hand to
+perform the revolting acts of the slaughter-house. Perfect fury seemed
+now to take possession of him. His cheeks were flushed, his lips
+compressed, his eyes glared with frenzy. Bending eagerly from his
+window, he shouted words of encouragement to the assassins. Grasping a
+gun, in the handling of which he had become very skillful from long
+practice in the chase, he watched, like a sportsman, for his prey; and
+when he saw an unfortunate Protestant, wounded and bleeding, flying
+from his pursuers, he would take deliberate aim from the window of his
+palace, and shout with exultation as he saw him fall, pierced by his
+bullet. A crowd of fugitives rushed into the court-yard of the Louvre
+to throw themselves upon the protection of the king. Charles sent his
+own body-guard into the yard, with guns and daggers, to butcher them
+all, and the pavements of the palace-yard were drenched with their
+blood.
+
+[Illustration: THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.]
+
+Just before the carnage commenced, Marguerite, weary with excitement
+and the agitating conversation to which she had so long been
+listening, retired to her private apartment for sleep. She had hardly
+closed her eyes when the fearful outcries of the pursuers and the
+pursued filled the palace. She sprang up in her bed, and heard some
+one struggling at the door, and shrieking "Navarre! Navarre!" In a
+paroxysm of terror, she ordered an attendant to open the door. One
+of her husband's retinue instantly rushed in, covered with wounds and
+blood, pursued by four soldiers of her brother's guard. The captain of
+the guard entered at the same moment, and, at the earnest entreaty of
+the princess, spared her the anguish of seeing the friend of her
+husband murdered before her eyes.
+
+Marguerite, half delirious with bewilderment and terror, fled from her
+room to seek the apartment of her sister. The palace was filled with
+uproar, the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their victims
+blending in awful confusion. As she was rushing through the hall, she
+encountered another Protestant gentleman flying before the dripping
+sword of his pursuer. He was covered with blood, flowing from the many
+wounds he had already received. Just as he reached the young Queen of
+Navarre, his pursuer overtook him and plunged a sword through his
+body. He fell dead at her feet.
+
+No tongue can tell the horrors of that night. It would require volumes
+to record the frightful scenes which were enacted before the morning
+dawned. Among the most remarkable escapes we may mention that of a lad
+whose name afterward attained much celebrity. The Baron de Rosny, a
+Protestant lord of great influence and worth, had accompanied his son
+Maximilian, a very intelligent and spirited boy, about eleven years of
+age, to Paris, to attend the nuptials of the King of Navarre. This
+young prince, Maximilian, afterward the world-renowned Duke of Sully,
+had previously been prosecuting his studies in the College of
+Burgundy, in the metropolis, and had become a very great favorite of
+the warm-hearted King of Navarre. His father had come to Paris with
+great reluctance, for he had no confidence in the protestations of
+Catharine and Charles IX. Immediately after the attempt was made to
+assassinate the admiral, the Baron de Rosny, with many of his friends,
+left the city, intrusting his son to the care of a private tutor and a
+valet de chambre. He occupied lodgings in a remote quarter of the city
+and near the colleges.
+
+Young Maximilian was asleep in his room, when, a little after
+midnight, he was aroused by the ringing of the alarm-bells, and the
+confused cries of the populace. His tutor and valet de chambre sprang
+from their beds, and hurried out to ascertain the cause of the tumult.
+They did not, however, return, for they had hardly reached the door
+when they were shot down. Maximilian, in great bewilderment respecting
+their continued absence, and the dreadful clamor continually
+increasing, was hurriedly dressing himself, when his landlord came in,
+pale and trembling, and informed him of the massacre which was going
+on, and that he had saved his own life only by the avowal of his faith
+in the Catholic religion. He earnestly urged Maximilian to do the
+same. The young prince magnanimously resolved not to save his life by
+falsehood and apostasy. He determined to attempt, in the darkness and
+confusion of the night, to gain the College of Burgundy, where he
+hoped to find some Catholic friends who would protect him.
+
+The distance of the college from the house in which he was rendered
+the undertaking desperately perilous. Having disguised himself in the
+dress of a Roman Catholic priest, he took a large prayer-book under
+his arm, and tremblingly issued forth into the streets. The sights
+which met his eye in the gloom of that awful night were enough to
+appal the stoutest heart. The murderers, frantic with excitement and
+intoxication, were uttering wild outcries, and pursuing, in every
+direction, their terrified victims. Women and children, in their
+night-clothes, having just sprung in terror from their beds, were
+flying from their pursuers, covered with wounds, and uttering fearful
+shrieks. The mangled bodies of the young and of the old, of males and
+females, were strewn along the streets, and the pavements were
+slippery with blood. Loud and dreadful outcries were heard from the
+interior of the dwellings as the work of midnight assassination
+proceeded; and struggles of desperate violence were witnessed, as the
+murderers attempted to throw their bleeding and dying victims from the
+high windows of chambers and attics upon the pavements below. The
+shouts of the assailants, the shrieks of the wounded, as blow after
+blow fell upon them, the incessant reports of muskets and pistols, the
+tramp of soldiers, and the peals of the alarm-bell, all combined to
+create a scene of terror such as human eyes have seldom witnessed. In
+the midst of ten thousand perils, the young man crept along, protected
+by his priestly garb, while he frequently saw his fellow-Christians
+shot and stabbed at his very side.
+
+Suddenly, in turning a corner, he fell into the midst of a band of the
+body-guard of the king, whose swords were dripping with blood. They
+seized him with great roughness, when, seeing the Catholic
+prayer-book which was in his hands, they considered it a safe
+passport, and permitted him to continue on his way uninjured. Twice
+again he encountered similar peril, as he was seized by bands of
+infuriated men, and each time he was extricated in the same way.
+
+At length he arrived at the College of Burgundy; and now his danger
+increased tenfold. It was a Catholic college. The porter at the gate
+absolutely refused him admittance. The murderers began to multiply in
+the street around him with fierce and threatening questions.
+Maximilian at length, by inquiring for La Faye, the president of the
+college, and by placing a bribe in the hands of the porter, succeeded
+in obtaining entrance. La Faye was a humane man, and exceedingly
+attached to his Protestant pupil. Maximilian entered the apartment of
+the president, and found there two Catholic priests. The priests, as
+soon as they saw him, insisted upon cutting him down, declaring that
+the king had commanded that not even the infant at the breast should
+be spared. The good old man, however, firmly resolved to protect his
+young friend, and, conducting him privately to a secure chamber,
+locked him up. Here he remained three days in the greatest suspense,
+apprehensive every hour that the assassins would break in upon him. A
+faithful servant of the president brought him food, but could tell him
+of nothing but deeds of treachery and blood. At the end of three days,
+the heroic boy, who afterward attained great celebrity as the minister
+and bosom friend of Henry, was released and protected.
+
+The morning of St. Bartholomew's day had not dawned when a band of
+soldiers entered the chamber of Henry of Navarre and conveyed him to
+the presence of the king. Frenzied with the excitements of the scene,
+the imbecile but passionate monarch received him with a countenance
+inflamed with fury. With blasphemous oaths and imprecations, he
+commanded the King of Navarre, as he valued his life, to abandon a
+religion which Charles affirmed that the Protestants had assumed only
+as a cloak for their rebellion. With violent gesticulations and
+threats, he declared that he would no longer submit to be contradicted
+by his subjects, but that they should revere him as the image of God.
+Henry, who was a Protestant from considerations of state policy rather
+than from Christian principle, and who saw in the conflict merely a
+strife between two political parties, ingloriously yielded to that
+necessity by which alone he could save his life. Charles gave him
+three days to deliberate, declaring, with a violent oath, that if, at
+the end of that time, he did not yield to his commands, he would cause
+him to be strangled. Henry yielded. He not only went to mass himself,
+but submitted to the degradation of sending an edict to his own
+dominions, prohibiting the exercise of any religion except that of
+Rome. This indecision was a serious blot upon his character. Energetic
+and decisive as he was in all his measures of government, his
+religious convictions were ever feeble and wavering.
+
+When the darkness of night passed away and the morning of the Sabbath
+dawned upon Paris, a spectacle was witnessed such as the streets even
+of that blood-renowned metropolis have seldom presented. The city
+still resounded with that most awful of all tumults, the clamor of an
+infuriated mob. The pavements were covered with gory corpses. Men,
+women, and children were still flying in every direction, wounded and
+bleeding, pursued by merciless assassins, riotous with demoniac
+laughter and drunk with blood. The report of guns and pistols was
+heard in all parts of the city, sometimes in continuous volleys, as if
+platoons of soldiers were firing upon their victims, while the
+scattered shots, incessantly repeated in every section of the extended
+metropolis, proved the universality of the massacre. Drunken wretches,
+besmeared with blood, were swaggering along the streets, with ribald
+jests and demoniac howlings, hunting for the Protestants. Bodies, torn
+and gory, were hanging from the windows, and dissevered heads were
+spurned like footballs along the pavements. Priests were seen in their
+sacerdotal robes, with elevated crucifixes, and with fanatical
+exclamations encouraging the murderers not to grow weary in their holy
+work of exterminating God's enemies. The most distinguished nobles and
+generals of the court and the camp of Charles, mounted on horseback
+with gorgeous retinue, rode through the streets, encouraging by voice
+and arm the indiscriminate massacre.
+
+"Let not," the king proclaimed, "one single Protestant be spared to
+reproach me hereafter with this deed."
+
+For a whole week the massacre continued, and it was computed that from
+eighty to a hundred thousand Protestants were slain throughout the
+kingdom.
+
+Charles himself, with Catharine and the highborn but profligate ladies
+who disgraced her court, emerged with the morning light, in splendid
+array, into the reeking streets. The ladies contemplated with
+merriment and ribald jests the dead bodies of the Protestants piled up
+before the Louvre. Some of the retinue, appalled by the horrid
+spectacle, wished to retire, alleging that the bodies already emitted
+a putrid odor. Charles inhumanly replied, "The smell of a dead enemy
+is always pleasant."
+
+On Thursday, after four days spent in hunting out the fugitives
+and finishing the bloody work, the clergy paraded the streets
+in a triumphal procession, and with jubilant prayers and hymns gave
+thanks to God for their great victory. The Catholic pulpits resounded
+with exultant harangues, and in honor of the event a medallion
+was struck off, with the inscription "_La pi�t� a reveille la
+justice_"--_Religion has awakened justice_.
+
+In the distant provinces of France the massacre was continued, as the
+Protestants were hunted from all their hiding-places. In some
+departments, as in Santonge and Lower Languedoc, the Protestants were
+so numerous that the Catholics did not venture to attack them. In
+some other provinces they were so few that the Catholics had nothing
+whatever to fear from them, and therefore spared them; and in the
+sparsely-settled rural districts the peasants refused to imbrue their
+hands in the blood of their neighbors. Many thousand Protestants
+throughout the kingdom in these ways escaped.
+
+But in nearly all the populous towns, where the Catholic population
+predominated, the massacre was universal and indiscriminate. In Meaux,
+four hundred houses of Protestants were pillaged and devastated, and
+the inmates, without regard to age or sex, utterly exterminated. At
+Orleans there were three thousand Protestants. A troop of armed
+horsemen rode furiously through the streets, shouting, "Courage, boys!
+kill all, and then you shall divide their property." At Rouen, many of
+the Protestants, at the first alarm, fled. The rest were arrested and
+thrown into prison. They were then brought out one by one, and
+deliberately murdered. Six hundred were thus slain. Such were the
+scenes which were enacted in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bourges, Angers,
+Lyons, and scores of other cities in France. It is impossible to
+ascertain with precision the number of victims. The Duke of Sully
+estimates them at seventy thousand; the Bishop P�r�fixe at one
+hundred thousand. This latter estimate is probably not exaggerated, if
+we include the unhappy fugitives, who, fleeing from their homes, died
+of cold, hunger, and fatigue, and all the other nameless woes which
+accrued from this great calamity.
+
+In the midst of these scenes of horror it is pleasant to record
+several instances of generous humanity. In the barbarism of those
+times dueling was a common practice. A Catholic officer by the name of
+Vessins, one of the most fierce and irritable men in France, had a
+private quarrel with a Protestant officer whose name was Regnier. They
+had mutually sought each other in Paris to obtain such satisfaction as
+a duel could afford. In the midst of the massacre, Regnier, while at
+prayers with his servant (for in those days dueling and praying were
+not deemed inconsistent), heard the door of his room broken open, and,
+looking round in expectation of instant death, saw his foe Vessins
+enter breathless with excitement and haste. Regnier, conscious that
+all resistance would be unavailing, calmly bared his bosom to his
+enemy, exclaiming,
+
+"You will have an easy victory."
+
+Vessins made no reply, but ordered the valet to seek his master's
+cloak and sword. Then leading him into the street, he mounted him upon
+a powerful horse, and with fifteen armed men escorted him out of the
+city. Not a word was exchanged between them. When they arrived at a
+little grove at a short distance from the residence of the Protestant
+gentleman, Vessins presented him with his sword, and bade him dismount
+and defend himself, saying,
+
+"Do not imagine that I seek your friendship by what I have done. All I
+wish is to take your life honorably."
+
+Regnier threw away his sword, saying, "I will never strike at one who
+has saved my life."
+
+"Very well!" Vessins replied, and left him, making him a present of
+the horse on which he rode.
+
+Though the commands which the king sent to the various provinces of
+France for the massacre were very generally obeyed, there were
+examples of distinguished virtue, in which Catholics of high rank not
+only refused to imbrue their own hands in blood, but periled their
+lives to protect the Protestants. The Bishop of Lisieux, in the
+exercise of true Christian charity, saved all the Protestants in the
+town over which he presided. The Governor of Auvergne replied to the
+secret letter of the king in the following words:
+
+     "Sire, I have received an order, under your majesty's seal,
+     to put all the Protestants of this province to death, and
+     if, which God forbid, the order be genuine, I respect your
+     majesty still too much to obey you."
+
+The king had sent a similar order to the commandant at Bayonne, the
+Viscount of Orthez. The following noble words were returned in reply:
+
+     "Sire, I have communicated the commands of your majesty to
+     the inhabitants of the town and to the soldiers of the
+     garrison, and I have found good citizens and brave soldiers,
+     _but not one executioner_; on which account, they and I
+     humbly beseech you to employ our arms and our lives in
+     enterprises in which we can conscientiously engage. However
+     perilous they may be, we will willingly shed therein the
+     last drop of our blood."
+
+Both of these noble-minded men soon after very suddenly and
+mysteriously died. Few entertained a doubt that poison had been
+administered by the order of Charles.
+
+The _law_ of France required that these Protestants should be hunted
+to death. This was _the law_ promulgated by the king and sent by his
+own letters missive to the appointed officers of the crown.
+
+But there is--_there is_ a HIGHER LAW than that of kings and courts.
+Nobly these majestic men rendered to it their allegiance. They sealed
+their fidelity to this HIGHER LAW with their blood. They were martyrs,
+not fanatics.
+
+On the third day of the massacre the king assembled the Parliament in
+Paris, and made a public avowal of the part he had taken in this
+fearful tragedy, and of the reasons which had influenced him to the
+deed. Though he hoped to silence all Protestant tongues in his own
+realms in death, he knew that the tale would be told throughout all
+Europe. He therefore stated, in justification of the act, that he had,
+"as if by a miracle," discovered that the Protestants were engaged in
+a conspiracy against his own life and that of all of his family.
+
+This charge, however, uttered for the moment, was speedily dropped and
+forgotten. There was not the slightest evidence of such a design.
+
+The Parliament, to give a little semblance of justice to the king's
+accusation, sat in judgment upon the memory of the noble Coligni. They
+sentenced him to be hung in effigy; ordered his arms to be dragged at
+the heels of a horse through all the principal towns of France; his
+magnificent castle of Chatillon to be razed to its foundations, and
+never to be rebuilt; his fertile acres, in the culture of which he had
+found his chief delight, to be desolated and sown with salt; his
+portraits and statues, wherever found, to be destroyed; his children
+to lose their title of nobility; all his goods and estates to be
+confiscated to the use of the crown, and a monument of durable marble
+to be raised, upon which this sentence of the court should be
+engraved, to transmit to all posterity his alleged infamy. Thus was
+punished on earth one of the noblest servants both of God and man. But
+there is a day of final judgment yet to come. The oppressor has but
+his brief hour. There is eternity to right the oppressed.
+
+Notwithstanding this general and awful massacre, the Protestants were
+far from being exterminated. Several nobles, surrounded by their
+retainers in their distant castles, suspicious of treachery, had
+refused to go to Paris to attend the wedding of Henry and Marguerite.
+Others who had gone to Paris, alarmed by the attack upon Admiral
+Coligni, immediately retired to their homes. Some concealed themselves
+in garrets, cellars, and wells until the massacre was over. As has
+been stated, in some towns the governors refused to engage in the
+merciless butchery, and in others the Protestants had the majority,
+and with their own arms could defend themselves within the walls which
+their own troops garrisoned.
+
+Though, in the first panic caused by the dreadful slaughter, the
+Protestants made no resistance, but either surrendered themselves
+submissively to the sword of the assassin, or sought safety in
+concealment or flight, soon indignation took the place of fear. Those
+who had fled from the kingdom to Protestant states rallied together.
+The survivors in France began to count their numbers and marshal their
+forces for self-preservation. From every part of Protestant Europe a
+cry of horror and execration simultaneously arose in view of this
+crime of unparalleled enormity. In many places the Catholics
+themselves seemed appalled in contemplation of the deed they had
+perpetrated. Words of sympathy were sent to these martyrs to a pure
+faith from many of the Protestant kingdoms, with pledges of determined
+and efficient aid. The Protestants rapidly gained courage. From all
+the country, they flocked into those walled towns which still
+remained in their power.
+
+As the fugitives from France, emaciate, pale, and woe-stricken, with
+tattered and dusty garb, recited in England, Switzerland, and Germany
+the horrid story of the massacre, the hearts of their auditors were
+frozen with horror. In Geneva a day of fasting and prayer was
+instituted, which is observed even to the present day. In Scotland
+every church resounded with the thrilling tale; and Knox, whose
+inflexible spirit was nerved for those iron times, exclaimed, in
+language of prophetic nerve,
+
+"Sentence has gone forth against that murderer, the King of France,
+and the vengeance of God will never be withdrawn from his house. His
+name shall be held in everlasting execration."
+
+The French court, alarmed by the indignation it had aroused, sent an
+embassador to London with a poor apology for the crime, by pretending
+that the Protestants had conspired against the life of the king. The
+embassador was received in the court of the queen with appalling
+coldness and gloom. Arrangements were made to invest the occasion with
+the most impressive solemnity. The court was shrouded in mourning,
+and all the lords and ladies appeared in sable weeds. A stern and
+sombre sadness was upon every countenance. The embassador, overwhelmed
+by his reception, was overheard to exclaim to himself, in bitterness
+of heart,
+
+"I am ashamed to acknowledge myself a Frenchman."
+
+He entered, however, the presence of the queen, passed through the
+long line of silent courtiers, who refused to salute him, or even to
+honor him with a look, stammered out his miserable apology, and,
+receiving no response, retired covered with confusion. Elizabeth, we
+thank thee! This one noble deed atones for many of thy crimes.
+
+Very different was the reception of these tidings in the court of
+Rome. The messenger who carried the news was received with transports
+of joy, and was rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. Cannons were
+fired, bells rung, and an immense procession, with all the trappings
+of sacerdotal rejoicing, paraded the streets. Anthems were chanted and
+thanksgivings were solemnly offered for the great victory over the
+enemies of the Church. A gold medal was struck off to commemorate the
+event; and Charles IX. and Catharine were pronounced, by the
+infallible word of his holiness, to be the especial favorites of God.
+Spain and the Netherlands united with Rome in these infamous
+exultations. Philip II. wrote from Madrid to Catharine,
+
+    "These tidings are the greatest and the most glorious I could
+    have received."
+
+Such was the awful massacre of St. Bartholomew. When contemplated in
+all its aspects of perfidy, cruelty, and cowardice, it must be
+pronounced the greatest crime recorded in history. The victims were
+invited under the guise of friendship to Paris. They were received
+with solemn oaths of peace and protection. The leading men in the
+nation placed the dagger in the hands of an ignorant and degraded
+people. The priests, professed ministers of Jesus Christ, stimulated
+the benighted multitude by all the appeals of fanaticism to
+exterminate those whom they denounced as the enemies of God and man.
+After the great atrocity was perpetrated, princes and priests, with
+blood-stained hands, flocked to the altars of God, our common Father,
+to thank him that the massacre had been accomplished.
+
+The annals of the world are filled with narratives of crime and woe,
+but the Massacre of St. Bartholomew stands perhaps without a parallel.
+
+It has been said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
+Church." This is only true with exceptions. Protestantism in France
+has never recovered from this blow. But for this massacre one half of
+the nobles of France would have continued Protestant. The Reformers
+would have constituted so large a portion of the population that
+mutual toleration would have been necessary. Henry IV. would not have
+abjured the Protestant faith. Intelligence would have been diffused;
+religion would have been respected; and in all probability, the
+horrors of the French Revolution would have been averted.
+
+God is an avenger. In the mysterious government which he wields,
+mysterious only to our feeble vision, he "visits the iniquities of the
+fathers upon the children, even unto the third and fourth generation."
+As we see the priests of Paris and of France, during the awful tragedy
+of the Revolution, massacred in the prisons, shot in the streets, hung
+upon the lamp-posts, and driven in starvation and woe from the
+kingdom, we can not but remember the day of St. Bartholomew. The 24th
+of August, 1572, and the 2d of September, 1792, though far apart in
+the records of time, are consecutive days in the government of God.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE HOUSES OF VALOIS, OF GUISE, AND OF BOURBON.
+
+Illustrious French families.--The house of Valois.--Early condition
+of France.--Clovis.--The Carlovingian dynasty.--Capet and
+Philip.--Decay of the house of Valois.--House of Guise.--The dukedom
+of Lorraine.--Claude of Lorraine.--Marriage of the Count of
+Guise.--Francis I.--The suggestion and its results.--Bravery of
+the duke.--His prominence.--Days of war.--The bloody rout.--Scene
+from the castle.--Claude the Butcher.--The Cardinal of Lorraine.--The
+reprimand.--Duke of Mayence.--The family of Guise.--Henry the
+Eighth.--Death of Claude.--Francis, Duke of Guise.--The dreadful
+wound.--Le Balafr�.--Interview with the king.--Jealousy of
+the king.--Arrogance of the Guises.--Power of the house of
+Guise.--Appointment of Francis.--Thralldom of Henry II.--Mary, Queen
+of Scots.--Francis II.--Troubles between the Protestants and
+Catholics.--Admiral Coligni.--Antoinette.--Massacre by the Duke of
+Guise.--The Butcher of Vassy.--Remonstrance to the queen.--Magnanimity
+of the Duke of Guise.--Religious wars.--Assassination of the Duke of
+Guise.--Death of the duke.--Jean Poltrot.--Anecdote.--Prediction of
+Francis.--Enthusiasm of the populace.--The house of Bourbon.--The
+houses united.
+
+
+At this time, in France, there were three illustrious and rival
+families, prominent above all others. Their origin was lost in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Their renown had been accumulating for many
+generations, through rank, and wealth, and power, and deeds of heroic
+and semi-barbarian daring. As these three families are so blended in
+all the struggles of this most warlike period, it is important to give
+a brief history of their origin and condition.
+
+1. _The House of Valois._ More than a thousand years before the birth
+of Christ, we get dim glimpses of France, or, as it was then called,
+Gaul. It was peopled by a barbarian race, divided into petty tribes or
+clans, each with its chieftain, and each possessing undefined and
+sometimes almost unlimited power. Age after age rolled on, during
+which generations came and went like ocean billows, and all Gaul was
+but a continued battle-field. The history of each individual of its
+countless millions seems to have been, that he was born, killed as
+many of his fellow-creatures as he could, and then, having acquired
+thus much of glory, died.
+
+About fifty years before the birth of Christ, C�sar, with his
+conquering hosts, swept through the whole country, causing its rivers
+to run red with blood, until the subjugated Gauls submitted to Roman
+sway. In the decay of the Roman empire, about four hundred years after
+Christ, the Franks, from Germany, a barbarian horde as ferocious as
+wolves, penetrated the northern portion of Gaul, and, obtaining
+permanent settlement there, gave the whole country the name of France.
+Clovis was the chieftain of this warlike tribe. In the course of a few
+years, France was threatened with another invasion by combined hordes
+of barbarians from the north. The chiefs of the several independent
+tribes in France found it necessary to unite to repel the foe. They
+chose Clovis as their leader. This was the origin of the French
+monarchy. He was but little elevated above the surrounding chieftains,
+but by intrigue and power perpetuated his supremacy. For about three
+hundred years the family of Clovis retained its precarious and
+oft-contested elevation. At last, this line, enervated by luxury,
+became extinct, and another family obtained the throne. This new
+dynasty, under Pepin, was called the Carlovingian. The crown descended
+generally from father to son for about two hundred years, when the
+last of the race was poisoned by his wife. This family has been
+rendered very illustrious, both by Pepin and by his son, the still
+more widely renowned Charlemagne.
+
+Hugh Capet then succeeded in grasping the sceptre, and for three
+hundred years the Capets held at bay the powerful chieftains who
+alternately assailed and defended the throne. Thirteen hundred years
+after Christ, the last of the Capets was borne to his tomb, and the
+feudal lords gave the pre-eminence to Philip of Valois. For about two
+hundred years the house of Valois had reigned. At the period of which
+we treat in this history, luxury and vice had brought the family near
+to extinction.
+
+Charles IX., who now occupied the throne under the rigorous rule of
+his infamous mother, was feeble in body and still more feeble in mind.
+He had no child, and there was no probability that he would ever be
+blessed with an heir. His exhausted constitution indicated that a
+premature death was his inevitable destiny. His brother Henry, who
+had been elected King of Poland, would then succeed to the throne; but
+he had still less of manly character than Charles. An early death was
+his unquestioned doom. At his death, if childless, the house of Valois
+would become extinct. Who then should grasp the rich prize of the
+sceptre of France? The house of Guise and the house of Bourbon were
+rivals for this honor, and were mustering their strength and arraying
+their forces for the anticipated conflict. Each family could bring
+such vast influences into the struggle that no one could imagine in
+whose favor victory would decide. Such was the condition of the house
+of Valois in France in the year 1592.
+
+2. Let us now turn to the house of Guise. No tale of fiction can
+present a more fascinating collection of romantic enterprises and of
+wild adventures than must be recorded by the truthful historian of the
+house of Guise. On the western banks of the Rhine, between that river
+and the Meuse, there was the dukedom of Lorraine. It was a state of no
+inconsiderable wealth and power, extending over a territory of about
+ten thousand square miles, and containing a million and a half of
+inhabitants. Rene II., Duke of Lorraine, was a man of great renown,
+and in all the pride and pomp of feudal power he energetically
+governed his little realm. His body was scarred with the wounds he had
+received in innumerable battles, and he was ever ready to head his
+army of fifty thousand men, to punish any of the feudal lords around
+him who trespassed upon his rights.
+
+The wealthy old duke owned large possessions in Normandy, Picardy, and
+various other of the French provinces. He had a large family. His
+fifth son, Claude, was a proud-spirited boy of sixteen. Rene sent this
+lad to France, and endowed him with all the fertile acres, and the
+castles, and the feudal rights which, in France, pertained to the
+noble house of Lorraine. Young Claude of Lorraine was presented at the
+court of St. Cloud as the Count of Guise, a title derived from one of
+his domains. His illustrious rank, his manly beauty, his princely
+bearing, his energetic mind, and brilliant talents, immediately gave
+him great prominence among the glittering throng of courtiers. Louis
+XII. was much delighted with the young count, and wished to attach the
+powerful and attractive stranger to his own house by an alliance with
+his daughter. The heart of the proud boy was, however, captivated by
+another beauty who embellished the court of the monarch, and, turning
+from the princess royal, he sought the hand of Antoinette, an
+exceedingly beautiful maiden of about his own age, a daughter of the
+house of Bourbon. The wedding of this young pair was celebrated with
+great magnificence in Paris, in the presence of the whole French
+court. Claude was then but sixteen years of age.
+
+A few days after this event the infirm old king espoused the young and
+beautiful sister of Henry VIII. of England. The Count of Guise was
+honored with the commission of proceeding to Boulogne with several
+princes of the blood to receive the royal bride. Louis soon died, and
+his son, Francis I., ascended the throne. Claude was, by marriage, his
+cousin. He could bring all the influence of the proud house of Bourbon
+and the powerful house of Lorraine in support of the king. His own
+energetic, fearless, war-loving spirit invested him with great power
+in those barbarous days of violence and blood. Francis received his
+young cousin into high favor. Claude was, indeed, a young man of very
+rare accomplishments. His prowess in the jousts and tournaments, then
+so common, and his grace and magnificence in the drawing-room,
+rendered him an object of universal admiration.
+
+One night Claude accompanied Francis I. to the queen's circle. She had
+gathered around her the most brilliant beauty of her realm. In those
+days woman occupied a very inferior position in society, and seldom
+made her appearance in the general assemblages of men. The gallant
+young count was fascinated with the amiability and charms of those
+distinguished ladies, and suggested to the king the expediency of
+breaking over the restraints which long usage had imposed, and
+embellishing his court with the attractions of female society and
+conversation. The king immediately adopted the welcome suggestion, and
+decided that, throughout the whole realm, women should be freed from
+the unjust restraint to which they had so long been subject. Guise had
+already gained the good-will of the nobility and of the army, and he
+now became a universal favorite with the ladies, and was thus the most
+popular man in France. Francis I. was at this time making preparations
+for the invasion of Italy, and the Count of Guise, though but eighteen
+years of age, was appointed commander-in-chief of a division of the
+army consisting of twenty thousand men.
+
+In all the perils of the bloody battles which soon ensued, he
+displayed that utter recklessness of danger which had been the
+distinguishing trait of his ancestors. In the first battle, when
+discomfiture and flight were spreading through his ranks, the proud
+count refused to retire one step before his foes. He was surrounded,
+overmatched, his horse killed from under him, and he fell, covered
+with twenty-two wounds, in the midst of the piles of mangled bodies
+which strewed the ground. He was afterward dragged from among the
+dead, insensible and apparently lifeless, and conveyed to his tent,
+where his vigorous constitution, and that energetic vitality which
+seemed to characterize his race, triumphed over wounds whose severity
+rendered their cure almost miraculous.
+
+Francis I., in his report of the battle, extolled in the most glowing
+terms the prodigies of valor which Guise had displayed. War,
+desolating war, still ravaged wretched Europe, and Guise, with his
+untiring energy, became so prominent in the court and the camp that he
+was regarded rather as an ally of the King of France than as his
+subject. His enormous fortune, his ancestral renown, the vast
+political and military influences which were at his command, made him
+almost equal to the monarch whom he served. Francis lavished honors
+upon him, converted one of his counties into a dukedom, and, as _duke_
+of Guise, young Claude of Lorraine had now attained the highest
+position which a subject could occupy.
+
+Years of conflagration, carnage, and woe rolled over war-deluged
+Europe, during which all the energies of the human race seemed to be
+expended in destruction; and in almost every scene of smouldering
+cities, of ravaged valleys, of battle-fields rendered hideous with the
+shouts of onset and shrieks of despair, we see the apparition of the
+stalwart frame of Guise, scarred, and war-worn, and blackened with the
+smoke and dust of the fray, riding upon his proud charger, wherever
+peril was most imminent, as if his body were made of iron.
+
+At one time he drove before him, in most bloody rout, a numerous army
+of Germans. The fugitives, spreading over leagues of country, fled by
+his own strong castle of Neufch�teau. Antoinette and the ladies of her
+court stood upon the battlements of the castle, gazing upon the scene,
+to them so new and to them so pleasantly exciting. As they saw the
+charges of the cavalry trampling the dead and the dying beneath their
+feet, as they witnessed all the horrors of that most horrible scene
+which earth can present--a victorious army cutting to pieces its
+flying foes, with shouts of applause they animated the ardor of the
+victors. The once fair-faced boy had now become a veteran. His bronzed
+cheek and sinewy frame attested his life of hardship and toil. The
+nobles were jealous of his power. The king was annoyed by his haughty
+bearing; but he was the idol of the people. In one campaign he caused
+the death of forty thousand Protestants, for he was the devoted
+servant of mother Church. _Claude the Butcher_ was the not
+inappropriate name by which the Protestants designated him. His
+brother John attained the dignity of Cardinal of Lorraine. Claude with
+his keen sword, and John with pomp, and pride, and spiritual power,
+became the most relentless foes of the Reformation, and the most
+valiant defenders of the Catholic faith.
+
+The kind-heartedness of the wealthy but dissolute cardinal, and the
+prodigality of his charity, rendered him almost as popular as his
+warlike brother. When he went abroad, his _valet de chambre_
+invariably prepared him a bag filled with gold, from which he gave to
+the poor most freely. His reputation for charity was so exalted that
+a poor blind mendicant, to whom he gave gold in the streets of Rome,
+overjoyed at the acquisition of such a treasure, exclaimed, "Surely
+thou art either Christ or the Cardinal of Lorraine."
+
+The Duke of Guise, in his advancing years, was accompanied to the
+field of battle by his son Francis, who inherited all of his father's
+courtly bearing, energy, talent, and headlong valor. At the siege of
+Luxemburg a musket ball shattered the ankle of young Francis, then
+Count of Aumale, and about eighteen years of age. As the surgeon was
+operating upon the splintered bones and quivering nerves, the sufferer
+gave some slight indication of his sense of pain. His iron father
+severely reprimanded him, saying,
+
+"Persons of your rank should not feel their wounds, but, on the
+contrary, should take pleasure in building up their reputation upon
+the ruin of their bodies."
+
+Others of the sons of Claude also signalized themselves in the wars
+which then desolated Europe, and they received wealth and honors. The
+king erected certain lands and lordships belonging to the Duke of
+Guise into a marquisate, and then immediately elevated the marquisate
+into a duchy, and the youngest son of the Duke of Guise, inheriting
+the property, was ennobled with the title of the Duke of Mayence. Thus
+there were two rich dukedoms in the same family.
+
+Claude had six sons, all young men of imperious spirit and magnificent
+bearing. They were allied by marriage with the most illustrious
+families in France, several of them being connected with princes of
+the blood royal. The war-worn duke, covered with wounds which he
+deemed his most glorious ornaments, often appeared at court
+accompanied by his sons. They occupied the following posts of rank and
+power: Francis, the eldest, Count of Aumale, was the heir of the
+titles and the estates of the noble house. Claude was Marquis of
+Mayence; Charles was Archbishop of Rheims, the richest benefice in
+France, and he soon attained one of the highest dignities of the
+Church by the reception of a cardinal's hat; Louis was Bishop of
+Troyes, and Francis, the youngest, Chevalier of Lorraine and Duke of
+Mayence, was general of the galleys of France. One of the daughters
+was married to the King of Scotland, and the others had formed most
+illustrious connections. Thus the house of Guise towered proudly and
+sublimely from among the noble families in the midst of whom it had so
+recently been implanted.
+
+Henry VIII. of England, inflamed by the report of the exceeding beauty
+of Mary, daughter of the Duke of Guise, had solicited her hand; but
+Claude was unwilling to surrender his daughter to England's burly and
+brutal old tyrant, and declined the regal alliance. The exasperated
+monarch, in revenge, declared war against France. Years of violence
+and blood lingered away. At last Claude, aged and infirm, surrendered
+to that king of terrors before whom all must bow. In his strong castle
+of Joinville, on the twelfth of April, 1550, the illustrious,
+magnanimous, blood-stained duke, after a whole lifetime spent in
+slaughter, breathed his last. His children and his grandchildren were
+gathered around the bed of the dying chieftain. In the darkness of
+that age, he felt that he had been contending, with divine approval,
+for Christ and his Church. With prayers and thanksgivings, and
+language expressive of meekness and humility before God, he ascended
+to that tribunal of final judgment where there is no difference
+between the peasant and the prince.
+
+The chivalrous and warlike Francis inherited his father's titles,
+wealth, and power; and now the house of Guise was so influential that
+the king trembled in view of its rivalry. It was but the kingly office
+alone which rendered the house of Valois superior to the house of
+Guise. In illustration of the character of those times, and the
+hardihood and sufferings through which the renown of these chieftains
+was obtained, the following anecdote may be narrated.
+
+Francis, Duke of Guise, in one of the skirmishes with the English
+invaders, received a wound which is described as the most severe from
+which any one ever recovered. The lance of an English officer "entered
+above the right eye, declining toward the nose, and piercing through
+on the other side, between the nape and the ear." The weapon, having
+thus penetrated the head more than half a foot, was broken off by the
+violence of the blow, the lance-iron and two fingers' breadth of the
+staff remaining in the dreadful wound. The surgeons of the army,
+stupefied by the magnitude of the injury, declined to attempt the
+extraction of the splinter, saying that it would only expose him to
+dreadful and unavailing suffering, as he must inevitably die. The king
+immediately sent his surgeon, with orders to spare no possible
+efforts to save the life of the hero. The lance-head was broken off so
+short that it was impossible to grasp it with the hand. The surgeon
+took the heavy pincers of a blacksmith, and asked the sufferer if he
+would allow him to make use of so rude an instrument, and would also
+permit him to place his foot upon his face.
+
+"You may do any thing you consider necessary," said the duke.
+
+The officers standing around looked on with horror as the king's
+surgeon, aided by an experienced practitioner, tore out thus violently
+the barbed iron, fracturing the bones, and tearing nerves, veins, and
+arteries. The hardy soldier bore the anguish without the contraction
+of a muscle, and was only heard gently to exclaim to himself, "Oh my
+God!" The sufferer recovered, and ever after regarded the frightful
+scar which was left as a signal badge of honor. He hence bore the
+common name of Le Balafr�, or _The Scarred_.
+
+As the duke returned to court, the king hurried forth from his chamber
+to meet him, embraced him warmly, and said,
+
+"It is fair that I should come out to meet my old friend, who, on his
+part, is ever so ready to meet my enemies."
+
+Gradually, however, Francis, the king, became very jealous of the
+boundless popularity and enormous power acquired by this ambitious
+house. Upon his dying bed he warned his son of the dangerous rivalry
+to which the Guises had attained, and enjoined it upon him to curb
+their ambition by admitting none of the princes of that house to a
+share in the government; but as soon as King Francis was consigned to
+his tomb, Henry II., his son and successor, rallied the members of
+this family around him, and made the duke almost the partner of his
+throne. He needed the support of the strong arm and of the
+inexhaustible purse of the princes of Lorraine.
+
+The arrogance of the Guises, or the princes of Lorraine, as they were
+frequently called, in consequence of their descent from Claude of
+Lorraine, reached such a pitch that on the occasion of a proud
+pageant, when Henry II. was on a visit of inspection to one of his
+frontier fortresses, the Duke of Guise claimed equal rank with Henry
+of Navarre, who was not only King of Navarre, but, as the Duke of
+Vend�me, was also first prince of the blood in France. An angry
+dispute immediately arose. The king settled it in favor of the
+audacious Guise, for he was intimidated by the power of that arrogant
+house. He thus exasperated Henry of Navarre, and also nurtured the
+pride of a dangerous rival.
+
+All classes were now courting the Duke of Guise. The first nobles of
+the land sought his protection and support by flattering letters and
+costly presents. "From all quarters," says an ancient manuscript, "he
+received offerings of wine, fruit, confections, ortolans, horses,
+dogs, hawks, and gerfalcons. The letters accompanying these often
+contained a second paragraph petitioning for pensions or grants from
+the king, or for places, even down to that of apothecary or of barber
+to the Dauphin." The monarchs of foreign countries often wrote to him
+soliciting his aid. The duke, in the enjoyment of this immense wealth,
+influence, and power, assumed the splendors of royalty, and his court
+was hardly inferior to that of the monarch. The King of Poland and the
+Duke of Guise were rivals for the hand of Anne, the beautiful daughter
+of the Duke of Ferrara, and Guise was the successful suitor.
+
+Francis of Lorraine was now appointed lieutenant general of the French
+armies, and the king addressed to all the provincial authorities
+special injunction to render as prompt and absolute obedience to the
+orders of the Duke of Guise as if they emanated from himself. "And
+truly," says one of the writers of those times, "never had monarch in
+France been obeyed more punctually or with greater zeal." In fact,
+Guise was now the head of the government, and all the great interests
+of the nation were ordered by his mind. Henry was a feeble prince,
+with neither vigor of body nor energy of intellect to resist the
+encroachments of so imperial a spirit. He gave many indications of
+uneasiness in view of his own thralldom, but he was entirely unable to
+dispense with the aid of his sagacious ally.
+
+It will be remembered that one of the daughters of Claude, and a
+sister of Francis, the second duke of Guise, married the King of
+Scotland. Her daughter, the niece of Francis, was the celebrated Mary,
+Queen of Scots. She had been sent to France for her education, and she
+was married, when very young, to her cousin Francis, son of Henry II.
+and of the infamous Catharine de Medici. He was heir of the French
+throne. This wedding was celebrated with the utmost magnificence, and
+the Guises moved on the occasion through the palaces of royalty with
+the pride of monarchs. Henry II. was accidentally killed in a
+tournament; and Francis, his son, under the title of Francis II., with
+his young and beautiful bride, the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots,
+ascended the throne. Francis was a feeble-minded, consumptive youth of
+16, whose thoughts were all centred in his lovely wife. Mary, who was
+but fifteen years of age, was fascinating in the extreme, and entirely
+devoted to pleasure. She gladly transferred all the power of the realm
+to her uncles, the Guises.
+
+About this time the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants
+began to grow more violent. The Catholics drew the sword for the
+extirpation of heresy; the Protestants grasped their arms to defend
+themselves. The Guises consecrated all their energies to the support
+of the Papal Church and to the suppression of the Reformation. The
+feeble boy, Francis II., sat languidly upon his throne but seventeen
+months, when he died, on the 5th of December, 1560, and his brother,
+Charles IX., equally enervated in mind and with far less moral worth,
+succeeded to the crown. The death of Francis II. was a heavy blow to
+the Guises. The Admiral Coligni, one of the most illustrious of the
+Protestants, and the bosom friend of Henry of Navarre, was standing,
+with many other nobles, at the bedside of the monarch as he breathed
+his last.
+
+"Gentlemen," said the admiral, with that gravity which was in
+accordance with his character and his religious principles, "the king
+is dead. It is a lesson to teach us all how to live."
+
+The Protestants could not but rejoice that the Guises had thus lost
+the peculiar influence which they had secured from their near
+relationship to the queen. Admiral Coligni retired from the death-bed
+of the monarch to his own mansion, and, sitting down by the fire,
+became lost in the most profound reverie. He did not observe that his
+boots were burning until one of his friends called his attention to
+the fact.
+
+"Ah!" he replied, "not a week ago, you and I would each have given a
+leg to have things take this turn, and now we get off with a pair of
+boots."
+
+Antoinette, the widow of Claude of Lorraine, and the mother of
+Francis, the then Duke of Guise, was still living. She was so
+rancorous in her hostility to the Protestants that she was designated
+by them "_Mother of the tyrants and enemies of the Gospel_." Greatly
+to her annoyance, a large number of Protestants conducted their
+worship in the little town of Vassy, just on the frontier of the
+domains of the Duke of Guise. She was incessantly imploring her son to
+drive off these obnoxious neighbors. The duke was at one time
+journeying with his wife. Their route lay through the town of Vassy.
+His suite consisted of two hundred and sixty men at arms, all showing
+the warlike temper of their chief, and even far surpassing him in
+bigoted hatred of the Protestants.
+
+On arriving at Vassy, the duke entered the church to hear high mass.
+It is said that while engaged in this act of devotion his ears were
+annoyed by the psalms of the Protestants, who were assembled in the
+vicinity. He sent an imperious message for the minister and the
+leading members of the congregation immediately to appear before him.
+The young men fulfilled their mission in a manner so taunting and
+insulting that a quarrel ensued, shots were exchanged, and immediately
+all the vassals of the duke, who were ripe for a fray, commenced an
+indiscriminate massacre. The Protestants valiantly but unavailingly
+defended themselves with sticks and stones; but the bullets of their
+enemies reached them everywhere, in the houses, on the roofs, in the
+streets. For an hour the carnage continued unchecked, and sixty men
+and women were killed and two hundred wounded. One only of the men of
+the duke was killed. Francis was ashamed of this slaughter of the
+defenseless, and declared that it was a sudden outbreak, for which he
+was not responsible, and which he had done every thing in his power to
+check; but ever after this he was called by the Protestants "_The
+Butcher of Vassy_."
+
+When the news of this massacre reached Paris, Theodore de Beza was
+deputed by the Protestants to demand of Catharine, their regent,
+severe justice on the Duke of Guise; but Catharine feared the princes
+of Lorraine, and said to Beza,
+
+"Whoever touches so much as the finger-tip of the Duke of Guise,
+touches me in the middle of my heart."
+
+Beza meekly but courageously replied, "It assuredly behooves that
+Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to
+strike them; but may it please your majesty also to remember that it
+is an anvil which has worn out many hammers."
+
+At the siege of Rouen the Duke of Guise was informed that an assassin
+had been arrested who had entered the camp with the intention of
+taking his life. He ordered the man to be brought before him, and
+calmly inquired,
+
+"Have you not come hither to kill me?"
+
+The intrepid but misguided young man openly avowed his intention.
+
+"And what motive," inquired the duke, "impelled you to such a deed?
+Have I done you any wrong?"
+
+"No," he replied; "but in removing you from the world I should promote
+the best interests of the Protestant religion, which I profess."
+
+"My religion, then," generously replied the duke, "is better than
+yours, for it commands me to pardon, of my own accord, you who are
+convicted of guilt." And, by his orders, the assassin was safely
+conducted out of camp.
+
+"A fine example," exclaims his historian, "of truly religious
+sentiments and magnanimous proselytism very natural to the Duke of
+Guise, the most moderate and humane of the chiefs of the Catholic
+army, and whose brilliant generosity had been but temporarily obscured
+by the occurrence at Vassy."
+
+The war between the Catholics and Protestants was now raging with
+implacable fury, and Guise, victorious in many battles, had acquired
+from the Catholic party the name of "Savior of his Country." The duke
+was now upon the very loftiest summits of power which a subject can
+attain. In great exaltation of spirits, he one morning left the army
+over which he was commander-in-chief to visit the duchess, who had
+come to meet him at the neighboring castle of Corney. The duke very
+imprudently took with him merely one general officer and a page. It
+was a beautiful morning in February. As he crossed, in a boat, the
+mirrored surface of the Loiret, the vegetation of returning spring and
+the songs of the rejoicing birds strikingly contrasted with the blood,
+desolation, and misery with which the hateful spirit of war was
+desolating France. The duke was silent, apparently lost in painful
+reveries. His companions disturbed not his thoughts. Having crossed
+the stream, he was slowly walking his horse, with the reins hanging
+listlessly upon his mane, when a pistol was discharged at him from
+behind a hedge, at a distance of but six or seven paces. Two bullets
+pierced his side. On feeling himself wounded, he calmly said,
+
+"They have long had this shot in reserve for me. I deserve it for my
+want of precaution."
+
+[Illustration: THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE.]
+
+He immediately fell upon his horse's neck, and was caught in the arms
+of his friends. They conveyed him to the castle, where the duchess
+received him with cries of anguish. He embraced her tenderly,
+minutely described the circumstances of his assassination, and
+expressed himself grieved in view of the stain which such a crime
+would inflict upon the honor of France. He exhorted his wife to bow in
+submission to the will of Heaven, and kissing his son Henry, the Duke
+of Joinville, who was weeping by his side, gently said to him,
+
+"God grant thee grace, my son, to be a good man."
+
+Thus died Francis, the second Duke of Guise, on the twenty-fourth of
+February, 1563. His murderer was a young Protestant noble, Jean
+Poltrot, twenty-four years of age. Poltrot, from being an ardent
+Catholic, had embraced the Protestant faith. This exposed him to
+persecution, and he was driven from France with the loss of his
+estates. He was compelled to support himself by manual labor. Soured
+in disposition, exasperated and half maddened, he insanely felt that
+he would be doing God service by the assassination of the _Butcher of
+Vassy_, the most formidable foe of the Protestant religion. It was a
+day of general darkness, and of the confusion of all correct ideas of
+morals.
+
+Henry, the eldest son of the Duke of Guise, a lad of but thirteen
+years of age, now inherited the titles and the renown which his bold
+ancestors had accumulated. This was the Duke of Guise who was the
+bandit chieftain in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.
+
+One day Henry II. was holding his little daughter Marguerite, who
+afterward became the wife of Henry of Navarre, in his lap, when Henry
+of Guise, then Prince of Joinville, and the Marquis of Beaupreau, were
+playing together upon the floor, the one being but seven years of age,
+and the other but nine.
+
+"Which of the two do you like the best?" inquired the king of his
+child.
+
+"I prefer the marquis," she promptly replied.
+
+"Yes; but the Prince of Joinville is the handsomest," the king
+rejoined.
+
+"Oh," retorted Marguerite, "he is always in mischief, and he will be
+master every where."
+
+Francis, the Duke of Guise, had fully apprehended the ambitious,
+impetuous, and reckless character of his son. He is said to have
+predicted that Henry, intoxicated by popularity, would perish in the
+attempt to seat himself upon the throne of France.
+
+"Henry," says a writer of those times, "surpassed all the princes of
+his house in certain natural gifts, in certain talents, which procured
+him the respect of the court, the affection of the people, but which,
+nevertheless, were tarnished by a singular alloy of great faults and
+unlimited ambition."
+
+"France was mad about that man," writes another, "for it is too little
+to say that she was in love with him. Her passion approached idolatry.
+There were persons who invoked him in their prayers. His portrait was
+every where. Some ran after him in the streets to touch his mantle
+with their rosaries. One day that he entered Paris on his return from
+a journey, the multitude not only cried '_Vive Guise!_' but many sang,
+on his passage, '_Hosanna to the son of David!_'"
+
+3. _The House of Bourbon._ The origin of this family fades away in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Some bold chieftain, far remote in barbarian
+ages, emerged from obscurity and laid the foundations of the
+illustrious house. Generation after generation passed away, as the son
+succeeded the father in baronial pomp, and pride, and power, till the
+light of history, with its steadily-increasing brilliancy, illumined
+Europe. The family had often been connected in marriage both with the
+house of Guise and the royal line, the house of Valois. Antony of
+Bourbon, a sturdy soldier, united the houses of Bourbon and Navarre
+by marrying Jeanne d'Albret, the only child of the King of Navarre.
+Henry came from the union, an only son; and he, by marrying
+Marguerite, the daughter of the King of France, united the houses of
+Bourbon, Navarre, and Valois, and became heir to the throne of France
+should the sons of Henry II. die without issue.
+
+This episode in reference to the condition of France at the time of
+which we write seems necessary to enable the reader fully to
+understand the succeeding chapters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DEATH OF CHARLES IX. AND THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III.
+
+1576-1577
+
+Henry, King of Poland.--Henry's journey through Germany.--Enmity
+between the two brothers.--Sickness of Charles IX.--Remorse of the
+king.--Death of Charles IX.--Chateaubriand.--Character of the
+king.--Henry III.--The stratagem.--Flight from the crown.--The
+sojourn in Italy.--The three Henrys.--Marriage of Henry III.--The
+Duke of Alen�on.--Suspicions of poison.--Invectives of the
+king.--Recovery of the king.--Disappointment of Francis.--Fanaticism
+of the king.--Escape of the Duke of Alen�on.--The king aroused.--War
+of the public good.--Defeat of Guise.--Perplexity of Catharine.--The
+guard of honor.--Plan of escape.--Successful artifice.--The false
+rumor.--Escape accomplished.--Trouble of the Duke of Alen�on.--Terms
+of settlement.--Paix de Monsieur.--Duke of Anjou.--Arrival at
+Rochelle.--Conduct of Catharine and Henry III.--Complexity of
+politics.--Francis and Queen Elizabeth.--New assaults on the
+Protestants.--Anecdote of the Protestants.--Gratitude of the citizens
+of Bayonne.--Anecdote of Henry of Navarre.--Another peace.--The
+battle arrested.--Pledge of peace.--Morality in France.--Disgraceful
+f�te.--Murder in the royal palace.
+
+
+After the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, a large number of the
+Protestants threw themselves into the city of Rochelle. For seven
+months they were besieged by all the power which the King of France
+could bring against them. They were at length, weakened by sickness
+and exhausted by famine, compelled to surrender. By their valiant
+resistance, however, they obtained highly honorable terms, securing
+for the inhabitants of Rochelle the free exercise of their religion
+within the walls of the city, and a general act of amnesty for all the
+Protestants in the realm.
+
+Immediately after this event, Henry, the brother of Charles IX., was
+elected King of Poland, an honor which he attained in consequence of
+the military prowess he had displayed in the wars against the
+Protestants of France. Accompanied by his mother, Catharine de Medici,
+the young monarch set out for his distant dominions. Henry had been a
+very active agent in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. At Lorraine
+Catharine took leave of him, and he went on his way in a very
+melancholy mood. His election had been secured by the greatest efforts
+of intrigue and bribery on the part of his mother. The melancholy
+countenances of the Protestants, driven into exile, and bewailing the
+murder of friends and relatives, whose assassination he had caused,
+met him at every turn. His reception at the German courts was cold and
+repulsive. In the palace of the Elector Palatine, Henry beheld the
+portrait of Coligni, who had been so treacherously slaughtered in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The portrait was suspended in a very
+conspicuous place of honor, and beneath it were inscribed the words,
+
+     "SUCH WAS THE FORMER COUNTENANCE OF THE HERO COLIGNI, WHO
+     HAS BEEN RENDERED TRULY ILLUSTRIOUS BOTH BY HIS LIFE AND HIS
+     DEATH."
+
+The Protestant Elector pointed out the picture to the young king, whom
+he both hated and despised, and coolly asked him if he knew the man.
+Henry, not a little embarrassed, replied that he did.
+
+"He was," rejoined the German prince, "the most honest man, and the
+wisest and the greatest captain of Europe, whose children I keep with
+me, lest the dogs of France should tear them as their father has been
+torn."
+
+Thus Henry, gloomy through the repulses which he was ever
+encountering, journeyed along to Poland, where he was crowned king,
+notwithstanding energetic remonstrances on the part of those who
+execrated him for his deeds. The two brothers, Charles IX. and Henry,
+were bitter enemies, and Charles had declared, with many oaths, that
+one of the two should leave the realm. Henry was the favorite of
+Catharine, and hence she made such efforts to secure his safety by
+placing him upon the throne of Poland. She was aware that the feeble
+Charles would not live long, and when, with tears, she took leave of
+Henry, she assured him that he would soon return.
+
+The outcry of indignation which the Massacre of St. Bartholomew called
+forth from combined Europe fell like the knell of death on the ear of
+the depraved and cowardly Charles. Disease began to ravage, with new
+violence, his exhausted frame. He became silent, morose, irritable,
+and gloomy. He secluded himself from all society, and surrendered
+himself to the dominion of remorse. He was detested by the
+Protestants, and utterly despised by the Catholics. A bloody sweat,
+oozing from every pore, crimsoned his bed-clothes. His occasional
+outcries of remorse and his aspect of misery drove all from his
+chamber excepting those who were compelled to render him service. He
+groaned and wept incessantly, exclaiming,
+
+"Oh, what blood! oh, what murders! Alas! why did I follow such evil
+counsels?"
+
+He saw continually the spectres of the slain, with ghastly, gory
+wounds, stalking about his bed; and demons of hideous aspect, and with
+weapons of torture in their hands, with horrid and derisive malice,
+were impatiently waiting to seize his soul the moment it should pass
+from the decaying body.
+
+The day before his death he lay for some time upon his bed in perfect
+silence. Suddenly starting up, he exclaimed,
+
+"Call my brother."
+
+His mother, who was sitting by his side, directed an attendant to call
+his brother Francis, the Duke of Alen�on.
+
+"No, not him," the king replied; "my brother, the King of Navarre, I
+mean."
+
+Henry of Navarre was then detained in princely imprisonment in the
+court of Catharine. He had made many efforts to escape, but all had
+been unavailing.
+
+Catharine directed that Henry should be called. In order to intimidate
+him, and thus to prevent him from speaking with freedom and boldness
+to her dying son, she ordered him to be brought through the vaults of
+the castle, between a double line of armed guards. Henry, as he
+descended into those gloomy dungeons, and saw the glittering arms of
+the soldiers, felt that the hour for his assassination had arrived.
+He, however, passed safely through, and was ushered into the chamber
+of his brother-in-law and former playfellow, the dying king. Charles
+IX., subdued by remorse and appalled by approaching death, received
+him with gentleness and affection, and weeping profusely, embraced him
+as he knelt by his bedside.
+
+"My brother," said the dying king, "you lose a good master and a good
+friend. I know that you are not the cause of the troubles which have
+come upon me. If I had believed all which has been told me, you would
+not now have been living; but I have always loved you." Then turning
+his eyes to the queen mother, he said energetically, "Do not trust
+to--" Here Catharine hastily interrupted him, and prevented the
+finishing of the sentence with the words "_my mother_."
+
+Charles designated his brother Henry, the King of Poland, as his
+successor. He expressed the earnest wish that neither his younger
+brother, Francis, the Duke of Alen�on, nor Henry, would disturb the
+repose of the realm. The next night, as the Cathedral clock was
+tolling the hour of twelve, the nurse, who was sitting, with two
+watchers, at the bedside of the dying monarch, heard him sighing and
+moaning, and then convulsively weeping. Gently she approached the bed
+and drew aside the curtains. Charles turned his dimmed and despairing
+eye upon her, and exclaimed,
+
+"Oh, my nurse! my nurse! what blood have I shed! what murders have I
+committed! Great God! pardon me--pardon me!"
+
+A convulsive shuddering for a moment agitated his frame, his head fell
+back upon his pillow, and the wretched man was dead. He died at
+twenty-four years of age, expressing satisfaction that he left no heir
+to live and to suffer in a world so full of misery. In reference to
+this guilty king, Chateaubriand says,
+
+"Should we not have some pity for this monarch of twenty-three years,
+born with fine talents, a taste for literature and the arts, a
+character naturally generous, whom an execrable mother had tried to
+deprave by all the abuses of debauchery and power?"
+
+"Yes," warmly responds G. de Felice, "we will have compassion for him,
+with the Huguenots themselves, whose fathers he ordered to be slain,
+and who, with a merciful hand, would wipe away the blood which covers
+his face to find still something human."
+
+Henry, his brother, who was to succeed him upon the throne, was then
+in Poland. Catharine was glad to have the pusillanimous Charles out of
+the way. He was sufficiently depraved to commit any crime, without
+being sufficiently resolute to brave its penalty. Henry III. had, in
+early life, displayed great vigor of character. At the age of fifteen
+he had been placed in the command of armies, and in several combats
+had defeated the veteran generals of the Protestant forces. His renown
+had extended through Europe, and had contributed much in placing him
+on the elective throne of Poland. Catharine, by the will of the king,
+was appointed regent until the return of Henry. She immediately
+dispatched messengers to recall the King of Poland. In the mean time,
+she kept Henry of Navarre and her youngest son, the Duke of Alen�on,
+in close captivity, and watched them with the greatest vigilance, that
+they might make no movements toward the throne.
+
+Henry was by this time utterly weary of his Polish crown, and sighed
+for the voluptuous pleasures of Paris. The Poles were not willing that
+their king should leave the realm, as it might lead to civil war in
+the choice of a successor. Henry was compelled to resort to stratagem
+to effect his escape. A large and splendid party was invited to the
+palace. A wilderness of rooms, brilliantly illuminated, were thrown
+open to the guests. Masked dancers walked the floor in every variety
+of costume. Wine and wassail filled the halls with revelry. When all
+were absorbed in music and mirth, the king, by a private passage,
+stole from the palace, and mounting a swift horse, which was awaiting
+him in the court-yard, accompanied by two or three friends, commenced
+his flight from his crown and his Polish throne. Through the long
+hours of the night they pressed their horses to their utmost speed,
+and when the morning dawned, obtaining fresh steeds, they hurried on
+their way, tarrying not for refreshment or repose until they had
+passed the frontiers of the kingdom. Henry was afraid to take the
+direct route through the Protestant states of Germany, for the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew was still bitterly remembered. He
+therefore took a circuitous route through Italy, and arrived at Venice
+in August. In sunny Italy he lingered for some time, surrendering
+himself to every enervating indulgence, and even bartering the
+fortresses of France to purchase the luxuries in the midst of which he
+was reveling. At last, sated with guilty pleasure, he languidly turned
+his steps toward Paris.
+
+There were now three Henrys, who had been companions in childhood, who
+were at the head of the three rival houses of Valois, of Bourbon, and
+of Guise. One of these was King of France. One was King of Navarre.
+But Henry of Guise was, in wealth and in the attachment of the
+Catholic population of France, superior to either. The war which
+ensued is sometimes called _The War of the three Henrys_.
+
+As soon as his mother learned that he was approaching France, she set
+out from Paris with a magnificent retinue to meet her pet child,
+taking with her his brother, the Duke of Alen�on, and Henry of
+Navarre. Dissipation had impaired the mental as well as the physical
+energies of the king, and a maudlin good-nature had absorbed all his
+faculties. He greeted his brother and his brother-in-law with much
+kindness, and upon receiving their oaths of obedience, withdrew much
+of the restraint to which they previously had been subjected. Henry
+was now known as Henry III. of France. Soon after his coronation he
+married Louisa of Lorraine, a daughter of one of the sons of the Duke
+of Guise. She was a pure-minded and lovely woman, and her mild and
+gentle virtues contrasted strongly with the vulgarity, coarseness, and
+vice of her degraded husband.
+
+The Duke of Alen�on was, however, by no means appeased by the kindness
+with which he had been received by his brother the king. He called him
+the robber of his crown, and formed a conspiracy for attacking the
+carriage of his brother and putting him to death. The plot was
+revealed to the king. He called his brother to his presence,
+reproached him with his perfidy and ingratitude, but generously
+forgave him. But the heart of Alen�on was impervious to any appeals of
+generosity or of honor. Upon the death of Henry III., the Duke of
+Alen�on, his only surviving brother, would ascend the throne.
+
+The Duke of Guise hated with implacable rancor the Duke of Alen�on,
+and even proffered his aid to place Henry of Navarre upon the throne
+in the event of the death of the king, that he might thus exclude his
+detested rival. Francis, the Duke of Alen�on, was impatient to reach
+the crown, and again formed a plot to poison his brother. The king was
+suddenly taken very ill. He declared his brother had poisoned him. As
+each succeeding day his illness grew more severe, and the
+probabilities became stronger of its fatal termination, Francis
+assumed an air of haughtiness and of authority, as if confident that
+the crown was already his own. The open exultation which he manifested
+in view of the apparently dying condition of his brother Henry
+confirmed all in the suspicion that he had caused poison to be
+administered.
+
+Henry III., believing his death inevitable, called Henry of Navarre to
+his bedside, and heaping the bitterest invectives upon his brother
+Francis, urged Henry of Navarre to procure his assassination, and thus
+secure for himself the vacant throne. Henry of Navarre was the next
+heir to the throne after the Duke of Alen�on, and the dying king most
+earnestly urged Henry to put the duke to death, showing him the ease
+with which it could be done, and assuring him that he would be
+abundantly supported by all the leading nobles of the kingdom. While
+this scene was taking place at the sick-bed of the monarch, Francis
+passed through the chamber of his brother without deigning to notice
+either him or the King of Navarre. Strongly as Henry of Navarre was
+desirous of securing for himself the throne of France, he was utterly
+incapable of meditating even upon such a crime, and he refused to give
+it a second thought.
+
+To the surprise of all, the king recovered, and Francis made no
+efforts to conceal his disappointment. There were thousands of armed
+insurgents ready at any moment to rally around the banner of the Duke
+of Alen�on, for they would thus be brought into positions of emolument
+and power. The king, who was ready himself to act the assassin,
+treated his assassin-brother with the most profound contempt. No
+description can convey an adequate idea of the state of France at this
+time. Universal anarchy prevailed. Civil war, exasperated by the
+utmost rancor, was raging in nearly all the provinces. Assassinations
+were continually occurring. Female virtue was almost unknown, and the
+most shameful licentiousness filled the capital. The treasury was so
+utterly exhausted that, in a journey made by the king and his retinue
+in mid-winter, the pages were obliged to sell their cloaks to obtain a
+bare subsistence. The king, steeped in pollution, a fanatic and a
+hypocrite, exhibited himself to his subjects bareheaded, barefooted,
+and half naked, scourging himself with a whip, reciting his prayers,
+and preparing the way, by the most ostentatious penances, to plunge
+anew into every degrading sensual indulgence. He was thoroughly
+despised by his subjects, and many were anxious to exchange him for
+the reckless and impetuous, but equally depraved Francis.
+
+The situation of the Duke of Alen�on was now not only very
+uncomfortable, but exceedingly perilous. The king did every thing in
+his power to expose him to humiliations, and was evidently watching
+for an opportunity to put him to death, either by the dagger or by a
+cup of poison. The duke, aided by his profligate sister Marguerite,
+wife of Henry of Navarre, formed a plan for escape.
+
+One dark evening he wrapped himself in a large cloak, and issued forth
+alone from the Louvre. Passing through obscure streets, he arrived at
+the suburbs of the city, where a carriage with trusty attendants was
+in waiting. Driving as rapidly as possible, he gained the open
+country, and then mounting a very fleet charger, which by previous
+appointment was provided for him, he spurred his horse at the utmost
+speed for many leagues, till he met an escort of three hundred men,
+with whom he took refuge in a fortified town. His escape was not known
+in the palace until nine o'clock the next morning. Henry was
+exceedingly agitated when he received the tidings, for he knew that
+his energetic and reckless brother would join the Protestant party,
+carrying with him powerful influence, and thus add immeasurably to the
+distractions which now crowded upon the king.
+
+For once, imminent peril roused Henry III. to vigorous action. He
+forgot his spaniels, his parrots, his monkeys, and even his painted
+concubines, and roused himself to circumvent the plans of his hated
+rival. Letter after letter was sent to all the provinces, informing
+the governors of the flight of the prince, and commanding the most
+vigorous efforts to secure his arrest. Francis issued a proclamation
+declaring the reasons for his escape, and calling upon the Protestants
+and all who loved the "public good" to rally around him. Hence the
+short but merciless war which ensued was called "the war of the public
+good."
+
+The Duke of Alen�on was now at the head of a powerful party, for he
+had thrown himself into the arms of the Protestants, and many of his
+Catholic partisans followed him. Henry III. called to his aid the
+fearless and energetic Duke of Guise, and gave him the command of his
+armies. In the first terrible conflict which ensued Guise was
+defeated, and received a hideous gash upon his face, which left a scar
+of which he was very proud as a signet of valor.
+
+Catharine was now in deep trouble. Her two sons were in open arms
+against each other, heading powerful forces, and sweeping France with
+whirlwinds of destruction. Henry of Navarre was still detained a
+prisoner in the French court, though surrounded by all the luxuries
+and indulgences of the capital. The dignity of his character, and his
+great popularity, alarmed Catharine, lest, in the turmoil of the
+times, he should thrust both of her sons from the throne, and grasp
+the crown himself. Henry and his friends all became fully convinced
+that Catharine entertained designs upon his life. Marguerite was fully
+satisfied that it was so, and, bad as she was, as Henry interfered not
+in the slightest degree with any of her practices, she felt a certain
+kind of regard for him. The guards who had been assigned to Henry
+professedly as a mark of honor, and to add to the splendor of his
+establishment, were in reality his jailers, who watched him with an
+eagle eye. They were all zealous Papists, and most of them, in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew, had dipped their hands deep in Protestant
+blood. Catharine watched him with unceasing vigilance, and crowded
+every temptation upon him which could enervate and ruin. Her depravity
+did but stimulate her woman's shrewdness and tact.
+
+Henry of Navarre sighed for liberty. He was, however, so closely
+guarded that escape seemed impossible. At last the following plan was
+formed for flight. A hunting-party was got up. Henry was to invite
+persons to attend the chase in whose fidelity he could repose
+confidence, while one only was to be intrusted with the secret. Others
+of his friends were secretly to resort to an appointed rendezvous with
+fresh horses, and all well armed and in sufficient numbers to
+overpower the guard placed about his person. Henry was to press on in
+the chase with the utmost eagerness until the horses of the guard were
+completely exhausted, when his friends with the fresh steeds were to
+appear, rescue him from the guards, and accompany him in his flight.
+The guards, being drawn far from the palace, could not speedily obtain
+fresh horses, neither could they pursue him with their jaded animals.
+
+The Duke of Guise was now in great favor with Henry III. Henry of
+Navarre, during the few days in which he was making preparation for
+his flight, blinded the eagle eyes of the duke by affecting great
+confidence that he should obtain from the king the high office of
+lieutenant general of France. The duke and Henry III. made themselves
+very merry over this supposed simplicity of Henry of Navarre, little
+aware that he was making himself equally merry at their expense.
+
+Two days before the execution of the scheme, a rumor spread through
+the court that Henry had escaped. For a short time great anxiety and
+confusion ensued. Henry, being informed of the report and of the
+agitation which filled the palace, hastened to the apartments where
+Catharine and the king were in deliberation, and laughingly told them
+that he had arrested the King of Navarre, and that he now surrendered
+him to them for safe keeping.
+
+In the morning of the day fixed for his flight, the King of Navarre
+held a long and familiar conversation with the Duke of Guise, and
+urged him to accompany him to the hunt. Just as the moment arrived for
+the execution of the plot, it was betrayed to the king by the
+treachery of a confederate. Notwithstanding this betrayal, however,
+matters were so thoroughly arranged that Henry, after several
+hair-breadth escapes from arrest, accomplished his flight. His
+apprehension was so great that for sixty miles he rode as rapidly as
+possible, without speaking a word or stopping for one moment except to
+mount a fresh horse. He rode over a hundred miles on horseback that
+day, and took refuge in Alen�on, a fortified city held by the
+Protestants. As soon as his escape was known, thousands of his friends
+flocked around him.
+
+The Duke of Alen�on was not a little troubled at the escape of the
+King of Navarre, for he was well aware that the authority he had
+acquired among the Protestants would be lost by the presence of one so
+much his superior in every respect, and so much more entitled to the
+confidence of the Protestants. Thus the two princes remained separate,
+but ready, in case of emergence, to unite their forces, which now
+amounted to fifty thousand men. Henry of Navarre soon established his
+head-quarters on the banks of the Loire, where every day fresh
+parties of Protestants were joining his standard.
+
+Henry III., with no energy of character, despised by his subjects, and
+without either money or armies, seemed to be now entirely at the mercy
+of the confederate princes. Henry of Navarre and the Duke of Alen�on
+sent an embassador to the French court to propose terms to Henry III.
+The King of Navarre required, among other conditions, that France
+should unite with him in recovering from Spain that portion of the
+territory of Navarre which had been wrested from his ancestors by
+Ferdinand and Isabella. While the proposed conditions of peace were
+under discussion, Catharine succeeded in bribing her son, the Duke of
+Alen�on, to abandon the cause of Henry of Navarre. A treaty of peace
+was then concluded with the Protestants; and by a royal edict, the
+full and free exercise of the Protestant religion was guaranteed in
+every part of France except Paris and a circle twelve miles in
+diameter around the capital. As a bribe to the Duke of Alen�on, he was
+invested with sovereign power over the three most important provinces
+of the realm, with an annual income of one hundred thousand crowns.
+This celebrated treaty, called the _Paix de Monsieur_, because
+concluded under the auspices of Francis, the brother of the king, was
+signed at Chastenoy the sixth of May, 1576.
+
+The ambitious and perfidious duke now assumed the title of the Duke of
+Anjou, and entirely separated himself from the Protestants. He tried
+to lure the Prince of Cond�, the cousin and devoted friend of Henry of
+Navarre, to accompany him into the town of Bourges. The prince,
+suspecting treachery, refused the invitation, saying that some rogue
+would probably be found in the city who would send a bullet through
+his head.
+
+"The rogue would be hanged, I know," he added, "but the Prince of
+Cond� would be dead. I will not give you occasion, my lord, to hang
+rogues for love of me."
+
+He accordingly took his leave of the Duke of Alen�on, and, putting
+spurs to his horse, with fifty followers joined the King of Navarre.
+
+Henry was received with royal honors in the Protestant town of
+Rochelle, where he publicly renounced the Roman Catholic faith,
+declaring that he had assented to that faith from compulsion, and as
+the only means of saving his life. He also publicly performed penance
+for the sin which he declared that he had thus been compelled to
+commit.
+
+Catharine and Henry III., having detached Francis, who had been the
+Duke of Alen�on, but who was now the Duke of Anjou, from the
+Protestants, no longer feigned any friendship or even toleration for
+that cause. They acted upon the principle that no faith was to be kept
+with heretics. The Protestants, notwithstanding the treaty, were
+exposed to every species of insult and injury. The Catholics were
+determined that the Protestant religion should not be tolerated in
+France, and that all who did not conform to the Church of Rome should
+either perish or be driven from the kingdom. Many of the Protestants
+were men of devoted piety, who cherished their religious convictions
+more tenaciously than life. There were others, however, who joined
+them merely from motives of political ambition. Though the Protestant
+party, in France itself, was comparatively small, the great mass of
+the population being Catholics, yet the party was extremely
+influential from the intelligence and the rank of its leaders, and
+from the unconquerable energy with which all of its members were
+animated.
+
+The weak and irresolute king was ever vacillating between the two
+parties. The Duke of Guise was the great idol of the Catholics. Henry
+of Navarre was the acknowledged leader of the Protestants. The king
+feared them both. It was very apparent that Henry III. could not live
+long. At his death his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou, would ascend
+the throne. Should he die childless, Henry of Navarre would be his
+lawful successor. But the Catholics would be horror-stricken at the
+idea of seeing a _heretic_ on the throne. The Duke of Guise was laying
+his plans deep and broad to array all the Catholic population of
+France in his own favor, and thus to rob the Protestant prince of his
+rights. Henry III., Henry of Navarre, Henry, Duke of Guise, and
+Francis, Duke of Anjou, had all been playmates in childhood and
+classmates at school. They were now heading armies, and struggling for
+the prize of the richest crown in Europe.
+
+Francis was weary of waiting for his brother to die. To strengthen
+himself, he sought in marriage the hand of Queen Elizabeth of England.
+Though she had no disposition to receive a husband, she was ever very
+happy to be surrounded by lovers. She consequently played the coquette
+with Francis until he saw that there was no probability of the
+successful termination of his suit. Francis returned to Paris
+bitterly disappointed, and with new zeal consecrated his sword to the
+cause of the Catholics. Had Elizabeth accepted his suit, he would then
+most earnestly have espoused the cause of the Protestants.
+
+Henry III. now determined to make a vigorous effort to crush the
+Protestant religion. He raised large armies, and gave the command to
+the Duke of Anjou, the Duke of Guise, and to the brother of the Duke
+of Guise, the Duke of Mayenne. Henry of Navarre, encountering fearful
+odds, was welcomed by acclamation to head the small but indomitable
+band of Protestants, now struggling, not for liberty only, but for
+life. The king was very anxious to get Henry of Navarre again in his
+power, and sent most flattering messages and most pressing invitations
+to lure him again to his court; but years of captivity had taught a
+lesson of caution not soon to be forgotten.
+
+Again hideous war ravaged France. The Duke of Anjou, exasperated by
+disappointed love, disgraced himself by the most atrocious cruelties.
+He burned the dwellings of the Protestants, surrendered unarmed and
+defenseless men, and women, and children to massacre. The Duke of
+Guise, who had inflicted such an ineffaceable stain upon his
+reputation by the foul murder of the Admiral Coligni, made some
+atonement for this shameful act by the chivalrous spirit with which he
+endeavored to mitigate the horrors of civil war.
+
+One day, in the vicinity of Bayonne, a party of Catholics, consisting
+of a few hundred horse and foot, were conducting to their execution
+three Protestant young ladies, who, for their faith, were infamously
+condemned to death. As they were passing over a wide plain, covered
+with broken woods and heath, they were encountered by a body of
+Protestants. A desperate battle immediately ensued. The Protestants,
+impelled by a noble chivalry as well as by religious fervor, rushed
+upon their foes with such impetuosity that resistance was unavailing,
+and the Catholics threw down their arms and implored quarter. Many of
+these soldiers were from the city of Dux. The leader of the Protestant
+band remembered that at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew all the
+Protestants in that city had been slain without mercy. With a most
+deplorable want of magnanimity, he caused all the prisoners who
+belonged to that place to be separated from the rest, and in cold
+blood they were slaughtered.
+
+The remainder of the prisoners were from the city of Bayonne, whose
+inhabitants, though Catholics, had nobly refused to imbrue their hands
+in the blood of that horrible massacre which Charles IX. had enjoined.
+To them, after they had seen their comrades surrendered to butchery
+before their eyes, he restored their horses and their arms, and gave
+them their entire liberty.
+
+"Go," said he, "to your homes, and there tell the different treatment
+which I show to soldiers and to assassins."
+
+The three ladies, thus rescued from impending death, were borne back
+in triumph to their friends. Eight days after this, a trumpet was
+sounded and a flag of truce appeared emerging from the gates of
+Bayonne. The friends of the Catholic soldiers who had been thus
+generously restored sent a beautifully embroidered scarf and a
+handkerchief to each one of the Protestant soldiers.
+
+It is a singular illustration of the blending of the horrors of war
+and the courtesies of peace, that in the midst of this sanguinary
+conflict, Henry of Navarre, accompanied by only six companions,
+accepted an invitation to a f�te given by his enemies of the town of
+Bayonne. He was received with the utmost courtesy. His table was
+loaded with luxuries. Voluptuous music floated upon the ear; songs and
+dances animated the festive hours. Henry then returned to head his
+army and to meet his entertainers in the carnage of the field of
+battle.
+
+There was but little repose in France during the year 1577. Skirmish
+succeeded skirmish, and battle was followed by battle; cities were
+bombarded, villages burned, fields ravaged. All the pursuits of
+industry were arrested. Ruin, beggary, and woe desolated thousands of
+once happy homes. Still the Protestants were unsubdued. The king's
+resources at length were entirely exhausted, and he was compelled
+again to conclude a treaty of peace. Both parties immediately
+disbanded their forces, and the blessings of repose followed the
+discords of war.
+
+One of the Protestant generals, immediately upon receiving the tidings
+of peace, set out at the utmost speed of his horse to convey the
+intelligence to Languedoc, where very numerous forces of Protestants
+and Catholics were preparing for conflict. He spurred his steed over
+hills and plains till he saw, gleaming in the rays of the morning sun,
+the banners of the embattled hosts arrayed against each other on a
+vast plain. The drums and the trumpets were just beginning to sound
+the dreadful charge which in a few moments would strew that plain with
+mangled limbs and crimson it with blood. The artillery on the
+adjoining eminences was beginning to utter its voice of thunder, as
+balls, more destructive than the fabled bolts of Jove, were thrown
+into the massive columns marching to the dreadful onset. A few moments
+later, and the cry, the uproar, and the confusion of the battle would
+blind every eye and deafen every ear. La Noue, almost frantic with the
+desire to stop the needless effusion of blood, at the imminent risk of
+being shot, galloped between the antagonistic armies, waving
+energetically the white banner of peace, and succeeded in arresting
+the battle. His generous effort saved the lives of thousands.
+
+Henry III. was required, as a pledge of his sincerity, to place in the
+hands of the Protestants eight fortified cities. The Reformers were
+permitted to conduct public worship unmolested in those places only
+where it was practiced at the time of signing the treaty. In other
+parts of France they were allowed to retain their belief without
+persecution, but they were not permitted to meet in any worshiping
+assemblies. But even these pledges, confirmed by the Edict of
+Poitiers on the 8th of October, 1577, were speedily broken, like all
+the rest.
+
+But in the midst of all these conflicts, while every province in
+France was convulsed with civil war, the king, reckless of the woes of
+his subjects, rioted in all voluptuous dissipation. He was accustomed
+to exhibit himself to his court in those effeminate pageants in which
+he found his only joy, dressed in the flaunting robes of a gay woman,
+with his bosom open and a string of pearls encircling his neck. On one
+occasion he gave a f�te, when, for the excitement of novelty, the
+gentlemen, in female robes, were waited upon by the ladies of the
+court, who were dressed in male attire, or rather undressed, for their
+persons were veiled by the slightest possible clothing. Such was the
+corruption of the court of France, and, indeed, of nearly the whole
+realm in those days of darkness. Domestic purity was a virtue unknown.
+Law existed only in name. The rich committed any crimes without fear
+of molestation. In the royal palace itself, one of the favorites of
+the king, in a paroxysm of anger, stabbed his wife and her
+waiting-maid while the unfortunate lady was dressing. No notice
+whatever was taken of this bloody deed. The murderer retained all his
+offices and honors, and it was the general sentiment of the people of
+France that the assassination was committed by the order of the
+sovereign, because the lady refused to be entirely subservient to the
+wishes of the dissolute king.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE LEAGUE.
+
+1585-1589
+
+Formation of the league.--Politics in the pulpit.--The League.--Object
+of the League.--The oath.--Influence of the League.--Its
+extension.--Vast power of the League.--Alarm of the
+Protestants.--Adroit measures of Henry III.--Embarrassment of the
+Leaguers.--Excommunication of Henry IV.--Bold retort.--Edict of
+Nemours.--Anguish of Henry of Navarre.--Death of Francis.--Redoubled
+energies.--Toleration.--The challenge.--Efforts to raise an army.--The
+Leaguers baffled.--The hostile meeting.--Appearance of the two
+armies.--The charge.--Penitence of Henry of Navarre.--Extraordinary
+scene.--The battle of Coutras.--The victory.--Exultation of
+the troops.--Magnanimity of Henry of Navarre.--Conduct of
+Marguerite.--Court of Henry of Navarre.--Censure by the clergy.--The
+flying squadron.--Intrigue and gallantry.--Influences used by
+Catharine.--La Reole.--Treachery of Ussac.--News of the loss of La
+Reole.--The recapture.--Precarious peace.--Attempt to assassinate
+Henry.--The assassin humiliated.
+
+
+About this time there was formed the celebrated league which occupies
+so conspicuous a position in the history of the sixteenth century.
+Henry III., though conscious that his throne was trembling beneath
+him, and courting now the Catholics and again the Protestants, was
+still amusing himself, day after day, with the most contemptible and
+trivial vices. The extinction of the house of Valois was evidently
+and speedily approaching. Henry of Navarre, calm, sagacious, and
+energetic, was rallying around him all the Protestant influences of
+Europe, to sustain, in that event, his undeniable claim to the throne.
+The Duke of Guise, impetuous and fearless, hoped, in successful
+usurpation, to grasp the rich prize by rallying around his banner all
+the fanatic energies of Catholic Europe.
+
+Henry III. was alike despised by Catholics and Protestants. His
+brother Francis, though far more impulsive, had but few traits of
+character to command respect. He could summon but a feeble band for
+his support. Henry of Guise was the available candidate for the
+Catholics. All the priestly influences of France were earnestly
+combined to advance his claims. They declared that Henry of Navarre
+had forfeited every shadow of right to the succession by being a
+heretic. The genealogy of the illustrious house of Guise was blazoned
+forth, and its descent traced from Charlemagne. It was asserted, and
+argued in the pulpit and in the camp, that even the house of Valois
+had usurped the crown which by right belonged to the house of Guise.
+
+Under these circumstances, the most formidable secret society was
+organized the world has ever known. It assumed the name of The League.
+Its object was to exterminate Protestantism, and to place the Duke of
+Guise upon the throne. The following are, in brief, its covenant and
+oath:
+
+                         THE LEAGUE.
+
+     In the name of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
+     Ghost, this League of Catholic princes, lords, and gentlemen
+     shall be instituted to maintain the holy Catholic,
+     apostolical, and Roman Church, abjuring all errors to the
+     contrary. Should opposition to this league arise in any
+     quarter, the associates shall employ all their goods and
+     means, and even their own persons unto death, to punish and
+     hunt down those opposing. Should any of the Leaguers, their
+     associates or friends, be molested, the members of the
+     League shall be bound to employ their bodies, goods, and
+     means to inflict vengeance upon those thus offending. Should
+     any Leaguer, after having taken the oath, withdraw from the
+     association under any pretext whatever, the refractory
+     member shall be injured, in body and goods, in every manner
+     which can be devised, as enemies of God, rebels, and
+     disturbers of the public peace. The Leaguers shall swear
+     implicit obedience to their chief, and shall aid by counsel
+     and service in preserving the League, and in the ruin of all
+     who oppose it. All Catholic towns and villages shall be
+     summoned secretly, by their several governors, to enter into
+     this League, and to furnish arms and men for its execution.
+
+                         OATH.
+
+     I swear by God the Creator, touching the Evangelists, and
+     upon the pain of eternal damnation, that I have entered
+     into this holy Catholic League loyally and sincerely, either
+     to command, to obey, or to serve. I promise, upon my life
+     and honor, to remain in this League to the last drop of my
+     blood, without opposing or retiring upon any pretext
+     whatever.
+
+Such was the character of secret societies in the sixteenth century. A
+more atrocious confederacy than this the human mind could hardly have
+conceived. It was, however, peculiarly calculated to captivate the
+multitude in those days of darkness and blood. Though at first formed
+and extended secretly, it spread like wildfire through all the cities
+and provinces of France. Princes, lords, gentlemen, artisans, and
+peasants rushed into its impious inclosures. The benighted populace,
+enthralled by the superstitions of the Church, were eager to manifest
+their zeal for God by wreaking the most awful vengeance upon
+_heretics_. He who, for any cause, declined entering the League, found
+himself exposed to every possible annoyance. His house and his barns
+blazed in midnight conflagrations; his cattle were mutilated and
+slain; his wife and children were insulted and stoned in the streets.
+By day and by night, asleep and awake, at home and abroad, at all
+times and every where, he was annoyed by every conceivable form of
+injury and violence.
+
+Soon the League became so powerful that no farther secrecy was
+needful. It stalked abroad in open day, insulting its foes and
+vaunting its invincibility. The gigantic plan it unblushingly avowed
+was to exterminate Protestantism by fire and the sword from France;
+then to drown it in blood in Holland; then to turn to England and
+purify that kingdom from the taint of heresy; then to march upon
+Germany; and thus to advance from kingdom to kingdom, in their holy
+crusade, until Protestantism should be every where ingulfed in blood
+and flame, and the whole of Europe should be again brought back to the
+despotism of Rome.
+
+The Duke of Guise was the soul of this mammoth conspiracy, though
+Philip II., the bigoted King of Spain, was its recorded
+commander-in-chief. The Protestants were justly alarmed by the
+enormous energy of the new power thus suddenly evoked against them.
+The Pope, though at first hostile, soon, with his cardinals, espoused
+the cause of the League, and consecrated to its support all the
+weapons which could be wielded by the Vatican. From France, the
+demoniac organization spread through all the kingdoms of Europe.
+Hundreds of thousands were arrayed beneath its crimson banner. Even
+Henry III. in the Louvre, surrounded by his parasites and his
+concubines, trembled as he saw the shadow of this fearful apparition
+darkening his court.
+
+He immediately perceived that he must mount the car or be crushed by
+it. Adroitly he leaped into the seat of the charioteer and seized the
+reins. The demands of the League he adopted as his own, and urged them
+with energy. He issued a proclamation commending the League to his
+subjects, and announcing that he, to set them an example, had signed
+its covenant and its oath. The Duke of Guise and his followers were
+quite bewildered by this unexpected step.
+
+The League had demanded the assembling of the States-General, a body
+somewhat resembling the Congress of the United States. The king
+immediately summoned them to meet. They declared war against the
+Protestants. The king adopted the declaration as his own decree, and
+called loudly for supplies to prosecute the war with vigor. He
+outleagued the most violent of the Leaguers in denunciations of the
+Protestants, in declaring that but one religion should be tolerated in
+France, and in clamoring for arms and munitions of war, that _heresy_
+might be utterly extirpated. The Leaguers thus found, to their great
+perplexity, the weapon which they had forged wrested from their hands
+and wielded against them. They had organized to drive the imbecile
+Henry III. from the throne. He had seized upon that organization, and
+was using it to establish himself more firmly there.
+
+The situation of Henry of Navarre was now extremely critical. Pope
+Sextus V., besides giving the League his Papal blessing, had
+fulminated against the King of Navarre the awful thunders of
+excommunication.
+
+The bull of excommunication was exceedingly coarse and vulgar in its
+denunciatory terms, calling the King of Navarre "_this bastard and
+detestable progeny of Bourbons_."
+
+Henry replied to this assault in accents intrepid and resolute, which
+caused Catholic Europe to stand aghast.
+
+     "Henry," said this bold document, "by the grace of God King
+     of Navarre, sovereign prince of Bearn, first peer and prince
+     of France, resists the declaration and excommunication of
+     Sextus V., self-styled Pope of Rome, asserts it to be false,
+     and maintains that Mr. Sextus, the self-styled Pope, _has
+     falsely and maliciously lied;_ that he himself is
+     _heretic_, which he will prove in any full and free council
+     lawfully assembled; to which if he does not consent and
+     submit, as he is bound by the canons, he, the King of
+     Navarre, holds and pronounces him to be anti-Christ and
+     heretic, and in that quality declares against him perpetual
+     and irreconcilable war."
+
+This energetic protest was placarded in most of the towns of France,
+and by some fearless followers of the prince was even attached to the
+walls of the Vatican. The Pope, though at first much irritated, had
+the magnanimity to express his admiration of the spirit manifested by
+Henry.
+
+"There are but two princes in Europe," said he, "to whom I could
+venture to communicate the grand schemes revolving in my mind, Henry
+of Navarre and Elizabeth of England; but, unfortunately, they are both
+heretics."
+
+Henry III., having no moral principles to guide him in any thing, and
+having no generous affections of any kind, in carrying out his plan of
+wielding the energies of the League without any scruples of
+conscience, issued the infamous Edict of Nemours in 1585, which
+commanded every Protestant minister to leave the kingdom within one
+month, and every member of the Reformed faith either to abjure his
+religion and accept the Catholic faith, or to depart from France
+within six months. The penalty for disobedience in either of these
+cases was _death and the confiscation of property_. This edict was
+executed with great rigor, and many were burned at the stake.
+
+Henry of Navarre was amazed, and, for a time, overwhelmed in receiving
+the news of this atrocious decree. He clearly foresaw that it must
+arouse France and all Europe to war, and that a new Iliad of woes was
+to commence. Leaning his chin upon his hand, he was for a long time
+lost in profound reverie as he pondered the awful theme. It is said
+that his anguish was so intense, that when he removed his hand his
+beard and mustache on that side were turned entirely gray.
+
+But Henry rose with the emergence, and met the crisis with a degree of
+energy and magnanimity which elicited, in those barbarous times, the
+admiration even of his enemies. The Protestants heroically grasped
+their arms and rallied together for mutual protection. War, with all
+its horrors, was immediately resumed.
+
+Affairs were in this condition when Francis, the Duke of Anjou, was
+taken sick and suddenly died. This removed another obstruction from
+the field, and tended to hasten the crisis. Henry III. was feeble,
+exhausted, and childless. Worn out by shameless dissipation, it was
+evident to all that he must soon sink into his grave. Who was to be
+his successor? This was the question, above all others, which agitated
+France and Europe. Henry of Navarre was, beyond all question,
+legitimately entitled to the throne; but he was, in the estimation of
+France, a _heretic_. The League consequently, in view of the impending
+peril of having a Protestant king, redoubled its energies to exclude
+him, and to enthrone their bigoted partisan, Henry of Guise. It was a
+terrific struggle. The Protestants saw suspended upon its issue their
+property, their religious liberty, their lives, their earthly all. The
+Catholics were stimulated by all the energies of fanaticism in defense
+of the Church. All Catholic Europe espoused the one side, all
+Protestant Europe the other. One single word was enough to arrest all
+these woes. That word was TOLERATION.
+
+When Henry III. published his famous Edict of Nemours, commanding the
+conversion, the expulsion, or the death of the Protestants, Henry of
+Navarre issued another edict replying to the calumnies of the League,
+and explaining his actions and his motives. Then adopting a step
+characteristic of the chivalry of the times, he dispatched a challenge
+to the Duke of Guise, defying him to single combat, or, if he objected
+to that, to a combat of two with two, ten with ten, or a hundred with
+a hundred.
+
+"In this challenge," said Henry, "I call Heaven to witness that I am
+not influenced by any spirit of bravado, but only by the desire of
+deciding a quarrel which will otherwise cost the lives of thousands."
+
+To this appeal the duke made no reply. It was by no means for his
+interest to meet on equal terms those whom he could easily outnumber
+two or three to one.
+
+Though the situation of Henry of Navarre seemed now almost desperate,
+he maintained his courage and his hope unshaken. His estates were
+unhesitatingly sold to raise funds. His friends parted with their
+jewels for gold to obtain the means to carry on the war. But, with his
+utmost efforts, he could raise an army of but four or five thousand
+men to resist two armies of twenty thousand each, headed by the Duke
+of Guise and by his brother, the Duke of Mayenne. Fortunately for
+Henry, there was but little military capacity in the League, and,
+notwithstanding their vast superiority in numbers, they were
+continually circumvented in all their plans by the energy and the
+valor of the Protestants.
+
+The King of France was secretly rejoiced at the discomfiture of the
+Leaguers, yet, expressing dissatisfaction with the Duke of Guise, he
+intrusted the command of the armies to one of his petted favorites,
+Joyeuse, a rash and fearless youth, who was as prompt to revel in the
+carnage of the battle-field as in the voluptuousness of the palace.
+The king knew not whether to choose victory or defeat for his
+favorite. Victory would increase the influence and the renown of one
+strongly attached to him, and would thus enable him more successfully
+to resist the encroachments of the Duke of Guise. Defeat would weaken
+the overbearing power of the Leaguers, and enable Henry III. more
+securely to retain his position by the balance of the two rival
+parties. Joyeuse, ardent and inexperienced, and despising the feeble
+band he was to encounter, was eager to display his prowess. He pressed
+eagerly to assail the King of Navarre. The two armies met upon a
+battle-field a few leagues from Bordeaux. The army of Joyeuse was
+chiefly of gay and effeminate courtiers and young nobles, who had too
+much pride to lack courage, but who possessed but little physical
+vigor, and who were quite unused to the hardships and to the
+vicissitudes of war.
+
+On the morning of the 20th of October, 1589, as the sun rose over the
+hills of Perigord, the two armies were facing each other upon the
+plains of Coutras. The Leaguers were decked with unusual splendor, and
+presented a glittering array, with gorgeous banners and waving plumes,
+and uniforms of satin and velvet embroidered by the hands of the
+ladies of the court. They numbered twelve thousand men. Henry of
+Navarre, with admirable military skill, had posted his six thousand
+hardy peasants, dressed in tattered skins, to meet the onset.
+
+And now occurred one of the most extraordinary scenes which history
+has recorded. It was a source of constant grief to the devout
+Protestant leaders that Henry of Navarre, notwithstanding his many
+noble traits of character, was not a man of pure morality. Just before
+the battle, Du Plessis, a Christian and a hero, approached the King of
+Navarre and said,
+
+"Sire, it is known to all that you have sinned against God, and
+injured a respectable citizen of Rochelle by the seduction of his
+daughter. We can not hope that God will bless our arms in this
+approaching battle while such a sin remains unrepented of and
+unrepaired."
+
+The king dismounted from his horse, and, uncovering his head, avowed
+in the presence of the whole army his sincere grief for what he had
+done; he called all to witness that he thus publicly implored
+forgiveness of God, and of the family he had injured, and he pledged
+his word that he would do every thing in his power to repair the
+wrong.
+
+The troops were then called to prayers by the ministers. Every man in
+the ranks fell upon his knees, while one of the clergy implored God to
+forgive the sin of their chieftain, and to grant them protection and
+victory.
+
+The strange movement was seen from the Catholic camp. "By death,"
+exclaimed Joyeuse, "the poltroons are frightened. Look! they kneel,
+imploring our mercy."
+
+"Do not deceive yourself," replied an old captain. "When the Huguenots
+get into that position, they are ready for hard fighting."
+
+The brilliant battalions of the enemy now began to deploy. Some one
+spoke of the splendor of their arms. Henry smiled and replied, "We
+shall have the better aim when the fight begins." Another ventured to
+intimate that the ministers had rebuked him with needless severity. He
+replied, "We can not be too humble before God, nor too brave before
+men." Then turning to his followers, with tears in his eyes, he
+addressed to them a short and noble speech. He deplored the calamities
+of war, and solemnly declared that he had drawn arms only in
+self-defense. "Let them," said he, "perish who are the authors of this
+war. May the blood shed this day rest upon them alone."
+
+To his two prominent generals, the Prince of Cond� and the Count de
+Soissons, he remarked, with a smile, "To you I shall say nothing but
+that you are of the house of Bourbon, and, please God, I will show you
+this day that I am your elder."
+
+The battle almost immediately ensued. Like all fierce fights, it was
+for a time but a delirious scene of horror, confusion, and carnage.
+But the Protestants, with sinewy arms, hewed down their effeminate
+foes, and with infantry and cavalry swept to and fro resistlessly over
+the plain. The white plume of Henry of Navarre was ever seen waving in
+the tumultuous throng wherever the battle was waged the fiercest.
+
+There was a singular blending of the facetious with the horrible in
+this sanguinary scene. Before the battle, the Protestant preachers, in
+earnest sermons, had compared Henry with David at the head of the
+Lord's chosen people. In the midst of the bloody fray, when the field
+was covered with the dying and the dead, Henry grappled one of the
+standard-bearers of the enemy. At the moment, humorously reminded of
+the flattering comparison of the preachers, he shouted, with waggery
+which even the excitement of the battle could not repress,
+
+"Surrender, you uncircumcised Philistine."
+
+In the course of one hour three thousand of the Leaguers were
+weltering in blood upon the plain, Joyeuse himself, their leader,
+being among the dead. The defeat of the Catholics was so entire that
+not more than one fourth of their number escaped from the field of
+Coutras.
+
+The victors were immediately assembled upon the bloody field, and,
+after prayers and thanksgiving, they sung, with exultant lips,
+
+     "The Lord appears my helper now,
+       Nor is my faith afraid
+     What all the sons of earth can do,
+       Since Heaven affords its aid."
+
+Henry was very magnanimous in the hour of victory. When some one asked
+what terms he should now demand, after so great a discomfiture of his
+foes, he replied, "_The same as before the battle_."
+
+In reading the records of these times, one is surprised to see how
+mirth, festivity, and magnificence are blended with blood, misery, and
+despair. War was desolating France with woes which to thousands of
+families must have made existence a curse, and yet amid these scenes
+we catch many glimpses of merriment and gayety. At one time we see
+Henry III. weeping and groaning upon his bed in utter wretchedness,
+and again he appears before us reveling with his dissolute companions
+in the wildest carousals. While Henry of Navarre was struggling with
+his foes upon the field of battle, Marguerite, his wife, was dancing
+and flirting with congenial paramours amid all the guilty pleasures of
+the court. Henry wrote repeatedly for her to come and join him, but
+she vastly preferred the voluptuousness of the capital to the gloom
+and the hardships of the Protestant camp. She never loved her husband,
+and while she wished that he might triumph, and thus confer upon her
+the illustrious rank of the Queen of France, she still rejoiced in his
+absence, as it allowed her that perfect freedom which she desired.
+When she saw indications of approaching peace, she was so
+apprehensive that she might thus be placed under constraint by the
+presence of her husband, that she did what she could to perpetuate
+civil war.
+
+It will be remembered that several of the fortified cities of France
+were in the hands of the Protestants. Henry of Navarre held his
+comparatively humble court in the town of Agen, where he was very much
+beloved and respected by the inhabitants. Though far from
+irreproachable in his morals, the purity of his court was infinitely
+superior to that of Henry III. and his mother Catharine. Henry of
+Navarre was, however, surrounded by a body of gay and light-hearted
+young noblemen, whose mirth-loving propensities and whose often
+indecorous festivities he could not control. One evening, at a general
+ball, these young gentlemen extinguished the lights, and in the
+darkness a scene of much scandal ensued. Henry was severely censured
+by the Protestant clergy, and by many others of his friends, for not
+holding the members of his court in more perfect control. His
+popularity suffered so severely from this occurrence, that it even
+became necessary for Henry to withdraw his court from the town.
+
+Catharine and Marguerite, accompanied by a retinue of the most
+voluptuously-beautiful girls of France, set out to visit the court of
+Henry of Navarre, which had been transferred to Neruc. Henry, hearing
+of their approach, placed himself at the head of five hundred
+gentlemen, and hastened to meet his mother-in-law and his wife, with
+their characteristic and congenial train. These were the
+instrumentalities with which Catharine and Marguerite hoped to bend
+the will of Henry and his friends to suit their purposes. Catharine
+had great confidence in the potency of the influence which these
+pliant maidens could wield, and they were all instructed in the part
+which they were to act. She was accustomed to call these allies her
+_flying squadron_.
+
+There then ensued a long series of negotiations, intermingled with
+mirth, gallantry, and intrigue, but the result of which was a treaty
+highly conducive to the interests of the Protestants. Various places
+were designated where their religion should be freely tolerated, and
+in which they were to be allowed to build conventicles. They were also
+permitted to raise money for the support of their ministers, and
+fourteen cities were surrendered to their government. Several
+incidents occurred during these negotiations very characteristic of
+the corrupt manners of the times.
+
+Marguerite devoted herself most energetically to the promotion of the
+success of Henry's plans. Catharine found herself, notwithstanding all
+her artifice, and all the peculiar seductions of her female
+associates, completely foiled by the sagacity and the firmness of
+Henry. She had brought with her Monsieur de Pibrac, a man very
+celebrated for his glowing eloquence and for his powers of persuasion.
+The oratory of Pibrac, combined with the blandishments of the ladies,
+were those co-operative influences which the queen imagined none would
+be able to resist. Marguerite, however, instructed in the school of
+Catharine, succeeded in obtaining entire control over the mind of
+Pibrac himself, and he became a perfect tool in her hands. Catharine,
+thus foiled, was compelled to grant far more favorable terms to the
+Protestants than she had contemplated.
+
+La Reole was one of the towns of security surrendered to the
+Protestants. There was, however, so little of good faith in that day,
+that, notwithstanding the pledge of honor, possession of the place
+could only be retained by vigilance. The government of the town had
+been conferred upon a veteran Protestant general by the name of Ussac.
+His days, from early youth, had been passed on fields of battle. He
+was now far advanced in years, in feeble health, and dreadfully
+disfigured by wounds received in the face. One of the most fascinating
+of the ladies of the queen-mother lavished such endearments upon the
+old man, already in his dotage, that he lost his principles and all
+self-control, and made himself very ridiculous by assuming the airs of
+a young lover. Henry had the imprudence to join in the mockery with
+which the court regarded his tenderness. This was an indignity which
+an old man could never forget. Instigated by his beautiful seducer, he
+became entirely unmindful of those principles of honor which had
+embellished his life, and in revenge invited a Roman Catholic general
+to come and take possession of the town.
+
+Henry was informed of this act of treachery while dancing at a very
+brilliant entertainment given in his palace. He quietly whispered to
+Turenne, Sully, and a few others of his most intimate friends,
+requesting them to escape from the room, gather around them such armed
+men as they could, and join him at a rendezvous in the country. They
+all stole unperceived from the mirthful party, concealed their swords
+beneath their cloaks, traveled all night, and arrived, just as the day
+began to dawn, before the gates of the city. They found the place, as
+they had expected, entirely unprepared for such a sudden attack, and,
+rushing in, regained it without difficulty. The Catholic soldiers
+retreated to the castle, where they held out a few days, and many of
+them perished in the assault by which it was soon taken.
+
+Such was the character of the nominal peace which now existed. A
+partisan warfare was still continued throughout France. Catharine and
+her maids did every thing in their power to excite dissensions between
+the Protestant leaders. In this they succeeded so well that the Prince
+of Cond� became so exasperated against Turenne as to challenge him to
+single combat.
+
+Such a peace as we have above described could not, of course, be
+lasting. Both parties were soon again gathering all their forces for
+war. There is a tedious monotony in the recital of the horrors of
+battle. Cities bombarded, and sacked, and burned; shells exploding in
+the cradle of infancy and in the chambers of mothers and maidens;
+mutilated bodies trampled beneath the hoofs of horses; the cry of the
+maddened onset, the shrieks of the wounded, and the groans of the
+dying; the despair of the widow and the orphan; smouldering ruins of
+once happy homes; the fruits of the husbandman's toils trodden into
+the mire; starvation, misery, and death--these are ever the fruits of
+war.
+
+During the short interval of peace, many attempts had been made to
+assassinate Henry of Navarre by the partisans of the Duke of Guise.
+Henry was, one fine morning, setting out with a few friends for a ride
+of pleasure. Just as the party were leaving the court-yard, he was
+informed that an assassin, very powerfully mounted, was prepared to
+meet him on the way and to take his life. Henry apparently paid no
+heed to the warning, but rode along conversing gayly with his friends.
+They soon met, in a retired part of the way, a stranger, armed
+according to the custom of the times, and mounted upon a very
+magnificent steed, which had been prepared for him to facilitate his
+escape after the accomplishment of the fell deed. Henry immediately
+rode up to the assassin, addressed him in terms of great familiarity
+and cordiality, and, professing to admire the beautiful charger upon
+which he was mounted, requested him to dismount, that he might try the
+splendid animal. The man, bewildered, obeyed the wishes of the king,
+when Henry leaped into the saddle, and, seizing the two loaded pistols
+at the saddle-bow, looked the man sternly in the eye, and said,
+
+"I am told that you seek to kill me. You are now in my power, and I
+could easily put you to death; but I will not harm you."
+
+He then discharged the two pistols in the air, and permitted the
+humiliated man to mount his horse and ride away unharmed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF GUISE AND OF HENRY III.
+
+1589
+
+Imbecility of the king.--Haughtiness of the Duke of Guise.--The duke
+goes to Paris.--Interview with the king.--Two rival courts.--The
+Swiss guard defeated.--Tumult in the city.--Dignity of Achille de
+Harlai.--Measures adopted by the duke.--Endeavors to obtain an
+assassin.--The king at Blois.--Assassination of the Duke of
+Guise.--Interview between the king and Catharine.--Indignation of
+the League.--Anathemas against the king.--The king seeks aid from
+the Protestants.--Desolations of war.--Compact with Henry of
+Navarre.--Interview at Plessis les Tours.--The manifesto.--Renewed
+war.--Duchess of Montpensier.--The flag of truce.--Assassination of
+Henry III.--Arrival of Henry of Navarre.--Dying scene.--Henry IV.
+assumes the crown.--Difficulties of the new reign.--Danger of
+assassination.--Religious principles of Henry IV.--News of the death
+of Henry III.--Abandoned by the Catholics.--The retreat.--The stand
+at Dieppe.--Henry urged to fly to England.--Anecdote.--Arrival of
+the fleet from England.--Bigotry of the Catholics.--Desolation of
+France.--Ignoble conduct of the League.--Paris besieged.--Assault of
+Etampes.--Letter from Lorraine.--Military reprisals.--Activity of
+Henry.--Dissension among the Leaguers.--Triumphant progress of
+Henry.--Wonderful escape.
+
+
+The war, again resumed, was fiercely prosecuted. Henry III. remained
+most of the time in the gilded saloons of the Louvre, irritable and
+wretched, and yet incapable of any continued efficient exertion. Many
+of the zealous Leaguers, indignant at the pusillanimity he displayed,
+urged the Duke of Guise to dethrone Henry III. by violence, and openly
+to declare himself King of France. They assured him that the nation
+would sustain him by their arms. But the duke was not prepared to
+enter upon so bold a measure, as he hoped that the death of the king
+would soon present to him a far more favorable opportunity for the
+assumption of the throne. Henry III. was in constant fear that the
+duke, whose popularity in France was almost boundless, might supplant
+him, and he therefore forbade him to approach the metropolis.
+
+Notwithstanding this prohibition, the haughty duke, accompanied by a
+small party of his intrepid followers, as if to pay court to his
+sovereign, boldly entered the city. The populace of the capital, ever
+ripe for excitement and insurrection, greeted him with boundless
+enthusiasm. Thousands thronged the broad streets through which he
+passed with a small but brilliant retinue. Ladies crowded the windows,
+waving scarfs, cheering him with smiles, and showering flowers at his
+feet. The cry resounded along the streets, penetrating even the
+apartments of the Louvre, and falling appallingly upon the ear of the
+king:
+
+"Welcome--welcome, great duke. Now you are come, we are safe."
+
+Henry III. was amazed and terrified by this insolence of his defiant
+subject. In bewilderment, he asked those about him what he should do.
+
+"Give me the word," said a colonel of his guard, "and I will plunge my
+sword through his body."
+
+"Smite the shepherd," added one of the king's spiritual counselors,
+"and the sheep will disperse."
+
+But Henry feared to exasperate the populace of Paris by the
+assassination of a noble so powerful and so popular. In the midst of
+this consultation, the Duke of Guise, accompanied by the queen-mother
+Catharine, whom he had first called upon, entered the Louvre, and,
+passing through the numerous body-guard of the king, whom he saluted
+with much affability, presented himself before the feeble monarch. The
+king looked sternly upon him, and, without any word of greeting,
+exclaimed angrily,
+
+"Did I not forbid you to enter Paris?"
+
+"Sire," the duke replied, firmly, but with affected humility, "I came
+to demand justice, and to reply to the accusations of my enemies."
+
+The interview was short and unrelenting. The king, exasperated almost
+beyond endurance, very evidently hesitated whether to give the signal
+for the immediate execution of his dreaded foe. There were those at
+his side, with arms in their hands, who were eager instantly to obey
+his bidding. The Duke of Guise perceived the imminence of his danger,
+and, feigning sudden indisposition, immediately retired. In his own
+almost regal mansion he gathered around him his followers and his
+friends, and thus placed himself in a position where even the arm of
+the sovereign could not venture to touch him.
+
+There were now in Paris, as it were, two rival courts, emulating each
+other in splendor and power. The one was that of the king at the
+Louvre, the other was that of the duke in his palace. It was rumored
+that the duke was organizing a conspiracy to arrest the king and hold
+him a captive. Henry III., to strengthen his body-guard, called a
+strong force of Swiss mercenaries into the city. The retainers of the
+duke, acting under the secret instigation of their chieftain, roused
+the populace of Paris to resist the Swiss. Barricades were immediately
+constructed by filling barrels with stones and earth; chains were
+stretched across the streets from house to house; and organized bands,
+armed with pikes and muskets, threatened even the gates of the Louvre.
+
+A conflict soon ensued, and the Swiss guard were defeated by the mob
+at every point. The Duke of Guise, though he secretly guided all these
+movements, remained in his palace, affecting to have no share in the
+occurrences. Night came. Confusion and tumult rioted in the city. The
+insurgent populace, intoxicated and maddened, swarmed around the walls
+of the palace, and the king was besieged. The spiritless and terrified
+monarch, disguising himself in humble garb, crept to his stables,
+mounted a fleet horse, and fled from the city. Riding at full speed,
+he sought refuge in Chartres, a walled town forty miles southeast of
+Paris.
+
+The flight of the king before an insurgent populace was a great
+victory to the duke. He was thus left in possession of the metropolis
+without any apparent act of rebellion on his own part, and it became
+manifestly his duty to do all in his power to preserve order in the
+capital thus surrendered to anarchy. The duke had ever been the idol
+of the populace, but now nearly the whole population of Paris, and
+especially the influential citizens, looked to him as their only
+protector.
+
+Some, however, with great heroism, still adhered to the cause of the
+king. The Duke of Guise sent for Achille de Harlai, President of the
+Council, and endeavored to win him over to his cause, that he might
+thus sanction his usurpation by legal forms; but De Harlai, fixing his
+eyes steadfastly upon the duke, fearlessly said,
+
+"'Tis indeed pitiable when the valet expels his master. As for me, my
+soul belongs to my Maker, and my fidelity belongs to the king. My body
+alone is in the hands of the wicked. You talk of assembling the
+Parliament. When the majesty of the prince is violated, the magistrate
+is without authority." The intrepid president was seized and
+imprisoned.
+
+The followers of Henry III. soon gathered around him at Chartres, and
+he fortified himself strongly there. The Duke of Guise, though still
+protesting great loyalty, immediately assumed at Paris the authority
+of a sovereign. He assembled around him strong military forces,
+professedly to protect the capital from disturbance. For a month or
+two negotiations were conducted between the two parties for a
+compromise, each fearing the other too much to appeal to the decisions
+of the sword. At last Henry III. agreed to appoint the Duke of Guise
+lieutenant general of France and high constable of the kingdom. He
+also, while pledging himself anew to wage a war of extermination
+against the Protestants, promised to bind the people of France, by an
+oath, to exclude from the succession to the throne all persons
+suspected even of Protestantism. This would effectually cut off the
+hopes of Henry of Navarre, and secure the crown to the Duke of Guise
+upon the death of the king.
+
+Both of the antagonists now pretended to a sincere reconciliation, and
+Henry, having received Guise at Chartres with open arms, returned to
+Paris, meditating how he might secure the death of his dreaded and
+powerful rival. Imprisonment was not to be thought of, for no fortress
+in France could long hold one so idolized by the populace. The king
+applied in person to one of his friends, a brave and honest soldier by
+the name of Crillon, to assassinate the duke.
+
+"I am not an executioner," the soldier proudly replied, "and the
+function does not become my rank. But I will challenge the duke to
+open combat, and will cheerfully sacrifice my life that I may take
+his."
+
+This plan not meeting with the views of the king, he applied to one of
+the commanders of his guard named Lorgnac. This man had no scruples,
+and with alacrity undertook to perform the deed. Henry, having retired
+to the castle of Blois, about one hundred miles south of Paris,
+arranged all the details, while he was daily, with the most consummate
+hypocrisy, receiving his victim with courteous words and smiles. The
+king summoned a council to attend him in his cabinet at Blois on the
+23d of December. It was appointed at an early hour, and the Duke of
+Guise attended without his usual retinue. He had been repeatedly
+warned to guard against the treachery of Henry, but his reply was,
+
+[Illustration: ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE.]
+
+"I do not know that man on earth who, hand to hand with me, would not
+have his full share of fear. Besides, I am always so well attended
+that it would not be easy to find me off my guard."
+
+The duke arrived at the door of the cabinet after passing through long
+files of the king's body-guard. Just as he was raising the tapestry
+which veiled the entrance, Lorgnac sprang upon him and plunged a
+dagger into his throat. Others immediately joined in the assault, and
+the duke dropped, pierced with innumerable wounds, dead upon the
+floor.
+
+Henry, hearing the noise and knowing well what it signified, very
+coolly stepped from his cabinet into the ante-chamber, and, looking
+calmly upon the bloody corpse, said,
+
+"Do you think he is dead, Lorgnac?"
+
+"Yes, sire," Lorgnac replied, "he looks like it."
+
+"Good God, how tall he is!" said the king. "He seems taller dead than
+when he was living." Then giving the gory body a kick, he exclaimed,
+"Venomous beast, thou shalt cast forth no more venom."
+
+In the same manner the duke had treated the remains of the noble
+Admiral Coligni, a solemn comment upon the declaration, "With what
+measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again."
+
+Cardinal Guise, the brother of the duke, was immediately arrested by
+order of the king, and sent to prison, where he was assassinated.
+Henry III. soon after repaired to the bedside of Catharine his mother,
+who was lying sick in one of the chambers of the castle. Nothing can
+show more clearly the character of the times and of the personages
+than the following laconic dialogue which ensued:
+
+"How do you do, mother, this morning?" inquired the king.
+
+"I am better than I have been," she replied.
+
+"So am I," Henry rejoined, gayly, "for I have made myself this morning
+King of France by putting to death the King of Paris."
+
+"Take care," this hardened woman exclaimed, "that you do not soon find
+yourself _king of nothing_. Diligence and resolution are now
+absolutely necessary for you."
+
+She then turned upon her pillow without the slightest apparent
+emotion. In twelve days from this time, this wretched queen, deformed
+by every vice, without one single redeeming virtue, breathed her last,
+seventy years of age. She was despised by the Catholics, and hated by
+the Protestants.
+
+These acts of violence and crime roused the League to the most intense
+energy. The murder of the Duke of Guise, and especially the murder of
+his brother, a cardinal in the Church, were acts of impiety which no
+atonement could expiate. Though Henry was a Catholic, and all his
+agents in these atrocious murders were Catholics, the death of the
+Duke of Guise increased vastly the probability that Protestant
+influences might become dominant at court. The Pope issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry
+III. The Sorbonne published a decree declaring that the king had
+forfeited all right to the obedience of his subjects, and justifying
+them in taking up arms against him. The clergy, from the pulpit,
+refused communion, absolution, and burial in holy ground to every one
+who yielded obedience to "the perfidious apostate and tyrant; Henry of
+Valois."
+
+The League immediately chose the Duke of Mayenne, a surviving brother
+of the Duke of Guise, as its head. The Pope issued his anathemas
+against Henry III., and Spain sent her armies to unite with the
+League. Henry now found it necessary to court the assistance of the
+Protestants. He dreaded to take this step, for he was superstitious in
+the extreme, and he could not endure the thought of any alliance with
+heretics. He had still quite a formidable force which adhered to him,
+for many of the highest nobles were disgusted with the arrogance of
+the Guises, and were well aware that the enthronement of the house of
+Guise would secure their own banishment from court.
+
+The triumph of the League would be total discomfiture to the
+Protestants. No freedom of worship or of conscience whatever would be
+allowed them. It was therefore for the interest of the Protestants to
+sustain the more moderate party hostile to the League. It was
+estimated that about one sixth of the inhabitants of France were at
+that time Protestants.
+
+Wretched, war-scathed France was now distracted by three parties.
+First, there were the Protestants, contending only in self-defense
+against persecution, and yet earnestly praying that, upon the death of
+the king, Henry of Navarre, the legitimate successor, might ascend the
+throne. Next came those Catholics who were friendly to the claims of
+Henry from their respect for the ancient law of succession. Then
+came, combined in the League, the bigoted partisans of the Church,
+resolved to exterminate from Europe, with fire and sword, the detested
+heresy of Protestantism.
+
+Henry III. was now at the castle of Blois. Paris was hostile to him.
+The Duke of Mayenne, younger brother of the Duke of Guise, at the head
+of five thousand soldiers of the League, marched to the metropolis,
+where he was received by the Parisians with unbounded joy. He was
+urged by the populace and the Parliament in Paris to proclaim himself
+king. But he was not yet prepared for so decisive a step.
+
+No tongue can tell the misery which now pervaded ill-fated France.
+Some cities were Protestant, some were Catholic; division, and war,
+and blood were every where. Armed bands swept to and fro, and
+conflagration and slaughter deluged the kingdom.
+
+The king immediately sent to Henry of Navarre, promising to confer
+many political privileges upon the Protestants, and to maintain
+Henry's right to the throne, if he would aid him in the conflict
+against the League. The terms of reconciliation were soon effected.
+Henry of Navarre, then leaving his army to advance by rapid marches,
+rode forward with his retinue to meet his brother-in-law, Henry of
+Valois. He found him at one of the ancient palaces of France, Plessis
+les Tours. The two monarchs had been friends in childhood, but they
+had not met for many years. The King of Navarre was urged by his
+friends not to trust himself in the power of Henry III. "For," said
+they, "the King of France desires nothing so much as to obtain
+reconciliation with the Pope, and no offering can be so acceptable to
+the Pope as the death of a heretic prince."
+
+Henry hesitated a moment when he arrived upon an eminence which
+commanded a distant view of the palace. Then exclaiming, "God guides
+me, and He will go with me," he plunged his spurs into his horse's
+side, and galloped forward.
+
+The two monarchs met, each surrounded with a gorgeous retinue, in one
+of the magnificent avenues which conducted to the castle. Forgetting
+the animosities of years, and remembering only the friendships of
+childhood, they cast themselves cordially into each other's arms. The
+multitude around rent the air with their acclamations.
+
+Henry of Navarre now addressed a manifesto to all the inhabitants of
+France in behalf of their woe-stricken country. "I conjure you all,"
+said he, "Catholics as well as Protestants, to have pity on the state
+and on yourselves. We have all done and suffered evil enough. We have
+been four years intoxicate, insensate, and furious. Is not this
+sufficient? Has not God smitten us all enough to allay our fury, and
+to make us wise at last?"
+
+But passion was too much aroused to allow such appeals to be heeded.
+Battle after battle, with ever-varying success, ensued between the
+combined forces of the king and Henry of Navarre on one side, and of
+the League, aided by many of the princes of Catholic Europe, on the
+other. The storms of winter swept over the freezing armies and the
+smouldering towns, and the wail of the victims of horrid war blended
+with the moanings of the gale. Spring came, but it brought no joy to
+desolate, distracted, wretched France. Summer came, and the bright sun
+looked down upon barren fields, and upon a bleeding, starving,
+fighting nation. Henry of Navarre, in command of the royal forces, at
+the head of thirty thousand troops, was besieging Paris, which was
+held by the Duke of Mayenne, and boldly and skillfully was conducting
+his approaches to a successful termination. The cause of the League
+began to wane. Henry III. had taken possession of the castle of St.
+Cloud, and from its elevated windows looked out with joy upon the bold
+assaults and the advancing works.
+
+[Illustration: THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.]
+
+The leaders of the League now resolved to resort again to the old
+weapon of assassination. Henry III. was to be killed. But no man could
+kill him unless he was also willing to sacrifice his own life. The
+Duchess of Montpensier, sister of the Duke of Guise, for the
+accomplishment of this purpose, won the love, by caressings and
+endearments, of Jaques Clement, an ardent, enthusiastic monk of wild
+and romantic imaginings, and of the most intense fanaticism. The
+beautiful duchess surrendered herself without any reserve whatever to
+the paramour she had enticed to her arms, that she might obtain the
+entire supremacy over his mind. Clement concealed a dagger in his
+bosom, and then went out from the gates of the city accompanied by two
+soldiers and with a flag of truce, ostensibly to take a message to the
+king. He refused to communicate his message to any one but the monarch
+himself. Henry III., supposing it to be a communication of importance,
+perhaps a proposition to surrender, ordered him to be admitted
+immediately to his cabinet. Two persons only were present with the
+king. The monk entered, and, kneeling, drew a letter from the sleeve
+of his gown, presented it to the king, and instantly drawing a large
+knife from its concealment, plunged it into the entrails of his
+victim. The king uttered a piercing cry, caught the knife from his
+body and struck at the head of his murderer, wounding him above the
+eye. The two gentlemen who were present instantly thrust their swords
+through the body of the assassin, and he fell dead.
+
+The king, groaning with anguish, was undressed and borne to his bed.
+The tidings spread rapidly, and soon reached the ears of the King of
+Navarre, who was a few miles distant at Meudon. He galloped to St.
+Cloud, and knelt with gushing tears at the couch of the dying monarch.
+Henry III. embraced him with apparently the most tender affection. In
+broken accents, interrupted with groans of anguish, he said,
+
+"If my wound proves mortal, I leave my crown to you as my legitimate
+successor. If my will can have any effect, the crown will remain as
+firmly upon your brow as it was upon that of Charlemagne."
+
+He then assembled his principal officers around him, and enjoined them
+to unite for the preservation of the monarchy, and to sustain the
+claims of the King of Navarre as the indisputable heir to the throne
+of France.
+
+A day of great anxiety passed slowly away, and as the shades of
+evening settled down over the palace, it became manifest to all that
+the wound was mortal. The wounded monarch writhed upon his bed in
+fearful agony. At midnight, Henry of Navarre, who was busily engaged
+superintending some of the works of the siege, was sent for, as the
+King of France was dying. Accompanied by a retinue of thirty
+gentlemen, he proceeded at full speed to the gates of the castle where
+the monarch was struggling in the grasp of the King of Terrors.
+
+It is difficult to imagine the emotions which must have agitated the
+soul of Henry of Navarre during this dark and gloomy ride. The day had
+not yet dawned when he arrived at the gates of the castle. The first
+tidings he received were, _The king is dead_. It was the 2d of August,
+1589.
+
+Henry of Navarre was now Henry IV., King of France. But never did
+monarch ascend the throne under circumstances of greater perplexity
+and peril. Never was a more distracted kingdom placed in the hands of
+a new monarch. Henry was now thirty-four years of age. The whole
+kingdom was convulsed by warring factions. For years France had been
+desolated by all the most virulent elements of religious and political
+animosity. All hearts were demoralized by familiarity with the dagger
+of the assassin and the carnage of the battle-field. Almost universal
+depravity had banished all respect for morality and law. The whole
+fabric of society was utterly disorganized.
+
+Under these circumstances, Henry developed that energy and sagacity
+which have given him a high position among the most renowned of
+earthly monarchs. He immediately assembled around him that portion of
+the royal army in whose fidelity he could confide. Without the delay
+of an hour, he commenced dictating letters to all the monarchies of
+Europe, announcing his accession to the throne, and soliciting their
+aid to confirm him in his legitimate rights.
+
+As the new sovereign entered the chamber of the deceased king, he
+found the corpse surrounded by many of the Catholic nobility of
+France. They were ostentatiously solemnizing the obsequies of the
+departed monarch. He heard many low mutterings from these zealous
+partisans of Rome, that they would rather die a thousand deaths than
+allow a Protestant king to ascend the throne. Angry eyes glared upon
+him from the tumultuous and mutinous crowd, and, had not Henry retired
+to consult for his own safety, he also might have fallen the victim of
+assassination. In the intense excitement of these hours, the leading
+Catholics held a meeting, and appointed a committee to wait upon
+Henry, and inform him that he must immediately abjure Protestantism
+and adopt the Catholic faith, or forfeit their support to the crown.
+
+"Would you have me," Henry replied, "profess conversion with the
+dagger at my throat? And could you, in the day of battle, follow one
+with confidence who had thus proved that he was an apostate and
+without a God? I can only promise carefully to examine the subject
+that I may be guided to the truth."
+
+Henry was a Protestant from the force of circumstances rather than
+from conviction. He was not a theologian either in mind or heart, and
+he regarded the Catholics and Protestants merely as two political
+parties, the one or the other of which he would join, according as, in
+his view, it might promote his personal interests and the welfare of
+France. In his childhood he was a Catholic. In boyhood, under the
+tuition of his mother, Protestant influences were thrown around him,
+and he was nominally a Protestant. He saved his life at St.
+Bartholomew by avowing the Catholic faith. When he escaped from the
+Catholic court and returned to his mother's Protestant court in
+Navarre, he espoused with new vigor the cause of his Protestant
+friends. These changes were of course more or less mortifying, and
+they certainly indicated a total want of religious conviction. He now
+promised carefully to look at the arguments on both sides of the
+question, and to choose deliberately that which should seem to him
+right. This arrangement, however, did not suit the more zealous of the
+Catholics, and, in great numbers, they abandoned his camp and passed
+over to the League.
+
+The news of the death of Henry III. was received with unbounded
+exultation in the besieged city. The Duchess of Montpensier threw her
+arms around the neck of the messenger who brought her the welcome
+tidings, exclaiming,
+
+"Ah! my friend, is it true? Is the monster really dead? What a
+gratification! I am only grieved to think that he did not know that it
+was I who directed the blow."
+
+She rode out immediately, that she might have the pleasure herself of
+communicating the intelligence. She drove through the streets,
+shouting from her carriage, "Good news! good news! the tyrant is
+dead." The joy of the priests rose to the highest pitch of fanatical
+fervor. The assassin was even canonized. The Pope himself condescended
+to pronounce a eulogium upon the "_martyr_," and a statue was erected
+to his memory, with the inscription, "St. Jaques Clement, pray for
+us."
+
+The League now proclaimed as king the old Cardinal of Bourbon, under
+the title of Charles X., and nearly all of Catholic Europe rallied
+around this pretender to the crown. No one denied the validity of the
+title, according to the principles of legitimacy, of Henry IV. His
+rights, however, the Catholics deemed forfeited by his Protestant
+tendencies. Though Henry immediately issued a decree promising every
+surety and support to the Catholic religion as the established
+religion of France, still, as he did not also promise to devote all
+his energies to the extirpation of the heresy of Protestantism, the
+great majority of the Catholics were dissatisfied.
+
+Epernon, one of the most conspicuous of the Catholic leaders, at the
+head of many thousand Catholic soldiers, waited upon the king
+immediately after the death of Henry III., and informed him that they
+could not maintain a Protestant on the throne. With flying banners and
+resounding bugles they then marched from the camp and joined the
+League. So extensive was this disaffection, that in one day Henry
+found himself deserted by all his army except six thousand, most of
+whom were Protestants. Nearly thirty thousand men had abandoned him,
+some to retire to their homes, and others to join the enemy.
+
+The army of the League within the capital was now twenty thousand
+strong. They prepared for a rush upon the scattered and broken ranks
+of Henry IV. Firmly, fearlessly, and with well matured plans, he
+ordered a prompt retreat. Catholic Europe aroused itself in behalf of
+the League. Henry appealed to Protestant Europe to come to his aid.
+Elizabeth of England responded promptly to his appeal, and promised to
+send a fleet and troops to the harbor of Dieppe, about one hundred
+miles northwest of Paris, upon the shores of the English Channel.
+Firmly, and with concentrated ranks, the little army of Protestants
+crossed the Seine. Twenty thousand Leaguers eagerly pursued them,
+watching in vain for a chance to strike a deadly blow. Henry ate not,
+slept not, rested not. Night and day, day and night, he was every
+where present, guiding, encouraging, protecting this valiant band.
+Planting a rear guard upon the western banks of the Seine, the chafing
+foe was held in check until the Royalist army had retired beyond the
+Oise. Upon the farther banks of this stream Henry again reared his
+defenses, thwarting every endeavor of his enemies, exasperated by such
+unexpected discomfiture.
+
+As Henry slowly retreated toward the sea, all the Protestants of the
+region through which he passed, and many of the moderate Catholics who
+were in favor of the royal cause and hostile to the house of Guise,
+flocked to his standard. He soon found himself, with seven thousand
+very determined men, strongly posted behind the ramparts of Dieppe.
+
+But the Duke of Mayenne had also received large accessions. The spears
+and banners of his proud host, now numbering thirty-five thousand,
+gleamed from all the hills and valleys which surrounded the fortified
+city. For nearly a month there was almost an incessant conflict. Every
+morning, with anxious eyes, the Royalists scanned the watery horizon,
+hoping to see the fleet of England coming to their aid. Cheered by
+hope, they successfully beat back their assailants. The toils of the
+king were immense. With exalted military genius he guided every
+movement, at the same time sharing the toil of the humblest soldier.
+"It is a marvel," he wrote, "how I live with the labor I undergo. God
+have pity upon me, and show me mercy."
+
+Some of Henry's friends, appalled by the strength of the army pursuing
+them, urged him to embark and seek refuge in England.
+
+"Here we are," Henry replied, "in France, and here let us be buried.
+If we fly now, all our hopes will vanish with the wind which bears
+us."
+
+In a skirmish, one day, one of the Catholic chieftains, the Count de
+B�lin, was taken captive. He was led to the head-quarters of the king.
+Henry greeted him with perfect cordiality, and, noticing the
+astonishment of the count in seeing but a few scattered soldiers where
+he had expected to see a numerous army, he said, playfully, yet with
+a confident air,
+
+"You do not perceive all that I have with me, M. de B�lin, for you do
+not reckon God and the right on my side."
+
+The indomitable energy of Henry, accompanied by a countenance ever
+serene and cheerful under circumstances apparently so desperate,
+inspired the soldiers with the same intrepidity which glowed in the
+bosom of their chief.
+
+But at last the valiant little band, so bravely repelling overwhelming
+numbers, saw, to their inexpressible joy, the distant ocean whitened
+with the sails of the approaching English fleet. Shouts of exultation
+rolled along their exhausted lines, carrying dismay into the camp of
+the Leaguers. A favorable wind pressed the fleet rapidly forward, and
+in a few hours, with streaming banners, and exultant music, and
+resounding salutes, echoed and re-echoed from English ships and French
+batteries, the fleet of Elizabeth, loaded to its utmost capacity with
+money, military supplies, and men, cast anchor in the little harbor of
+Dieppe.
+
+Nearly six thousand men, Scotch and English, were speedily
+disembarked. The Duke of Mayenne, though his army was still double
+that of Henry IV., did not dare to await the onset of his foes thus
+recruited. Hastily breaking up his encampment, he retreated to Paris.
+Henry IV., in gratitude to God for the succor which he had thus
+received from the Protestant Queen of England, directed that
+thanksgivings should be offered in his own quarters according to the
+religious rites of the Protestant Church. This so exasperated the
+Catholics, even in his own camp, that a mutiny was excited, and
+several of the Protestant soldiers were wounded in the fray. So
+extreme was the fanaticism at this time that, several Protestants,
+after a sanguinary fight, having been buried on the battle-field
+promiscuously in a pit with some Catholics who had fallen by their
+side, the priests, even of Henry's army, ordered the Protestant bodies
+to be dug up and thrown out as food for dogs.
+
+While these scenes were transpiring in the vicinity of Dieppe, almost
+every part of France was scathed and cursed by hateful war. Every
+province, city, village, had its partisans for the League or for the
+king. Beautiful France was as a volcano in the world of woe, in whose
+seething crater flames, and blood, and slaughter, the yell of conflict
+and the shriek of agony, blended in horrors which no imagination can
+compass. There was an end to every earthly joy. Cities were bombarded,
+fields of grain trampled in the mire, villages burned. Famine rioted
+over its ghastly victims. Hospitals were filled with miserable
+multitudes, mutilated and with festering wounds, longing for death.
+Not a ray of light pierced the gloom of this dark, black night of
+crime and woe. And yet, undeniably, the responsibility before God must
+rest with the League. Henry IV. was the lawful king of France. The
+Catholics had risen in arms to resist his rights, because they feared
+that he would grant liberty of faith and worship to the Protestants.
+
+The League adopted the most dishonorable and criminal means to
+alienate from Henry the affections of the people. They forged letters,
+in which the king atrociously expressed joy at the murder of Henry
+III., and declared his determination by dissimulation and fraud to
+root out Catholicism entirely from France. No efforts of artifice were
+wanting to render the monarch odious to the Catholic populace. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne occasionally referred to the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon as the king whom he acknowledged, he, with the characteristic
+haughtiness of the family of Guise, assumed himself the air and the
+language of a sovereign. It was very evident that he intended to place
+himself upon the throne.
+
+Henry IV., with the money furnished by Elizabeth, was now able to pay
+his soldiers their arrears. His army steadily increased, and he soon
+marched with twenty-three thousand troops and fourteen pieces of
+artillery to lay siege to Paris. His army had unbounded confidence in
+his military skill. With enthusiastic acclamations they pursued the
+retreating insurgents. Henry was now on the offensive, and his troops
+were posted for the siege of Paris, having driven the foe within its
+walls. After one sanguinary assault, the king became convinced that he
+had not with him sufficient force to carry the city. The Duke of
+Mayenne stood firmly behind the intrenchments of the capital, with an
+army much strengthened by re-enforcements of Spanish and Italian
+troops. Henry accordingly raised the siege, and marched rapidly to
+Etampes, some forty miles south of Paris, where a large part of his
+foes had established themselves. He suddenly attacked the town and
+carried it by assault. The unhappy inhabitants of this city had, in
+the course of four months, experienced the horrors of three assaults.
+The city, in that short period, had been taken and retaken three
+times.
+
+While at Etampes, Henry received a letter from the beautiful but
+disconsolate Louisa of Lorraine, the widow of Henry III., imploring
+him to avenge the murder of her husband. The letter was so affecting
+that, when it was read in the king's council, it moved all the members
+to tears.
+
+Many of the citizens of Paris, weary of the miseries of civil war,
+were now disposed to rally around their lawful monarch as the only
+mode of averting the horrible calamities which overwhelmed France. The
+Duke of Mayenne rigorously arrested all who were suspected of such
+designs, and four of the most prominent of the citizens were condemned
+to death. Henry immediately sent a message to the duke, that if the
+sentence were carried into effect, he would retaliate by putting to
+death some of the Catholic nobles whom he had in his power. Mayenne
+defiantly executed two Royalists. Henry immediately suspended upon a
+gibbet two unfortunate Leaguers who were his captives. This decisive
+reprisal accomplished its purpose, and compelled Mayenne to be more
+merciful.
+
+With great energy, Henry now advanced to Tours, about one hundred and
+twenty miles south of Paris, on the banks of the Loire, taking every
+town by the way, and sweeping all opposition before him. He seldom
+slept more than three hours at a time, and seized his meals where he
+could.
+
+"It takes Mayenne," said Henry, proudly, "more time to put on his
+boots than it does me to win a battle."
+
+"Henry," remarked Pope Sextus V., sadly, "will surely, in the end,
+gain the day, for he spends less hours in bed than Mayenne spends at
+the table."
+
+Though the armies of the League were still superior to the Royalist
+army, victory every where followed the banner of the king. Every day
+there was more and more of union and harmony in his ranks, and more
+and more of discord in the armies of the League. There were various
+aspirants for the throne in case Henry IV. could be driven from the
+kingdom, and all these aspirants had their partisans. The more
+reasonable portion of the Catholic party soon saw that there could be
+no end to civil war unless the rights of Henry IV. were maintained.
+Each day consequently witnessed accessions of powerful nobles to his
+side. The great mass of the people also, notwithstanding their hatred
+of Protestantism and devotion to the Catholic Church, found it
+difficult to break away from their homage to the ancient law of
+succession.
+
+It was now manifest to all, that if Henry would but proclaim himself a
+Catholic, the war would almost instantly terminate, and the people,
+with almost entire unanimity, would rally around him. Henry IV. was a
+lawful monarch endeavoring to put down insurrection. Mayenne was a
+rebel contending against his king. The Pope was so unwilling to see a
+Protestant sovereign enthroned in France, that he issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry IV.
+Many of the Royalist Catholics, however, instead of yielding to these
+thunders of the Vatican, sent a humble apology to the Pope for their
+adherence to the king, and still sustained his cause.
+
+Henry now moved on with the strides of a conqueror, and city after
+city fell into his hands. Wherever he entered a city, the ever
+vacillating multitude welcomed him with acclamations. Regardless of
+the storms of winter, Henry dragged his heavy artillery through the
+mire and over the frozen ruts, and before the close of the year 1589
+his banner waved over fifteen fortified cities and over very many
+minor towns. The forces of the League were entirely swept from three
+of the provinces of France.
+
+Still Paris was in the hands of the Duke of Mayenne, and a large part
+of the kingdom was yet held in subjection by the forces of the League.
+
+At one time, in the face of a fierce cannonade, Henry mounted the
+tower of a church at Meulun to ascertain the position of the enemy. As
+he was ascending, cannon ball passed between his legs. In returning,
+the stairs were found so shot away that he was compelled to let
+himself down by a rope. All the winter long, the storm of battle raged
+in every part of France, and among all the millions of the ill-fated
+realm, there could not then, perhaps, have been found one single
+prosperous and happy home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+WAR AND WOE.
+
+1590-1591
+
+Ferocity of the combatants.--Liberality of Henry.--Preparations for
+a battle.--Striking phenomenon.--The omen.--Manoeuvres.--Night before
+the battle.--Morning of the battle.--Henry's address to his army.--The
+prayer of Henry.--Anecdote.--Magnanimity of Henry.--The battle of
+Ivry.--Heroism of Henry.--The Leaguers vanquished.--Flight of the
+Leaguers.--Detestable conduct of Mayenne.--Lines on the battle of
+Ivry.--Paris in consternation.--Inexplicable delay.--Magnanimity to
+the Swiss Catholics.--Paris blockaded.--Death of the Cardinal of
+Bourbon.--Horrors of famine.--Kindness of Henry.--Murmurs in
+Paris.--The assault.--The suburbs taken.--The Duchess of
+Montpensier.--Great clemency of Henry.--Murmurs in the camp.--Desultory
+warfare.--Awful condition of France.--Attempts to conciliate the
+Catholics.--Curious challenge.--A new dynasty contemplated.--Trouble
+in the camp of Henry.--Motives for abjuring Protestantism.
+
+
+Civil war seems peculiarly to arouse the ferocity of man. Family
+quarrels are notoriously implacable. Throughout the whole kingdom of
+France the war raged with intense violence, brother against brother,
+and father against child. Farm-houses, cities, villages, were burned
+mercilessly. Old men, women, and children were tortured and slain with
+insults and derision. Maiden modesty was cruelly violated, and every
+species of inhumanity was practiced by the infuriated antagonists. The
+Catholic priests were in general conspicuous for their brutality. They
+resolved that the Protestant heresy should be drowned in blood and
+terror.
+
+Henry IV. was peculiarly a humane man. He cherished kind feelings for
+all his subjects, and was perfectly willing that the Catholic religion
+should retain its unquestioned supremacy. His pride, however, revolted
+from yielding to compulsory conversion, and he also refused to become
+the persecutor of his former friends. Indeed, it seems probable that
+he was strongly inclined toward the Catholic faith as, on the whole,
+the safest and the best. He consequently did every thing in his power
+to mitigate the mercilessness of the strife, and to win his Catholic
+subjects by the most signal clemency. But no efforts of his could
+restrain his partisans in different parts of the kingdom from severe
+retaliation.
+
+Through the long months of a cold and dreary winter the awful carnage
+continued, with success so equally balanced that there was no prospect
+of any termination to this most awful of national calamities. Early in
+March, 1590, the armies of Henry IV. and of the Duke of Mayenne began
+to congregate in the vicinity of Ivry, about fifty miles west of
+Paris, for a decisive battle. The snows of winter had nearly
+disappeared, and the cold rains of spring deluged the roads. The
+Sabbath of the eleventh of March was wet and tempestuous. As night
+darkened over the bleak and soaked plains of Ivry, innumerable
+battalions of armed men, with spears, and banners, and heavy pieces of
+artillery, dragged axle-deep through the mire, were dimly discerned
+taking positions for an approaching battle. As the blackness of
+midnight enveloped them, the storm increased to fearful fury. The gale
+fiercely swept the plain, in its loud wailings and its roar drowning
+every human sound. The rain, all the night long, poured down in
+torrents. But through the darkness and the storm, and breasting the
+gale, the contending hosts, without even a watch-fire to cheer the
+gloom, waited anxiously for the morning.
+
+In the blackest hour of the night, a phenomenon, quite unusual at that
+season of the year, presented itself. The lightning gleamed in
+dazzling brilliance from cloud to cloud, and the thunder rolled over
+their heads as if an aerial army were meeting and charging in the
+sanguinary fight. It was an age of superstition, and the shivering
+soldiers thought that they could distinctly discern the banners of the
+battling hosts. Eagerly and with awe they watched the surgings of the
+strife as spirit squadrons swept to and fro with streaming banners of
+fire, and hurling upon each other the thunderbolts of the skies. At
+length the storm of battle seemed to lull, or, rather, to pass away in
+the distance. There was the retreat of the vanquished, the pursuit of
+the victors. The flash of the guns became more faint, and the roar of
+the artillery diminished as farther and still farther the embattled
+hosts vanished among the clouds. Again there was the silence of
+midnight, and no sounds were heard but the plashing of the rain.
+
+The Royalists and the insurgents, each party inflamed more or less by
+religious fanaticism, were each disposed to regard the ethereal battle
+as waged between the spirits of light and the spirits of darkness,
+angels against fiends. Each party, of course, imagined itself as
+represented by the angel bands, which doubtless conquered. The
+phenomenon was thus, to both, the omen of success, and inspired both
+with new energies.
+
+The morning dawned gloomily. Both armies were exhausted and nearly
+frozen by the chill storm of the night. Neither of the parties were
+eager to commence the fight, as each was anxious to wait for
+re-enforcements, which were hurrying forward, from distant posts, with
+the utmost possible speed. The two next days were passed in various
+manoeuvres to gain posts of advantage. The night of the 13th came.
+Henry took but two hours of repose upon a mattress, and then, every
+thing being arranged according to his wishes, spent nearly all the
+rest of the night in prayer. He urged the Catholics and the
+Protestants in his army to do the same, each according to the rites
+of his own Church. The Catholic priests and the Protestant clergy led
+the devotions of their respective bands, and there can be no doubt
+whatever that they implored the aid of God with as perfect a
+conviction of the righteousness of their cause as the human heart can
+feel.
+
+And how was it in the army of the Duke of Mayenne? They also looked to
+God for support. The Pope, Christ's vicar upon earth, had blessed
+their banners. He had called upon all of the faithful to advocate
+their cause. He had anathematized their foes as the enemies of God and
+man, justly doomed to utter extermination. Can it be doubted that the
+ecclesiastics and the soldiers who surrounded the Duke of Mayenne,
+ready to lay down their lives for the Church, were also, many of them,
+sincere in their supplications? Such is bewildered, benighted man.
+When will he imbibe the spirit of a noble toleration--of a kind
+brotherhood?
+
+The morning of the 14th of March arrived. The stars shone brilliantly
+in the clear, cold sky. The vast plain of Ivry and its surrounding
+hills gleamed with the camp-fires of the two armies, now face to face.
+It is impossible to estimate with precision the two forces. It is
+generally stated that Henry IV. had from ten to twelve thousand men,
+and the Duke of Mayenne from sixteen to twenty thousand.
+
+Before the first glimmer of day, Henry mounted his horse, a powerful
+bay charger, and riding slowly along his lines, addressed to every
+company words of encouragement and hope. His spirit was subdued and
+his voice was softened by the influence of prayer. He attempted no
+lofty harangue; he gave utterance to no clarion notes of enthusiasm;
+but mildly, gently, with a trembling voice and often with a moistened
+eye, implored them to be true to God, to France, and to themselves.
+
+"Your future fame and your personal safety," said he, "depend upon
+your heroism this day. The crown of France awaits the decision of your
+swords. If we are defeated to-day, we are defeated hopelessly, for we
+have no reserves upon which we can fall back."
+
+Then assembling nearly all his little band in a square around him, he
+placed himself upon an eminence where he could be seen by all, and
+where nearly all could hear him, and then, with clasped hands and eyes
+raised to Heaven, offered the following prayer--a truly extraordinary
+prayer, so humble and so Christian in its spirit of resignation:
+
+"O God, I pray thee, who alone knowest the intentions of man's heart,
+to do thy will upon me as thou shalt judge necessary for the weal of
+Christendom. And wilt thou preserve me as long as thou seest it to be
+needful for the happiness and the repose of France, and no longer. If
+thou dost see that I should be one of those kings on whom thou dost
+lay thy wrath, take my life with my crown, and let my blood be the
+last poured out in this quarrel."
+
+Then turning to his troops, he said,
+
+"Companions, God is with us. You are to meet His enemies and ours. If,
+in the turmoil of the battle, you lose sight of your banner, follow
+the white plume upon my casque. You will find it in the road to
+victory and honor."
+
+But a few hours before this, General Schomberg, who was in command of
+the auxiliaries furnished to Henry by Germany, urged by the
+importunity of his troops, ventured to ask for their pay, which was in
+arrears. Henry, irritated, replied,
+
+"A man of courage would not ask for money on the eve of a battle."
+
+The words had no sooner escaped his lips than he regretted them. Henry
+now rode to the quarters of this veteran officer, and thus
+magnanimously addressed him:
+
+"General Schomberg, I have insulted you. As this day may be the last
+of my life, I would not carry away the honor of a gentleman and be
+unable to restore it. I know your valor, and I ask your pardon. I
+beseech you to forgive me and embrace me."
+
+This was true magnanimity. General Schomberg nobly replied,
+
+"Sire, you did, indeed, wound me yesterday, but to-day you kill me.
+The honor you have done me will lead me to lay down my life in your
+service."
+
+A terrible battle immediately ensued. All fought bravely, ferociously,
+infernally. Love and peace are the elements of heaven. Hatred and war
+are the elements of hell. Man, upon the battle-field, even in a good
+cause, must call to his aid the energies of the world of woe. Rushing
+squadrons swept the field, crushing beneath iron hoofs the dying and
+the dead. Grapeshot mowed down the crowded ranks, splintering bones,
+and lacerating nerves, and extorting shrieks of agony which even the
+thunders of the battle could not drown. Henry plunged into the
+thickest of the fight, every where exposing himself to peril like the
+humblest soldier. The conflict was too desperate to be lasting. In
+less than an hour the field of battle was crimson with blood and
+covered with mangled corpses.
+
+The Leaguers began to waver. They broke and fled in awful confusion.
+The miserable fugitives were pursued and cut down by the keen swords
+of the cavalry, while from every eminence the cannon of the victors
+plowed their retreating ranks with balls. Henry himself headed the
+cavalry in the impetuous pursuit, that the day might be the more
+decisive. When he returned, covered with blood, he was greeted from
+his triumphant ranks with the shout, _Vive le roi!_
+
+Marshal Biron, with a powerful reserve, had remained watching the
+progress of the fight, ready to avail himself of any opportunity which
+might present to promote or to increase the discomfiture of the foe.
+He now joined the monarch, saying,
+
+"This day, sire, you have performed the part of Marshal Biron, and
+Marshal Biron that of the king."
+
+"Let us praise God, marshal," answered Henry, "for the victory is
+his."
+
+The routed army fled with the utmost precipitation in two directions,
+one division toward Chartres and the other toward Ivry. The whole
+Royalist army hung upon their rear, assailing them with every
+available missile of destruction. The Duke of Mayenne fled across the
+Eure. Thousands of his broken bands were crowding the shore, striving
+to force their way across the thronged bridge, when the Royalist
+cavalry, led by the monarch himself, was seen in the distance spurring
+furiously over the hills. Mayenne himself having passed, in order to
+secure his own safety, cruelly gave the command to destroy the bridge,
+leaving the unhappy men who had not yet crossed at the mercy of the
+victors. The bridge was immediately blown up. Many of those thus
+abandoned, in their terror cast themselves into the flooded stream,
+where multitudes were drowned. Others shot their horses and built a
+rampart of their bodies. Behind this revolting breastwork they
+defended themselves, until, one after another, they all fell beneath
+the sabres and the bullets of the Protestants. In this dreadful
+retreat more than two thousand were put to the sword, large numbers
+were drowned, and many were taken captive.
+
+In this day, so glorious to the Royalist cause, more than one half of
+the army of the Leaguers were either slain or taken prisoners. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne escaped, many of his best generals perished upon
+the field of battle or were captured. It is reported that Henry
+shouted to his victorious troops as they were cutting down the
+fugitives, "Spare the French; they are our brethren."
+
+This celebrated battle has often been the theme of the poet. But no
+one has done the subject better justice than Mr. Macaulay in the
+following spirited lines. They are intended to express the feelings of
+a Huguenot soldier.
+
+                         THE BATTLE OF IVRY.
+
+ "The king has come to marshal us, all in his armor dressed.
+ And he has bound a snow-white plume upon his gallant crest.
+ He looked upon his people, and a tear was in his eye;
+ He looked upon the traitors, and his glance was stern and high.
+ Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing,
+ Down all our line, a deafening shout, 'God save our lord the king!'
+ 'And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may,
+ For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray,
+ Press where ye see my white plume shine, amid the ranks of war,
+ And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre.'
+
+ "'Hurrah! the foes are coming! Hark to the mingled din
+ Of fife and steed, and trump and drum, and roaring culverin!
+ The fiery duke is pricking fast across St. Andre's plain,
+ With all the hireling chivalry of Guelders and Almagne.
+ Now, by the lips of those we love, fair gentlemen of France,
+ Charge for the golden lilies now--upon them with the lance!'
+ A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears in rest,
+ A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest.
+ And on they burst, and on they rushed, while, like a guiding star,
+ Amid the thickest carnage blazed the helmet of Navarre.
+
+ "Now, God be praised, the day is ours! Mayenne hath turned his rein,
+ D'Aumale hath cried for quarter, the Flemish count is slain;
+ Their ranks are breaking like thin clouds before a Biscay gale;
+ The field is heaped with bleeding steeds, and flags, and cloven mail.
+ And then we thought on vengeance, and all along our van,
+ 'Remember St. Bartholomew,' was passed from man to man;
+ But out spake gentle Henry, 'No Frenchman is my foe;
+ Down--down with every foreigner! but let your brethren go.'
+ Oh, was there ever such a knight, in friendship or in war,
+ As our sovereign lord King Henry, the soldier of Navarre?"
+
+This decisive battle established Henry on the throne. Mayenne still
+held Paris, and many other important fortresses in other parts of
+France; but his main army was defeated and dispersed, and he could no
+longer venture to encounter Henry in the open field. Having thrown
+some additional forces into Paris, which city he knew that Henry would
+immediately besiege, he fled to Flanders to obtain re-enforcements.
+
+Paris was in consternation. Not a town in its vicinity could resist
+the conqueror. Henry was but two days' march from his rebellious
+capital. The Leaguers could hope for no aid for many weeks. The
+Royalist cause had many friends among the Parisians, eager for an
+opportunity to raise within their walls the banner of their lawful
+sovereign.
+
+Henry had now the entire command of the Seine from Rouen to Paris. Had
+he immediately marched upon the capital, there can be no doubt that it
+would have been compelled to surrender; but, for some reason which has
+never been satisfactorily explained, he remained for a fortnight
+within one day's march of the field of Ivry. Various causes have been
+surmised for this unaccountable delay, but there is no authentic
+statement to be found in any letters written by Henry, or in any
+contemporaneous records. The time, however, thus lost, whatever might
+have been the cause, proved to him a terrible calamity. The partisans
+of the League in the city had time to recover from their panic, to
+strengthen their defenses, and to collect supplies.
+
+One act of magnanimity which Henry performed during this interval is
+worthy of record. Two regiments of Swiss Catholics, who had been sent
+to fight beneath the banners of Mayenne, had surrendered to the royal
+forces. They were for a few days intensely anxious respecting their
+fate. Henry restored to them their ensigns, furnished them with money,
+supplied them with provisions, and sent them back to their native
+country. He gave them a letter to the Swiss cantons, with dignity
+reproaching them for their violation of the friendly treaty existing
+between Switzerland and the crown of France.
+
+It was not until the 28th of March that Henry appeared before the
+walls of Paris. By this time the Leaguers had made preparations to
+resist him. Provisions and military stores had been accumulated.
+Troops had been hurried into the city, and arrangements were made to
+hold out till Mayenne could bring them succor. Now a siege was
+necessary, with all its accompaniments of blood and woe. There were
+now fifty thousand fighting men in the city when Henry commenced the
+siege with but twelve thousand foot and three thousand horse.
+
+In this emergence the energy of Henry returned. He took possession of
+the river above and below the city. Batteries were reared upon the
+heights of Montmartre and Montfau�on, and cannon balls, portentous of
+the rising storm, began to fall in the thronged streets of the
+metropolis. In the midst of this state of things the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon died. The Leaguers had pronounced him king under the title of
+Charles X. The insurgents, discomfited in battle, and with many rival
+candidates ambitious of the crown, were not in a condition to attempt
+to elect another monarch. They thought it more prudent to combine and
+fight for victory, postponing until some future day their choice of a
+king. The Catholic priests were almost universally on their side, and
+urged them, by all the most sacred importunities of religion, rather
+to die than to allow a heretic to ascend the throne of France.
+
+Day after day the siege continued. There were bombardments, and
+conflagrations, and sallies, and midnight assaults, and all the
+tumult, and carnage, and woe of horrid war. Three hundred thousand
+men, women, and children were in the beleaguered city. All supplies
+were cut off. Famine commenced its ravages. The wheat became
+exhausted, and they ate bran. The bran was all consumed, and the
+haggard citizens devoured the dogs and the cats. Starvation came. On
+parlor floors and on the hard pavement emaciate forms were stretched
+in the convulsions of death. The shrieks of women and children in
+their dying agonies fell in tones horrible to hear upon the ears of
+the besiegers.
+
+The tender heart of Henry was so moved by the sufferings which he was
+unwillingly instrumental in inflicting, that he allowed some
+provisions to be carried into the city, though he thus protracted the
+siege. He hoped that this humanity would prove to his foes that he did
+not seek revenge. The Duke of Nemours, who conducted the defense,
+encouraged by this unmilitary humanity, that he might relieve himself
+from the encumbrance of useless mouths, drove several thousands out of
+the city. Henry, with extraordinary clemency, allowed three thousand
+to pass through the ranks of his army. He nobly said, "I can not bear
+to think of their sufferings. I had rather conquer my foes by kindness
+than by arms." But the number still increasing, and the inevitable
+effect being only to enable the combatants to hold out more
+stubbornly, Henry reluctantly ordered the soldiers to allow no more to
+pass.
+
+The misery which now desolated the city was awful. Famine bred
+pestilence. Woe and death were every where. The Duke of Nemours,
+younger brother of the Duke of Mayenne, hoping that Mayenne might yet
+bring relief, still continued the defense. The citizens, tortured by
+the unearthly woes which pressed them on every side, began to murmur.
+Nemours erected scaffolds, and ordered every murmurer to be promptly
+hung as a partisan of Henry. Even this harsh remedy could not entirely
+silence fathers whose wives and children were dying of starvation
+before their eyes.
+
+The Duke of Mayenne was preparing to march to the relief of the city
+with an army of Spaniards. Henry resolved to make an attempt to take
+the city by assault before their arrival. The hour was fixed at
+midnight, on the 24th of July. Henry watched the sublime and terrific
+spectacle from an observatory reared on the heights of Montmartre. In
+ten massive columns the Royalists made the fierce onset. The besieged
+were ready for them, with artillery loaded to the muzzle and with
+lighted torches. An eye-witness thus describes the spectacle:
+
+    "The immense city seemed instantly to blaze with
+    conflagrations, or rather by an infinity of mines sprung in
+    its heart. Thick whirlwinds of smoke, pierced at intervals by
+    flashes and long lines of flame, covered the doomed city. The
+    blackness of darkness at one moment enveloped it. Again it
+    blazed forth as if it were a sea of fire. The roar of cannon,
+    the clash of arms, and the shouts of the combatants added to
+    the horrors of the night."
+
+By this attack all of the suburbs were taken, and the condition of the
+besieged rendered more hopeless and miserable. There is no siege upon
+record more replete with horrors. The flesh of the dead was eaten. The
+dry bones of the cemetery were ground up for bread. Starving mothers
+ate their children. It is reported that the Duchess of Montpensier was
+offered three thousand crowns for her dog. She declined the offer,
+saying that she should keep it to eat herself as her last resource.
+
+The compassion of Henry triumphed again and again over his military
+firmness. He allowed the women and children to leave the city, then
+the ecclesiastics, then the starving poor, then the starving rich.
+Each of these acts of generosity added to the strength of his foes.
+The famished Leaguers were now in a condition to make but a feeble
+resistance. Henry was urged to take the city by storm. He could easily
+do this, but fearful slaughter would be the inevitable result. For
+this reason Henry refused, saying,
+
+"I am their father and their king. I can not hear the recital of their
+woes without the deepest sympathy. I would gladly relieve them. I can
+not prevent those who are possessed with the fury of the League from
+perishing, but to those who seek my clemency I must open my arms."
+
+Early in August, more than thirty thousand within the walls of the
+city had perished by famine. Mayenne now marched to the relief of
+Paris. Henry, unwisely, military critics say, raised the siege and
+advanced to meet him, hoping to compel him to a decisive battle.
+Mayenne skillfully avoided a battle, and still more skillfully threw
+abundant supplies into the city.
+
+And now loud murmurs began to arise in the camp of Henry. Many of the
+most influential of the Catholics who adhered to his cause,
+disheartened by this result and by the indications of an endless war,
+declared that it was in vain to hope that any Protestant could be
+accepted as King of France. The soldiers could not conceal their
+discouragement, and the cause of the king was involved anew in gloom.
+
+Still Henry firmly kept the field, and a long series of conflicts
+ensued between detachments of the Royalist army and portions of the
+Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Mayenne and the Duke
+of Parma. The energy of the king was roused to the utmost. Victory
+accompanied his marches, and his foes were driven before him.
+
+The winter of 1591 had now arrived, and still unhappy France was one
+wide and wasted battle-field. Confusion, anarchy, and misery every
+where reigned. Every village had its hostile partisans. Catholic
+cities were besieged by Protestants, and Protestant towns by
+Catholics. In the midst of these terrible scenes, Henry had caught a
+glimpse, at the chateau of Coeuvres, of the beautiful face of
+Gabrielle d'Estr�es. Ignobly yielding to a guilty passion, he again
+forgot the great affairs of state and the woes of his distracted
+country in the pursuit of this new amour. The history of this period
+contains but a monotonous record of the siege of innumerable towns,
+with all the melancholy accompaniments of famine and blood. Summer
+came and went, and hardly a sound of joy was heard amid all the hills
+and valleys of beautiful but war-scathed France.
+
+There was great division existing among the partisans of the League,
+there being several candidates for the throne. There was but one cause
+of division in the ranks of Henry. That he was the legitimate
+sovereign all admitted. It was evident to all that, would Henry but
+abjure Protestantism and embrace the Catholic faith, nearly all
+opposition to him would instantly cease. Many pamphlets were issued by
+the priests urging the iniquity of sustaining a _heretic_ upon the
+throne. The Pope had not only anathematized the heretical sovereign,
+but had condemned to eternal flames all who should maintain his cause.
+
+Henry had no objection to Catholicism. It was the religion of five
+sixths of his subjects. He was now anxious to give his adherence to
+that faith, could he contrive some way to do it with decency. He
+issued many decrees to conciliate the Romanists. He proclaimed that he
+had never yet had time to examine the subject of religious faith; that
+he was anxious for instruction; that he was ready to submit to the
+decision of a council; and that under no circumstances would he suffer
+any change in France detrimental to the Catholic religion. At the same
+time, with energy which reflects credit upon his name, he declared the
+bull fulminated against him by Gregory XIV. as abusive, seditious, and
+damnable, and ordered it to be burned by the public hangman.
+
+By the middle of November, 1591, Henry, with an army of thirty-five
+thousand men, surrounded the city of Rouen. Queen Elizabeth had again
+sent him aid. The Earl of Essex joined the royal army with a retinue
+whose splendor amazed the impoverished nobles of France. His own
+gorgeous dress, and the caparisons of his steed, were estimated to be
+worth sixty thousand crowns of gold. The garrison of Rouen was under
+the command of Governor Villars. Essex sent a curious challenge to
+Villars, that if he would meet him on horseback or on foot, in armor
+or doublet, he would maintain against him man to man, twenty to
+twenty, or sixty to sixty. To this defiance the earl added, "I am thus
+ready to prove that the cause of the king is better than that of the
+League, that Essex is a braver man than Villars, and that my mistress
+is more beautiful than yours." Villars declined the challenge,
+declaring, however, that the three assertions were false, but that he
+did not trouble himself much about the respective beauty of their
+mistresses.
+
+The weary siege continued many weeks, varied with fierce sallies and
+bloody skirmishes. Henry labored in the trenches like a common
+soldier, and shared every peril. He was not wise in so doing, for his
+life was of far too much value to France to be thus needlessly
+periled.
+
+The influential Leaguers in Paris now formed the plan to found a new
+dynasty in France by uniting in marriage the young Duke of Guise--son
+of Henry of Guise who had been assassinated--with Isabella, the
+daughter of Philip II., King of Spain. This secured for their cause
+all the energies of the Spanish monarchy. This plan immediately
+introduced serious discord between Mayenne and his Spanish allies, as
+Mayenne hoped for the crown for himself. About the same time Pope
+Gregory XIV. died, still more depressing the prospects of Mayenne;
+but, with indomitable vigor of intrigue and of battle, he still
+continued to guide the movements of the League, and to watch for
+opportunities to secure for himself the crown of France.
+
+The politics of the nation were now in an inextricable labyrinth of
+confusion. Henry IV. was still sustained by the Protestants, though
+they were ever complaining that he favored too much the Catholics. He
+was also sustained by a portion of the moderate Catholics. They were,
+however, quite lukewarm in their zeal, and were importunately
+demanding that he should renounce the Protestant faith and avow
+himself a Catholic, or they would entirely abandon him. The Swiss and
+Germans in his ranks were filling the camp with murmurs, demanding
+their arrears of pay. The English troops furnished him by Elizabeth
+refused to march from the coast to penetrate the interior.
+
+The League was split into innumerable factions, some in favor of
+Mayenne, others supporting the young Cardinal of Bourbon, and others
+still advocating the claims of the young Duke of Guise and the Infanta
+of Spain. They were all, however, united by a common detestation of
+Protestantism and an undying devotion to the Church of Rome.
+
+In the mean time, though the siege of Rouen was pressed with great
+vigor, all efforts to take the place were unavailing. Henry was
+repeatedly baffled and discomfited, and it became daily more evident
+that, as a Protestant, he never could occupy a peaceful throne in
+Catholic France. Even many of the Protestant leaders, who were
+politicians rather than theologians, urged Henry to become a Catholic,
+as the only possible means of putting an end to this cruel civil war.
+They urged that while his adoption of the Catholic faith would
+reconcile the Catholics, the Protestants, confiding in the freedom of
+faith and worship which his just judgment would secure to them, would
+prefer him for their sovereign to any other whom they could hope to
+obtain. Thus peace would be restored to distracted France. Henry
+listened with a willing mind to these suggestions. To give assurance
+to the Catholics of his sincerity, he sent embassadors to Rome to
+treat with the Pope in regard to his reconciliation with the Church.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE CONVERSION OF THE KING.
+
+1593-1595
+
+Advice of the Duke of Sully.--Perplexity of Henry.--Theological
+argument of Sully.--Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis.--Inflexible
+integrity of Mornay.--Mornay's reply to Henry III.--Attempt to bribe
+Mornay.--His address to the courtiers.--Indecision of Henry.--Process
+of conversion.--Testimony of Sully.--Gabrielle d'Estr�es.--Influence
+of Gabrielle.--Abjuration of Protestantism.--Public adoption of the
+Catholic faith.--Ceremony in the Church of St. Denis.--Alleged
+sincerity of the king.--Other motives assigned.--Political effects
+of Henry's conversion.--Satisfaction of the people.--Ferocity of
+the Pope.--Coronation of the king.--Paris secretly surrendered.--The
+entry to Paris.--Noble conduct.--Justice of Henry IV.--Joy in
+Paris.--Reconciliation with the Pope.--Henry chastised by proxy.--The
+farce.--Cause of the war.--The Protestants still persecuted.--Scene
+of massacre.--Dissatisfaction of both Catholics and
+Protestants.--Complaints of the Reformed Churches of France.
+
+
+This bloody war of the succession had now desolated France for four
+years. The Duke of Sully, one of the most conspicuous of the political
+Calvinists, was at last induced to give his influence to lead the king
+to accept the Catholic faith. Sully had been Henry's companion from
+childhood. Though not a man of deep religious convictions, he was one
+of the most illustrious of men in ability, courage, and integrity.
+Conversing with Henry upon the distracted affairs of state, he said,
+one day,
+
+"That you should wait for me, being a Protestant, to counsel you to go
+to mass, is a thing you should not do, although I will boldly declare
+to you that it is the prompt and easy way of destroying all malign
+projects. You will thus meet no more enemies, sorrows, nor
+difficulties _in this world_. As to the _other world_," he continued,
+smiling, "I can not answer for that."
+
+The king continued in great perplexity. He felt that it was degrading
+to change his religion upon apparent compulsion, or for the
+accomplishment of any selfish purpose. He knew that he must expose
+himself to the charge of apostasy and of hypocrisy in affirming a
+change of belief, even to accomplish so meritorious a purpose as to
+rescue a whole nation from misery. These embarrassments to a
+vacillating mind were terrible.
+
+Early one morning, before rising, he sent for Sully. The duke found
+the king sitting up in his bed, "scratching his head in great
+perplexity." The political considerations in favor of the change urged
+by the duke could not satisfy fully the mind of the king. He had still
+some conscientious scruples, imbibed from the teachings of a pious and
+sainted mother. The illustrious warrior, financier, and diplomatist
+now essayed the availability of theological considerations, and urged
+the following argument of Jesuitical shrewdness:
+
+"I hold it certain," argued the duke, "that whatever be the exterior
+form of the religion which men profess, if they live in the
+observation of the Decalogue, believe in the Creed of the apostles,
+love God with all their heart, have charity toward their neighbor,
+hope in the mercy of God, and to obtain salvation by the death,
+merits, and justice of Jesus Christ, they can not fail to be saved."
+
+Henry caught eagerly at this plausible argument. The Catholics say
+that no Protestant can be saved, but the Protestants admit that a
+Catholic may be, if in heart honest, just, and true. The sophistry of
+the plea in behalf of an _insincere_ renunciation of faith is too
+palpable to influence any mind but one eager to be convinced. The king
+was counseled to obey the Decalogue, which _forbids false witness_,
+while at the same time he was to be guilty of an act of fraud and
+hypocrisy.
+
+But Henry had another counselor. Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis,
+had imbibed from his mother's lips a knowledge of the religion of
+Jesus Christ. His soul was endowed by nature with the most noble
+lineaments, and he was, if man can judge, a devoted and exalted
+Christian. There was no one, in those stormy times, more illustrious
+as a warrior, statesman, theologian, and orator. "We can not," says a
+French writer, "indicate a species of merit in which he did not excel,
+except that he did not advance his own fortune." When but twelve years
+of age, a priest exhorted him to beware of the opinions of the
+Protestants.
+
+"I am resolved," Philip replied, firmly, "to remain steadfast in what
+I have learned of the service of God. When I doubt any point, I will
+diligently examine the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles."
+
+His uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims, advised him to read the fathers
+of the Church, and promised him the revenues of a rich abbey and the
+prospect of still higher advancement if he would adhere to the
+Catholic religion. Philip read the fathers and declined the bribe,
+saying,
+
+"I must trust to God for what I need."
+
+Almost by a miracle he had escaped the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and
+fled to England. The Duke of Anjou, who had become King of Poland,
+wishing to conciliate the Protestants, wrote to Mornay in his poverty
+and exile, proposing to him a place in his ministry. The noble man
+replied,
+
+"I will never enter the service of those who have shed the blood of my
+brethren."
+
+He soon joined the feeble court of the King of Navarre, and adhered
+conscientiously, through all vicissitudes, to the Protestant cause.
+Henry IV. was abundantly capable of appreciating such a character, and
+he revered and loved Mornay. His services were invaluable to Henry,
+for he seemed to be equally skillful in nearly all departments of
+knowledge and of business. He could with equal facility guide an army,
+construct a fortress, and write a theological treatise. Many of the
+most important state papers of Henry IV. he hurriedly wrote upon the
+field of battle or beneath his wind-shaken tent. Henry III., on one
+occasion, had said to him,
+
+"How can a man of your intelligence and ability be a Protestant? Have
+you never read the Catholic doctors?"
+
+"Not only have I read the Catholic doctors," Mornay replied, "but I
+have read them with eagerness; for I am flesh and blood like other
+men, and I was not born without ambition. I should have been very glad
+to find something to flatter my conscience that I might participate in
+the favors and honors you distribute, and from which my religion
+excludes me; but, above all, I find something which fortifies my
+faith, and the world must yield to conscience."
+
+The firm Christian principles of Philip of Mornay were now almost the
+only barrier which stood in the way of the conversion of Henry. The
+Catholic lords offered Mornay twenty thousand crowns of gold if he
+would no more awaken the scruples of the king. Nobly he replied,
+
+"The conscience of my master is not for sale, neither is mine."
+
+Great efforts were then made to alienate Henry from his faithful
+minister. Mornay by chance one day entered the cabinet of the king,
+where his enemies were busy in their cabals. In the boldness of an
+integrity which never gave him cause to blush, he thus addressed them
+in the presence of the sovereign:
+
+"It is hard, gentlemen, to prevent the king my master from speaking to
+his faithful servant. The proposals which I offer the king are such
+that I can pronounce them distinctly before you all. I propose to him
+to serve God with a good conscience; to keep Him in view in every
+action; to quiet the schism which is in his state by a holy
+reformation of the Church, and to be an example for all Christendom
+during all time to come. Are these things to be spoken in a corner? Do
+you wish me to counsel him to go to mass? With what conscience shall I
+advise if I do not first go myself? And what is religion, if it can be
+laid aside like a shirt?"
+
+The Catholic nobles felt the power of this moral courage and
+integrity, and one of them, Marshal d'Aumont, yielding to a generous
+impulse, exclaimed,
+
+"You are better than we are, Monsieur Mornay; and if I said, two days
+ago, that it was necessary to give you a pistol-shot in the head, I
+say to-day entirely the contrary, and that you should have a statue."
+
+Henry, however, was a politician, not a Christian; and nothing is more
+amazing than the deaf ear which even apparently good men can turn to
+the pleadings of conscience when they are involved in the mazes of
+political ambition. The process of conversion was, for decency's sake,
+protracted and ostentatious. As Henry probably had no fixed religious
+principles, he could with perhaps as much truth say that he was a
+Catholic as that he was a Protestant.
+
+On the 23d of July the king listened to a public argument, five hours
+in length, from the Archbishop of Bourges, upon the points of
+essential difference between the two antagonistic creeds. Henry found
+the reasoning of the archbishop most comfortably persuasive, and,
+having separated himself for a time from Mornay, he professed to be
+solemnly convinced that the Roman Catholic faith was the true
+religion. Those who knew Henry the best declare that he was sincere in
+the change, and his subsequent life seems certainly to indicate that
+he was so. The Duke of Sully, who refused to follow Henry into the
+Catholic Church, records,
+
+    "As uprightness and sincerity formed the depth of his heart,
+    as they did of his words, I am persuaded that nothing would
+    have been capable of making him embrace a religion which he
+    internally despised, or of which he even doubted."
+
+In view of this long interview with the Archbishop of Bourges, Henry
+wrote to the frail but beautiful Gabrielle d'Estr�es,
+
+"I began this morning to speak to the bishops. On Sunday I shall take
+the perilous leap." The king's connection with Gabrielle presented
+another strong motive to influence his conversion. Henry, when a mere
+boy, had been constrained by political considerations to marry the
+worthless and hateful sister of Charles IX. For the wife thus coldly
+received he never felt an emotion of affection. She was an unblushing
+profligate. The king, in one of his campaigns, met the beautiful
+maiden Gabrielle in the chateau of her father. They both immediately
+loved each other, and a relation prohibited by the divine law soon
+existed between them. Never, perhaps, was there a better excuse for
+unlawful love. But guilt ever brings woe. Neither party were happy.
+Gabrielle felt condemned and degraded, and urged the king to obtain a
+divorce from the notoriously profligate Marguerite of Valois, that
+their union might be sanctioned by the rites of religion. Henry loved
+Gabrielle tenderly. Her society was his chiefest joy, and it is said
+that he ever remained faithful to her. He was anxious for a divorce
+from Marguerite, and for marriage with Gabrielle. But this divorce
+could only be obtained through the Pope. Hence Gabrielle exerted all
+her influence to lead the king into the Church, that this most desired
+end might be attained.
+
+The king now openly proclaimed his readiness to renounce Protestantism
+and to accept the Papal Creed. The Catholic bishops prepared an act of
+abjuration, rejecting, very decisively, one after another, every
+distinguishing article of the Protestant faith. The king glanced his
+eye over it, and instinctively recoiled from an act which he seemed to
+deem humiliating. He would only consent to sign a very brief
+declaration, in six lines, of his return to the Church of Rome. The
+paper, however, which he had rejected, containing the emphatic
+recantation of every article of the Protestant faith, was sent to the
+Pope with the forged signature of the king.
+
+The final act of renunciation was public, and was attended with much
+dramatic pomp, in the great church of St. Denis. It was Sunday, the
+twenty-fifth of July, 1593. The immense cathedral was richly
+decorated. Flowers were scattered upon the pavements, and garlands and
+banners festooned the streets and the dwellings.
+
+At eight o'clock in the morning Henry presented himself before the
+massive portals of the Cathedral. He was dressed in white satin, with
+a black mantle and chapeau. The white plume, which both pen and pencil
+have rendered illustrious, waved from his hat. He was surrounded by a
+gorgeous retinue of nobles and officers of the crown. Several
+regiments of soldiers, in the richest uniform, preceded and followed
+him as he advanced toward the church. Though a decree had been issued
+strictly prohibiting the populace from being present at the ceremony,
+an immense concourse thronged the streets, greeting the monarch with
+enthusiastic cries of "_Vive le roi!_"
+
+[Illustration: THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM.]
+
+The Archbishop of Bourges was seated at the entrance of the church in
+a chair draped with white damask. The Cardinal of Bourbon, and several
+bishops glittering in pontifical robes, composed his brilliant
+retinue. The monks of St. Denis were also in attendance, clad in their
+sombre attire, bearing the cross, the Gospels, and the holy water.
+Thus the train of the exalted dignitary of the Church even eclipsed in
+splendor the suite of the king.
+
+As Henry approached the door of the church, the archbishop, as if to
+repel intrusion, imperiously inquired,
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"I am the king," Henry modestly replied.
+
+"What do you desire?" demanded the archbishop.
+
+"I ask," answered the king, "to be received into the bosom of the
+Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion."
+
+"Do you desire this _sincerely_?" rejoined the archbishop.
+
+"I do," the king replied. Then kneeling at the feet of the prelate, he
+pronounced the following oath:
+
+    "I protest and swear, in the presence of Almighty God, to
+    live and die in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion;
+    to protect and defend it against all its enemies at the
+    hazard of my blood and life, renouncing all heresies contrary
+    to it."
+
+The king then placed a copy of this oath in writing in the hands of
+the archbishop, and kissed the consecrated ring upon his holy finger.
+Then entering the Cathedral, he received the absolution of his sins
+and the benediction of the Church. A _Te Deum_ was then sung, high
+mass was solemnized, and thus the imposing ceremony was terminated.
+
+It is easy to treat this whole affair as a farce. The elements of
+ridicule are abundant. But it was by no means a farce in the vast
+influences which it evolved. Catholic historians have almost
+invariably assumed that the king acted in perfect good faith, being
+fully convinced by the arguments of the Church. Even Henry's
+Protestant friend, the Duke of Sully, remarks,
+
+    "I should betray the cause of truth if I suffered it even to
+    be suspected that policy, the threats of the Catholics, the
+    fatigue of labor, the desire of rest, and of freeing himself
+    from the tyranny of foreigners, or even the good of the
+    people, had entirely influenced the king's resolution. As far
+    as I am able to judge of the heart of this prince, which I
+    believe I know better than any other person, it was, indeed,
+    these considerations which first hinted to him the necessity
+    of his conversion; but, in the end, he became convinced in
+    his own mind that the Catholic religion was the safest."
+
+Others have affirmed that it was a shameful act of apostasy, in which
+the king, stimulated by ambition and unlawful love, stooped to
+hypocrisy, and feigned a conversion which in heart he despised. He is
+represented as saying, with levity,
+
+"Paris is well worth a mass."
+
+Others still assert that Henry was humanely anxious to arrest the
+horrors of civil war; to introduce peace to distracted France, and to
+secure the Protestants from oppression. His acceptance of the Catholic
+faith was the only apparent way of accomplishing these results. Being
+a humane man, but not a man of established Christian principle, he
+deemed it his duty to pursue the course which would accomplish such
+results. The facts, so far as known, are before the reader, and each
+one can form his own judgment.
+
+The announcement throughout the kingdom that Henry had become a
+Catholic almost immediately put an end to the civil war. Incited by
+the royal example, many of the leading Protestants, nobles and
+gentlemen, also renounced Protestantism, and conformed to the religion
+of the state. The chiefs of the League, many of whom were ambitious
+political partisans rather than zealous theologians, and who were
+clamorous for Catholicism only as the means of obtaining power, at
+once relinquished all hope of victory. For a time, however, they still
+assumed a hostile attitude, and heaped unmeasured ridicule upon what
+they styled the feigned conversion of the king. They wished to compel
+the monarch to purchase their adhesion at as dear a price as possible.
+
+Many important cities surrendered to the royal cause under the
+stipulation that the preaching of the Protestants should be utterly
+prohibited in their precincts and suburbs. Even the Pope, Clement
+VIII., a weak and bigoted man, for a time refused to ratify the act of
+the Archbishop of Bourges in absolving Henry from the pains and
+penalties of excommunication. He forbade the envoy of Henry to
+approach the Vatican. The Duke of Nevers, who was the appointed envoy,
+notwithstanding this prohibition, persisted in his endeavors to obtain
+an audience; but the Pope was anxious to have the crown of France in
+the possession of one whose Catholic zeal could not be questioned. He
+would much have preferred to see the fanatic Duke of Mayenne upon the
+throne, or to have promoted the Spanish succession. He therefore
+treated the Duke of Nevers with great indignity, and finally gave him
+an abrupt dismission.
+
+But the mass of the French people, longing for repose, gladly accepted
+the conversion of the king. One after another the leaders of the
+League gave in their adhesion to the royal cause. The Duke of Mayenne,
+however, held out, Paris being still in his possession, and several
+other important cities and fortresses being garrisoned by his troops.
+The Pope, at length, having vainly done every thing in his power to
+rouse France and Catholic Europe to resist Henry, condescended to
+negotiate. His spirit may be seen in the atrocious conditions which he
+proposed. As the price of his absolution, he required that Henry
+should abrogate every edict of toleration, that he should exclude
+Protestants from all public offices, and that he should exterminate
+them from the kingdom as soon as possible.
+
+To these demands Henry promptly replied, "I should be justly accused
+of shamelessness and ingratitude if, after having received such signal
+services from the Protestants, I should thus persecute them."
+
+Henry was fully aware of the influence of forms upon the imaginations
+of the people. He accordingly made preparations for his coronation.
+The event was celebrated with great pomp, in the city of Chartres, on
+the 27th of February, 1594. The Leaguers were now quite disheartened.
+Every day their ranks were diminishing. The Duke of Mayenne,
+apprehensive that his own partisans might surrender Paris to the king,
+and that thus he might be taken prisoner, on the 6th of March, with
+his wife and children, left the city, under the pretense of being
+called away by important business.
+
+Three hours after midnight of the 21st of the month the gates were
+secretly thrown open, and a body of the king's troops entered the
+metropolis. They marched rapidly along the silent streets, hardly
+encountering the slightest opposition. Before the morning dawned they
+had taken possession of the bridges, the squares, and the ramparts,
+and their cannon were planted so as to sweep all the important streets
+and avenues.
+
+The citizens, aroused by the tramp of infantry and of cavalry, and by
+the rumbling of the heavy artillery over the pavements, rose from
+their beds, and crowded the windows, and thronged the streets. In the
+early dawn, the king, accompanied by the officers of his staff,
+entered the capital. He was dressed in the garb of a civilian, and was
+entirely unarmed. All were ready to receive him. Shouts of "Peace!
+peace! Long live the king!" reverberated in tones of almost delirious
+joy through the thoroughfares of the metropolis. Henry thus advanced
+through the ranks of the rejoicing people to the great cathedral of
+Notre Dame, where mass was performed. He then proceeded to the royal
+palace of the Louvre, which his officers had already prepared for his
+reception. All the bells of the city rung their merriest chimes, bands
+of music pealed forth their most exultant strains, and the air was
+rent with acclamations as the king, after all these long and bloody
+wars, thus peacefully took possession of the capital of his kingdom.
+
+In this hour of triumph Henry manifested the most noble clemency. He
+issued a decree declaring that no citizen who had been in rebellion
+against him should be molested. Even the Spanish troops who were in
+the city to fight against him were permitted to depart with their arms
+in their hands. As they defiled through the gate of St. Denis, the
+king stood by a window, and, lifting his hat, respectfully saluted
+the officers. They immediately approached the magnanimous monarch,
+and, bending the knee, thanked him feelingly for his great clemency.
+The king courteously replied,
+
+"Adieu, gentlemen, adieu! Commend me to your master, and go in peace,
+but do not come back again."
+
+La Noue, one of Henry's chief supporters, as he was entering the city,
+had his baggage attached for an old debt. Indignantly he hastened to
+the king to complain of the outrage. The just monarch promptly but
+pleasantly replied,
+
+"We must pay our debts, La Noue. I pay mine." Then drawing his
+faithful servant aside, he gave him his jewels to pledge for the
+deliverance of his baggage. The king was so impoverished that he had
+not money sufficient to pay the debt.
+
+These principles of justice and magnanimity, which were instinctive
+with the king, and which were daily manifested in multiplied ways,
+soon won to him nearly all hearts. All France had writhed in anguish
+through years of war and misery. Peace, the greatest of all earthly
+blessings, was now beginning to diffuse its joys. The happiness of the
+Parisians amounted almost to transport. It was difficult for the king
+to pass through the streets, the crowd so thronged him with their
+acclamations. Many other important towns soon surrendered. But the
+haughty Duke of Mayenne refused to accept the proffered clemency, and,
+strengthened by the tremendous spiritual power of the head of the
+Church, still endeavored to arouse the energies of Papal fanaticism in
+Flanders and in Spain.
+
+Soon, however, the Pope became convinced that all further resistance
+would be in vain. It was but compromising his dignity to be
+vanquished, and he accordingly decided to accept reconciliation. In
+yielding to this, the Pope stooped to the following silly farce, quite
+characteristic of those days of darkness and delusion. It was deemed
+necessary that the king should do penance for his sins before he could
+be received to the bosom of holy mother Church. It was proper that the
+severe mother should chastise her wayward child. "Whom the Lord loveth
+he chasteneth."
+
+It was the sixteenth of September, 1595. The two embassadors of Henry
+IV. kneeled upon the vestibule of one of the churches in Rome as
+unworthy to enter. In strains of affected penitence, they chanted the
+_Miserere_--"Have mercy, Lord." At the close of every verse they
+received, in the name of their master, the blows of a little switch on
+their shoulders. The king, having thus made expiation for his sins,
+through the reception of this chastisement by proxy, and having thus
+emphatically acknowledged the authority of the sacred mother, received
+the absolution of the vicar of Christ, and was declared to be worthy
+of the loyalty of the faithful.
+
+We have called this a _farce_. And yet can it be justly called so? The
+proud spirit of the king must indeed have been humiliated ere he could
+have consented to such a degradation. The spirit ennobled can bid
+defiance to any amount of corporeal pain. It is ignominy alone which
+can punish the soul. The Pope triumphed; the monarch was flogged. It
+is but just to remark that the friends of Henry deny that he was
+accessory to this act of humiliation.
+
+The atrocious civil war, thus virtually, for a time, terminated, was
+caused by the Leaguers, who had bound themselves together in a _secret
+society_ for the persecution of the Protestants. Their demand was
+inexorable that the Protestants throughout France should be proscribed
+and exterminated. The Protestants were compelled to unite in
+self-defense. They only asked for liberty to worship God according to
+their understanding of the teachings of the Bible. Henry, to
+conciliate the Catholics, was now compelled to yield to many of their
+claims which were exceedingly intolerant. He did this very
+unwillingly, for it was his desire to do every thing in his power to
+meliorate the condition of his Protestant friends. But,
+notwithstanding all the kind wishes of the king, the condition of the
+Protestants was still very deplorable. Public opinion was vehemently
+against them. The magistrates were every where their foes, and the
+courts of justice were closed against all their appeals. Petty
+persecution and tumultuary violence in a thousand forms annoyed them.
+During the year of Henry's coronation, a Protestant congregation in
+Chalaigneraie was assailed by a Catholic mob instigated by the
+Leaguers, and two hundred men, women, and children were massacred. A
+little boy eight years old, in the simplicity of his heart, offered
+eight coppers which he had in his pocket to ransom his life; but the
+merciless fanatics struck him down. Most of these outrages were
+committed with entire impunity. The king had even felt himself forced
+to take the oath, "I will endeavor with all my power, in good faith,
+to drive from my jurisdiction and estates all the heretics denounced
+by the Church."
+
+The Protestants, finding themselves thus denounced as enemies, and
+being cut off from all ordinary privileges and from all common
+justice, decided, for mutual protection, vigorously to maintain their
+political organization. The king, though he feigned to be displeased,
+still encouraged them to do so. Though the Protestants were few in
+numbers, they were powerful in intelligence, rank, and energy; and in
+their emergencies, the strong arm of England was ever generously
+extended for their aid. The king was glad to avail himself of their
+strength to moderate the intolerant demands of the Leaguers. Many of
+the Protestants complained bitterly that the king had abandoned them.
+On the other hand, the haughty leaders of the League clamored loudly
+that the king was not a true son of the Church, and, in multiform
+conspiracies, they sought his death by assassination.
+
+The Protestants held several large assemblies in which they discussed
+their affairs. They drew up an important document--an address to the
+king, entitled, "Complaints of the Reformed Churches of France." Many
+pages were filled with a narrative of the intolerable grievances they
+endured. This paper contained, in conclusion, the following noble
+words:
+
+     "And yet, sire, we have among us no Jacobins or Jesuits who
+     wish for your life, or Leaguers who aspire to your crown. We
+     have never presented, instead of petitions, the points of
+     our swords. We are rewarded with _considerations of state_.
+     It is not yet time, they say, to grant us an edict. And yet,
+     after thirty-five years of persecution, ten years of
+     banishment by the edicts of the League, eight years of the
+     king's reign, four years of proscription, we are still under
+     the necessity of imploring from your majesty an edict which
+     shall allow us to enjoy what is common to all your subjects.
+     The sole glory of God, the liberty of our consciences, the
+     repose of the state, the security of our property and our
+     lives--this is the summit of our wishes, and the end of our
+     requests."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+REIGN AND DEATH OF HENRY IV.
+
+1596-1610
+
+Mayenne professes reconciliation.--Terms exacted by the
+duke.--Interview between Henry and the duke.--Henry's
+revenge.--Hostility of Spain and Flanders.--Calais taken by
+the Leaguers.--Movement of the nobles.--Energetic reply of
+the king.--Dark days.--Singular accident.--Deplorable state
+of France.--Poverty of the king.--Depression of the king.--The
+Duke of Sully.--Siege of Amiens.--Its capitulation.--The
+Edict of Nantes.--Provisions of the edict.--Clamors of the
+Catholics.--Toleration slowly learned.--Dissatisfaction of both
+parties.--Progress of affairs.--Prosperity in the kingdom.--Henry's
+illness.--Devotion of his subjects.--Hostility of the nobles.--The
+Marchioness of Verneuil.--Integrity of Sully.--The slave of love.--The
+king's greatness.--Financial skill of Sully.--Co-operation of
+Henry.--Solicitations of Gabrielle.--Her death.--Grief of the
+king.--The divorce.--Henrietta d'Entragues.--Bold fidelity of
+Sully.--Marriage to Maria of Medici.--Anecdote.--Grand political
+scheme.--Mode of preventing religious quarrels.--Assassination of
+the king.--Character of Henry IV.--The truth to be enforced.--Free
+speech.--Free press.--Free men.--Practical application of the moral.
+
+
+The reconciliation of the king with the Pope presented a favorable
+opportunity for the Duke of Mayenne, consistently with his pride, to
+abandon the hopeless conflict. He declared that, as the Pope had
+accepted the conversion of the king, all his scruples were removed,
+and that he could now conscientiously accept him as the sovereign of
+France. But the power of the haughty duke may be seen in the terms he
+exacted.
+
+The king was compelled to declare, though he knew to the contrary,
+that, all things considered, it was evident that neither the princes
+nor the princesses of the League were at all implicated in the
+assassination of Henry III., and to stop all proceedings in Parliament
+in reference to that atrocious murder. Three fortified cities were
+surrendered to the duke, to be held by him and his partisans for six
+years, in pledge for the faithful observance of the terms of the
+capitulation. The king also assumed all the debts which Mayenne had
+contracted during the war, and granted a term of six weeks to all the
+Leaguers who were still in arms to give in their adhesion and to
+accept his clemency.
+
+The king was at this time at Monceaux. The Duke of Mayenne hastened to
+meet him. He found Henry riding on horseback in the beautiful park of
+that place with the fair Gabrielle, and accompanied by the Duke of
+Sully. Mayenne, in compliance with the obsequious etiquette of those
+days, kneeled humbly before the king, embraced his knees, and,
+assuring him of his entire devotion for the future, thanked the
+monarch for having delivered him "from the arrogance of the Spaniards
+and from the cunning of the Italians."
+
+Henry, who had a vein of waggery about him, immediately raised the
+duke, embraced him with the utmost cordiality, and, taking his arm,
+without any allusion whatever to their past difficulties, led him
+through the park, pointing out to him, with great volubility and
+cheerfulness, the improvements he was contemplating.
+
+Henry was a well-built, vigorous man, and walked with great rapidity.
+Mayenne was excessively corpulent, and lame with the gout. With the
+utmost difficulty he kept up with the king, panting, limping, and his
+face blazing with the heat. Henry, with sly malice, for some time
+appeared not to notice the sufferings of his victim; then, with a
+concealed smile, he whispered to Sully,
+
+"If I walk this great fat body much longer, I shall avenge myself
+without any further trouble." Then turning to Mayenne, he added, "Tell
+me the truth, cousin, do I not walk a little too fast for you?"
+
+"Sire," exclaimed the puffing duke, "I am almost dead with fatigue."
+
+"There's my hand," exclaimed the kind-hearted king, again cordially
+embracing the duke. "Take it, for, on my life, this is all the
+vengeance I shall ever seek."
+
+[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE.]
+
+There were still parts of the kingdom which held out against Henry,
+and Spain and Flanders freely supplied men and ammunition to the
+fragments of the League. Calais was in the hands of the enemy. Queen
+Elizabeth of England had ceased to take much interest in the conflict
+since the king had gone over to the Catholics. When Calais was
+besieged by the foe, before its surrender she offered to send her
+fleet for its protection if Henry would give the city to her. Henry
+tartly replied, "I had rather be plundered by my enemies than by my
+friends."
+
+The queen was offended, sent no succor, and Calais passed into the
+hands of the Leaguers. The king was exceedingly distressed at the loss
+of this important town. It indicated new and rising energy on the part
+of his foes. The more fanatical Catholics all over the kingdom, who
+had never been more than half reconciled to Henry, were encouraged to
+think that, after all their defeats, resistance might still be
+successful. The heroic energies of the king were, however, not
+depressed by this great disaster. When its surrender was announced,
+turning to the gentlemen of his court, he calmly said,
+
+"My friends, there is no remedy. Calais is taken, but we must not lose
+our courage. It is in the midst of disasters that bold men grow
+bolder. Our enemies have had their turn. With God's blessing, who has
+never abandoned me when I have prayed to him with my whole heart, we
+shall yet have ours. At any event, I am greatly comforted by the
+conviction that I have omitted nothing that was possible to save the
+city. All of its defenders have acquitted themselves loyally and
+nobly. Let us not reproach them. On the contrary, let us do honor to
+their generous defense. And now let us rouse our energies to retake
+the city, that it may remain in the hands of the Spaniards not so many
+days as our ancestors left it years in the hands of the English."
+
+A large body of the nobles now combined to extort from the king some
+of the despotic feudal privileges which existed in the twelfth
+century. They thought that in this hour of reverse Henry would be glad
+to purchase their powerful support by surrendering many of the
+prerogatives of the crown. After holding a meeting, they appointed the
+Duke of Montpensier, who was very young and self-sufficient, to
+present their demands to the king. Their plan was this, that the king
+should consent to the division of France into several large
+departments, over each of which, as a vassal prince, some
+distinguished nobleman should reign, collecting his own revenues and
+maintaining his own army. Each of these vassal nobles was to be bound,
+when required, to furnish a military contingent to their liege lord
+the king.
+
+Montpensier entered the presence of the monarch, and in a long
+discourse urged the insulting proposal. The king listened calmly, and
+without interrupting him, to the end. Then, in tones unimpassioned,
+but firm and deliberate, he replied,
+
+"My cousin, you must be insane. Such language coming from _you_, and
+addressed to _me_, leads me to think that I am in a dream. Views so
+full of insult to the sovereign, and ruin to the state, can not have
+originated in your benevolent and upright mind. Think you that the
+people, having stripped me of the august prerogatives of royalty,
+would respect in you the rights of a prince of the blood? Did I
+believe that you, in heart, desired to see me thus humiliated, I would
+teach you that such an offense is not to be committed with impunity.
+My cousin, abandon these follies. Reveal not your accomplices, but
+reply to them that you yourself have such a horror of these
+propositions that you will hold him as a deadly enemy who shall ever
+speak to you of them again."
+
+This firmness crushed the conspiracy; but still darkness and gloom
+seemed to rest upon unhappy France. The year 1596 was one of famine
+and of pestilence. "We had," says a writer of the times, "summer in
+April, autumn in May, and winter in June." In the city and in the
+country, thousands perished of starvation. Famishing multitudes
+crowded to the gates of the city in search of food, but in the city
+the plague had broken forth. The authorities drove the mendicants back
+into the country. They carried with them the awful pestilence in every
+direction. At the same time, several attempts were made to assassinate
+the king. Though he escaped the knife of the assassin, he came near
+losing his life by a singular accident.
+
+The Princess of Navarre, sister of the king, had accompanied him, with
+the rest of the court, into Picardy. She was taken suddenly ill. The
+king called to see her, carrying in his arms his infant son, the
+idolized child of the fair Gabrielle. While standing by the bedside of
+his sister, from some unexplained cause, the flooring gave way beneath
+them. Henry instinctively sprang upon the bed with his child.
+Providentially, that portion of the floor remained firm, while all the
+rest was precipitated with a crash into the rooms below. Neither
+Henry, his sister, or his child sustained any injury.
+
+The financial condition of the empire was in a state of utter ruin--a
+ruin so hopeless that the almost inconceivable story is told that the
+king actually suffered both for food and raiment. He at times made
+himself merry with his own ragged appearance. At one time he said
+gayly, when the Parliament sent the president, Seguier, to
+remonstrate against a fiscal edict,
+
+"I only ask to be treated as they treat the monks, with food and
+clothing. Now, Mr. President, I often have not enough to eat. As for
+my habiliments, look and see how I am accoutred," and he pointed to
+his faded and thread-bare doublet.
+
+Le Grain, a contemporary, writes, "I have seen the king with a plain
+doublet of white stuff, all soiled by his cuirass and torn at the
+sleeve, and with well-worn breeches, unsewn on the side of the
+sword-belt."
+
+While the king was thus destitute, the members of the council of
+finance were practicing gross extortion, and living in extravagance.
+The king was naturally light-hearted and gay, but the deplorable
+condition of the kingdom occasionally plunged him into the deepest of
+melancholy. A lady of the court one day remarked to him that he looked
+sad.
+
+"Indeed," he replied, "how can I be otherwise, to see a people so
+ungrateful toward their king? Though I have done and still do all I
+can for them, and though for their welfare I would willingly sacrifice
+a thousand lives had God given me so many, as I have often proved, yet
+they daily attempt my life."
+
+The council insisted that it was not safe for the king to leave so
+many of the Leaguers in the city, and urged their banishment. The king
+refused, saying,
+
+"They are all my subjects, and I wish to love them equally."
+
+The king now resolved, notwithstanding strong opposition from the
+Catholics, to place his illustrious Protestant friend, Sully, at the
+head of the ministry of finance. Sully entered upon his Herculean task
+with shrewdness which no cunning could baffle, and with integrity
+which no threat or bribe could bias. All the energies of calumny,
+malice, and violence were exhausted upon him, but this majestic man
+moved straight on, heedless of the storm, till he caused order to
+emerge from apparently inextricable confusion, and, by just and
+healthy measures, replenished the bankrupt treasury of the state.
+
+The king was now pushing the siege of Amiens, which had for some time
+been in the hands of his enemies. During this time he wrote to his
+devoted friend and faithful minister of finance,
+
+    "I am very near the enemy, yet I have scarcely a horse upon
+    which I can fight, or a suit of armor to put on. My doublet
+    is in holes at the elbows. My kettle is often empty. For
+    these two last days I have dined with one and another as I
+    could. My purveyors inform me that they have no longer the
+    means of supplying my table."
+
+On the twenty-fifth of June, 1597, Amiens capitulated.
+
+One of the kings of England is said to have remarked to his son, who
+was eager to ascend the throne, "Thou little knowest, my child, what a
+heap of cares and sorrows thou graspest at." History does, indeed,
+prove that "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." New perplexities
+now burst upon the king. The Protestants, many of them irritated by
+his conversion, and by the tardy and insufficient concessions they
+received, violently demanded entire equality with the Catholics. This
+demand led to the famous Edict of Nantes. This ordinance, which
+receives its name from the place where it was published, was issued in
+the month of April, 1598. It granted to the Protestants full private
+liberty of conscience. It also permitted them to enjoy public worship
+in all places where the right was already established. Protestant
+lords of the highest rank could celebrate divine service in their
+castles with any number of their retainers. Nobles of the second rank
+might maintain private worship in their mansions, to which thirty
+persons could be admitted. Protestants were pronounced to be eligible
+to public office. Their children were to be admitted to the schools,
+their sick to the hospitals, and their poor to a share of the public
+charities. In a few specified places they were permitted to print
+books. Such, in the main, was the celebrated "Edict of Nantes."
+
+The Catholics considered this an enormous and atrocious concession to
+deadly heresy. New clamors blazed forth against Henry, as in heart
+false to the Church. The Catholic clergy, in one combined voice,
+protested against it, and Pope Clement VIII. declared the Edict of
+Nantes, which permitted _liberty of conscience to every one, the most
+execrable that was ever made_.
+
+It has required centuries of blood and woe to teach even a few
+individuals the true principles of religious liberty. Even in
+Protestant lands, the masses of the people have not yet fully learned
+that lesson. All over Catholic Europe, and all through the realms of
+paganism, intolerance still sways her cruel and bloody sceptre. These
+miserable religious wars in France, the birth of ignorance,
+fanaticism, and depravity, for seventy years polluted the state with
+gory scaffolds and blazing stakes. Three thousand millions of dollars
+were expended in the senseless strife, and two millions of lives were
+thrown away. At the close of the war, one half of the towns and the
+majestic castles of beautiful France were but heaps of smouldering
+ruins. All industry was paralyzed. The fields were abandoned to weeds
+and barrenness. The heart and the mind of the whole nation was
+thoroughly demoralized. Poverty, emaciation, and a semi-barbarism
+deformed the whole kingdom.
+
+Neither the Catholics nor Protestants were satisfied with the Edict of
+Nantes. The Parliament of Paris, composed almost entirely of
+Catholics, for a long time refused its ratification. Henry called the
+courts before him, and insisted with kindness, but with firmness, that
+the edict should be verified.
+
+"Gentlemen," said he, in the long speech which he made upon the
+occasion, "there must be no more distinction between Catholics and
+Protestants. All must be good Frenchmen. Let the Catholics convert the
+Protestants by the example of a good life. I am a shepherd-king, who
+will not shed the blood of his sheep, but who will seek to bring them
+all with kindness into the same fold."
+
+The Catholic Parliament, thus constrained, finally adopted the edict.
+The Protestants also, perceiving clearly that this was the best that
+the king could do for them, after long discussion in their Consistory,
+which was, in reality, their Parliament, finally gave in their
+adhesion. The adjoining hostile powers, having no longer a party in
+France to join them, were thus disarmed. They sent embassadors to
+promote peace. Friendly treaties were speedily formed, and Henry was
+the undisputed monarch of a kingdom in repose.
+
+Henry now commenced, with great energy, the promotion of the
+prosperity of his exhausted kingdom. To check the warlike spirit which
+had so long been dominant, he forbade any of his subjects, except his
+guards, to carry arms. The army was immediately greatly reduced, and
+public expenditures so diminished as materially to lighten the weight
+of taxation. Many of the nobles claimed exemption from the tax, but
+Henry was inflexible that the public burden should be borne equally by
+all. The people, enjoying the long unknown blessings of peace, became
+enthusiastically grateful to their illustrious benefactor.
+
+In the month of October, 1598, the king was taken dangerously ill. The
+whole nation was in a panic. The touching demonstrations which Henry
+then received of the universal love and homage of his subjects
+affected him deeply. But few men find enough happiness in this world
+to lead them to cling very tenaciously to life when apparently on a
+dying bed. Henry at this time said to his attendants,
+
+"I have no fear of death. I do not shrink at all from the great
+journey to the spirit land. But I greatly regret being removed from my
+beloved country before I have restored it to complete prosperity."
+
+Happily, the fever was subdued, and he again, with indefatigable
+diligence, resumed his labors. To discourage the extravagance of the
+nobles, he set the example of extreme economy in all his personal
+expenses. He indulged in no gaudy equipage, his table was very
+frugally served, and his dress was simple in the extreme. No man in
+the kingdom devoted more hours to labor. He met his council daily, and
+in all their conferences exhibited a degree of information,
+shrewdness, and of comprehensive statesmanship which astonished the
+most experienced politicians who surrounded him.
+
+It was a fierce battle which the king and his minister were compelled
+to fight for many years against the haughty nobles, who had ever
+regarded the mass of the people but as beasts of burden, made to
+contribute to their pleasure. The demands of these proud aristocrats
+were incessant and inexorable. It is a singular fact that, among them
+all, there was not a more thorough-going aristocrat than Sully
+himself. He had a perfect contempt for the people as to any power of
+self-government. They were, in his view, but sheep, to be carefully
+protected by a kind shepherd. It was as absurd, he thought, to consult
+them, as it would be for a shepherd to ask the advice of his flock.
+But Sully wished to take good care of the people, to shield them from
+all unequal burdens, from all aristocratic usurpations, and to protect
+them with inflexible justice in person and in property. His government
+was absolute in the extreme.
+
+The Marchioness of Verneuil, in a towering rage, bitterly reproached
+the duke for preventing her from receiving a monopoly from the king,
+which would have secured to her an income of some five hundred
+thousand dollars a year.
+
+"Truly the king will be a great fool," exclaimed the enraged
+marchioness, "if he continues to follow your advice, and thus
+alienates so many distinguished families. On whom, pray, should the
+king confer favors, if not on his relatives and his influential
+friends?"
+
+"What you say," replied the unbending minister, "would be reasonable
+enough if his majesty took the money all out of his own purse. But to
+assess a new tax upon the merchants, artisans, laborers, and country
+people will never do. It is by them that the king and all of us are
+supported, and it is enough that they provide for a master, without
+having to maintain his cousins and friends."
+
+For twelve years Henry, with his illustrious minister, labored with
+unintermitted zeal for the good of France. His love of France was an
+ever-glowing and growing passion for which every thing was to be
+surrendered. Henry was great in all respects but one. He was a slave
+to the passion of love. "And no one," says Napoleon, "can surrender
+himself to the passion of love without forfeiting some palms of
+glory." This great frailty has left a stain upon his reputation which
+truth must not conceal, which the genius of history with sorrow
+regards, and which can never be effaced. He was a great statesman. His
+heart was warm and generous. His philanthropy was noble and
+all-embracing, and his devotion to the best welfare of France was
+sincere and intense. Witness the following memorable prayer as he was
+just entering upon a great battle:
+
+"O Lord, if thou meanest this day to punish me for my sins, I bow my
+head to the stroke of thy justice. Spare not the guilty. But, Lord, by
+thy holy mercy, have pity on this poor realm, and strike not the flock
+for the fault of the shepherd."
+
+"If God," said he at another time, "shall grant me the ordinary term
+of human life, I hope to see France in such a condition that every
+peasant shall be able to have a fowl in the pot on Sunday."
+
+This memorable saying shows both the benevolence of the king and the
+exceeding poverty, at that time, of the peasantry of France. Sully, in
+speaking of the corruption which had prevailed and of the measures of
+reform introduced, says,
+
+    "The revenue annually paid into the royal treasury was thirty
+    millions. It could not be, I thought, that such a sum could
+    reduce the kingdom of France so low. I resolved to enter upon
+    the immense investigation. To my horror, I found that for
+    these thirty millions given to his majesty there were
+    extorted from the purses of his subjects, I almost blush to
+    say, one hundred and fifty millions. After this I was no
+    longer ignorant whence the misery of the people proceeded. I
+    applied my cares to the authors of this oppression, who were
+    the governors and other officers of the army, who all, even
+    to the meanest, abused, in an enormous manner, their
+    authority over the people. I immediately caused a decree to
+    be issued, by which they were prohibited, under great
+    penalties, to exact any thing from the people, under any
+    title whatever, without a warrant in form."
+
+The king co-operated cordially with his minister in these rigorous
+acts of reform, and shielded him with all the power of the monarchy
+from the storm of obloquy which these measures drew down upon him. The
+proud Duke of Epernon, exasperated beyond control, grossly insulted
+Sully. Henry immediately wrote to his minister, "If Epernon challenges
+you, I will be your second."
+
+The amiable, but sinning and consequently wretched Gabrielle was now
+importunate for the divorce, that she might be lawfully married to the
+king. But the children already born could not be legitimated, and
+Sully so clearly unfolded to the king the confusion which would thus
+be introduced, and the certainty that, in consequence of it, a
+disputed succession would deluge France in blood, that the king,
+ardently as he loved Gabrielle, was compelled to abandon the plan.
+Gabrielle was inconsolable, and inveighed bitterly against Sully. The
+king for a moment forgot himself, and cruelly retorted,
+
+"Know, woman, that a minister like Sully must be dearer to me than
+even such a friend as you."
+
+This harshness broke the heart of the unhappy Gabrielle. She
+immediately left Fontainebleau, where she was at that time with the
+king, and retired to Paris, saying, as she bade Henry adieu, "We shall
+never meet again." Her words proved true. On reaching Paris she was
+seized with convulsions, gave birth to a lifeless child, and died.
+Poor Gabrielle! Let compassion drop a tear over her grave! She was by
+nature one of the most lovely and noble of women. She lived in a day
+of darkness and of almost universal corruption. Yielding to the
+temptation of a heroic monarch's love, she fell, and a subsequent life
+of sorrow was terminated by an awful death, probably caused by poison.
+
+Henry, as soon as informed of her sickness, mounted his horse to
+gallop to Paris. He had proceeded but half way when he was met by a
+courier who informed him that Gabrielle was dead. The dreadful blow
+staggered the king, and he would have fallen from his horse had he not
+been supported by his attendants. He retired to Fontainebleau, shut
+himself up from all society, and surrendered himself to the most
+bitter grief. Sully in vain endeavored to console him. It was long
+before he could turn his mind to any business. But there is no pain
+whose anguish time will not diminish. New cares and new loves at
+length engrossed the heart where Gabrielle had for a few brief years
+so supremely reigned.
+
+The utterly profligate Marguerite, now that Gabrielle was dead, whom
+she of course hated, was perfectly willing to assent to a divorce.
+While arrangements were making to accomplish this end, the king
+chanced to meet a fascinating, yet pert and heartless coquette,
+Henriette d'Entragues, daughter of Francis Balzac, Lord of Entragues.
+Though exceedingly beautiful, she was a calculating, soulless girl,
+who was glad of a chance to sell herself for rank and money. She thus
+readily bartered her beauty to the king, exacting, with the most cool
+financiering, as the price, a written promise that he would marry her
+as soon as he should obtain a divorce from Marguerite of Valois, upon
+condition that she, within the year, should bear him a son.
+
+The king, having written the promise, placed it in the hands of Sully.
+The bold minister read it, then tore it into fragments. The king,
+amazed at such boldness, exclaimed in a passion, "Sir, I believe that
+you are mad."
+
+"True, sire, I am," replied Sully; "but would to God that I were the
+only madman in France."
+
+But Henry, notwithstanding his anger, could not part from a minister
+whose services were so invaluable. He immediately drew up another
+promise, which he placed in the hands of the despicable beauty. This
+rash and guilty pledge was subsequently the cause of great trouble to
+the king.
+
+Henry having obtained a divorce, the nation demanded that he should
+form a connection which should produce a suitable heir to inherit the
+throne. Thus urged, and as Henrietta did not give birth to the
+wished-for son, Henry reluctantly married, in the year 1600, Maria of
+Medici, niece of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
+
+Maria was a domineering, crafty, ambitious woman, who embittered the
+life of the king. She was very jealous, and with reason enough, of the
+continued influence of Henrietta; and the palace was the scene of
+disgraceful domestic broils. Henry, in one of his letters to Sully,
+describes the queen as "terribly robust and healthy." But when she
+gave birth to a son who was undeniably heir to the throne, thus
+allaying the fears of a disputed succession, the whole nation
+rejoiced, and Henry became somewhat reconciled to his unattractive
+spouse. The king was exceedingly fond of this child. One day the
+Spanish embassador, a dignified Castilian, was rather suddenly ushered
+into the royal presence at Fontainebleau. The monarch was on all fours
+on the floor, running about the room with the little dauphin on his
+back. Raising his eyes, he said to the embassador,
+
+"Are you a father?"
+
+"Yes, sire," was the reply.
+
+"Then I may finish my play," said Henry, and he took another trot
+around the room.
+
+Henrietta and her relatives were greatly exasperated that the king did
+not fulfill his promise of marriage. The father and daughter, joined
+by the Count d'Auvergne, plotted against the king's life. They were
+arrested and condemned to death. The king, however, transmuted their
+punishment to exile.
+
+One of the grandest schemes of Henry deserves particular mention.
+Reflecting deeply upon the wars with which Europe had ever been
+desolated, and seeing the occasion for this in the innumerable states
+and nations into which Europe was divided, of various degrees of
+power, and each struggling for its own selfish interest, he proposed
+to unite all the states of Europe in one vast Christian Republic. The
+whole continent was to be divided into fifteen states, as uniform in
+size and power as possible. These states were to be, according to
+their choice, monarchical or republican. They were to be associated on
+a plan somewhat resembling that of the United States of America.
+
+Nothing can more conclusively show the entire absence of correct
+notions of religious toleration prevailing at that day than the plan
+proposed to prevent religious quarrels. Wherever any one form of
+faith predominated, that was to be maintained as the national faith.
+In Catholic states, there were to be no Protestants; in Protestant
+states, no Catholics. The minority, however, were not to be
+exterminated; they were only to be compelled to emigrate to the
+countries where their own form of faith prevailed. All pagans and
+Mohammedans were to be driven out of Europe into Asia. To enforce this
+change, an army of two hundred and seventy thousand infantry, fifty
+thousand cavalry, two hundred cannon, and one hundred and twenty ships
+of war, was deemed amply sufficient.
+
+The first step was to secure the co-operation of two or three of the
+most powerful kings of Europe. This would render success almost
+certain. Sully examined the plan with the utmost care in all its
+details. Henry wished first to secure the approval of England, Sweden,
+and Denmark.
+
+But, in the midst of these schemes of grandeur, Henry was struck down
+by the hand of an assassin. On the fourteenth of May, 1610, the king
+left the Louvre at four o'clock in the afternoon to visit Sully, who
+was sick. Preparations were making for the public entry of the queen,
+who, after a long delay, had just been crowned. The city was thronged;
+the day was fine, and the curtains of the coach were drawn up. Several
+nobles were in the spacious carriage with the king. As the coach was
+turning out of the street Honor� into the narrow street Ferronnerie,
+it was stopped by two carts which blocked up the way. Just at that
+instant a man from the crowd sprang upon a spoke of the wheel, and
+struck a dagger into the king just above the heart. Instantly
+repeating the blow, the heart was pierced. Blood gushed from the wound
+and from the mouth of the king, and, without uttering a word, he sank
+dead in the arms of his friends.
+
+The wretched assassin, a fanatic monk, was immediately seized by the
+guard. With difficulty they protected him from being torn to pieces by
+the infuriated people. His name was Francis Ravaillac. According to
+the savage custom of the times, he was subsequently put to death with
+the most frightful tortures.
+
+The lifeless body of the king was immediately taken to the Tuileries
+and placed upon a bed. Surgeons and physicians hurried to the room
+only to gaze upon his corpse. No language can depict the grief and
+despair of France at his death. He had won the love of the whole
+nation, and, to the present day, no one hears the name of Henry the
+Fourth mentioned in France but with affection. He was truly the father
+of his people. All conditions, employments, and professions were
+embraced in his comprehensive regard. He spared no toil to make France
+a happy land. He was a man of genius and of instinctive magnanimity.
+In conversation he had no rival. His profound and witty sayings which
+have been transmitted to us are sufficient to form a volume. His one
+great and almost only fault sadly tarnishes his otherwise fair and
+honorable fame.
+
+In Henry commenced the reign of the house of Bourbon. For nearly two
+hundred years the family retained the crown. It is now expelled, and
+the members are wandering in exile through foreign lands.
+
+There is one great truth which this narrative enforces: it is the
+doctrine of _freedom of conscience_. It was the denial of this simple
+truth which deluged France in blood and woe. The recognition of this
+one sentiment would have saved for France hundreds of thousands of
+lives, and millions of treasure. Let us take warning. We need it.
+
+Let us emblazon upon our banner the noble words, "_Toleration--perfect
+civil and religious toleration_." But Toleration is not a slave. It is
+a spirit of light and of liberty. It has much to give, but it has just
+as much to demand. It bears the olive-branch in one hand, and the
+gleaming sword in the other. I grant _to you_, it says, perfect
+liberty of opinion and of expression, and I demand _of you_ the same.
+
+Let us then inscribe upon the arch which spans our glorious Union,
+making us one in its celestial embrace, "_Freedom of speech, freedom
+of the press, and free men_."
+
+Then shall that arch beam upon us like God's bow of promise in the
+cloud, proclaiming that this land shall never be deluged by the surges
+of civil war--that it never shall be inundated by flames and blood.
+
+The human mind is now so roused that it will have this liberty; and if
+there are any institutions of religion or of civil law which can not
+stand this scrutiny, they are doomed to die. The human mind will move
+with untrammeled sweep through the whole range of religious doctrine,
+and around the whole circumference and into the very centre of all
+political assumptions.
+
+If the Catholic bishop have a word to say, let him say it. If some
+one, rising in the spirit and power of Martin Luther, has a reply to
+make, let him make it. Those who wish to listen to the one or the
+other, let them do so. Those who wish to close their ears, let them
+have their way.
+
+Our country is one. Our liberty is national. Let us then grant
+toleration every where throughout our wide domain, in Maine and in
+Georgia, amid the forests of the Aroostook and upon the plains of
+Kansas.
+
+                         THE END.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
+
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+
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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Henry IV, Makers Of History, by John S. C. Abbott.
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Henry IV, Makers of History, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Henry IV, Makers of History
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29603]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY IV, MAKERS OF HISTORY ***
+
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+</pre>
+
+
+<h2>Makers of History</h2>
+
+<hr class="tiny" />
+
+<h1>Henry IV.</h1>
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">By</span> JOHN S. C. ABBOTT</h2>
+
+<p class="center">WITH ENGRAVINGS</p>
+
+<p class="smallgap">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 124px;">
+<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="124" height="150" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="smallgap">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br />
+HARPER &amp; BROTHERS PUBLISHERS<br />
+1904
+</p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+
+<p class="center">Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight<br />
+hundred and fifty-six, by</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Harper &amp; Brothers</span>,</p>
+
+<p class="center">in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of<br />
+New York.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Copyright, 1884, by <span class="smcap">Susan Abbot Mead</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+<p>History is our Heaven-appointed instructor. It is the guide for the
+future. The calamities of yesterday are the protectors of to-day.</p>
+
+<p>The sea of time we navigate is full of perils. But it is not an
+unknown sea. It has been traversed for ages, and there is not a sunken
+rock or a treacherous sand-bar which is not marked by the wreck of
+those who have preceded us.</p>
+
+<p>There is no portion of history fraught with more valuable instruction
+than the period of those terrible religious wars which desolated the
+sixteenth century. There is no romance so wild as the veritable
+history of those times. The majestic outgoings of the Almighty, as
+developed in the onward progress of our race, infinitely transcend, in
+all the elements of profoundness, mystery, and grandeur, all that
+man's fancy can create.</p>
+
+<p>The cartoons of Raphael are beautiful, but what are they when compared
+with the heaving ocean, the clouds of sunset, and the pinnacles of the
+Alps? The dome of St. Peter's is man's noblest architecture, but what
+is it when compared with the magnificent rotunda of the skies?</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">John S. C. Abbott.</span></p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brunswick, Maine, 1856.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="CONTENTS">
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">Chapter</td>
+<td align="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td align="right">Page</td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">I.</td>
+<td align="left">CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#KING_HENRY_IV">13</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">II.</td>
+<td align="left">CIVIL WAR</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_II">45</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">III.</td>
+<td align="left">THE MARRIAGE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_III">68</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">IV.</td>
+<td align="left">PREPARATIONS FOR MASSACRE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IV">93</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">V.</td>
+<td align="left">MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_V">109</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">VI.</td>
+<td align="left">THE HOUSES OF VALOIS, OF GUISE, AND OF<br />
+BOURBON</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VI">137</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">VII.</td>
+<td align="left">REIGN OF HENRY III</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VII">167</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">VIII.</td>
+<td align="left">THE LEAGUE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VIII">196</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">IX.</td>
+<td align="left">THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF GUISE<br />
+AND OF HENRY III</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IX">220</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">X.</td>
+<td align="left">WAR AND WOE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_X">256</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">XI.</td>
+<td align="left">THE CONVERSION OF THE KING</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XI">281</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="right">XII.</td>
+<td align="left">THE REIGN OF HENRY IV. AND HIS DEATH</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XII">306</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2>ENGRAVINGS.</h2>
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="ENGRAVINGS">
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td align="right">Page</td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE BIRTH OF HENRY OF NAVARRE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE MARRIAGE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td align="left">THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE</td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr>
+
+</table></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="KING_HENRY_IV" id="KING_HENRY_IV"></a>KING HENRY IV.</h2>
+
+<h2><a name="Chapter_I" id="Chapter_I"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Childhood and Youth.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1475-1564</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Navarre.<br />Catharine de Foix.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">bout</span> four hundred years ago there was a small kingdom, spreading over
+the cliffs and ravines of the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees,
+called Navarre. Its population, of about five hundred thousand,
+consisted of a very simple, frugal, and industrious people. Those who
+lived upon the shore washed by the stormy waves of the Bay of Biscay
+gratified their love of excitement and of adventure by braving the
+perils of the sea. Those who lived in the solitude of the interior, on
+the sunny slopes of the mountains, or by the streams which meandered
+through the verdant valleys, fed their flocks, and harvested their
+grain, and pressed rich wine from the grapes of their vineyards, in
+the enjoyment of the most pleasant duties of rural life. Proud of
+their independence, they were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>ever ready to grasp arms to repel
+foreign aggression. The throne of this kingdom was, at the time of
+which we speak, occupied by Catharine de Foix. She was a widow, and
+all her hopes and affections were centred in her son Henry, an ardent
+and impetuous boy six or seven years of age, who was to receive the
+crown when it should fall from her brow, and transmit to posterity
+their ancestral honors.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Ferdinand and Isabella.<br />Dismemberment of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>Ferdinand of Aragon had just married Isabella of Castile, and had thus
+united those two populous and wealthy kingdoms; and now, in the
+arrogance of power, seized with the pride of annexation, he began to
+look with a wistful eye upon the picturesque kingdom of Navarre. Its
+comparative feebleness, under the reign of a bereaved woman weary of
+the world, invited to the enterprise. Should he grasp at the whole
+territory of the little realm, France might interpose her powerful
+remonstrance. Should he take but the half which was spread out upon
+the southern declivity of the Pyrenees, it would be virtually saying
+to the French monarch, "The rest I courteously leave for you." The
+armies of Spain were soon sweeping resistlessly through these sunny
+valleys, and one half of her empire was ruthlessly torn from the Queen
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>of Navarre, and transferred to the dominion of imperious Castile and
+Aragon.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Plans for revenge.<br />Death of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine retired with her child to the colder and more uncongenial
+regions of the northern declivity of the mountains. Her bosom glowed
+with mortification and rage in view of her hopeless defeat. As she sat
+down gloomily in the small portion which remained to her of her
+dismembered empire, she endeavored to foster in the heart of her son
+the spirit of revenge, and to inspire him with the resolution to
+regain those lost leagues of territory which had been wrested from the
+inheritance of his fathers. Henry imbibed his mother's spirit, and
+chafed and fretted under wrongs for which he could obtain no redress.
+Ferdinand and Isabella could not be annoyed even by any force which
+feeble Navarre could raise. Queen Catharine, however, brooded deeply
+over her wrongs, and laid plans for retributions of revenge, the
+execution of which she knew must be deferred till long after her body
+should have mouldered to dust in the grave. She courted the most
+intimate alliance with Francis I., King of France. She contemplated
+the merging of her own little kingdom into that powerful monarchy,
+that the infant Navarre, having grown into the giant <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>France, might
+crush the Spanish tyrants into humiliation. Nerved by this determined
+spirit of revenge, and inspired by a mother's ambition, she intrigued
+to wed her son to the heiress of the French throne, that even in the
+world of spirits she might be cheered by seeing Henry heading the
+armies of France, the terrible avenger of her wrongs. These hopes
+invigorated her until the fitful dream of her joyless life was
+terminated, and her restless spirit sank into the repose of the grave.
+She lived, however, to see her plans apparently in progress toward
+their most successful fulfillment.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Henry and Margaret.</div>
+
+<p>Henry, her son, was married to Margaret, the favorite sister of the
+King of France. Their nuptials were blessed with but one child, Jeanne
+d'Albret. This child, in whose destiny such ambitious hopes were
+centred, bloomed into most marvelous beauty, and became also as
+conspicuous for her mental endowments as for her personal charms. She
+had hardly emerged from the period of childhood when she was married
+to Antony of Bourbon, a near relative of the royal family of France.
+Immediately after her marriage she left Navarre with her husband, to
+take up her residence in the French metropolis.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Lingering hopes of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>One hope still lived, with undying vigor, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>the bosom of Henry. It
+was the hope, the intense passion, with which his departed mother had
+inspired him, that a grandson would arise from this union, who would,
+with the spirit of Hannibal, avenge the family wrongs upon Spain.
+Twice Henry took a grandson into his arms with the feeling that the
+great desire of his life was about to be realized; and twice, with
+almost a broken heart, he saw these hopes blighted as he committed the
+little ones to the grave.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Jeanne returns to Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>Summers and winters had now lingered wearily away, and Henry had
+become an old man. Disappointment and care had worn down his frame.
+World-weary and joyless, he still clung to hope. The tidings that
+Jeanne was again to become a mother rekindled the lustre of his fading
+eye. The aged king sent importunately for his daughter to return
+without delay to the paternal castle, that the child might be born in
+the kingdom of Navarre, whose wrongs it was to be his peculiar destiny
+to avenge. It was mid-winter. The journey was long and the roads
+rough. But the dutiful and energetic Jeanne promptly obeyed the wishes
+of her father, and hastened to his court.</p>
+
+<p>Henry could hardly restrain his impatience as he waited, week after
+week, for the advent of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>long-looked-for avenger. With the
+characteristic superstition of the times, he constrained his daughter
+to promise that, at the period of birth, during the most painful
+moments of her trial, she would sing a mirthful and triumphant song,
+that her child might possess a sanguine, joyous, and energetic spirit.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Birth of Henry IV.<br />The royal nurse.</div>
+
+<p>Henry entertained not a doubt that the child would prove a boy,
+commissioned by Providence as the avenger of Navarre. The old king
+received the child, at the moment of its birth, into his own arms,
+totally regardless of a mother's rights, and exultingly enveloping it
+in soft folds, bore it off, as his own property, to his private
+apartment. He rubbed the lips of the plump little boy with garlic, and
+then taking a golden goblet of generous wine, the rough and royal
+nurse forced the beverage he loved so well down the untainted throat
+of his new-born heir.</p>
+
+<p>"A little good old wine," said the doting grandfather, "will make the
+boy vigorous, and brave."</p>
+
+<p>We may remark, in passing, that it was <i>wine</i>, rich and pure: not that
+mixture of all abominations, whose only vintage is in cellars,
+sunless, damp, and fetid, where guilty men fabricate poison for a
+nation.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19-20]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i015.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="328" alt="THE BIRTH OF HENRY IV." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BIRTH OF HENRY IV.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Name chosen for the young prince.</div>
+
+<p>This little stranger received the ancestral name of Henry. By his
+subsequent exploits he filled the world with his renown. He was the
+first of the Bourbon line who ascended the throne of France, and he
+swayed the sceptre of energetic rule over that wide-spread realm with
+a degree of power and grandeur which none of his descendants have ever
+rivaled. The name of Henry IV. is one of the most illustrious in the
+annals of France. The story of his struggles for the attainment of the
+throne of Charlemagne is full of interest. His birth, to which we have
+just alluded, occurred at Parr, in the kingdom of Navarre, in the year
+1553.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The castle of Courasse.</div>
+
+<p>His grandfather immediately assumed the direction of every thing
+relating to the child, apparently without the slightest consciousness
+that either the father or the mother of Henry had any prior claims.
+The king possessed, among the wild and romantic fastnesses of the
+mountains, a strong old castle, as rugged and frowning as the eternal
+granite upon which its foundations were laid. Gloomy evergreens clung
+to the hill-sides. A mountain stream, often swollen to an impetuous
+torrent by the autumnal rains and the spring thaws, swept through the
+little verdant lawn, which smiled amid the stern sublimities
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>surrounding this venerable and moss-covered fortress. Around the
+solitary towers the eagles wheeled and screamed in harmony with the
+gales and storms which often swept through these wild regions. The
+expanse around was sparsely settled by a few hardy peasants, who, by
+feeding their herds, and cultivating little patches of soil among the
+crags, obtained a humble living, and by exercise and the pure mountain
+air acquired a vigor and an athletic-hardihood of frame which had
+given them much celebrity.</p>
+
+<p>To the storm-battered castle of Courasse, thus lowering in congenial
+gloom among these rocks, the old king sent the infant Henry to be
+nurtured as a peasant-boy, that, by frugal fare and exposure to
+hardship, he might acquire a peasant's robust frame. He resolved that
+no French delicacies should enfeeble the constitution of this noble
+child. Bareheaded and barefooted, the young prince, as yet hardly
+emerging from infancy, rolled upon the grass, played with the poultry,
+and the dogs, and the sturdy young mountaineers, and plunged into the
+brook or paddled in the pools of water with which the mountain showers
+often filled the court-yard. His hair was bleached and his cheeks
+bronzed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>by the sun and the wind. Few would have imagined that the
+unattractive child, with his unshorn locks and in his studiously
+neglected garb, was the descendant of a long line of kings, and was
+destined to eclipse them all by the grandeur of his name.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Education of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>As years glided along he advanced to energetic boyhood, the constant
+companion, and, in all his sports and modes of life, the equal of the
+peasant-boys by whom he was surrounded. He hardly wore a better dress
+than they; he was nourished with the same coarse fare. With them he
+climbed the mountains, and leaped the streams, and swung upon the
+trees. He struggled with his youthful competitors in all their
+athletic games, running, wrestling, pitching the quoit, and tossing
+the bar. This active out-door exercise gave a relish to the coarse
+food of the peasants, consisting of brown bread, beef, cheese, and
+garlic. His grandfather had decided that this regimen was essential
+for the education of a prince who was to humble the proud monarchy of
+Spain, and regain the territory which had been so unjustly wrested
+from his ancestors.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of the King of Navarre.<br />Jeanne d'Albret ascends the throne.</div>
+
+<p>When Henry was about six years of age, his grandfather, by gradual
+decay, sank sorrowingly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>into his grave. Consequently, his mother,
+Jeanne d'Albret, ascended the throne of Navarre. Her husband, Antony
+of Bourbon, was a rough, fearless old soldier, with nothing to
+distinguish him from the multitude who do but live, fight, and die.
+Jeanne and her husband were in Paris at the time of the death of her
+father. They immediately hastened to Bearn, the capital of Navarre, to
+take possession of the dominions which had thus descended to them. The
+little Henry was then brought from his wild mountain home to reside
+with his mother in the royal palace. Though Navarre was but a feeble
+kingdom, the grandeur of its court was said to have been unsurpassed,
+at that time, by that of any other in Europe. The intellectual
+education of Henry had been almost entirely neglected; but the
+hardihood of his body had given such vigor and energy to his mind,
+that he was now prepared to distance in intellectual pursuits, with
+perfect ease, those whose infantile brains had been overtasked with
+study.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Residence in Bearn.</div>
+
+<p>Henry remained in Bearn with his parents two years, and in that time
+ingrafted many courtly graces upon the free and fetterless carriage he
+had acquired among the mountains. His mind expanded with remarkable
+rapidity, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>and he became one of the most beautiful and engaging of
+children.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots.</div>
+
+<p>About this time Mary, Queen of Scots, was to be married to the Dauphin
+Francis, son of the King of France. Their nuptials were to be
+celebrated with great magnificence. The King and Queen of Navarre
+returned to the court of France to attend the marriage. They took with
+them their son. His beauty and vivacity excited much admiration in the
+French metropolis. One day the young prince, then but six or seven
+years of age, came running into the room where his father and Henry
+II. of France were conversing, and, by his artlessness and grace,
+strongly attracted the attention of the French monarch. The king
+fondly took the playful child in his arms, and said affectionately,</p>
+
+<p>"Will you be my son?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sire, no! that is my father," replied the ardent boy, pointing to
+the King of Navarre.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, will you be my son-in-law?" demanded Henry.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, most willingly," the prince replied.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Betrothal of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>Henry II. had a daughter Marguerite, a year or two younger than the
+Prince of Navarre, and it was immediately resolved between the two
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>parents that the young princes should be considered as betrothed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry's tutor.</div>
+
+<p>Soon after this the King and Queen of Navarre, with their son,
+returned to the mountainous domain which Jeanne so ardently loved. The
+queen devoted herself assiduously to the education of the young
+prince, providing for him the ablest teachers whom that age could
+afford. A gentleman of very distinguished attainments, named La
+Gaucherie, undertook the general superintendence of his studies. The
+young prince was at this time an exceedingly energetic, active,
+ambitious boy, very inquisitive respecting all matters of information,
+and passionately fond of study.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Remark of Dr. Johnson.</div>
+
+<p>Dr. Johnson, with his rough and impetuous severity, has said,</p>
+
+<p>"It is impossible to get Latin into a boy unless you flog it into
+him."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry's motto.</div>
+
+<p>The experience of La Gaucherie, however, did not confirm this
+sentiment. Henry always went with alacrity to his Latin and his Greek.
+His judicious teacher did not disgust his mind with long and laborious
+rules, but introduced him at once to words and phrases, while
+gradually he developed the grammatical structure of the language. The
+vigorous mind of Henry, grasping <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>eagerly at intellectual culture,
+made rapid progress, and he was soon able to read and write both Latin
+and Greek with fluency, and ever retained the power of quoting, with
+great facility and appositeness, from the classical writers of Athens
+and of Rome. Even in these early days he seized upon the Greek phrase
+<ins title="Greek: &ecirc; nikan &ecirc; apothanein">"<i>&#7969; &#957;&#953;&#954;&atilde;&#957; &#7969; &#7937;&#960;&#959;&#952;&#945;&#949;&#7985;&#957;</i></ins>," <i>to conquer or to die</i>, and adopted
+it for his motto.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">La Gaucherie's method of instruction.</div>
+
+<p>La Gaucherie was warmly attached to the principles of the Protestant
+faith. He made a companion of his noble pupil, and taught him by
+conversation in pleasant walks and rides as well as by books. It was
+his practice to have him commit to memory any fine passage in prose or
+verse which inculcated generous and lofty ideas. The mind of Henry
+thus became filled with beautiful images and noble sentiments from the
+classic writers of France. These gems of literature exerted a powerful
+influence in moulding his character, and he was fond of quoting them
+as the guide of his life. Such passages as the following were
+frequently on the lips of the young prince:</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox bbox"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Over their subjects princes bear the rule,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But God, more mighty, governs kings themselves."<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Death of Henry II.<br />Catharine de Medicis regent.</div>
+
+<p>Soon after the return of the King and Queen <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>of Navarre to their own
+kingdom, Henry II. of France died, leaving the crown to his son
+Charles, a feeble boy both in body and in mind. As Charles was but ten
+or twelve years of age, his mother, Catharine de Medicis, was
+appointed regent during his minority. Catharine was a woman of great
+strength of mind, but of the utmost depravity of heart. There was no
+crime ambition could instigate her to commit from which, in the
+slightest degree, she would recoil. Perhaps the history of the world
+retains not another instance in which a mother could so far forget the
+yearnings of nature as to endeavor, studiously and perseveringly, to
+deprave the morals, and by vice to enfeeble the constitution of her
+son, that she might retain the power which belonged to him. This proud
+and dissolute woman looked with great solicitude upon the enterprising
+and energetic spirits of the young Prince of Navarre. There were many
+providential indications that ere long Henry would be a prominent
+candidate for the throne of France.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Influence of Plutarch.</div>
+
+<p>Plutarch's Lives of Ancient Heroes has perhaps been more influential
+than any other uninspired book in invigorating genius and in
+enkindling a passion for great achievements. Napoleon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>was a careful
+student and a great admirer of Plutarch. His spirit was entranced with
+the grandeur of the Greek and Roman heroes, and they were ever to him
+as companions and bosom friends. During the whole of his stormy
+career, their examples animated him, and his addresses and
+proclamations were often invigorated by happy quotations from classic
+story. Henry, with similar exaltation of genius, read and re-read the
+pages of Plutarch with the most absorbing delight. Catharine, with an
+eagle eye, watched these indications of a lofty mind. Her solicitude
+was roused lest the young Prince of Navarre should, with his
+commanding genius, supplant her degenerate house.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Religious agitation.<br />The Huguenots.</div>
+
+<p>At the close of the sixteenth century, the period of which we write,
+all Europe was agitated by the great controversy between the Catholics
+and the Protestants. The writings of Luther, Calvin, and other
+reformers had aroused the attention of the whole Christian world. In
+England and Scotland the ancient faith had been overthrown, and the
+doctrines of the Reformation were, in those kingdoms, established. In
+France, where the writings of Calvin had been extensively circulated,
+the Protestants had also become quite numerous, embracing generally
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>the most intelligent portion of the populace. The Protestants were in
+France called Huguenots, but for what reason is not now known. They
+were sustained by many noble families, and had for their leaders the
+Prince of Cond&eacute;, Admiral Coligni, and the house of Navarre. There were
+arrayed against them the power of the crown, many of the most powerful
+nobles, and conspicuously the almost regal house of Guise.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The present controversy.</div>
+
+<p>It is perhaps difficult for a Protestant to write upon this subject
+with perfect impartiality, however earnestly he may desire to do so.
+The lapse of two hundred years has not terminated the great conflict.
+The surging strife has swept across the ocean, and even now, with more
+or less of vehemence, rages in all the states of this new world.
+Though the weapons of blood are laid aside, the mighty controversy is
+still undecided.</p>
+
+<p>The advocates of the old faith were determined to maintain their
+creed, and to force all to its adoption, at whatever price. They
+deemed heresy the greatest of all crimes, and thought&mdash;and doubtless
+many conscientiously thought&mdash;that it should be exterminated even by
+the pains of torture and death. The French Parliament <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>adopted for its
+motto, "<i>One religion, one law, one king.</i>" They declared that two
+religions could no more be endured in a kingdom than two governments.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Sorbonne.</div>
+
+<p>At Paris there was a celebrated theological school called the
+Sorbonne. It included in its faculty the most distinguished doctors of
+the Catholic Church. The decisions and the decrees of the Sorbonne
+were esteemed highly authoritative. The views of the Sorbonne were
+almost invariably asked in reference to any measures affecting the
+Church.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Purging the empire.</div>
+
+<p>In 1525 the court presented the following question to the Sorbonne:
+"<i>How can we suppress and extirpate the damnable doctrine of Luther
+from this very Christian kingdom, and purge it from it entirely?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>The prompt reply was, "<i>The heresy has already been endured too long.
+It must be pursued with the extremest rigor, or it will overthrow the
+throne.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Two years after this, Pope Clement VII. sent a communication to the
+Parliament of Paris, stating,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is necessary, in this great and astounding disorder, which arises
+from the rage of Satan, and from the fury and impiety of his
+instruments, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>that every body exert himself to guard the common
+safety, seeing that this madness would not only embroil and destroy
+religion, but also all principality, nobility, laws, orders, and
+ranks."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The burning chamber.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants were pursued by the most unrelenting persecution. The
+Parliament established a court called the <i>burning chamber</i>, because
+all who were convicted of heresy were burned. The estates of those
+who, to save their lives, fled from the kingdom, were sold, and their
+children, who were left behind, were pursued with merciless cruelty.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Persecution of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants, with boldness which religious faith alone could
+inspire, braved all these perils. They resolutely declared that the
+Bible taught their faith, and their faith only, and that no earthly
+power could compel them to swerve from the truth. Notwithstanding the
+perils of exile, torture, and death, they persisted in preaching what
+they considered the pure Gospel of Christ. In 1533 Calvin was driven
+from Paris. When one said to him, "Mass must be true, since it is
+celebrated in all Christendom;" he replied, pointing to the Bible,</p>
+
+<p>"There is my mass." Then raising his eyes to heaven, he solemnly said,
+"O Lord, if in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>the day of judgment thou chargest me with not having
+been at mass, I will say to thee with truth, 'Lord, thou hast not
+commanded it. Behold thy law. In it I have not found any other
+sacrifice than that which was immolated on the altar of the cross.'"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Calvin and his writings.<br />Calvin's physical debility.<br />Continued labors.</div>
+
+<p>In 1535 Calvin's celebrated "Institutes of the Christian Religion"
+were published, the great reformer then residing in the city of Basle.
+This great work became the banner of the Protestants of France. It was
+read with avidity in the cottage of the peasant, in the work-shop of
+the artisan, and in the chateau of the noble. In reference to this
+extraordinary man, of whom it has been said,</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox bbox"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"On Calvin some think Heaven's own mantle fell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While others deem him instrument of hell,"</span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Theodore Beza writes, "I do not believe that his equal can be found.
+Besides preaching every day from week to week, very often, and as much
+as he was able, he preached twice every Sunday. He lectured on
+theology three times a week. He delivered addresses to the Consistory,
+and also instructed at length every Friday before the Bible
+Conference, which we call the congregation. He continued this course
+so constantly that he never failed a single time except <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>in extreme
+illness. Moreover, who could recount his other common or extraordinary
+labors? I know of no man of our age who has had more to hear, to
+answer, to write, nor things of greater importance. The number and
+quality of his writings alone is enough to astonish any man who sees
+them, and still more those who read them. And what renders his labors
+still more astonishing is, that he had a body so feeble by nature, so
+debilitated by night labors and too great abstemiousness, and, what is
+more, subject to so many maladies, that no man who saw him could
+understand how he had lived so long. And yet, for all that, he never
+ceased to labor night and day in the work of the Lord. We entreated
+him to have more regard for himself; but his ordinary reply was that
+he was doing nothing, and that we should allow God to find him always
+watching, and working as he could to his latest breath."</p>
+
+<p>Calvin died in 1564, eleven years after the birth of Henry of Navarre,
+at the age of fifty-five. For several years he was so abstemious that
+he had eaten but one meal a day.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Inhabitants of France.</div>
+
+<p>At this time the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of France
+were Catholics&mdash;it has generally been estimated a hundred to one; but
+the doctrines of the reformers gained ground until, toward the close
+of the century, about the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, the
+Protestants composed about one sixth of the population.</p>
+
+<p>The storm of persecution which fell upon them was so terrible that
+they were compelled to protect themselves by force of arms. Gradually
+they gained the ascendency in several cities, which they fortified,
+and where they protected <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>refugees from the persecution which had
+driven them from the cities where the Catholics predominated. Such was
+the deplorable condition of France at the time of which we write.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Antony of Bourbon.</div>
+
+<p>In the little kingdom of Navarre, which was but about one third as
+large as the State of Massachusetts, and which, since its
+dismemberment, contained less than three hundred thousand inhabitants,
+nearly every individual was a Protestant. Antony of Bourbon, who had
+married the queen, was a Frenchman. With him, as with many others in
+that day, religion was merely a badge of party politics. Antony spent
+much of his time in the voluptuous court of France, and as he was, of
+course, solicitous for popularity there, he espoused the Catholic side
+of the controversy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Jeanne d'Albret.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret was energetically a Protestant. Apparently, her faith
+was founded in deep religious conviction. When Catharine of Medici
+advised her to follow her husband into the Catholic Church, she
+replied with firmness,</p>
+
+<p>"Madam, sooner than ever go to mass, if I had my kingdom and my son
+both in my hands, I would hurl them to the bottom of the sea before
+they should change my purpose."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The separation.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne had been married to Antony merely <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>as a matter of state policy.
+There was nothing in his character to win a noble woman's love. With
+no social or religious sympathies, they lived together for a time in a
+state of respectful indifference; but the court of Navarre was too
+quiet and religious to satisfy the taste of the voluptuous Parisian.
+He consequently spent most of his time enjoying the gayeties of the
+metropolis of France. A separation, mutually and amicably agreed upon,
+was the result.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Different life.</div>
+
+<p>Antony conveyed with him to Paris his son Henry, and there took up his
+residence. Amidst the changes and the fluctuations of the
+ever-agitated metropolis, he eagerly watched for opportunities to
+advance his own fame and fortune. As Jeanne took leave of her beloved
+child, she embraced him tenderly, and with tears entreated him never
+to abandon the faith in which he had been educated.</p>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret, with her little daughter, remained in the less
+splendid but more moral and refined metropolis of her paternal domain.
+A mother's solicitude and prayers, however, followed her son. Antony
+consented to retain as a tutor for Henry the wise and learned La
+Gaucherie, who was himself strongly attached to the reformed religion.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Rage of the Pope.</div>
+
+<p>The inflexibility of Jeanne d'Albret, and the refuge she ever
+cheerfully afforded to the persecuted Protestants, quite enraged the
+Pope. As a measure of intimidation, he at one time summoned her as a
+heretic to appear before the Inquisition within six months, under
+penalty of losing her crown and her possessions. Jeanne, unawed by the
+threat, appealed to the monarchs of Europe for protection. None were
+disposed in that age to encourage such arrogant claims, and Pope Pius
+VI. was compelled to moderate his haughty tone. A plot, however, was
+then formed to seize her and her children, and hand them over to the
+"tender mercies" of the Spanish Inquisition. But this plot also
+failed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Growth of Protestantism.</div>
+
+<p>In Paris itself there were many bold Protestant nobles who, with arms
+at their side, and stout retainers around them, kept personal
+persecution at bay. They were generally men of commanding character,
+of intelligence and integrity. The new religion, throughout the
+country, was manifestly growing fast in strength, and at times, even
+in the saloons of the palace, the rival parties were pretty nearly
+balanced. Although, throughout the kingdom of France, the Catholics
+were vastly more numerous than the Protestants, yet as England and
+much of Germany <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>had warmly espoused the cause of the reformers, it
+was perhaps difficult to decide which party, on the whole, in Europe,
+was the strongest. Nobles and princes of the highest rank were, in all
+parts of Europe, ranged under either banner. In the two factions thus
+contending for dominion, there were, of course, some who were not much
+influenced by conscientious considerations, but who were merely
+struggling for political power.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Catharine's blandishments.</div>
+
+<p>When Henry first arrived in Paris, Catharine kept a constant watch
+over his words and his actions. She spared no possible efforts to
+bring him under her entire control. Efforts were made to lead his
+teacher to check his enthusiasm for lofty exploits, and to surrender
+him to the claims of frivolous amusement. This detestable queen
+presented before the impassioned young man all the blandishments of
+female beauty, that she might betray him to licentious indulgence. In
+some of these infamous arts she was but too successful.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Undecided action.<br />Seizure of the queen.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine, in her ambitious projects, was often undecided as to which
+cause she should espouse and which party she should call to her aid.
+At one time she would favor the Protestants, and again the Catholics.
+At about this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>time she suddenly turned to the Protestants, and
+courted them so decidedly as greatly to alarm and exasperate the
+Catholics. Some of the Catholic nobles formed a conspiracy, and seized
+Catharine and her son at the palace of Fontainebleau, and held them
+both as captives. The proud queen was almost frantic with indignation
+at the insult.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Civil war.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants, conscious that the conspiracy was aimed against them,
+rallied for the defense of the queen. The Catholics all over the
+kingdom sprang to arms. A bloody civil war ensued. Nearly all Europe
+was drawn into the conflict. Germany and England came with eager
+armies to the aid of the Protestants. Catharine hated the proud and
+haughty Elizabeth, England's domineering queen, and was very jealous
+of her fame and power. She resolved that she would not be indebted to
+her ambitious rival for aid. She therefore, most strangely, threw
+herself into the arms of the <i>Catholics</i>, and ardently espoused their
+cause. The Protestants soon found her, with all the energy of her
+powerful mind, heading their foes. France was deluged in blood.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of Antony of Bourbon.</div>
+
+<p>A large number of Protestants threw themselves into Rouen. Antony of
+Bourbon headed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>an army of the Catholics to besiege the city. A ball
+struck him, and he fell senseless to the ground. His attendants placed
+him, covered with blood, in a carriage, to convey him to a hospital.
+While in the carriage and jostling over the rough ground, and as the
+thunders of the cannonade were pealing in his ears, the spirit of the
+blood-stained soldier ascended to the tribunal of the God of Peace.
+Henry was now left fatherless, and subject entirely to the control of
+his mother, whom he most tenderly loved, and whose views, as one of
+the most prominent leaders of the Protestant party, he was strongly
+inclined to espouse.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Effects of the war.</div>
+
+<p>The sanguinary conflict still raged with unabated violence throughout
+the whole kingdom, arming brother against brother, friend against
+friend. Churches were sacked and destroyed; vast extents of country
+were almost depopulated; cities were surrendered to pillage, and
+atrocities innumerable perpetrated, from which it would seem that even
+fiends would revolt. France was filled with smouldering ruins; and the
+wailing cry of widows and of orphans, thus made by the wrath of man,
+ascended from every plain and every hill-side to the ear of that God
+who has said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Liberty of worship.<br />Indignation and animosity.</div>
+
+<p>At last both parties were weary of the horrid strife. The Catholics
+were struggling to extirpate what they deemed ruinous heresy from the
+kingdom. The Protestants were repelling the assault, and contending,
+not for general liberty of conscience, but that their doctrines <i>were
+true</i>, and <i>therefore</i> should be sustained. Terms of accommodation
+were proposed, and the Catholics made the great concession, as they
+regarded it, of allowing the Protestants to conduct public worship
+<i>outside of the walls of towns</i>. The Protestants accepted these terms,
+and sheathed the sword; but many of the more fanatic Catholics were
+greatly enraged at this toleration. The Guises, the most arrogant
+family of nobles the world has ever known, retired from Paris in
+indignation, declaring that they would not witness such a triumph of
+heresy. The decree which granted this poor boon was the famous edict
+of January, 1562, issued from St. Germain. But such a peace as this
+could only be a truce caused by exhaustion. Deep-seated animosity
+still rankled in the bosom of both parties; and, notwithstanding all
+the woes which desolating wars had engendered, the spirit of religious
+intolerance was eager again to grasp the weapons of deadly strife.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Religious toleration.<br />Belief of the Romanists.<br />Establishment of freedom of conscience.</div>
+
+<p>During the sixteenth century the doctrine of religious toleration was
+recognized by no one. That great truth had not then even dawned upon
+the world. The noble toleration so earnestly advocated by Bayle and
+Locke a century later, was almost a new revelation to the human mind;
+but in the sixteenth century it would have been regarded as impious,
+and rebellion against God to have affirmed that <i>error</i> was not to be
+pursued and punished. The reformers did not advocate the view that a
+man had a right to believe what he pleased, and to disseminate that
+belief. They only declared that they were bound, at all hazards, to
+believe the <i>truth;</i> that the views which they cherished were <i>true</i>,
+and that <i>therefore</i> they should be protected in them. They appealed
+to the Bible, and challenged their adversaries to meet them there. Our
+fathers must not be condemned for not being in advance of the age in
+which they lived. That toleration which allows a man to adopt, without
+any civil disabilities, any mode of worship that does not disturb the
+peace of society, exists, as we believe, only in the United States.
+Even in England Dissenters are excluded from many privileges.
+Throughout the whole of Catholic Europe no religious toleration is
+recognized. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>The Emperor Napoleon, during his reign, established the
+most perfect freedom of conscience in every government his influence
+could control. His downfall re-established through Europe the dominion
+of intolerance.</p>
+
+<p>The Reformation, in contending for the right of private judgment in
+contradiction to the claims of councils, maintained a principle which
+necessarily involved the freedom of conscience. This was not then
+perceived; but time developed the truth. The Reformation became, in
+reality, the mother of all religious liberty.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_II" id="Chapter_II"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Civil War.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1565-1568</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry but little acquainted with his parents.<br />Indecision of Henry.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">W</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">hile</span> France was thus deluged with the blood of a civil war, young
+Henry was busily pursuing his studies in college. He could have had
+but little affection for his father, for the stern soldier had passed
+most of his days in the tented field, and his son had hardly known
+him. From his mother he had long been separated; but he cherished her
+memory with affectionate regard, and his predilections strongly
+inclined him toward the faith which he knew that she had so warmly
+espoused. It was, however, in its political aspects that Henry mainly
+contemplated the question. He regarded the two sects merely as two
+political parties struggling for power. For some time he did not
+venture to commit himself openly, but, availing himself of the
+privilege of his youth, carefully studied the principles and the
+prospects of the contending factions, patiently waiting for the time
+to come in which he should introduce his strong arm into the conflict.
+Each party, aware that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>his parents had espoused opposite sides, and
+regarding him as an invaluable accession to either cause, adopted all
+possible allurements to win his favor.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Hypocrisy of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine, as unprincipled as she was ambitious, invited him to her
+court, lavished upon him, with queenly profusion, caresses and
+flattery, and enticed him with all those blandishments which might
+most effectually enthrall the impassioned spirit of youth.
+Voluptuousness, gilded with its most dazzling and deceitful
+enchantments, was studiously presented to his eye. The queen was all
+love and complaisance. She received him to her cabinet council. She
+affected to regard him as her chief confidant. She had already formed
+the design of perfidiously throwing the Protestants off their guard by
+professions of friendship, and then, by indiscriminate massacre, of
+obliterating from the kingdom every vestige of the reformed faith. The
+great mass of the people being Catholics, she thought that, by a
+simultaneous uprising all over the kingdom, the Protestants might be
+so generally destroyed that not enough would be left to cause her any
+serious embarrassments.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">She desires to save Henry.<br />A significant reply.</div>
+
+<p>For many reasons Catharine wished to save Henry from the doom
+impending over his friends, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>if she could, by any means, win him to
+her side. She held many interviews with the highest ecclesiastics upon
+the subject of the contemplated massacre. At one time, when she was
+urging the expediency of sparing some few Protestant nobles who had
+been her personal friends, Henry overheard the significant reply from
+the Duke of Alva, "The head of a salmon is worth a hundred frogs." The
+young prince meditated deeply upon the import of those words.
+Surmising their significance, and alarmed for the safety of his
+mother, he dispatched a trusty messenger to communicate to her his
+suspicions.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indications of future greatness.</div>
+
+<p>His mind was now thoroughly aroused to vigilance, to careful and
+hourly scrutiny of the plots and counterplots which were ever forming
+around him. While others of his age were absorbed in the pleasures of
+licentiousness and gaming, to which that corrupt court was abandoned,
+Henry, though he had not escaped unspotted from the contamination
+which surrounded him, displayed, by the dignity of his demeanor and
+the elevation of his character, those extraordinary qualities which so
+remarkably distinguished him in future life, and which indicated, even
+then, that he was born to command. One of the grandees of the Spanish
+court, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>Duke of Medina, after meeting him incidentally but for a
+few moments, remarked,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The prophecy.</div>
+
+<p>"It appears to me that this young prince is either an emperor, or is
+destined soon to become one."</p>
+
+<p>Henry was very punctilious in regard to etiquette, and would allow no
+one to treat him without due respect, or to deprive him of the
+position to which he was entitled by his rank.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Visit of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of Navarre, was now considered the most
+illustrious leader of the Protestant party. Catharine, the better to
+disguise her infamous designs, went with Henry, in great splendor, to
+make a friendly visit to his mother in the little Protestant court of
+Bearn. Catharine insidiously lavished upon Jeanne d'Albret the warmest
+congratulations and the most winning smiles, and omitted no courtly
+blandishments which could disarm the suspicions and win the confidence
+of the Protestant queen. The situation of Jeanne in her feeble
+dominion was extremely embarrassing. The Pope, in consequence of her
+alleged heresy, had issued against her the bull of excommunication,
+declaring her incapable of reigning, forbidding all good Catholics, by
+the peril of their own salvation, from obeying any of her commands. As
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>her own subjects were almost all Protestants, she was in no danger of
+any insurrection on their part; but this decree, in that age of
+superstition and of profligacy, invited each neighboring power to
+seize upon her territory. The only safety of the queen consisted in
+the mutual jealousies of the rival kingdoms of France and Spain,
+neither of them being willing that the other should receive such an
+accession to its political importance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Endeavors of Catharine to influence the young prince.</div>
+
+<p>The Queen of Navarre was not at all shaken in her faith, or influenced
+to change her measure, by the visit of the French court to her
+capital. She regarded, however, with much solicitude, the ascendency
+which, it appeared to her, Catharine was obtaining over the mind of
+her son. Catharine caressed and flattered the young Prince of Navarre
+in every possible way. All her blandishments were exerted to obtain a
+commanding influence over his mind. She endeavored unceasingly to lure
+him to indulgence in all forbidden pleasure, and especially to crowd
+upon his youthful and ardent passions all the temptations which
+yielding female beauty could present. After the visit of a few weeks,
+during which the little court of Navarre had witnessed an importation
+of profligacy unknown before, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>the Queen of France, with Henry and
+with her voluptuous train, returned again to Paris.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The return visit.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret had seen enough of the blandishments of vice to excite
+her deepest maternal solicitude in view of the peril of her son. She
+earnestly urged his return to Navarre; but Catharine continually threw
+such chains of influence around him that he could not escape. At last
+Jeanne resolved, under the pretense of returning the visit of
+Catharine, to go herself to the court of France and try to recover
+Henry. With a small but illustrious retinue, embellished with great
+elegance of manners and purity of life, she arrived in Paris. The
+Queen of France received her with every possible mark of respect and
+affection, and lavished upon her entertainments, and f&ecirc;tes, and
+gorgeous spectacles until the Queen of Navarre was almost bewildered.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 51-2]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i048.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="327" alt="THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Obstacles to the departure.</div>
+
+<p>Whenever Jeanne proposed to return to her kingdom there was some very
+special celebration appointed, from which Jeanne could not, without
+extreme rudeness, break away. Thus again and again was Jeanne
+frustrated in her endeavors to leave Paris, until she found, to her
+surprise and chagrin, that both she and her son were prisoners,
+detained in captivity by bonds of the most provoking politeness.
+Catharine <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>managed so adroitly that Jeanne could not enter any complaints, for
+the shackles which were thrown around her were those of ostensibly the
+most excessive kindness and the most unbounded love. It was of no
+avail to provoke a quarrel, for the Queen of Navarre was powerless in
+the heart of France.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The stratagem.<br />Its success.</div>
+
+<p>At last she resolved to effect by stratagem that which she could not
+accomplish openly. One day a large party had gone out upon a hunting
+excursion. The Queen of Navarre made arrangements with her son, and a
+few of the most energetic and trustworthy gentlemen of her court, to
+separate themselves, as it were accidentally, when in the eagerness of
+the chase, from the rest of the company, and to meet at an appointed
+place of rendezvous. The little band, thus assembled, turned the heads
+of their horses toward Navarre. They drove with the utmost speed day
+and night, furnishing themselves with fresh relays of horses, and
+rested not till the clatter of the iron hoofs of the steeds were heard
+among the mountains of Navarre. Jeanne left a very polite note upon
+her table in the palace of St. Cloud, thanking Queen Catharine for all
+her kindness, and praying her to excuse the liberty she had taken in
+avoiding the pain of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>words of adieu. Catharine was exceedingly
+annoyed at their escape, but, perceiving that it was not in her power
+to overtake the fugitives, she submitted with as good a grace as
+possible.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Home again.</div>
+
+<p>Henry found himself thus again among his native hills. He was placed
+under the tuition of a gentleman who had a high appreciation of all
+that was poetic and beautiful. Henry, under his guidance, devoted
+himself with great delight to the study of polite literature, and gave
+free wing to an ennobled imagination as he clambered up the cliffs,
+and wandered over the ravines familiar to the days of his childhood.
+His personal appearance in 1567, when he was thirteen years of age, is
+thus described by a Roman Catholic gentleman who was accustomed to
+meet him daily in the court of Catharine.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Description of the prince.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We have here the young Prince of Bearn. One can not help
+acknowledging that he is a beautiful creature. At the age of
+thirteen he displays all the qualities of a person of
+eighteen or nineteen. He is agreeable, he is civil, he is
+obliging. Others might say that as yet he does not know what
+he is; but, for my part, I, who study him very often, can
+assure you that he does know perfectly well. He demeans
+himself toward all the world with so easy a carriage, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>that
+people crowd round wherever he is; and he acts so nobly in
+every thing, that one sees clearly that he is a great
+prince. He enters into conversation as a highly-polished
+man. He speaks always to the purpose, and it is remarked
+that he is very well informed. I shall hate the reformed
+religion all my life for having carried off from us so
+worthy a person. Without this original sin, he would be the
+first after the king, and we should see him, in a short
+time, at the head of the armies. He gains new friends every
+day. He insinuates himself into all hearts with
+inconceivable skill. He is highly honored by the men, and no
+less beloved by the ladies. His face is very well formed,
+the nose neither too large nor too small. His eyes are very
+soft; his skin brown, but very smooth; and his whole
+features animated with such uncommon vivacity, that, if he
+does not make progress with the fair, it will be very
+extraordinary."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Evil effects of dissolute society.</div>
+
+<p>Henry had not escaped the natural influence of the dissolute society
+in the midst of which he had been educated, and manifested, on his
+first return to his mother, a strong passion for balls and
+masquerades, and all the enervating pleasures of fashionable life. His
+courtly and persuasive manners were so insinuating, that, without
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>difficulty, he borrowed any sums of money he pleased, and with these
+borrowed treasures he fed his passion for excitement at the
+gaming-table.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Influence of Jeanne d'Albret.</div>
+
+<p>The firm principles and high intellectual elevation of his mother
+roused her to the immediate and vigorous endeavor to correct all these
+radical defects in his character and education. She kept him, as much
+as possible, under her own eye. She appointed teachers of the highest
+mental and moral attainments to instruct him. By her conversation and
+example she impressed upon his mind the sentiment that it was the most
+distinguished honor of one born to command others to be their superior
+in intelligence, judgment, and self-control. The Prince of Navarre, in
+his mother's court at Bearn, found himself surrounded by Protestant
+friends and influences, and he could not but feel and admit the
+superior dignity and purity of these his new friends.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Catharine's deity.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine worshiped no deity but ambition. She was ready to adopt any
+measures and to plunge into any crimes which would give stability and
+lustre to her power. She had no religious opinions or even
+preferences. She espoused the cause of the Catholics because, on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>the
+whole, she deemed that party the more powerful; and then she sought
+the entire destruction of the Protestants, that none might be left to
+dispute her sway. Had the Protestants been in the majority, she would,
+with equal zeal, have given them the aid of her strong arm, and
+unrelentingly would have striven to crush the whole papal power.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Principle of Jeanne d'Albret.<br />The cannon the missionary.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret, on the contrary, was in <i>principle</i> a Protestant. She
+was a woman of reflection, of feeling, of highly-cultivated intellect,
+and probably of sincere piety. She had read, with deep interest, the
+religious controversies of the day. She had prayed for light and
+guidance. She had finally and cordially adopted the Protestant faith
+as the truth of God. Thus guided by her sense of duty, she was
+exceedingly anxious that her son should be a Protestant&mdash;a Protestant
+Christian. In most solemn prayer she dedicated him to God's service,
+to defend the faith of the Reformers. In the darkness of that day, the
+bloody and cruel sword was almost universally recognized as the great
+champion of truth. Both parties appeared to think that the thunders of
+artillery and musketry must accompany the persuasive influence of
+eloquence. If it were deemed important that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>one hand should guide the
+pen of controversy, to establish the truth, it was considered no less
+important that the other should wield the sword to extirpate heresy.
+Military heroism was thought as essential as scholarship for the
+defense of the faith.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Devastation.</div>
+
+<p>A truly liberal mind will find its indignation, in view of the
+atrocities of these religious wars, mitigated by comparison in view of
+the ignorance and the frailty of man. The Protestants often needlessly
+exasperated the Catholics by demolishing, in the hour of victory,
+their churches, their paintings, and their statues, and by pouring
+contempt upon all that was most hallowed in the Catholic heart. There
+was, however, this marked difference between the two parties: the
+leaders of the Protestants, as a general rule, did every thing in
+their power to check the fury of their less enlightened followers. The
+leaders of the Catholics, as a general rule, did every thing in their
+power to stimulate the fanaticism of the frenzied populace. In the
+first religious war the Protestant soldiers broke open and plundered
+the great church of Orleans. The Prince of Cond&eacute; and Admiral Coligni
+hastened to repress the disorder. The prince pointed a musket at a
+soldier who had ascended a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>ladder to break an image, threatening to
+shoot him if he did not immediately desist.</p>
+
+<p>"My lord," exclaimed the fanatic Protestant, "wait till I have thrown
+down this idol, and then, if it please you, I will die."</p>
+
+<p>It is well for man that Omniscience presides at the day of judgment.
+"The Lord knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indecision of the prince.<br />Arguments pro and con.<br />Chances of a crown.</div>
+
+<p>Europe was manifestly preparing for another dreadful religious
+conflict. The foreboding cloud blackened the skies. The young Prince
+of Navarre had not yet taken his side. Both Catholics and Protestants
+left no exertions untried to win to their cause so important an
+auxiliary. Henry had warm friends in the court of Navarre and in the
+court of St. Cloud. He was bound by many ties to both Catholics and
+Protestants. Love of pleasure, of self-indulgence, of power, urged him
+to cast in his lot with the Catholics. Reverence for his mother
+inclined him to adopt the weaker party, who were struggling for purity
+of morals and of faith. To be popular with his subjects in his own
+kingdom of Navarre, he must be a Protestant. To be popular in France,
+to whose throne he was already casting a wistful eye, it was necessary
+for him to be a Catholic. He vacillated between <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>these views of
+self-interest. His conscience and his heart were untouched. Both
+parties were aware of the magnitude of the weight he could place in
+either scale, while each deemed it quite uncertain which cause he
+would espouse. His father had died contending for the Catholic faith,
+and all knew that the throne of Catholic France was one of the prizes
+which the young Prince of Navarre had a fair chance of obtaining. His
+mother was the most illustrious leader of the Protestant forces on the
+Continent, and the crown of Henry's hereditary domain could not repose
+quietly upon any brow but that of a Protestant.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">War again.<br />Arrival of the Queen of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>Such was the state of affairs when the clangor of arms again burst
+upon the ear of Europe. France was the arena of woe upon which the
+Catholics and the Protestants of England and of the Continent hurled
+themselves against each other. Catharine, breathing vengeance, headed
+the Catholic armies. Jeanne, calm yet inflexible, was recognized as at
+the head of the Protestant leaders, and was alike the idol of the
+common soldiers and of their generals. The two contending armies,
+after various marchings and countermarchings, met at Rochelle. The
+whole country around, for many leagues, was illuminated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>at night by
+the camp-fires of the hostile hosts. The Protestants, inferior in
+numbers, with hymns and prayers calmly awaited an attack. The
+Catholics, divided in council, were fearful of hazarding a decisive
+engagement. Day after day thus passed, with occasional skirmishes,
+when, one sunny morning, the sound of trumpets was heard, and the
+gleam of the spears and banners of an approaching host was seen on the
+distant hills. The joyful tidings spread through the ranks of the
+Protestants that the Queen of Navarre, with her son and four thousand
+troops, had arrived. At the head of her firm and almost invincible
+band she rode, calm and serene, magnificently mounted, with her proud
+boy by her side. As the queen and her son entered the plain, an
+exultant shout from the whole Protestant host seemed to rend the
+skies. These enthusiastic plaudits, loud, long, reiterated, sent
+dismay to the hearts of the Catholics.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Education of the prince.<br />The Prince of Cond&eacute;.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne presented her son to the Protestant army, and solemnly
+dedicated him to the defense of the Protestant faith. At the same time
+she published a declaration to the world that she deplored the horrors
+of war; that she was not contending for the oppression of others, but
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>to secure for herself and her friends the right to worship God
+according to the teachings of the Bible. The young prince was placed
+under the charge of the most experienced generals, to guard his person
+from danger and to instruct him in military science. The Prince of
+Cond&eacute; was his teacher in that terrible accomplishment in which both
+master and pupil have obtained such worldwide renown.</p>
+
+<p>Long files of English troops, with trumpet tones, and waving banners,
+and heavy artillery, were seen winding their way along the streams of
+France, hastening to the scene of conflict. The heavy battalions of
+the Pope were marshaling upon all the sunny plains of Italy, and the
+banners of the rushing squadrons glittered from the pinnacles of the
+Alps, as Europe rose in arms, desolating ten thousand homes with
+conflagrations, and blood, and woe. Could the pen record the
+smouldering ruins, the desolate hearthstones, the shrieks of mortal
+agony, the wailings of the widow, the cry of the orphan, which thus
+resulted from man's inhumanity to man, the heart would sicken at the
+recital. The summer passed away in marches and counter-marches, in
+assassinations, and skirmishes, and battles. The fields of the
+husbandmen were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>trampled under the hoofs of horses. Villages were
+burned to the ground, and their wretched inhabitants driven out in
+nakedness and starvation to meet the storms of merciless winter. Noble
+ladies and refined and beautiful maidens fled shrieking from the
+pursuit of brutal and licentious soldiers. Still neither party gained
+any decisive victory. The storms of winter came, and beat heavily,
+with frost and drifting snow, upon the worn and weary hosts.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Slaughter of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>In three months ten thousand Protestants had perished. At Orleans two
+hundred Protestants were thrown into prison. The populace set the
+prison on fire, and they were all consumed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The battle.<br />Courage of the Prince of Cond&eacute;.<br />The defeat.</div>
+
+<p>At length the Catholic armies, having become far more numerous than
+the Protestant, ventured upon a general engagement. They met upon the
+field of Jarnac. The battle was conducted by the Reformers with a
+degree of fearlessness bordering on desperation. The Prince of Cond&eacute;
+plunged into the thickest ranks of the enemy with his unfurled banner
+bearing the motto, "Danger is sweet for Christ and my country." Just
+as he commenced his desperate charge, a kick from a wounded horse
+fractured his leg so severely that the fragments of the bone protruded
+through his boot. Pointing to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>the mangled and helpless limb, he said
+to those around him, "Remember the state in which Louis of Bourbon
+enters the fight for Christ and his country." Immediately sounding the
+charge, like a whirlwind his little band plunged into the midst of
+their foes. For a moment the shock was irresistible, and the assailed
+fell like grass before the scythe of the mower. Soon, however, the
+undaunted band was entirely surrounded by their powerful adversaries.
+The Prince of Cond&eacute;, with but about two hundred and fifty men, with
+indomitable determination sustained himself against the serried ranks
+of five thousand men closing up around him on every side. This was the
+last earthly conflict of the Prince of Cond&eacute;. With his leg broken and
+his arm nearly severed from his body, his horse fell dead beneath him,
+and the prince, deluged with blood, was precipitated into the dust
+under the trampling hoofs of wounded and frantic chargers. His men
+still fought with desperation around their wounded chieftain. Of
+twenty-five nephews who accompanied him, fifteen were slain by his
+side. Soon all his defenders were cut down or dispersed. The wounded
+prince, an invaluable prize, was taken prisoner. Montesquieu, captain
+of the guards <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>of the Duke of Anjou, came driving up, and as he saw
+the prisoner attracting much attention, besmeared with blood and dirt,</p>
+
+<p>"Whom have we here?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"The Prince of Cond&eacute;," was the exultant reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Kill him! kill him!" exclaimed the captain, and he discharged a
+pistol at his head.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of the Prince of Cond&eacute;.<br />Retreat of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>The ball passed through his brain, and the prince fell lifeless upon
+the ground. The corpse was left where it fell, and the Catholic troops
+pursued their foes, now flying in every direction. The Protestants
+retreated across a river, blew up the bridge, and protected themselves
+from farther assault. The next day the Duke of Anjou, the younger
+brother of Charles IX., and who afterward became Henry III., who was
+one of the leaders of the Catholic army, rode over the field of
+battle, to find, if possible, the body of his illustrious enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"We had not rode far," says one who accompanied him, "when we
+perceived a great number of the dead bodies piled up in a heap, which
+led us to judge that this was the spot where the body of the prince
+was to be found: in fact, we found it there. Baron de Magnac took the
+corpse by the hair to lift up the face, which was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>turned toward the
+ground, and asked me if I recognized him; but, as one eye was torn
+out, and his face was covered with blood and dirt, I could only reply
+that it was certainly his height and his complexion, but farther I
+could not say."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Fiendish barbarity.</div>
+
+<p>They washed the bloody and mangled face, and found that it was indeed
+the prince. His body was carried, with infamous ribaldry, on an ass to
+the castle of Jarnac, and thrown contemptuously upon the ground.
+Several illustrious prisoners were brought to the spot and butchered
+in cold blood, and their corpses thrown upon that of the prince, while
+the soldiers passed a night of drunkenness and revelry, exulting over
+the remains of their dead enemies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Advice of the Pope.<br />Incitement to massacre.</div>
+
+<p>Such was the terrible battle of Jarnac, the first conflict which Henry
+witnessed. The tidings of this great victory and of the death of the
+illustrious Cond&eacute; excited transports of joy among the Catholics.
+Charles IX. sent to Pope Pius V. the standards taken from the
+Protestants. The Pope, who affirmed that Luther was a ravenous beast,
+and that his doctrines were the sum of all crimes, wrote to the king a
+letter of congratulation. He urged him to extirpate every fibre of
+heresy, regardless of all entreaty, and of every tie of blood and
+affection. To encourage <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>him, he cited the example of Saul
+exterminating the Amalekites, and assured him that all tendency to
+clemency was a snare of the devil.</p>
+
+<p>The Catholics now considered the condition of the Protestants as
+desperate. The pulpits resounded with imprecations and anathemas. The
+Catholic priests earnestly advocated the sentiment that no faith was
+to be kept with heretics; that to massacre them was an action
+essential to the safety of the state, and which would secure the
+approbation of God.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The protectorate.</div>
+
+<p>But the Protestants, though defeated, were still unsubdued. The noble
+Admiral Coligni still remained to them; and after the disaster, Jeanne
+d'Albret presented herself before the troops, holding her son Henry,
+then fourteen years of age, by one hand, and Henry, son of the Prince
+de Cond&eacute;, by the other, and devoted them both to the cause. The young
+Henry of Navarre was then proclaimed <i>generalissimo</i> of the army and
+<i>protector</i> of the churches. He took the following oath: "I swear to
+defend the Protestant religion, and to persevere in the common cause,
+till death or till victory has secured for all the liberty which we
+desire."</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_III" id="Chapter_III"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Marriage.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1568-1572</p>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">Y</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">oung</span> Henry of Navarre was but about fourteen years of age when, from
+one of the hills in the vicinity, he looked upon the terrible battle
+of Jarnac. It is reported that, young as he was, he pointed out the
+fatal errors which were committed by the Protestants in all the
+arrangements which preceded the battle.</p>
+
+<p>"It is folly," he said, "to think of fighting, with forces so divided,
+a united army making an attack at one point."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Emotions of Henry.<br />His military sagacity.</div>
+
+<p>For the security of his person, deemed so precious to the Protestants,
+his friends, notwithstanding his entreaties and even tears, would not
+allow him to expose himself to any of the perils of the conflict. As
+he stood upon an eminence which overlooked the field of battle,
+surrounded by a few faithful guards, he gazed with intense anguish
+upon the sanguinary scene spread out before him. He saw his friends
+utterly defeated, and their squadrons trampled in the dust beneath the
+hoofs of the Catholic cavalry.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Enthusiasm inspired by Jeanne.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants, without loss of time, rallied anew their forces. The
+Queen of Navarre soon saw thousands of strong arms and brave hearts
+collecting again around her banner. Accompanied by her son, she rode
+through their ranks, and addressed them in words of feminine yet
+heroic eloquence, which roused their utmost enthusiasm. But few
+instances have been recorded in which human hearts have been more
+deeply moved than were these martial hosts by the brief sentences
+which dropped from the lips of this extraordinary woman. Henry, in the
+most solemn manner, pledged himself to consecrate all his energies to
+the defense of the Protestant religion. To each of the chiefs of the
+army the queen also presented a gold medal, suspended from a golden
+chain, with her own name and that of her son impressed upon one side,
+and on the other the words "Certain peace, complete victory, or
+honorable death." The enthusiasm of the army was raised to the highest
+pitch, and the heroic queen became the object almost of the adoration
+of her soldiers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The failure of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine, seeing the wonderful enthusiasm with which the Protestant
+troops were inspired by the presence of the Queen of Navarre, visited
+the head-quarters of her own army, hoping <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>that she might also
+enkindle similar ardor. Accompanied by a magnificent retinue of her
+brilliantly-accoutred generals, she swept, like a gorgeous vision,
+before her troops. She lavished presents upon her officers, and in
+high-sounding phrase harangued the soldiers; but there was not a
+private in the ranks who did not know that she was a wicked and a
+polluted woman. She had talent, but no soul. All her efforts were
+unavailing to evoke one single electric spark of emotion. She had
+sense enough to perceive her signal failure and to feel its
+mortification. No one either loved or respected Catharine. Thousands
+hated her, yet, conscious of her power, either courting her smiles or
+dreading her frown, they often bowed before her in adulation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The second defeat.</div>
+
+<p>The two armies were soon facing each other upon the field of battle.
+It was the third of October, 1569. More than fifty thousand combatants
+met upon the plains of Moncontour. All generalship seemed to be
+ignored as the exasperated adversaries rushed upon each other in a
+headlong fight. The Protestants, outnumbered, were awfully defeated.
+Out of twenty-five thousand combatants whom they led into the field,
+but eight thousand could be rallied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>around their retreating banner
+after a fight of but three quarters of an hour. All their cannon,
+baggage, and munitions of war were lost. No mercy was granted to the
+vanquished.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The wounded friends.</div>
+
+<p>Coligni, at the very commencement of the battle, was struck by a
+bullet which shattered his jaw. The gushing blood under his helmet
+choked him, and they bore him upon a litter from the field. As they
+were carrying the wounded admiral along, they overtook another litter
+upon which was stretched L'Estrange, the bosom friend of the admiral,
+also desperately wounded. L'Estrange, forgetting himself, gazed for a
+moment with tearful eyes upon the noble Coligni, and then gently said,
+"It is sweet to trust in God." Coligni, unable to speak, could only
+<i>look</i> a reply. Thus the two wounded friends parted. Coligni afterward
+remarked that these few words were a cordial to his spirit, inspiring
+him with resolution and hope.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The reserve force.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre, and his cousin, Henry of Cond&eacute;, son of the prince
+who fell at the battle of Jarnac, from a neighboring eminence
+witnessed this scene of defeat and of awful carnage. The admiral,
+unwilling to expose to danger lives so precious to their cause, had
+stationed them there with a reserve of four thousand men under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>the
+command of Louis of Nassau. When Henry saw the Protestants giving way,
+he implored Louis that they should hasten with the reserve to the
+protection of their friends; but Louis, with military rigor, awaited
+the commands of the admiral. "We lose our advantage, then," exclaimed
+the prince, "and consequently the battle."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Misfortunes of Coligni.</div>
+
+<p>The most awful of earthly calamities seemed now to fall like an
+avalanche upon Coligni, the noble Huguenot chieftain. His beloved
+brother was slain. Bands of wretches had burned down his castle and
+laid waste his estates. The Parliament of Paris, composed of zealous
+Catholics, had declared him guilty of high treason, and offered fifty
+thousand crowns to whoever would deliver him up, dead or alive. The
+Pope declared to all Europe that he was a "detestable, infamous,
+execrable man, if, indeed, he even merited the name of man." His army
+was defeated, his friends cut to pieces, and he himself was grievously
+wounded, and was lying upon a couch in great anguish. Under these
+circumstances, thirteen days after receiving his wound, he thus wrote
+to his children:</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">His letter.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We should not repose on earthly possessions. Let us place
+our hope beyond the earth, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>and acquire other treasures than
+those which we see with our eyes and touch with our hands.
+We must follow Jesus our leader, who has gone before us. Men
+have ravished us of what they could. If such is the will of
+God, we shall be happy and our condition good, since we
+endure this loss from no wrong you have done those who have
+brought it to you, but solely for the hate they have borne
+me because God was pleased to direct me to assist his
+Church. For the present, it is enough to admonish and
+conjure you, in the name of God, to persevere courageously
+in the study of virtue."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The third army.<br />The tide of victory changed.<br />The treaty of St. Germaine-en-Laye.</div>
+
+<p>In the course of a few weeks Coligni rose from his bed, and the
+Catholics were amazed to find him at the head of a third army. The
+indomitable Queen of Navarre, with the calm energy which ever
+signalized her character, had rallied the fugitives around her, and
+had reanimated their waning courage by her own invincible spirit.
+Nobles and peasants from all the mountains of Bearn, and from every
+province in France, thronged to the Protestant camp. Conflict after
+conflict ensued. The tide of victory now turned in favor of the
+Reformers. Henry, absolutely refusing any longer to retire from the
+perils of the field, engaged with the utmost coolness, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>judgment, and
+yet impetuosity in all the toils and dangers of the battle. The
+Protestant cause gained strength. The Catholics were disheartened.
+Even Catharine became convinced that the extermination of the
+Protestants by force was no longer possible. So once more they offered
+conditions of peace, which were promptly accepted. These terms, which
+were signed at St. Germaine-en-Laye the 8th of August, 1570, were more
+favorable than the preceding. The Protestants were allowed liberty of
+worship in all the places then in their possession. They were also
+allowed public worship in two towns in each province of the kingdom.
+They were permitted to reside any where without molestation, and were
+declared <i>eligible</i> to any public office.</p>
+
+<p>Coligni, mourning over the untold evils and miseries of war, with
+alacrity accepted these conditions. "Sooner than fall back into these
+disturbances," said he, "I would choose to die a thousand deaths, and
+be dragged through the streets of Paris."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Perfidy of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>The queen, however, and her advisers were guilty of the most extreme
+perfidy in this truce. It was merely their object to induce the
+foreign troops who had come to the aid of the allies to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>leave the
+kingdom, that they might then exterminate the Protestants by a general
+massacre. Catharine decided to accomplish by the dagger of the
+assassin that which she had in vain attempted to accomplish on the
+field of battle. This peace was but the first act in the awful tragedy
+of St. Bartholomew.</p>
+
+<p>Peace being thus apparently restored, the young Prince of Navarre now
+returned to his hereditary domains and visited its various provinces,
+where he was received with the most lively demonstrations of
+affection. Various circumstances, however, indicated to the Protestant
+leaders that some mysterious and treacherous plot was forming for
+their destruction. The Protestant gentlemen absented themselves,
+consequently, from the court of Charles IX. The king and his mother
+were mortified by these evidences that their perfidy was suspected.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The court at Rochelle.<br />The two courts.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne, with her son, after visiting her subjects in all parts of her
+own dominions, went to Rochelle, where they were joined by many of the
+most illustrious of their friends. Large numbers gathered around them,
+and the court of the Queen of Navarre was virtually transferred to
+that place. Thus there were two rival courts, side by side, in the
+same kingdom. Catharine, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>with her courtiers, exhibited boundless
+luxury and voluptuousness at Paris. Jeanne d'Albret, at Rochelle,
+embellished her court with all that was noble in intellect, elegant in
+manners, and pure in morals. Catharine and her submissive son Charles
+IX. left nothing untried to lure the Protestants into a false
+security. Jeanne scrupulously requited the courtesies she received
+from Catharine, though she regarded with much suspicion the adulation
+and the sycophancy of her proud hostess.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Elizabeth.</div>
+
+<p>The young King of France, Charles IX., who was of about the same age
+with Henry, and who had been his companion and playmate in childhood,
+was now married to Elizabeth, the daughter of the Emperor Maximilian
+II. of Austria. Their nuptials were celebrated with all the
+ostentatious pomp which the luxury of the times and the opulence of
+the French monarchy could furnish. In these rejoicings the courts of
+France and Navarre participated with the semblance of the most
+heartfelt cordiality. Protestants and Catholics, pretending to forget
+that they had recently encountered each other with fiendlike fury in
+fields of blood, mingled gayly in these festivities, and vied with
+each other in the exchange of courtly greetings and polished
+flatteries. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>Catharine and Charles IX. lavished, with the utmost
+profusion, their commendations and attentions upon the young Prince of
+Navarre, and left no arts of dissimulation unessayed which might
+disarm the fears and win the confidence of their victims.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Princess Marguerite.<br />Effects of the connection.</div>
+
+<p>The queen mother, with caressing fondness, declared that Henry must be
+her son. She would confer upon him Marguerite, her youngest daughter.
+This princess had now become a young lady, beautiful in the extreme,
+and highly accomplished in all those graces which can kindle the fires
+and feed the flames of passion; but she was also as devoid of
+principle as any male libertine who contaminated by his presence a
+court whose very atmosphere was corruption. Many persons of royal
+blood had most earnestly sought the hand of this princess, for an
+alliance with the royal family of France was an honor which the
+proudest sovereigns might covet. Such a connection, in its political
+aspects, was every thing Henry could desire. It would vastly augment
+the consideration and the power of the young prince, and would bring
+him a long step nearer to the throne of France. The Protestants were
+all intensely interested in this match, as it would invest one,
+destined soon to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>become their most prominent leader, with new ability
+to defend their rights and to advocate their cause. It is a singular
+illustration of the hopeless corruption of the times, that the
+notorious profligacy of Marguerite seems to have been considered, even
+by Henry himself, as no obstacle to the union.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">A royal match.</div>
+
+<p>A royal marriage is ordinarily but a matter of state policy. Upon the
+cold and icy eminence of kingly life the flowers of sympathy and
+affection rarely bloom. Henry, without hesitation, acquiesced in the
+expediency of this nuptial alliance. He regarded it as manifestly a
+very politic partnership, and did not concern himself in the least
+about the agreeable or disagreeable qualities of his contemplated
+spouse. He had no idea of making her his companion, much less his
+friend. She was to be merely his <i>wife</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Repugnance of Jeanne d'Albret.<br />Objections overcome.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne d'Albret, however, a woman of sincere piety, and in whose bosom
+all noble thoughts were nurtured, cherished many misgivings. Her
+Protestant principles caused her to shrink from the espousals of her
+son with a Roman Catholic. Her religious scruples, and the spotless
+purity of her character, aroused the most lively emotions of
+repugnance in view of her son's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>connection with one who had not even
+the modesty to conceal her vices. State considerations, however,
+finally prevailed, and Jeanne, waiving her objections, consented to
+the marriage. She yielded, however, with the greatest reluctance, to
+the unceasing importunities of her friends. They urged that this
+marriage would unite the two parties in a solid peace, and thus
+protect the Protestants from persecution, and rescue France from
+unutterable woe. Even the Admiral Coligni was deceived. But the result
+proved, in this case as in every other, that <i>it is never safe to do
+evil that good may come</i>. If any fact is established under the
+government of God, it is this.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen of Navarre, in her extreme repugnance to this match,
+remarked,</p>
+
+<p>"I would choose to descend to the condition of the poorest damsel in
+France rather than sacrifice to the grandeur of my family my own soul
+and that of my son."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Perjury of Charles IX.</div>
+
+<p>With consummate perjury, Charles IX. declared, "I give my sister in
+marriage, not only to the Prince of Navarre, but, as it were, to the
+whole Protestant party. This will be the strongest and closest bond
+for the maintenance of peace between my subjects, and a sure evidence
+of my good-will toward the Protestants."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Displays of friendship.</div>
+
+<p>Thus influenced, this noble woman consented to the union. She then
+went to Blois to meet Catharine and the king. They received her with
+exuberant displays of love. The foolish king quite overacted his part,
+calling her "his great aunt, his all, his best beloved." As the Queen
+of Navarre retired for the night, Charles said to Catharine, laughing,</p>
+
+<p>"Well, mother, what do you think of it? Do I play my little part
+well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Catharine, encouragingly, "very well; but it is of no use
+unless it continues."</p>
+
+<p>"Allow me to go on," said the king, "and you will see that I shall
+ensnare them."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indifference of Marguerite.<br />Preparations for the wedding.</div>
+
+<p>The young Princess Marguerite, heartless, proud, and petulant,
+received the cold addresses of Henry with still more chilling
+indifference. She refused to make even the slightest concessions to
+his religious views, and, though she made no objection to the
+decidedly politic partnership, she very ostentatiously displayed her
+utter disregard for Henry and his friends. The haughty and dissolute
+beauty was piqued by the reluctance which Jeanne had manifested to an
+alliance which Marguerite thought should have been regarded as the
+very highest of all earthly honors. Preparations were, however, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>made
+for the marriage ceremony, which was to be performed in the French
+capital with unexampled splendor. The most distinguished gentlemen of
+the Protestant party, nobles, statesmen, warriors, from all parts of
+the realm, were invited to the metropolis, to add lustre to the
+festivities by their presence. Many, however, of the wisest counselors
+of the Queen of Navarre, deeply impressed with the conviction of the
+utter perfidy of Catharine, and apprehending some deep-laid plot,
+remonstrated against the acceptance of the invitations, presaging
+that, "if the wedding were celebrated in Paris, the liveries would be
+very crimson."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of Jeanne.</div>
+
+<p>Jeanne, solicited by the most pressing letters from Catharine and her
+son Charles IX., and urged by her courtiers, who were eager to share
+the renowned pleasures of the French metropolis, proceeded to Paris.
+She had hardly entered the sumptuous lodgings provided for her in the
+court of Catharine, when she was seized with a violent fever, which
+raged in her veins nine days, and then she died. In death she
+manifested the same faith and fortitude which had embellished her
+life. Not a murmur or a groan escaped her lips in the most violent
+paroxysms of pain. She had no desire to live except <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>from maternal
+solicitude for her children, Henry and Catharine.</p>
+
+<p>"But God," said she, "will be their father and protector, as he has
+been mine in my greatest afflictions. I confide them to his
+providence."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Demonstrations of grief.<br />Different reports.</div>
+
+<p>She died in June, 1572, in the forty-fourth year of her age. Catharine
+exhibited the most ostentatious and extravagant demonstrations of
+grief. Charles gave utterance to loud and poignant lamentations, and
+ordered a surgeon to examine the body, that the cause of her death
+might be ascertained. Notwithstanding these efforts to allay
+suspicion, the report spread like wildfire through all the departments
+of France, and all the Protestant countries of Europe, that the queen
+had been perfidiously poisoned by Catharine. The Protestant writers of
+the time assert that she fell a victim to poison communicated by a
+pair of perfumed gloves. The Catholics as confidently affirm that she
+died of a natural disease. The truth can now never be known till the
+secrets of all hearts shall be revealed at the judgment day.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The King of Navarre.<br />Indifference.</div>
+
+<p>Henry, with his retinue, was slowly traveling toward Paris,
+unconscious of his mother's sickness, when the unexpected tidings
+arrived <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>of her death. It is difficult to imagine what must have been
+the precise nature of the emotions of an ambitious young man in such
+an event, who ardently loved both his mother and the crown which she
+wore, as by the loss of the one he gained the other. The cloud of his
+grief was embellished with the gilded edgings of joy. The Prince of
+Bearn now assumed the title and the style of the King of Navarre, and
+honored the memory of his noble mother with every manifestation of
+regret and veneration. This melancholy event caused the postponement
+of the marriage ceremony for a short time, as it was not deemed
+decorous that epithalamiums should be shouted and requiems chanted
+from the same lips in the same hour. The knell tolling the burial of
+the dead would not blend harmoniously with the joyous peals of the
+marriage bell. Henry was not at all annoyed by this delay, for no
+impatient ardor urged him to his nuptials. Marguerite, annoyed by the
+opposition which Henry's mother had expressed in regard to the
+alliance, and vexed by the utter indifference which her betrothed
+manifested toward her person, indulged in all the wayward humors of a
+worse than spoiled child. She studiously displayed her utter disregard
+for Henry, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>which manifestations, with the most provoking
+indifference, he did not seem even to notice.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Coligni lured to Paris.<br />He is remonstrated with.</div>
+
+<p>During this short interval the Protestant nobles continued to flock to
+Paris, that they might honor with their presence the marriage of the
+young chief. The Admiral Coligni was, by very special exertions on the
+part of Catharine and Charles, lured to the metropolis. He had
+received anonymous letters warning him of his danger. Many of his more
+prudent friends openly remonstrated against his placing himself in the
+power of the perfidious queen. Coligni, however, was strongly attached
+to Henry, and, in defiance of all these warnings, he resolved to
+attend his nuptials. "I confide," said he, "in the sacred word of his
+majesty."</p>
+
+<p>Upon his arrival in the metropolis, Catharine and Charles lavished
+upon him the most unbounded manifestations of regard. The king,
+embracing the admiral, exclaimed, "This is the happiest day of my
+life." Very soon one of the admiral's friends called upon him to take
+leave, saying that he was immediately about to retire into the
+country. When asked by the admiral the cause of his unexpected
+departure, he replied, "I go because they caress you too much, and I
+would rather save myself with fools than perish with sages."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The nuptial day.<br />The scene.</div>
+
+<p>At length the nuptial day arrived. It was the seventeenth of August,
+1572. Paris had laid aside its mourning weeds, and a gay and brilliant
+carnival succeeded its dismal days of gloom. Protestants and
+Catholics, of highest name and note, from every part of Europe, who
+had met in the dreadful encounters of a hundred fields of blood, now
+mingled in apparent fraternity with the glittering throng, all
+interchanging smiles and congratulations. The unimpassioned bridegroom
+led his scornful bride to the church of Notre Dame. Before the massive
+portals of this renowned edifice, and under the shadow of its
+venerable towers, a magnificent platform had been reared, canopied
+with the most gorgeous tapestry. Hundreds of thousands thronged the
+surrounding amphitheatre, swarming at the windows, crowding the
+balconies, and clustered upon the house-tops, to witness the imposing
+ceremony. The gentle breeze breathing over the multitude was laden
+with the perfume of flowers. Banners, and pennants, and ribbons of
+every varied hue waved in the air, or hung in gay festoons from window
+to window, and from roof to roof. Upon that conspicuous platform, in
+the presence of all the highest nobility of France, and of the most
+illustrious <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>representatives of every court of Europe, Henry received
+the hand of the haughty princess, and the nuptial oath was
+administered.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Small favors gratefully received.</div>
+
+<p>Marguerite, however, even in that hour, and in the presence of all
+those spectators, gave a ludicrous exhibition of her girlish petulance
+and ungoverned willfulness. When, in the progress of the ceremony, she
+was asked if she willingly received Henry of Bourbon for her husband,
+she pouted, coquettishly tossed her proud head, and was silent. The
+question was repeated. The spirit of Marguerite was now roused, and
+all the powers of Europe could not tame the shrew. She fixed her eyes
+defiantly upon the officiating bishop, and refusing, by look, or word,
+or gesture, to express the slightest assent, remained as immovable as
+a statue. Embarrassment and delay ensued. Her royal brother, Charles
+IX., fully aware of his sister's indomitable resolution, coolly walked
+up to the termagant at bay, and placing one hand upon her chest and
+the other upon the back of her head, compelled an involuntary nod. The
+bishop smiled and bowed, and acting upon the principle that small
+favors were gratefully received, proceeded with the ceremony. Such
+were the vows with which Henry and Marguerite were united. Such is too
+often <i>love in the palace</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87-8]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i083.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="351" alt="THE MARRIAGE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MARRIAGE.</span></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Mass.<br />National festivities.</div>
+
+<p>The Roman Catholic wife, unaccompanied by her Protestant husband, who
+waited at the door with his retinue, now entered the church of Notre
+Dame to participate in the solemnities of the mass. The young King of
+Navarre then submissively received his bride and conducted her to a
+very magnificent dinner. Catharine and Charles IX., at this
+entertainment, were very specially attentive to the Protestant nobles.
+The weak and despicable king leaned affectionately upon the arm of the
+Admiral Coligni, and for a long time conversed with him with every
+appearance of friendship and esteem. Balls, illuminations, and
+pageants ensued in the evening. For many days these unnatural and
+chilling nuptials were celebrated with all the splendor of national
+festivities. Among these entertainments there was a tournament,
+singularly characteristic of the times, and which certainly sheds
+peculiar lustre either upon the humility or upon the good-nature of
+the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The tournament.</div>
+
+<p>A large area was prepared for the display of one of those barbaric
+passes of arms in which the rude chivalry of that day delighted. The
+inclosure was surrounded by all the polished intellect, rank, and
+beauty of France. Charles IX., with his two brothers and several of
+the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>Catholic nobility, then appeared upon one side of the arena on
+noble war-horses gorgeously caparisoned, and threw down the gauntlet
+of defiance to Henry of Navarre and his Protestant retinue, who,
+similarly mounted and accoutred, awaited the challenge upon the
+opposite side.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Strange representations.</div>
+
+<p>The portion of the inclosure in which the Catholics appeared was
+decorated to represent heaven. Birds of Paradise displayed their
+gorgeous plumage, and the air was vocal with the melody of trilling
+songsters. Beauty displayed its charms arrayed in celestial robes, and
+ambrosial odors lulled the senses in luxurious indulgence. All the
+resources of wealth and art were lavished to create a vision of the
+home of the blessed.</p>
+
+<p>The Protestants, in the opposite extreme of the arena, were seen
+emerging from the desolation, the gloom, and the sulphurous canopy of
+hell. The two parties, from their antagonistic realms, rushed to the
+encounter, the fiends of darkness battling with the angels of light.
+Gradually the Catholics, in accordance with previous arrangements,
+drove back the Protestants toward their grim abodes, when suddenly
+numerous demons appeared rushing from the dungeons of the infernal
+regions, who, with cloven <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>hoofs, and satanic weapons, and chains
+forged in penal fires, seized upon the Protestants and dragged them to
+the blackness of darkness from whence they had emerged. Plaudits loud
+and long greeted this discomfiture of the Protestants by the infernal
+powers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Regal courtesy.</div>
+
+<p>But suddenly the scene is changed. A winged Cupid appears, the
+representative of the pious and amiable bride Marguerite. The demons
+fly in dismay before the irresistible boy. Fearlessly this emissary of
+love penetrates the realms of despair. The Protestants, by this
+agency, are liberated from their thralldom, and conducted in triumph
+to the Elysium of the Catholics. A more curious display of regal
+courtesy history has not recorded. And this was in Paris!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Impediments to departure.</div>
+
+<p>Immediately after the marriage, the Admiral Coligni was anxious to
+obtain permission to leave the city. His devout spirit found no
+enjoyment in the gayeties of the metropolis, and he was deeply
+disgusted with the unveiled licentiousness which he witnessed every
+where around him. Day after day, however, impediments were placed in
+the way of his departure, and it was not until three days after the
+marriage festivities that he succeeded in obtaining an audience with
+Charles. He accompanied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>Charles to the racket-court, where the young
+monarch was accustomed to spend much of his time, and there bidding
+him adieu, left him to his amusements, and took his way on foot toward
+his lodgings.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Mission from the Pope.</div>
+
+<p>The Pope, not aware of the treachery which was contemplated, was much
+displeased in view of the apparently friendly relations which had thus
+suddenly sprung up between the Catholics and the Protestants. He was
+exceedingly perplexed by the marriage, and at last sent a legate to
+expostulate with the French king. Charles IX. was exceedingly
+embarrassed how to frame a reply. He wished to convince the legate of
+his entire devotion to the Papal Church, and, at the same time, he did
+not dare to betray his intentions; for the detection of the conspiracy
+would not only frustrate all his plans, but would load him with
+ignominy, and vastly augment the power of his enemies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The reply.</div>
+
+<p>"I do devoutly wish," Charles replied, "that I could tell you all; but
+you and the Pope shall soon know how beneficial this marriage shall
+prove to the interests of religion. Take my word for it, in a little
+time the holy father shall have reason to praise my designs, my piety,
+and my zeal in behalf of the faith."</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_IV" id="Chapter_IV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Preparations for Massacre.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1572</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The attempted assassination of Coligni.<br />Escape of the assassin.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">s</span> the Admiral Coligni was quietly passing through the streets from
+his interview with Charles at the Louvre to his residence, in
+preparation for his departure, accompanied by twelve or fifteen of his
+personal friends, a letter was placed in his hands. He opened it, and
+began to read as he walked slowly along. Just as he was turning a
+corner of the street, a musket was discharged from the window of an
+adjoining house, and two balls struck him. One cut off a finger of his
+right hand, and the other entered his left arm. The admiral, inured to
+scenes of danger, manifested not the slightest agitation or alarm. He
+calmly pointed out to his friends the house from which the gun had
+been discharged, and his attendants rushed forward and broke open the
+door. The assassin, however, escaped through a back window, and,
+mounting a fleet horse stationed there, and which was subsequently
+proved to have belonged to a nephew of the king, avoided arrest. It
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>was clearly proved in the investigations which immediately ensued
+that the assassin was in connivance with some of the most prominent
+Catholics of the realm. The Duke of Guise and Catharine were clearly
+implicated.</p>
+
+<p>Messengers were immediately dispatched to inform the king of the crime
+which had been perpetrated. Charles was still playing in the
+tennis-court. Casting away his racket, he exclaimed, with every
+appearance of indignation, "Shall I never be at peace?"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrival of Henry.<br />Christian submission of Coligni.</div>
+
+<p>The wounded admiral was conveyed to his lodgings. The surgeons of the
+court, the ministers of the Protestant Church, and the most
+illustrious princes and nobles of the admiral's party hastened to the
+couch of the sufferer. Henry of Navarre was one of the first that
+arrived, and he was deeply moved as he bent over his revered and
+much-loved friend. The intrepid and noble old man seemed perfectly
+calm and composed, reposing unfailing trust in God.</p>
+
+<p>"My friends," said he, "why do you weep? For myself, I deem it an
+honor to have received these wounds for the name of God. Pray him to
+strengthen me."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indignation of Henry.<br />Artifice of Catharine and Charles.</div>
+
+<p>Henry proceeded from the bedside of the admiral to the Louvre. He
+found Charles and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>Catharine there, surrounded by many of the nobles
+of their court. In indignant terms Henry reproached both mother and
+son with the atrocity of the crime which had been committed, and
+demanded immediate permission to retire from Paris, asserting that
+neither he nor his friends could any longer remain in the capital in
+safety. The king and his mother vied with each other in noisy,
+voluble, and even blasphemous declarations of their utter abhorrence
+of the deed; but all the oaths of Charles and all the vociferations of
+Catharine did but strengthen the conviction of the Protestants that
+they both were implicated in this plot of assassination. Catharine and
+Charles, feigning the deepest interest in the fate of their wounded
+guest, hastened to his sick-chamber with every possible assurance of
+their distress and sympathy. Charles expressed the utmost indignation
+at the murderous attempt, and declared, with those oaths which are
+common to vulgar minds, that he would take the most terrible vengeance
+upon the perpetrators as soon as he could discover them.</p>
+
+<p>"To discover them can not be difficult," coolly replied the admiral.</p>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre, overwhelmed with indignation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>and sorrow, was
+greatly alarmed in view of the toils in which he found himself and his
+friends hopelessly involved. The Protestants, who had been thus lured
+to Paris, unarmed and helpless, were panic-stricken by these
+indications of relentless perfidy. They immediately made preparations
+to escape from the city. Henry, bewildered by rumors of plots and
+perils, hesitated whether to retire from the capital with his friends
+in a body, taking the admiral with them, or more secretly to endeavor
+to effect an escape.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Perplexity of the Protestants.<br />Secret preparations.<br />Feeble condition of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>But Catharine and Charles, the moment for action having not quite
+arrived, were unwearied in their exertions to allay this excitement
+and soothe these alarms. They became renewedly clamorous in their
+expressions of grief and indignation in view of the assault upon the
+admiral. The king placed a strong guard around the house where the
+wounded nobleman lay, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting him
+from any popular outbreak, but in reality, as it subsequently
+appeared, to guard against his escape through the intervention of his
+friends. He also, with consummate perfidy, urged the Protestants in
+the city to occupy quarters near together, that, in case of trouble,
+they might more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>easily be protected by him, and might more
+effectually aid one another. His real object, however, was to assemble
+them in more convenient proximity for the slaughter to which they were
+doomed. The Protestants were in the deepest perplexity. They were not
+sure but that all their apprehensions were groundless; and yet they
+knew not but that in the next hour some fearful battery would be
+unmasked for their destruction. They were unarmed, unorganized, and
+unable to make any preparation to meet an unknown danger. Catharine,
+whose depraved yet imperious spirit was guiding with such consummate
+duplicity all this enginery of intrigue, hourly administered the
+stimulus of her own stern will to sustain the faltering purpose of her
+equally depraved but fickle-minded and imbecile son.</p>
+
+<p>Some circumstances seem to indicate that Charles was not an accomplice
+with his mother in the attempt upon the life of the admiral. She said
+to her son, "Notwithstanding all your protestations, the deed will
+certainly be laid to your charge. Civil war will again be enkindled.
+The chiefs of the Protestants are now all in Paris. You had better
+gain the victory at once here than incur the hazard of a new
+campaign."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p><p>"Well, then," said Charles, petulantly, "since you approve the murder
+of the admiral, I am content. But let all the Huguenots also fall,
+that there may not be one left to reproach me."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The visit.</div>
+
+<p>It was on Friday, the 22d of August, that the bullets of the assassin
+wounded Coligni. The next day Henry called again, with his bride, to
+visit his friend, whose finger had been amputated, and who was
+suffering extreme pain from the wound in his arm. Marguerite had but
+few sympathies with the scenes which are to be witnessed in the
+chamber of sickness. She did not conceal her impatience, but, after a
+few commonplace phrases of condolence with her husband's bosom friend,
+she hastened away, leaving Henry to perform alone the offices of
+friendly sympathy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The secret council.</div>
+
+<p>While the young King of Navarre was thus sitting at the bedside of the
+admiral, recounting to him the assurances of faith and honor given by
+Catharine and her son, the question was then under discussion, in
+secret council, at the palace, by this very Catharine and Charles,
+whether Henry, the husband of the daughter of the one and of the
+sister of the other, should be included with the rest of the
+Protestants in the massacre which they were plotting. Charles
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>manifested some reluctance thus treacherously to take the life of his
+early playmate and friend, his brother-in-law, and his invited guest.
+It was, after much deliberation, decided to protect him from the
+general slaughter to which his friends were destined.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Preparations to arm the citizens.</div>
+
+<p>The king sent for some of the leading officers of his troops, and
+commanded them immediately, but secretly, to send his agents through
+every section of the city, to arm the Roman Catholic citizens, and
+assemble them, at midnight, in front of the Hotel de Ville.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Directions for the massacre.</div>
+
+<p>The energetic Duke of Guise, who had acquired much notoriety by the
+sanguinary spirit with which he had persecuted the Protestants, was to
+take the lead of the carnage. To prevent mistakes in the confusion of
+the night, he had issued secret orders for all the Catholics "to wear
+a white cross on the hat, and to bind a piece of white cloth around
+the arm." In the darkest hour of the night, when all the sentinels of
+vigilance and all the powers of resistance should be most effectually
+disarmed by sleep, the alarm-bell, from the tower of the Palace of
+Justice, was to toll the signal for the indiscriminate massacre of the
+Protestants. The bullet and the dagger were to be every where
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>employed, and men, women, and children were to be cut down without
+mercy. With a very few individual exceptions, none were to be left to
+avenge the deed. Large bodies of troops, who hated the Protestants
+with that implacable bitterness which the most sanguinary wars of many
+years had engendered, had been called into the city, and they,
+familiar with deeds of blood, were to commence the slaughter. All good
+citizens were enjoined, as they loved their Savior, to aid in the
+extermination of the enemies of the Church of Rome. Thus, it was
+declared, God would be glorified and the best interests of man
+promoted. The spirit of the age was in harmony with the act, and it
+can not be doubted that there were those who had been so instructed by
+their spiritual guides that they truly believed that by this sacrifice
+they were doing God service.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Signals.</div>
+
+<p>The conspiracy extended throughout all the provinces of France. The
+storm was to burst, at the same moment, upon the unsuspecting victims
+in every city and village of the kingdom. Beacon-fires, with their
+lurid midnight glare, were to flash the tidings from mountain to
+mountain. The peal of alarm was to ring along from steeple to steeple,
+from city to hamlet, from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>valley to hill-side, till the whole
+Catholic population should be aroused to obliterate every vestige of
+Protestantism from the land.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Feast at the Louvre.</div>
+
+<p>While Catharine and Charles were arranging all the details of this
+deed of infamy, even to the very last moment they maintained with the
+Protestants the appearance of the most cordial friendship. They
+lavished caresses upon the Protestant generals and nobles. The very
+day preceding the night when the massacre commenced, the king
+entertained, at a sumptuous feast in the Louvre, many of the most
+illustrious of the doomed guests. Many of the Protestant nobles were
+that night, by the most pressing invitations, detained in the palace
+to sleep. Charles appeared in a glow of amiable spirits, and amused
+them, till a late hour, with his pleasantries.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Embarrassment of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre, however, had his suspicions very strongly aroused.
+Though he did not and could not imagine any thing so dreadful as a
+general massacre, he clearly foresaw that preparations were making for
+some very extraordinary event. The entire depravity of both Catharine
+and Charles he fully understood. But he knew not where the blow would
+fall, and he was extremely perplexed in deciding as to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>the course he
+ought to pursue. The apartments assigned to him and his bride were in
+the palace of the Louvre. It would be so manifestly for his worldly
+interest for him to unite with the Catholic party, especially when he
+should see the Protestant cause hopelessly ruined, that the mother and
+the brother of his wife had hesitatingly concluded that it would be
+safe to spare his life. Many of the most conspicuous members of the
+court of Navarre lodged also in the capacious palace, in chambers
+contiguous to those which were occupied by their sovereign.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Duke of Lorraine.<br />His hatred toward the Protestants.<br />The assassin's revenge.</div>
+
+<p>Marguerite's oldest sister had married the Duke of Lorraine, and her
+son, the Duke of Guise, an energetic, ambitious, unprincipled
+profligate, was one of the most active agents in this conspiracy. His
+illustrious rank, his near relationship with the king&mdash;rendering it
+not improbable that he might yet inherit the throne&mdash;his restless
+activity, and his implacable hatred of the Protestants, gave him the
+most prominent position as the leader of the Catholic party. He had
+often encountered the Admiral Coligni upon fields of battle, where all
+the malignity of the human heart had been aroused, and he had often
+been compelled to fly before the strong arm of his powerful adversary.
+He felt <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>that now the hour of revenge had come, and with an assassin's
+despicable heart he thirsted for the blood of his noble foe. It was
+one of his paid agents who fired upon the admiral from the window,
+and, mounted upon one of the fleetest chargers of the Duke of Guise,
+the wretch made his escape.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anxiety of the Duchess of Lorraine.</div>
+
+<p>The conspiracy had been kept a profound secret from Marguerite, lest
+she should divulge it to her husband. The Duchess of Lorraine,
+however, was in all their deliberations, and, fully aware of the
+dreadful carnage which the night was to witness, she began to feel, as
+the hour of midnight approached, very considerable anxiety in
+reference to the safety of her sister. Conscious guilt magnified her
+fears; and she was apprehensive lest the Protestants, when they should
+first awake to the treachery which surrounded them, would rush to the
+chamber of their king to protect him, and would wreak their vengeance
+upon his Catholic spouse. She did not dare to communicate to her
+sister the cause of her alarm; and yet, when Marguerite, about 11
+o'clock, arose to retire, she importuned her sister, even with tears,
+not to occupy the same apartment with her husband that night, but to
+sleep in her own private chamber. Catharine <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>sharply reproved the
+Duchess of Lorraine for her imprudent remonstrances, and bidding the
+Queen of Navarre good-night, with maternal authority directed her to
+repair to the room of her husband. She departed to the nuptial
+chamber, wondering what could be the cause of such an unwonted display
+of sisterly solicitude and affection.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Scene in Henry's chamber.<br />Rumors of trouble.</div>
+
+<p>When she entered her room, to her great surprise she found thirty or
+forty gentlemen assembled there. They were the friends and the
+supporters of Henry, who had become alarmed by the mysterious rumors
+which were floating from ear to ear, and by the signs of agitation,
+and secrecy, and strange preparation which every where met the eye. No
+one could imagine what danger was impending. No one knew from what
+quarter the storm would burst. But that some very extraordinary event
+was about to transpire was evident to all. It was too late to adopt
+any precautions for safety. The Protestants, unarmed, unorganized, and
+widely dispersed, could now only practice the virtue of heroic
+fortitude in meeting their doom, whatever that doom might be. The
+gentlemen in Henry's chamber did not venture to separate, and not an
+eye was closed in sleep. They sat together <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>in the deepest perplexity
+and consternation, as the hours of the night lingered slowly along,
+anxiously awaiting the developments with which the moments seemed to
+be fraught.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Assembling for work.<br />Alarm in the metropolis.</div>
+
+<p>In the mean time, aided by the gloom of a starless night, in every
+street of Paris preparations were going on for the enormous
+perpetration. Soldiers were assembling in different places of
+rendezvous. Guards were stationed at important points in the city,
+that their victims might not escape. Armed citizens, with loaded
+muskets and sabres gleaming in the lamplight, began to emerge, through
+the darkness, from their dwellings, and to gather, in motley and
+interminable assemblage, around the Hotel de Ville. A regiment of
+guards were stationed at the gates of the royal palace to protect
+Charles and Catharine from any possibility of danger. Many of the
+houses were illuminated, that by the light blazing from the windows,
+the bullet might be thrown with precision, and that the dagger might
+strike an unerring blow. Agitation and alarm pervaded the vast
+metropolis. The Catholics were rejoicing that the hour of vengeance
+had arrived. The Protestants gazed upon the portentous gatherings of
+this storm in utter bewilderment.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Inflexibility of Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>All the arrangements of the enterprise were left to the Duke of Guise,
+and a more efficient and fitting agent could not have been found. He
+had ordered that the tocsin, the signal for the massacre, should be
+tolled at two o'clock in the morning. Catharine and Charles, in one of
+the apartments of the palace of the Louvre, were impatiently awaiting
+the lingering flight of the hours till the alarm-bell should toll
+forth the death-warrant of their Protestant subjects. Catharine,
+inured to treachery and hardened in vice, was apparently a stranger to
+all compunctious visitings. A life of crime had steeled her soul
+against every merciful impression. But she was very apprehensive lest
+her son, less obdurate in purpose, might relent. Though impotent in
+character, he was, at times, petulant and self-willed, and in
+paroxysms of stubbornness spurned his mother's counsels and exerted
+his own despotic power.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The faltering of Charles.</div>
+
+<p>Charles was now in a state of the most feverish excitement. He hastily
+paced the room, peering out at the window, and almost every moment
+looking at his watch, wishing that the hour would come, and again half
+regretting that the plot had been formed. The companions and the
+friends of his childhood, the invited <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>guests who, for many weeks, had
+been his associates in gay festivities, and in the interchange of all
+kindly words and deeds, were, at his command, before the morning
+should dawn, to fall before the bullet and the poniard of the midnight
+murderer. His mother witnessed with intense anxiety this wavering of
+his mind. She therefore urged him no longer to delay, but to
+anticipate the hour, and to send a servant immediately to sound the
+alarm.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Nerved for the work.</div>
+
+<p>Charles hesitated, while a cold sweat ran from his forehead. "Are you
+a coward?" tauntingly inquired the fiendlike mother. This is the
+charge which will always make the poltroon squirm. The young king
+nervously exclaimed, "Well, then, begin."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The knell of death.<br />"Vive Dieu et le roi!"</div>
+
+<p>There were in the chamber at the time only the king, his mother, and
+his brother the Duke of Anjou. A messenger was immediately dispatched
+to strike the bell. It was two hours after midnight. A few moments of
+terrible suspense ensued. There was a dead silence, neither of the
+three uttering a word. They all stood at the windows looking out into
+the rayless night. Suddenly, through the still air, the ponderous
+tones of the alarm-bell fell upon the ear, and rolled, the knell of
+death, over the city. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>Its vibrations awakened the demon in ten
+thousand hearts. It was the morning of the Sabbath, August 24th, 1572.
+It was the anniversary of a festival in honor of St. Bartholomew,
+which had long been celebrated. At the sound of the tocsin, the signal
+for the massacre, armed men rushed from every door into the streets,
+shouting, "<i>Vive Dieu et le roi!</i>"&mdash;<i>Live God and the king!</i></p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_V" id="Chapter_V"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Massacre of St. Bartholomew.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1572</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The commencement of the massacre.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">s</span> the solemn dirge from the steeple rang out upon the night air, the
+king stood at the window of the palace trembling in every nerve.
+Hardly had the first tones of the alarm-bell fallen upon his ear when
+the report of a musket was heard, and the first victim fell. The sound
+seemed to animate to frenzy the demoniac Catharine, while it almost
+froze the blood in the veins of the young monarch, and he passionately
+called out for the massacre to be stopped. It was too late. The train
+was fired, and could not be extinguished. The signal passed with the
+rapidity of sound from steeple to steeple, till not only Paris, but
+entire France, was roused. The roar of human passion, the crackling
+fire of musketry, and the shrieks of the wounded and the dying, rose
+and blended in one fearful din throughout the whole metropolis. Guns,
+pistols, daggers, were every where busy. Old men, terrified maidens,
+helpless infants, venerable matrons, were alike smitten, and mercy
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>had no appeal which could touch the heart of the murderers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The house forced.</div>
+
+<p>The wounded Admiral Coligni was lying helpless upon his bed,
+surrounded by a few personal friends, as the uproar of the rising
+storm of human violence and rage rolled in upon their ears. The Duke
+of Guise, with three hundred soldiers, hastened to the lodgings of the
+admiral. The gates were immediately knocked down, and the sentinels
+stabbed. A servant, greatly terrified, rushed into the inner apartment
+where the wounded admiral was lying, and exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>"The house is forced, and there is no means of resisting."</p>
+
+<p>"I have long since," said the admiral, calmly, "prepared myself to
+die. Save yourselves, my friends, if you can, for you can not defend
+my life. I commend my soul to the mercy of God."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Flight of the servants.</div>
+
+<p>The companions of the admiral, having no possible means of protection,
+and perhaps adding to his peril by their presence, immediately fled to
+other apartments of the house. They were pursued and stabbed. Three
+leaped from the windows and were shot in the streets.</p>
+
+<p>Coligni, left alone in his apartment, rose with difficulty from his
+bed, and, being unable to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>stand, leaned for support against the wall.
+A desperado by the name of Breme, a follower of the Duke of Guise,
+with a congenial band of accomplices, rushed into the room. They saw a
+venerable man, pale, and with bandaged wounds, in his night-dress,
+engaged in prayer.</p>
+
+<p>"Art thou the admiral?" demanded the assassin, with brandished sword.</p>
+
+<p>"I am," replied the admiral; "and thou, young man, shouldst respect my
+gray hairs. Nevertheless, thou canst abridge my life but a little."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of Admiral Coligni.</div>
+
+<p>Breme plunged his sword into his bosom, and then withdrawing it, gave
+him a cut upon the head. The admiral fell, calmly saying, "If I could
+but die by the hand of a gentleman instead of such a knave as this!"
+The rest of the assassins then rushed upon him, piercing his body with
+their daggers.</p>
+
+<p>The Duke of Guise, ashamed himself to meet the eye of this noble
+victim to the basest treachery, remained impatiently in the court-yard
+below.</p>
+
+<p>"Breme!" he shouted, looking up at the window, "have you done it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," Breme exclaimed from the chamber, "he is done for."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p><p>"Let us see, though," rejoined the duke. "Throw the body from the
+window."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Brutality.</div>
+
+<p>The mangled corpse was immediately thrown down upon the pavement of
+the court-yard. The duke, with his handkerchief, wiped the blood and
+the dirt from his face, and carefully scrutinized the features.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said he, "I recognize him. He is the man."</p>
+
+<p>Then giving the pallid cheek a kick, he exclaimed, "Courage, comrades!
+we have happily begun. Let us now go for others. The king commands
+it."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Fate of the Duke of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>In sixteen years from this event the Duke of Guise was himself
+assassinated, and received a kick in the face from Henry III., brother
+of the same king in whose service he had drawn the dagger of the
+murderer. Thus died the Admiral Coligni, one of the noblest sons of
+France. Though but fifty-six years of age, he was prematurely infirm
+from care, and toil, and suffering.</p>
+
+<p>For three days the body was exposed to the insults of the populace,
+and finally was hung up by the feet on a gibbet. A cousin of Coligni
+secretly caused it to be taken down and buried.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Excitement of the Parisians.</div>
+
+<p>The tiger, having once lapped his tongue in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>blood, seems to be imbued
+with a new spirit of ferocity. There is in man a similar temper, which
+is roused and stimulated by carnage. The excitement of human slaughter
+converts man into a demon. The riotous multitude of Parisians was
+becoming each moment more and more clamorous for blood. They broke
+open the houses of the Protestants, and, rushing into their chambers,
+murdered indiscriminately both sexes and every age. The streets
+resounded with the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their
+victims. Cries of "Kill! kill! more blood!" rent the air. The bodies
+of the slain were thrown out of the windows into the streets, and the
+pavements of the city were clotted with human gore.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Fiendish spirit of Charles.<br />Fugitives butchered.</div>
+
+<p>Charles, who was overwhelmed with such compunctions of conscience when
+he heard the first shot, and beheld from his window the commencement
+of the butchery, soon recovered from his momentary wavering, and,
+conscious that it was too late to draw back, with fiendlike eagerness
+engaged himself in the work of death. The monarch, when a boy, had
+been noted for his sanguinary spirit, delighting with his own hand to
+perform the revolting acts of the slaughter-house. Perfect fury seemed
+now to take possession <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>of him. His cheeks were flushed, his lips
+compressed, his eyes glared with frenzy. Bending eagerly from his
+window, he shouted words of encouragement to the assassins. Grasping a
+gun, in the handling of which he had become very skillful from long
+practice in the chase, he watched, like a sportsman, for his prey; and
+when he saw an unfortunate Protestant, wounded and bleeding, flying
+from his pursuers, he would take deliberate aim from the window of his
+palace, and shout with exultation as he saw him fall, pierced by his
+bullet. A crowd of fugitives rushed into the court-yard of the Louvre
+to throw themselves upon the protection of the king. Charles sent his
+own body-guard into the yard, with guns and daggers, to butcher them
+all, and the pavements of the palace-yard were drenched with their
+blood.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115-6]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i111.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="367" alt="THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Terror of Marguerite.</div>
+
+<p>Just before the carnage commenced, Marguerite, weary with excitement
+and the agitating conversation to which she had so long been
+listening, retired to her private apartment for sleep. She had hardly
+closed her eyes when the fearful outcries of the pursuers and the
+pursued filled the palace. She sprang up in her bed, and heard some
+one struggling at the door, and shrieking "Navarre! Navarre!" In a
+paroxysm <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>of terror, she ordered an attendant to open the door. One of her
+husband's retinue instantly rushed in, covered with wounds and blood,
+pursued by four soldiers of her brother's guard. The captain of the
+guard entered at the same moment, and, at the earnest entreaty of the
+princess, spared her the anguish of seeing the friend of her husband
+murdered before her eyes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Flight of Marguerite.</div>
+
+<p>Marguerite, half delirious with bewilderment and terror, fled from her
+room to seek the apartment of her sister. The palace was filled with
+uproar, the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their victims
+blending in awful confusion. As she was rushing through the hall, she
+encountered another Protestant gentleman flying before the dripping
+sword of his pursuer. He was covered with blood, flowing from the many
+wounds he had already received. Just as he reached the young Queen of
+Navarre, his pursuer overtook him and plunged a sword through his
+body. He fell dead at her feet.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Terrors of the night.<br />Remarkable escape of Maximilian.</div>
+
+<p>No tongue can tell the horrors of that night. It would require volumes
+to record the frightful scenes which were enacted before the morning
+dawned. Among the most remarkable escapes we may mention that of a lad
+whose name afterward <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>attained much celebrity. The Baron de Rosny, a
+Protestant lord of great influence and worth, had accompanied his son
+Maximilian, a very intelligent and spirited boy, about eleven years of
+age, to Paris, to attend the nuptials of the King of Navarre. This
+young prince, Maximilian, afterward the world-renowned Duke of Sully,
+had previously been prosecuting his studies in the College of
+Burgundy, in the metropolis, and had become a very great favorite of
+the warm-hearted King of Navarre. His father had come to Paris with
+great reluctance, for he had no confidence in the protestations of
+Catharine and Charles IX. Immediately after the attempt was made to
+assassinate the admiral, the Baron de Rosny, with many of his friends,
+left the city, intrusting his son to the care of a private tutor and a
+valet de chambre. He occupied lodgings in a remote quarter of the city
+and near the colleges.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Efforts to save his life.</div>
+
+<p>Young Maximilian was asleep in his room, when, a little after
+midnight, he was aroused by the ringing of the alarm-bells, and the
+confused cries of the populace. His tutor and valet de chambre sprang
+from their beds, and hurried out to ascertain the cause of the tumult.
+They did not, however, return, for they had hardly reached <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>the door
+when they were shot down. Maximilian, in great bewilderment respecting
+their continued absence, and the dreadful clamor continually
+increasing, was hurriedly dressing himself, when his landlord came in,
+pale and trembling, and informed him of the massacre which was going
+on, and that he had saved his own life only by the avowal of his faith
+in the Catholic religion. He earnestly urged Maximilian to do the
+same. The young prince magnanimously resolved not to save his life by
+falsehood and apostasy. He determined to attempt, in the darkness and
+confusion of the night, to gain the College of Burgundy, where he
+hoped to find some Catholic friends who would protect him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The disguise.<br />Scene in the street.</div>
+
+<p>The distance of the college from the house in which he was rendered
+the undertaking desperately perilous. Having disguised himself in the
+dress of a Roman Catholic priest, he took a large prayer-book under
+his arm, and tremblingly issued forth into the streets. The sights
+which met his eye in the gloom of that awful night were enough to
+appal the stoutest heart. The murderers, frantic with excitement and
+intoxication, were uttering wild outcries, and pursuing, in every
+direction, their terrified victims. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>Women and children, in their
+night-clothes, having just sprung in terror from their beds, were
+flying from their pursuers, covered with wounds, and uttering fearful
+shrieks. The mangled bodies of the young and of the old, of males and
+females, were strewn along the streets, and the pavements were
+slippery with blood. Loud and dreadful outcries were heard from the
+interior of the dwellings as the work of midnight assassination
+proceeded; and struggles of desperate violence were witnessed, as the
+murderers attempted to throw their bleeding and dying victims from the
+high windows of chambers and attics upon the pavements below. The
+shouts of the assailants, the shrieks of the wounded, as blow after
+blow fell upon them, the incessant reports of muskets and pistols, the
+tramp of soldiers, and the peals of the alarm-bell, all combined to
+create a scene of terror such as human eyes have seldom witnessed. In
+the midst of ten thousand perils, the young man crept along, protected
+by his priestly garb, while he frequently saw his fellow-Christians
+shot and stabbed at his very side.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The talisman.</div>
+
+<p>Suddenly, in turning a corner, he fell into the midst of a band of the
+body-guard of the king, whose swords were dripping with blood. They
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>seized him with great roughness, when, seeing the Catholic
+prayer-book which was in his hands, they considered it a safe
+passport, and permitted him to continue on his way uninjured. Twice
+again he encountered similar peril, as he was seized by bands of
+infuriated men, and each time he was extricated in the same way.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrival at the college.<br />His protection.</div>
+
+<p>At length he arrived at the College of Burgundy; and now his danger
+increased tenfold. It was a Catholic college. The porter at the gate
+absolutely refused him admittance. The murderers began to multiply in
+the street around him with fierce and threatening questions.
+Maximilian at length, by inquiring for La Faye, the president of the
+college, and by placing a bribe in the hands of the porter, succeeded
+in obtaining entrance. La Faye was a humane man, and exceedingly
+attached to his Protestant pupil. Maximilian entered the apartment of
+the president, and found there two Catholic priests. The priests, as
+soon as they saw him, insisted upon cutting him down, declaring that
+the king had commanded that not even the infant at the breast should
+be spared. The good old man, however, firmly resolved to protect his
+young friend, and, conducting him privately to a secure chamber,
+locked him up. Here he remained <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>three days in the greatest suspense,
+apprehensive every hour that the assassins would break in upon him. A
+faithful servant of the president brought him food, but could tell him
+of nothing but deeds of treachery and blood. At the end of three days,
+the heroic boy, who afterward attained great celebrity as the minister
+and bosom friend of Henry, was released and protected.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry taken before the king.<br />He yields.</div>
+
+<p>The morning of St. Bartholomew's day had not dawned when a band of
+soldiers entered the chamber of Henry of Navarre and conveyed him to
+the presence of the king. Frenzied with the excitements of the scene,
+the imbecile but passionate monarch received him with a countenance
+inflamed with fury. With blasphemous oaths and imprecations, he
+commanded the King of Navarre, as he valued his life, to abandon a
+religion which Charles affirmed that the Protestants had assumed only
+as a cloak for their rebellion. With violent gesticulations and
+threats, he declared that he would no longer submit to be contradicted
+by his subjects, but that they should revere him as the image of God.
+Henry, who was a Protestant from considerations of state policy rather
+than from Christian principle, and who saw in the conflict <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>merely a
+strife between two political parties, ingloriously yielded to that
+necessity by which alone he could save his life. Charles gave him
+three days to deliberate, declaring, with a violent oath, that if, at
+the end of that time, he did not yield to his commands, he would cause
+him to be strangled. Henry yielded. He not only went to mass himself,
+but submitted to the degradation of sending an edict to his own
+dominions, prohibiting the exercise of any religion except that of
+Rome. This indecision was a serious blot upon his character. Energetic
+and decisive as he was in all his measures of government, his
+religious convictions were ever feeble and wavering.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Paris on the Sabbath following.<br />Encouragement by the priests.</div>
+
+<p>When the darkness of night passed away and the morning of the Sabbath
+dawned upon Paris, a spectacle was witnessed such as the streets even
+of that blood-renowned metropolis have seldom presented. The city
+still resounded with that most awful of all tumults, the clamor of an
+infuriated mob. The pavements were covered with gory corpses. Men,
+women, and children were still flying in every direction, wounded and
+bleeding, pursued by merciless assassins, riotous with demoniac
+laughter and drunk with blood. The report of guns and pistols <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>was
+heard in all parts of the city, sometimes in continuous volleys, as if
+platoons of soldiers were firing upon their victims, while the
+scattered shots, incessantly repeated in every section of the extended
+metropolis, proved the universality of the massacre. Drunken wretches,
+besmeared with blood, were swaggering along the streets, with ribald
+jests and demoniac howlings, hunting for the Protestants. Bodies, torn
+and gory, were hanging from the windows, and dissevered heads were
+spurned like footballs along the pavements. Priests were seen in their
+sacerdotal robes, with elevated crucifixes, and with fanatical
+exclamations encouraging the murderers not to grow weary in their holy
+work of exterminating God's enemies. The most distinguished nobles and
+generals of the court and the camp of Charles, mounted on horseback
+with gorgeous retinue, rode through the streets, encouraging by voice
+and arm the indiscriminate massacre.</p>
+
+<p>"Let not," the king proclaimed, "one single Protestant be spared to
+reproach me hereafter with this deed."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The massacre continued.</div>
+
+<p>For a whole week the massacre continued, and it was computed that from
+eighty to a hundred thousand Protestants were slain throughout the
+kingdom.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Exultation of the Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>Charles himself, with Catharine and the highborn but profligate ladies
+who disgraced her court, emerged with the morning light, in splendid
+array, into the reeking streets. The ladies contemplated with
+merriment and ribald jests the dead bodies of the Protestants piled up
+before the Louvre. Some of the retinue, appalled by the horrid
+spectacle, wished to retire, alleging that the bodies already emitted
+a putrid odor. Charles inhumanly replied, "The smell of a dead enemy
+is always pleasant."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Triumphal procession.</div>
+
+<p>On Thursday, after four days spent in hunting out the fugitives and
+finishing the bloody work, the clergy paraded the streets in a
+triumphal procession, and with jubilant prayers and hymns gave thanks
+to God for their great victory. The Catholic pulpits resounded with
+exultant harangues, and in honor of the event a medallion was struck
+off, with the inscription "<i>La pi&eacute;t&eacute; a reveille la
+justice</i>"&mdash;<i>Religion has awakened justice</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Extent of the massacre.</div>
+
+<p>In the distant provinces of France the massacre was continued, as the
+Protestants were hunted from all their hiding-places. In some
+departments, as in Santonge and Lower Languedoc, the Protestants were
+so numerous that the Catholics did not venture to attack them. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>In
+some other provinces they were so few that the Catholics had nothing
+whatever to fear from them, and therefore spared them; and in the
+sparsely-settled rural districts the peasants refused to imbrue their
+hands in the blood of their neighbors. Many thousand Protestants
+throughout the kingdom in these ways escaped.</p>
+
+<p>But in nearly all the populous towns, where the Catholic population
+predominated, the massacre was universal and indiscriminate. In Meaux,
+four hundred houses of Protestants were pillaged and devastated, and
+the inmates, without regard to age or sex, utterly exterminated. At
+Orleans there were three thousand Protestants. A troop of armed
+horsemen rode furiously through the streets, shouting, "Courage, boys!
+kill all, and then you shall divide their property." At Rouen, many of
+the Protestants, at the first alarm, fled. The rest were arrested and
+thrown into prison. They were then brought out one by one, and
+deliberately murdered. Six hundred were thus slain. Such were the
+scenes which were enacted in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bourges, Angers,
+Lyons, and scores of other cities in France. It is impossible to
+ascertain with precision the number of victims. The Duke of Sully
+estimates them at seventy thousand; the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>Bishop P&eacute;r&eacute;fixe at one
+hundred thousand. This latter estimate is probably not exaggerated, if
+we include the unhappy fugitives, who, fleeing from their homes, died
+of cold, hunger, and fatigue, and all the other nameless woes which
+accrued from this great calamity.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Magnanimity of Catholic officers.</div>
+
+<p>In the midst of these scenes of horror it is pleasant to record
+several instances of generous humanity. In the barbarism of those
+times dueling was a common practice. A Catholic officer by the name of
+Vessins, one of the most fierce and irritable men in France, had a
+private quarrel with a Protestant officer whose name was Regnier. They
+had mutually sought each other in Paris to obtain such satisfaction as
+a duel could afford. In the midst of the massacre, Regnier, while at
+prayers with his servant (for in those days dueling and praying were
+not deemed inconsistent), heard the door of his room broken open, and,
+looking round in expectation of instant death, saw his foe Vessins
+enter breathless with excitement and haste. Regnier, conscious that
+all resistance would be unavailing, calmly bared his bosom to his
+enemy, exclaiming,</p>
+
+<p>"You will have an easy victory."</p>
+
+<p>Vessins made no reply, but ordered the valet <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>to seek his master's
+cloak and sword. Then leading him into the street, he mounted him upon
+a powerful horse, and with fifteen armed men escorted him out of the
+city. Not a word was exchanged between them. When they arrived at a
+little grove at a short distance from the residence of the Protestant
+gentleman, Vessins presented him with his sword, and bade him dismount
+and defend himself, saying,</p>
+
+<p>"Do not imagine that I seek your friendship by what I have done. All I
+wish is to take your life honorably."</p>
+
+<p>Regnier threw away his sword, saying, "I will never strike at one who
+has saved my life."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well!" Vessins replied, and left him, making him a present of
+the horse on which he rode.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Bishop of Lisieux.</div>
+
+<p>Though the commands which the king sent to the various provinces of
+France for the massacre were very generally obeyed, there were
+examples of distinguished virtue, in which Catholics of high rank not
+only refused to imbrue their own hands in blood, but periled their
+lives to protect the Protestants. The Bishop of Lisieux, in the
+exercise of true Christian charity, saved all the Protestants in the
+town over which he presided. The Governor of Auvergne <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>replied to the
+secret letter of the king in the following words:</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Noble replies to the king's decree.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Sire, I have received an order, under your majesty's seal,
+to put all the Protestants of this province to death, and
+if, which God forbid, the order be genuine, I respect your
+majesty still too much to obey you."</p></div>
+
+<p>The king had sent a similar order to the commandant at Bayonne, the
+Viscount of Orthez. The following noble words were returned in reply:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Sire, I have communicated the commands of your majesty to
+the inhabitants of the town and to the soldiers of the
+garrison, and I have found good citizens and brave soldiers,
+<i>but not one executioner</i>; on which account, they and I
+humbly beseech you to employ our arms and our lives in
+enterprises in which we can conscientiously engage. However
+perilous they may be, we will willingly shed therein the
+last drop of our blood."</p></div>
+
+<p>Both of these noble-minded men soon after very suddenly and
+mysteriously died. Few entertained a doubt that poison had been
+administered by the order of Charles.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>law</i> of France required that these Protestants should be hunted
+to death. This was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span><i>the law</i> promulgated by the king and sent by his
+own letters missive to the appointed officers of the crown.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The higher law.</div>
+
+<p>But there is&mdash;<i>there is</i> a <span class="smcap">higher law</span> than that of kings and courts.
+Nobly these majestic men rendered to it their allegiance. They sealed
+their fidelity to this <span class="smcap">higher law</span> with their blood. They were martyrs,
+not fanatics.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Attempted justification.</div>
+
+<p>On the third day of the massacre the king assembled the Parliament in
+Paris, and made a public avowal of the part he had taken in this
+fearful tragedy, and of the reasons which had influenced him to the
+deed. Though he hoped to silence all Protestant tongues in his own
+realms in death, he knew that the tale would be told throughout all
+Europe. He therefore stated, in justification of the act, that he had,
+"as if by a miracle," discovered that the Protestants were engaged in
+a conspiracy against his own life and that of all of his family.</p>
+
+<p>This charge, however, uttered for the moment, was speedily dropped and
+forgotten. There was not the slightest evidence of such a design.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Punishment of Coligni.</div>
+
+<p>The Parliament, to give a little semblance of justice to the king's
+accusation, sat in judgment upon the memory of the noble Coligni. They
+sentenced him to be hung in effigy; ordered his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>arms to be dragged at
+the heels of a horse through all the principal towns of France; his
+magnificent castle of Chatillon to be razed to its foundations, and
+never to be rebuilt; his fertile acres, in the culture of which he had
+found his chief delight, to be desolated and sown with salt; his
+portraits and statues, wherever found, to be destroyed; his children
+to lose their title of nobility; all his goods and estates to be
+confiscated to the use of the crown, and a monument of durable marble
+to be raised, upon which this sentence of the court should be
+engraved, to transmit to all posterity his alleged infamy. Thus was
+punished on earth one of the noblest servants both of God and man. But
+there is a day of final judgment yet to come. The oppressor has but
+his brief hour. There is eternity to right the oppressed.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding this general and awful massacre, the Protestants were
+far from being exterminated. Several nobles, surrounded by their
+retainers in their distant castles, suspicious of treachery, had
+refused to go to Paris to attend the wedding of Henry and Marguerite.
+Others who had gone to Paris, alarmed by the attack upon Admiral
+Coligni, immediately retired to their homes. Some concealed themselves
+in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>garrets, cellars, and wells until the massacre was over. As has
+been stated, in some towns the governors refused to engage in the
+merciless butchery, and in others the Protestants had the majority,
+and with their own arms could defend themselves within the walls which
+their own troops garrisoned.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Valor of the survivors.<br />Pledges of aid.</div>
+
+<p>Though, in the first panic caused by the dreadful slaughter, the
+Protestants made no resistance, but either surrendered themselves
+submissively to the sword of the assassin, or sought safety in
+concealment or flight, soon indignation took the place of fear. Those
+who had fled from the kingdom to Protestant states rallied together.
+The survivors in France began to count their numbers and marshal their
+forces for self-preservation. From every part of Protestant Europe a
+cry of horror and execration simultaneously arose in view of this
+crime of unparalleled enormity. In many places the Catholics
+themselves seemed appalled in contemplation of the deed they had
+perpetrated. Words of sympathy were sent to these martyrs to a pure
+faith from many of the Protestant kingdoms, with pledges of determined
+and efficient aid. The Protestants rapidly gained courage. From all
+the country, they flocked into those <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>walled towns which still
+remained in their power.</p>
+
+<p>As the fugitives from France, emaciate, pale, and woe-stricken, with
+tattered and dusty garb, recited in England, Switzerland, and Germany
+the horrid story of the massacre, the hearts of their auditors were
+frozen with horror. In Geneva a day of fasting and prayer was
+instituted, which is observed even to the present day. In Scotland
+every church resounded with the thrilling tale; and Knox, whose
+inflexible spirit was nerved for those iron times, exclaimed, in
+language of prophetic nerve,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Prophecy of Knox.</div>
+
+<p>"Sentence has gone forth against that murderer, the King of France,
+and the vengeance of God will never be withdrawn from his house. His
+name shall be held in everlasting execration."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Apology of the court.</div>
+
+<p>The French court, alarmed by the indignation it had aroused, sent an
+embassador to London with a poor apology for the crime, by pretending
+that the Protestants had conspired against the life of the king. The
+embassador was received in the court of the queen with appalling
+coldness and gloom. Arrangements were made to invest the occasion with
+the most impressive solemnity. The court was shrouded in mourning,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>and all the lords and ladies appeared in sable weeds. A stern and
+sombre sadness was upon every countenance. The embassador, overwhelmed
+by his reception, was overheard to exclaim to himself, in bitterness
+of heart,</p>
+
+<p>"I am ashamed to acknowledge myself a Frenchman."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Opinions of the courts of Europe.</div>
+
+<p>He entered, however, the presence of the queen, passed through the
+long line of silent courtiers, who refused to salute him, or even to
+honor him with a look, stammered out his miserable apology, and,
+receiving no response, retired covered with confusion. Elizabeth, we
+thank thee! This one noble deed atones for many of thy crimes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Rejoicings at Rome.</div>
+
+<p>Very different was the reception of these tidings in the court of
+Rome. The messenger who carried the news was received with transports
+of joy, and was rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. Cannons were
+fired, bells rung, and an immense procession, with all the trappings
+of sacerdotal rejoicing, paraded the streets. Anthems were chanted and
+thanksgivings were solemnly offered for the great victory over the
+enemies of the Church. A gold medal was struck off to commemorate the
+event; and Charles IX. and Catharine were pronounced, by the
+infallible <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>word of his holiness, to be the especial favorites of God.
+Spain and the Netherlands united with Rome in these infamous
+exultations. Philip II. wrote from Madrid to Catharine,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"These tidings are the greatest and the most glorious I could have
+received."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Atrocity of the deed.</div>
+
+<p>Such was the awful massacre of St. Bartholomew. When contemplated in
+all its aspects of perfidy, cruelty, and cowardice, it must be
+pronounced the greatest crime recorded in history. The victims were
+invited under the guise of friendship to Paris. They were received
+with solemn oaths of peace and protection. The leading men in the
+nation placed the dagger in the hands of an ignorant and degraded
+people. The priests, professed ministers of Jesus Christ, stimulated
+the benighted multitude by all the appeals of fanaticism to
+exterminate those whom they denounced as the enemies of God and man.
+After the great atrocity was perpetrated, princes and priests, with
+blood-stained hands, flocked to the altars of God, our common Father,
+to thank him that the massacre had been accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>The annals of the world are filled with narratives of crime and woe,
+but the Massacre of St. Bartholomew stands perhaps without a parallel.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Results of the massacre.</div>
+
+<p>It has been said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
+Church." This is only true with exceptions. Protestantism in France
+has never recovered from this blow. But for this massacre one half of
+the nobles of France would have continued Protestant. The Reformers
+would have constituted so large a portion of the population that
+mutual toleration would have been necessary. Henry IV. would not have
+abjured the Protestant faith. Intelligence would have been diffused;
+religion would have been respected; and in all probability, the
+horrors of the French Revolution would have been averted.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Retribution.</div>
+
+<p>God is an avenger. In the mysterious government which he wields,
+mysterious only to our feeble vision, he "visits the iniquities of the
+fathers upon the children, even unto the third and fourth generation."
+As we see the priests of Paris and of France, during the awful tragedy
+of the Revolution, massacred in the prisons, shot in the streets, hung
+upon the lamp-posts, and driven in starvation and woe from the
+kingdom, we can not but remember the day of St. Bartholomew. The 24th
+of August, 1572, and the 2d of September, 1792, though far apart in
+the records of time, are consecutive days in the government of God.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VI" id="Chapter_VI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Houses of Valois, of Guise,<br />
+and of Bourbon.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Illustrious French families.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">t</span> this time, in France, there were three illustrious and rival
+families, prominent above all others. Their origin was lost in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Their renown had been accumulating for many
+generations, through rank, and wealth, and power, and deeds of heroic
+and semi-barbarian daring. As these three families are so blended in
+all the struggles of this most warlike period, it is important to give
+a brief history of their origin and condition.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The house of Valois.<br />Early condition of France.</div>
+
+<p>1. <i>The House of Valois.</i> More than a thousand years before the birth
+of Christ, we get dim glimpses of France, or, as it was then called,
+Gaul. It was peopled by a barbarian race, divided into petty tribes or
+clans, each with its chieftain, and each possessing undefined and
+sometimes almost unlimited power. Age after age rolled on, during
+which generations came and went like ocean billows, and all Gaul was
+but a continued battle-field. The history of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>each individual of its
+countless millions seems to have been, that he was born, killed as
+many of his fellow-creatures as he could, and then, having acquired
+thus much of glory, died.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Clovis.<br />The Carlovingian dynasty.</div>
+
+<p>About fifty years before the birth of Christ, C&aelig;sar, with his
+conquering hosts, swept through the whole country, causing its rivers
+to run red with blood, until the subjugated Gauls submitted to Roman
+sway. In the decay of the Roman empire, about four hundred years after
+Christ, the Franks, from Germany, a barbarian horde as ferocious as
+wolves, penetrated the northern portion of Gaul, and, obtaining
+permanent settlement there, gave the whole country the name of France.
+Clovis was the chieftain of this warlike tribe. In the course of a few
+years, France was threatened with another invasion by combined hordes
+of barbarians from the north. The chiefs of the several independent
+tribes in France found it necessary to unite to repel the foe. They
+chose Clovis as their leader. This was the origin of the French
+monarchy. He was but little elevated above the surrounding chieftains,
+but by intrigue and power perpetuated his supremacy. For about three
+hundred years the family of Clovis retained its precarious and
+oft-contested elevation. At last, this line, enervated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>by luxury,
+became extinct, and another family obtained the throne. This new
+dynasty, under Pepin, was called the Carlovingian. The crown descended
+generally from father to son for about two hundred years, when the
+last of the race was poisoned by his wife. This family has been
+rendered very illustrious, both by Pepin and by his son, the still
+more widely renowned Charlemagne.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Capet and Philip.</div>
+
+<p>Hugh Capet then succeeded in grasping the sceptre, and for three
+hundred years the Capets held at bay the powerful chieftains who
+alternately assailed and defended the throne. Thirteen hundred years
+after Christ, the last of the Capets was borne to his tomb, and the
+feudal lords gave the pre-eminence to Philip of Valois. For about two
+hundred years the house of Valois had reigned. At the period of which
+we treat in this history, luxury and vice had brought the family near
+to extinction.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Decay of the house of Valois.</div>
+
+<p>Charles IX., who now occupied the throne under the rigorous rule of
+his infamous mother, was feeble in body and still more feeble in mind.
+He had no child, and there was no probability that he would ever be
+blessed with an heir. His exhausted constitution indicated that a
+premature death was his inevitable destiny. His <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>brother Henry, who
+had been elected King of Poland, would then succeed to the throne; but
+he had still less of manly character than Charles. An early death was
+his unquestioned doom. At his death, if childless, the house of Valois
+would become extinct. Who then should grasp the rich prize of the
+sceptre of France? The house of Guise and the house of Bourbon were
+rivals for this honor, and were mustering their strength and arraying
+their forces for the anticipated conflict. Each family could bring
+such vast influences into the struggle that no one could imagine in
+whose favor victory would decide. Such was the condition of the house
+of Valois in France in the year 1592.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">House of Guise.<br />The dukedom of Lorraine.</div>
+
+<p>2. Let us now turn to the house of Guise. No tale of fiction can
+present a more fascinating collection of romantic enterprises and of
+wild adventures than must be recorded by the truthful historian of the
+house of Guise. On the western banks of the Rhine, between that river
+and the Meuse, there was the dukedom of Lorraine. It was a state of no
+inconsiderable wealth and power, extending over a territory of about
+ten thousand square miles, and containing a million and a half of
+inhabitants. Rene II., Duke of Lorraine, was a man of great renown,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>and in all the pride and pomp of feudal power he energetically
+governed his little realm. His body was scarred with the wounds he had
+received in innumerable battles, and he was ever ready to head his
+army of fifty thousand men, to punish any of the feudal lords around
+him who trespassed upon his rights.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Claude of Lorraine.<br />Marriage of the Count of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The wealthy old duke owned large possessions in Normandy, Picardy, and
+various other of the French provinces. He had a large family. His
+fifth son, Claude, was a proud-spirited boy of sixteen. Rene sent this
+lad to France, and endowed him with all the fertile acres, and the
+castles, and the feudal rights which, in France, pertained to the
+noble house of Lorraine. Young Claude of Lorraine was presented at the
+court of St. Cloud as the Count of Guise, a title derived from one of
+his domains. His illustrious rank, his manly beauty, his princely
+bearing, his energetic mind, and brilliant talents, immediately gave
+him great prominence among the glittering throng of courtiers. Louis
+XII. was much delighted with the young count, and wished to attach the
+powerful and attractive stranger to his own house by an alliance with
+his daughter. The heart of the proud boy was, however, captivated by
+another <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>beauty who embellished the court of the monarch, and, turning
+from the princess royal, he sought the hand of Antoinette, an
+exceedingly beautiful maiden of about his own age, a daughter of the
+house of Bourbon. The wedding of this young pair was celebrated with
+great magnificence in Paris, in the presence of the whole French
+court. Claude was then but sixteen years of age.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Francis I.</div>
+
+<p>A few days after this event the infirm old king espoused the young and
+beautiful sister of Henry VIII. of England. The Count of Guise was
+honored with the commission of proceeding to Boulogne with several
+princes of the blood to receive the royal bride. Louis soon died, and
+his son, Francis I., ascended the throne. Claude was, by marriage, his
+cousin. He could bring all the influence of the proud house of Bourbon
+and the powerful house of Lorraine in support of the king. His own
+energetic, fearless, war-loving spirit invested him with great power
+in those barbarous days of violence and blood. Francis received his
+young cousin into high favor. Claude was, indeed, a young man of very
+rare accomplishments. His prowess in the jousts and tournaments, then
+so common, and his grace and magnificence in the drawing-room,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>rendered him an object of universal admiration.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The suggestion and its results.</div>
+
+<p>One night Claude accompanied Francis I. to the queen's circle. She had
+gathered around her the most brilliant beauty of her realm. In those
+days woman occupied a very inferior position in society, and seldom
+made her appearance in the general assemblages of men. The gallant
+young count was fascinated with the amiability and charms of those
+distinguished ladies, and suggested to the king the expediency of
+breaking over the restraints which long usage had imposed, and
+embellishing his court with the attractions of female society and
+conversation. The king immediately adopted the welcome suggestion, and
+decided that, throughout the whole realm, women should be freed from
+the unjust restraint to which they had so long been subject. Guise had
+already gained the good-will of the nobility and of the army, and he
+now became a universal favorite with the ladies, and was thus the most
+popular man in France. Francis I. was at this time making preparations
+for the invasion of Italy, and the Count of Guise, though but eighteen
+years of age, was appointed commander-in-chief of a division of the
+army consisting of twenty thousand men.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Bravery of the duke.</div>
+
+<p>In all the perils of the bloody battles which soon ensued, he
+displayed that utter recklessness of danger which had been the
+distinguishing trait of his ancestors. In the first battle, when
+discomfiture and flight were spreading through his ranks, the proud
+count refused to retire one step before his foes. He was surrounded,
+overmatched, his horse killed from under him, and he fell, covered
+with twenty-two wounds, in the midst of the piles of mangled bodies
+which strewed the ground. He was afterward dragged from among the
+dead, insensible and apparently lifeless, and conveyed to his tent,
+where his vigorous constitution, and that energetic vitality which
+seemed to characterize his race, triumphed over wounds whose severity
+rendered their cure almost miraculous.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">His prominence.</div>
+
+<p>Francis I., in his report of the battle, extolled in the most glowing
+terms the prodigies of valor which Guise had displayed. War,
+desolating war, still ravaged wretched Europe, and Guise, with his
+untiring energy, became so prominent in the court and the camp that he
+was regarded rather as an ally of the King of France than as his
+subject. His enormous fortune, his ancestral renown, the vast
+political and military influences which were at his command, made him
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>almost equal to the monarch whom he served. Francis lavished honors
+upon him, converted one of his counties into a dukedom, and, as <i>duke</i>
+of Guise, young Claude of Lorraine had now attained the highest
+position which a subject could occupy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Days of war.</div>
+
+<p>Years of conflagration, carnage, and woe rolled over war-deluged
+Europe, during which all the energies of the human race seemed to be
+expended in destruction; and in almost every scene of smouldering
+cities, of ravaged valleys, of battle-fields rendered hideous with the
+shouts of onset and shrieks of despair, we see the apparition of the
+stalwart frame of Guise, scarred, and war-worn, and blackened with the
+smoke and dust of the fray, riding upon his proud charger, wherever
+peril was most imminent, as if his body were made of iron.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The bloody rout.<br />Scene from the castle.<br />Claude the Butcher.</div>
+
+<p>At one time he drove before him, in most bloody rout, a numerous army
+of Germans. The fugitives, spreading over leagues of country, fled by
+his own strong castle of Neufch&acirc;teau. Antoinette and the ladies of her
+court stood upon the battlements of the castle, gazing upon the scene,
+to them so new and to them so pleasantly exciting. As they saw the
+charges of the cavalry trampling the dead and the dying <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>beneath their
+feet, as they witnessed all the horrors of that most horrible scene
+which earth can present&mdash;a victorious army cutting to pieces its
+flying foes, with shouts of applause they animated the ardor of the
+victors. The once fair-faced boy had now become a veteran. His bronzed
+cheek and sinewy frame attested his life of hardship and toil. The
+nobles were jealous of his power. The king was annoyed by his haughty
+bearing; but he was the idol of the people. In one campaign he caused
+the death of forty thousand Protestants, for he was the devoted
+servant of mother Church. <i>Claude the Butcher</i> was the not
+inappropriate name by which the Protestants designated him. His
+brother John attained the dignity of Cardinal of Lorraine. Claude with
+his keen sword, and John with pomp, and pride, and spiritual power,
+became the most relentless foes of the Reformation, and the most
+valiant defenders of the Catholic faith.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Cardinal of Lorraine.</div>
+
+<p>The kind-heartedness of the wealthy but dissolute cardinal, and the
+prodigality of his charity, rendered him almost as popular as his
+warlike brother. When he went abroad, his <i>valet de chambre</i>
+invariably prepared him a bag filled with gold, from which he gave to
+the poor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>most freely. His reputation for charity was so exalted that
+a poor blind mendicant, to whom he gave gold in the streets of Rome,
+overjoyed at the acquisition of such a treasure, exclaimed, "Surely
+thou art either Christ or the Cardinal of Lorraine."</p>
+
+<p>The Duke of Guise, in his advancing years, was accompanied to the
+field of battle by his son Francis, who inherited all of his father's
+courtly bearing, energy, talent, and headlong valor. At the siege of
+Luxemburg a musket ball shattered the ankle of young Francis, then
+Count of Aumale, and about eighteen years of age. As the surgeon was
+operating upon the splintered bones and quivering nerves, the sufferer
+gave some slight indication of his sense of pain. His iron father
+severely reprimanded him, saying,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The reprimand.</div>
+
+<p>"Persons of your rank should not feel their wounds, but, on the
+contrary, should take pleasure in building up their reputation upon
+the ruin of their bodies."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Duke of Mayence.</div>
+
+<p>Others of the sons of Claude also signalized themselves in the wars
+which then desolated Europe, and they received wealth and honors. The
+king erected certain lands and lordships belonging to the Duke of
+Guise into a marquisate, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>and then immediately elevated the marquisate
+into a duchy, and the youngest son of the Duke of Guise, inheriting
+the property, was ennobled with the title of the Duke of Mayence. Thus
+there were two rich dukedoms in the same family.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The family of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>Claude had six sons, all young men of imperious spirit and magnificent
+bearing. They were allied by marriage with the most illustrious
+families in France, several of them being connected with princes of
+the blood royal. The war-worn duke, covered with wounds which he
+deemed his most glorious ornaments, often appeared at court
+accompanied by his sons. They occupied the following posts of rank and
+power: Francis, the eldest, Count of Aumale, was the heir of the
+titles and the estates of the noble house. Claude was Marquis of
+Mayence; Charles was Archbishop of Rheims, the richest benefice in
+France, and he soon attained one of the highest dignities of the
+Church by the reception of a cardinal's hat; Louis was Bishop of
+Troyes, and Francis, the youngest, Chevalier of Lorraine and Duke of
+Mayence, was general of the galleys of France. One of the daughters
+was married to the King of Scotland, and the others had formed most
+illustrious connections. Thus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>the house of Guise towered proudly and
+sublimely from among the noble families in the midst of whom it had so
+recently been implanted.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry the Eighth.<br />Death of Claude.</div>
+
+<p>Henry VIII. of England, inflamed by the report of the exceeding beauty
+of Mary, daughter of the Duke of Guise, had solicited her hand; but
+Claude was unwilling to surrender his daughter to England's burly and
+brutal old tyrant, and declined the regal alliance. The exasperated
+monarch, in revenge, declared war against France. Years of violence
+and blood lingered away. At last Claude, aged and infirm, surrendered
+to that king of terrors before whom all must bow. In his strong castle
+of Joinville, on the twelfth of April, 1550, the illustrious,
+magnanimous, blood-stained duke, after a whole lifetime spent in
+slaughter, breathed his last. His children and his grandchildren were
+gathered around the bed of the dying chieftain. In the darkness of
+that age, he felt that he had been contending, with divine approval,
+for Christ and his Church. With prayers and thanksgivings, and
+language expressive of meekness and humility before God, he ascended
+to that tribunal of final judgment where there is no difference
+between the peasant and the prince.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Francis, Duke of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The chivalrous and warlike Francis inherited his father's titles,
+wealth, and power; and now the house of Guise was so influential that
+the king trembled in view of its rivalry. It was but the kingly office
+alone which rendered the house of Valois superior to the house of
+Guise. In illustration of the character of those times, and the
+hardihood and sufferings through which the renown of these chieftains
+was obtained, the following anecdote may be narrated.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The dreadful wound.</div>
+
+<p>Francis, Duke of Guise, in one of the skirmishes with the English
+invaders, received a wound which is described as the most severe from
+which any one ever recovered. The lance of an English officer "entered
+above the right eye, declining toward the nose, and piercing through
+on the other side, between the nape and the ear." The weapon, having
+thus penetrated the head more than half a foot, was broken off by the
+violence of the blow, the lance-iron and two fingers' breadth of the
+staff remaining in the dreadful wound. The surgeons of the army,
+stupefied by the magnitude of the injury, declined to attempt the
+extraction of the splinter, saying that it would only expose him to
+dreadful and unavailing suffering, as he must inevitably die. The king
+immediately sent his surgeon, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>with orders to spare no possible
+efforts to save the life of the hero. The lance-head was broken off so
+short that it was impossible to grasp it with the hand. The surgeon
+took the heavy pincers of a blacksmith, and asked the sufferer if he
+would allow him to make use of so rude an instrument, and would also
+permit him to place his foot upon his face.</p>
+
+<p>"You may do any thing you consider necessary," said the duke.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Le Balafr&eacute;.</div>
+
+<p>The officers standing around looked on with horror as the king's
+surgeon, aided by an experienced practitioner, tore out thus violently
+the barbed iron, fracturing the bones, and tearing nerves, veins, and
+arteries. The hardy soldier bore the anguish without the contraction
+of a muscle, and was only heard gently to exclaim to himself, "Oh my
+God!" The sufferer recovered, and ever after regarded the frightful
+scar which was left as a signal badge of honor. He hence bore the
+common name of Le Balafr&eacute;, or <i>The Scarred</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Interview with the king.</div>
+
+<p>As the duke returned to court, the king hurried forth from his chamber
+to meet him, embraced him warmly, and said,</p>
+
+<p>"It is fair that I should come out to meet my old friend, who, on his
+part, is ever so ready to meet my enemies."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Jealousy of the king.</div>
+
+<p>Gradually, however, Francis, the king, became very jealous of the
+boundless popularity and enormous power acquired by this ambitious
+house. Upon his dying bed he warned his son of the dangerous rivalry
+to which the Guises had attained, and enjoined it upon him to curb
+their ambition by admitting none of the princes of that house to a
+share in the government; but as soon as King Francis was consigned to
+his tomb, Henry II., his son and successor, rallied the members of
+this family around him, and made the duke almost the partner of his
+throne. He needed the support of the strong arm and of the
+inexhaustible purse of the princes of Lorraine.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrogance of the Guises.<br />Power of the house of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The arrogance of the Guises, or the princes of Lorraine, as they were
+frequently called, in consequence of their descent from Claude of
+Lorraine, reached such a pitch that on the occasion of a proud
+pageant, when Henry II. was on a visit of inspection to one of his
+frontier fortresses, the Duke of Guise claimed equal rank with Henry
+of Navarre, who was not only King of Navarre, but, as the Duke of
+Vend&ocirc;me, was also first prince of the blood in France. An angry
+dispute immediately arose. The king settled it in favor of the
+audacious Guise, for he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>was intimidated by the power of that arrogant
+house. He thus exasperated Henry of Navarre, and also nurtured the
+pride of a dangerous rival.</p>
+
+<p>All classes were now courting the Duke of Guise. The first nobles of
+the land sought his protection and support by flattering letters and
+costly presents. "From all quarters," says an ancient manuscript, "he
+received offerings of wine, fruit, confections, ortolans, horses,
+dogs, hawks, and gerfalcons. The letters accompanying these often
+contained a second paragraph petitioning for pensions or grants from
+the king, or for places, even down to that of apothecary or of barber
+to the Dauphin." The monarchs of foreign countries often wrote to him
+soliciting his aid. The duke, in the enjoyment of this immense wealth,
+influence, and power, assumed the splendors of royalty, and his court
+was hardly inferior to that of the monarch. The King of Poland and the
+Duke of Guise were rivals for the hand of Anne, the beautiful daughter
+of the Duke of Ferrara, and Guise was the successful suitor.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Appointment of Francis.<br />Thralldom of Henry II.</div>
+
+<p>Francis of Lorraine was now appointed lieutenant general of the French
+armies, and the king addressed to all the provincial authorities
+special injunction to render as prompt and absolute <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>obedience to the
+orders of the Duke of Guise as if they emanated from himself. "And
+truly," says one of the writers of those times, "never had monarch in
+France been obeyed more punctually or with greater zeal." In fact,
+Guise was now the head of the government, and all the great interests
+of the nation were ordered by his mind. Henry was a feeble prince,
+with neither vigor of body nor energy of intellect to resist the
+encroachments of so imperial a spirit. He gave many indications of
+uneasiness in view of his own thralldom, but he was entirely unable to
+dispense with the aid of his sagacious ally.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Mary, Queen of Scots.<br />Francis II.</div>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that one of the daughters of Claude, and a
+sister of Francis, the second duke of Guise, married the King of
+Scotland. Her daughter, the niece of Francis, was the celebrated Mary,
+Queen of Scots. She had been sent to France for her education, and she
+was married, when very young, to her cousin Francis, son of Henry II.
+and of the infamous Catharine de Medici. He was heir of the French
+throne. This wedding was celebrated with the utmost magnificence, and
+the Guises moved on the occasion through the palaces of royalty with
+the pride of monarchs. Henry II. was accidentally <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>killed in a
+tournament; and Francis, his son, under the title of Francis II., with
+his young and beautiful bride, the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots,
+ascended the throne. Francis was a feeble-minded, consumptive youth of
+16, whose thoughts were all centred in his lovely wife. Mary, who was
+but fifteen years of age, was fascinating in the extreme, and entirely
+devoted to pleasure. She gladly transferred all the power of the realm
+to her uncles, the Guises.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Troubles between the Protestants and Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>About this time the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants
+began to grow more violent. The Catholics drew the sword for the
+extirpation of heresy; the Protestants grasped their arms to defend
+themselves. The Guises consecrated all their energies to the support
+of the Papal Church and to the suppression of the Reformation. The
+feeble boy, Francis II., sat languidly upon his throne but seventeen
+months, when he died, on the 5th of December, 1560, and his brother,
+Charles IX., equally enervated in mind and with far less moral worth,
+succeeded to the crown. The death of Francis II. was a heavy blow to
+the Guises. The Admiral Coligni, one of the most illustrious of the
+Protestants, and the bosom friend of Henry of Navarre, was standing,
+with many other nobles, at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>the bedside of the monarch as he breathed
+his last.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," said the admiral, with that gravity which was in
+accordance with his character and his religious principles, "the king
+is dead. It is a lesson to teach us all how to live."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Admiral Coligni.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants could not but rejoice that the Guises had thus lost
+the peculiar influence which they had secured from their near
+relationship to the queen. Admiral Coligni retired from the death-bed
+of the monarch to his own mansion, and, sitting down by the fire,
+became lost in the most profound reverie. He did not observe that his
+boots were burning until one of his friends called his attention to
+the fact.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" he replied, "not a week ago, you and I would each have given a
+leg to have things take this turn, and now we get off with a pair of
+boots."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Antoinette.</div>
+
+<p>Antoinette, the widow of Claude of Lorraine, and the mother of
+Francis, the then Duke of Guise, was still living. She was so
+rancorous in her hostility to the Protestants that she was designated
+by them "<i>Mother of the tyrants and enemies of the Gospel</i>." Greatly
+to her annoyance, a large number of Protestants conducted their
+worship in the little town of Vassy, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>just on the frontier of the
+domains of the Duke of Guise. She was incessantly imploring her son to
+drive off these obnoxious neighbors. The duke was at one time
+journeying with his wife. Their route lay through the town of Vassy.
+His suite consisted of two hundred and sixty men at arms, all showing
+the warlike temper of their chief, and even far surpassing him in
+bigoted hatred of the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Massacre by the Duke of Guise.<br />The Butcher of Vassy.</div>
+
+<p>On arriving at Vassy, the duke entered the church to hear high mass.
+It is said that while engaged in this act of devotion his ears were
+annoyed by the psalms of the Protestants, who were assembled in the
+vicinity. He sent an imperious message for the minister and the
+leading members of the congregation immediately to appear before him.
+The young men fulfilled their mission in a manner so taunting and
+insulting that a quarrel ensued, shots were exchanged, and immediately
+all the vassals of the duke, who were ripe for a fray, commenced an
+indiscriminate massacre. The Protestants valiantly but unavailingly
+defended themselves with sticks and stones; but the bullets of their
+enemies reached them everywhere, in the houses, on the roofs, in the
+streets. For an hour the carnage continued unchecked, and sixty men
+and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>women were killed and two hundred wounded. One only of the men of
+the duke was killed. Francis was ashamed of this slaughter of the
+defenseless, and declared that it was a sudden outbreak, for which he
+was not responsible, and which he had done every thing in his power to
+check; but ever after this he was called by the Protestants "<i>The
+Butcher of Vassy</i>."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Remonstrance to the queen.</div>
+
+<p>When the news of this massacre reached Paris, Theodore de Beza was
+deputed by the Protestants to demand of Catharine, their regent,
+severe justice on the Duke of Guise; but Catharine feared the princes
+of Lorraine, and said to Beza,</p>
+
+<p>"Whoever touches so much as the finger-tip of the Duke of Guise,
+touches me in the middle of my heart."</p>
+
+<p>Beza meekly but courageously replied, "It assuredly behooves that
+Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to
+strike them; but may it please your majesty also to remember that it
+is an anvil which has worn out many hammers."</p>
+
+<p>At the siege of Rouen the Duke of Guise was informed that an assassin
+had been arrested who had entered the camp with the intention of
+taking his life. He ordered the man to be brought before him, and
+calmly inquired,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p><p>"Have you not come hither to kill me?"</p>
+
+<p>The intrepid but misguided young man openly avowed his intention.</p>
+
+<p>"And what motive," inquired the duke, "impelled you to such a deed?
+Have I done you any wrong?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," he replied; "but in removing you from the world I should promote
+the best interests of the Protestant religion, which I profess."</p>
+
+<p>"My religion, then," generously replied the duke, "is better than
+yours, for it commands me to pardon, of my own accord, you who are
+convicted of guilt." And, by his orders, the assassin was safely
+conducted out of camp.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Magnanimity of the Duke of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>"A fine example," exclaims his historian, "of truly religious
+sentiments and magnanimous proselytism very natural to the Duke of
+Guise, the most moderate and humane of the chiefs of the Catholic
+army, and whose brilliant generosity had been but temporarily obscured
+by the occurrence at Vassy."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Religious wars.<br />Assassination of the Duke of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The war between the Catholics and Protestants was now raging with
+implacable fury, and Guise, victorious in many battles, had acquired
+from the Catholic party the name of "Savior of his Country." The duke
+was now upon the very loftiest summits of power which a subject <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>can
+attain. In great exaltation of spirits, he one morning left the army
+over which he was commander-in-chief to visit the duchess, who had
+come to meet him at the neighboring castle of Corney. The duke very
+imprudently took with him merely one general officer and a page. It
+was a beautiful morning in February. As he crossed, in a boat, the
+mirrored surface of the Loiret, the vegetation of returning spring and
+the songs of the rejoicing birds strikingly contrasted with the blood,
+desolation, and misery with which the hateful spirit of war was
+desolating France. The duke was silent, apparently lost in painful
+reveries. His companions disturbed not his thoughts. Having crossed
+the stream, he was slowly walking his horse, with the reins hanging
+listlessly upon his mane, when a pistol was discharged at him from
+behind a hedge, at a distance of but six or seven paces. Two bullets
+pierced his side. On feeling himself wounded, he calmly said,</p>
+
+<p>"They have long had this shot in reserve for me. I deserve it for my
+want of precaution."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161-2]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i157.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="347" alt="THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Death of the duke.</div>
+
+<p>He immediately fell upon his horse's neck, and was caught in the arms
+of his friends. They conveyed him to the castle, where the duchess
+received him with cries of anguish. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>embraced her tenderly, minutely described the circumstances of his
+assassination, and expressed himself grieved in view of the stain
+which such a crime would inflict upon the honor of France. He exhorted
+his wife to bow in submission to the will of Heaven, and kissing his
+son Henry, the Duke of Joinville, who was weeping by his side, gently
+said to him,</p>
+
+<p>"God grant thee grace, my son, to be a good man."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Jean Poltrot.</div>
+
+<p>Thus died Francis, the second Duke of Guise, on the twenty-fourth of
+February, 1563. His murderer was a young Protestant noble, Jean
+Poltrot, twenty-four years of age. Poltrot, from being an ardent
+Catholic, had embraced the Protestant faith. This exposed him to
+persecution, and he was driven from France with the loss of his
+estates. He was compelled to support himself by manual labor. Soured
+in disposition, exasperated and half maddened, he insanely felt that
+he would be doing God service by the assassination of the <i>Butcher of
+Vassy</i>, the most formidable foe of the Protestant religion. It was a
+day of general darkness, and of the confusion of all correct ideas of
+morals.</p>
+
+<p>Henry, the eldest son of the Duke of Guise, a lad of but thirteen
+years of age, now inherited <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>the titles and the renown which his bold
+ancestors had accumulated. This was the Duke of Guise who was the
+bandit chieftain in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote.</div>
+
+<p>One day Henry II. was holding his little daughter Marguerite, who
+afterward became the wife of Henry of Navarre, in his lap, when Henry
+of Guise, then Prince of Joinville, and the Marquis of Beaupreau, were
+playing together upon the floor, the one being but seven years of age,
+and the other but nine.</p>
+
+<p>"Which of the two do you like the best?" inquired the king of his
+child.</p>
+
+<p>"I prefer the marquis," she promptly replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but the Prince of Joinville is the handsomest," the king
+rejoined.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," retorted Marguerite, "he is always in mischief, and he will be
+master every where."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Prediction of Francis.</div>
+
+<p>Francis, the Duke of Guise, had fully apprehended the ambitious,
+impetuous, and reckless character of his son. He is said to have
+predicted that Henry, intoxicated by popularity, would perish in the
+attempt to seat himself upon the throne of France.</p>
+
+<p>"Henry," says a writer of those times, "surpassed all the princes of
+his house in certain natural gifts, in certain talents, which procured
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>him the respect of the court, the affection of the people, but which,
+nevertheless, were tarnished by a singular alloy of great faults and
+unlimited ambition."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Enthusiasm of the populace.</div>
+
+<p>"France was mad about that man," writes another, "for it is too little
+to say that she was in love with him. Her passion approached idolatry.
+There were persons who invoked him in their prayers. His portrait was
+every where. Some ran after him in the streets to touch his mantle
+with their rosaries. One day that he entered Paris on his return from
+a journey, the multitude not only cried '<i>Vive Guise!</i>' but many sang,
+on his passage, '<i>Hosanna to the son of David!</i>'"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The house of Bourbon.<br />The houses united.</div>
+
+<p>3. <i>The House of Bourbon.</i> The origin of this family fades away in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Some bold chieftain, far remote in barbarian
+ages, emerged from obscurity and laid the foundations of the
+illustrious house. Generation after generation passed away, as the son
+succeeded the father in baronial pomp, and pride, and power, till the
+light of history, with its steadily-increasing brilliancy, illumined
+Europe. The family had often been connected in marriage both with the
+house of Guise and the royal line, the house of Valois. Antony of
+Bourbon, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>a sturdy soldier, united the houses of Bourbon and Navarre
+by marrying Jeanne d'Albret, the only child of the King of Navarre.
+Henry came from the union, an only son; and he, by marrying
+Marguerite, the daughter of the King of France, united the houses of
+Bourbon, Navarre, and Valois, and became heir to the throne of France
+should the sons of Henry II. die without issue.</p>
+
+<p>This episode in reference to the condition of France at the time of
+which we write seems necessary to enable the reader fully to
+understand the succeeding chapters.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VII" id="Chapter_VII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Death of Charles IX. and the<br />
+Accession of Henry III.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1576-1577</p>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">fter</span> the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, a large number of the
+Protestants threw themselves into the city of Rochelle. For seven
+months they were besieged by all the power which the King of France
+could bring against them. They were at length, weakened by sickness
+and exhausted by famine, compelled to surrender. By their valiant
+resistance, however, they obtained highly honorable terms, securing
+for the inhabitants of Rochelle the free exercise of their religion
+within the walls of the city, and a general act of amnesty for all the
+Protestants in the realm.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry, King of Poland.<br />Henry's journey through Germany.</div>
+
+<p>Immediately after this event, Henry, the brother of Charles IX., was
+elected King of Poland, an honor which he attained in consequence of
+the military prowess he had displayed in the wars against the
+Protestants of France. Accompanied by his mother, Catharine de Medici,
+the young monarch set out for his distant dominions. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>Henry had been a
+very active agent in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. At Lorraine
+Catharine took leave of him, and he went on his way in a very
+melancholy mood. His election had been secured by the greatest efforts
+of intrigue and bribery on the part of his mother. The melancholy
+countenances of the Protestants, driven into exile, and bewailing the
+murder of friends and relatives, whose assassination he had caused,
+met him at every turn. His reception at the German courts was cold and
+repulsive. In the palace of the Elector Palatine, Henry beheld the
+portrait of Coligni, who had been so treacherously slaughtered in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The portrait was suspended in a very
+conspicuous place of honor, and beneath it were inscribed the words,</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">"Such was the former countenance of the hero<br />
+Coligni, who has been rendered truly illustrious<br />
+both by his life and his death."</span></p>
+
+<p>The Protestant Elector pointed out the picture to the young king, whom
+he both hated and despised, and coolly asked him if he knew the man.
+Henry, not a little embarrassed, replied that he did.</p>
+
+<p>"He was," rejoined the German prince, "the most honest man, and the
+wisest and the greatest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>captain of Europe, whose children I keep with
+me, lest the dogs of France should tear them as their father has been
+torn."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Enmity between the two brothers.</div>
+
+<p>Thus Henry, gloomy through the repulses which he was ever
+encountering, journeyed along to Poland, where he was crowned king,
+notwithstanding energetic remonstrances on the part of those who
+execrated him for his deeds. The two brothers, Charles IX. and Henry,
+were bitter enemies, and Charles had declared, with many oaths, that
+one of the two should leave the realm. Henry was the favorite of
+Catharine, and hence she made such efforts to secure his safety by
+placing him upon the throne of Poland. She was aware that the feeble
+Charles would not live long, and when, with tears, she took leave of
+Henry, she assured him that he would soon return.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Sickness of Charles IX.</div>
+
+<p>The outcry of indignation which the Massacre of St. Bartholomew called
+forth from combined Europe fell like the knell of death on the ear of
+the depraved and cowardly Charles. Disease began to ravage, with new
+violence, his exhausted frame. He became silent, morose, irritable,
+and gloomy. He secluded himself from all society, and surrendered
+himself to the dominion of remorse. He was detested by the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>Protestants, and utterly despised by the Catholics. A bloody sweat,
+oozing from every pore, crimsoned his bed-clothes. His occasional
+outcries of remorse and his aspect of misery drove all from his
+chamber excepting those who were compelled to render him service. He
+groaned and wept incessantly, exclaiming,</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, what blood! oh, what murders! Alas! why did I follow such evil
+counsels?"</p>
+
+<p>He saw continually the spectres of the slain, with ghastly, gory
+wounds, stalking about his bed; and demons of hideous aspect, and with
+weapons of torture in their hands, with horrid and derisive malice,
+were impatiently waiting to seize his soul the moment it should pass
+from the decaying body.</p>
+
+<p>The day before his death he lay for some time upon his bed in perfect
+silence. Suddenly starting up, he exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>"Call my brother."</p>
+
+<p>His mother, who was sitting by his side, directed an attendant to call
+his brother Francis, the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on.</p>
+
+<p>"No, not him," the king replied; "my brother, the King of Navarre, I
+mean."</p>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre was then detained in princely imprisonment in the
+court of Catharine. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>He had made many efforts to escape, but all had
+been unavailing.</p>
+
+<p>Catharine directed that Henry should be called. In order to intimidate
+him, and thus to prevent him from speaking with freedom and boldness
+to her dying son, she ordered him to be brought through the vaults of
+the castle, between a double line of armed guards. Henry, as he
+descended into those gloomy dungeons, and saw the glittering arms of
+the soldiers, felt that the hour for his assassination had arrived.
+He, however, passed safely through, and was ushered into the chamber
+of his brother-in-law and former playfellow, the dying king. Charles
+IX., subdued by remorse and appalled by approaching death, received
+him with gentleness and affection, and weeping profusely, embraced him
+as he knelt by his bedside.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Remorse of the king.</div>
+
+<p>"My brother," said the dying king, "you lose a good master and a good
+friend. I know that you are not the cause of the troubles which have
+come upon me. If I had believed all which has been told me, you would
+not now have been living; but I have always loved you." Then turning
+his eyes to the queen mother, he said energetically, "Do not trust
+to&mdash;" Here Catharine hastily interrupted him, and prevented <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>the
+finishing of the sentence with the words "<i>my mother</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Charles designated his brother Henry, the King of Poland, as his
+successor. He expressed the earnest wish that neither his younger
+brother, Francis, the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, nor Henry, would disturb the
+repose of the realm. The next night, as the Cathedral clock was
+tolling the hour of twelve, the nurse, who was sitting, with two
+watchers, at the bedside of the dying monarch, heard him sighing and
+moaning, and then convulsively weeping. Gently she approached the bed
+and drew aside the curtains. Charles turned his dimmed and despairing
+eye upon her, and exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my nurse! my nurse! what blood have I shed! what murders have I
+committed! Great God! pardon me&mdash;pardon me!"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of Charles IX.</div>
+
+<p>A convulsive shuddering for a moment agitated his frame, his head fell
+back upon his pillow, and the wretched man was dead. He died at
+twenty-four years of age, expressing satisfaction that he left no heir
+to live and to suffer in a world so full of misery. In reference to
+this guilty king, Chateaubriand says,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Chateaubriand.<br />Character of the king.</div>
+
+<p>"Should we not have some pity for this monarch of twenty-three years,
+born with fine talents, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>a taste for literature and the arts, a
+character naturally generous, whom an execrable mother had tried to
+deprave by all the abuses of debauchery and power?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," warmly responds G. de Felice, "we will have compassion for him,
+with the Huguenots themselves, whose fathers he ordered to be slain,
+and who, with a merciful hand, would wipe away the blood which covers
+his face to find still something human."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>Henry, his brother, who was to succeed him upon the throne, was then
+in Poland. Catharine was glad to have the pusillanimous Charles out of
+the way. He was sufficiently depraved to commit any crime, without
+being sufficiently resolute to brave its penalty. Henry III. had, in
+early life, displayed great vigor of character. At the age of fifteen
+he had been placed in the command of armies, and in several combats
+had defeated the veteran generals of the Protestant forces. His renown
+had extended through Europe, and had contributed much in placing him
+on the elective throne of Poland. Catharine, by the will of the king,
+was appointed regent until the return of Henry. She immediately
+dispatched messengers to recall the King of Poland. In the mean time,
+she kept Henry of Navarre <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>and her youngest son, the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on,
+in close captivity, and watched them with the greatest vigilance, that
+they might make no movements toward the throne.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The stratagem.<br />Flight from the crown.<br />The sojourn in Italy.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was by this time utterly weary of his Polish crown, and sighed
+for the voluptuous pleasures of Paris. The Poles were not willing that
+their king should leave the realm, as it might lead to civil war in
+the choice of a successor. Henry was compelled to resort to stratagem
+to effect his escape. A large and splendid party was invited to the
+palace. A wilderness of rooms, brilliantly illuminated, were thrown
+open to the guests. Masked dancers walked the floor in every variety
+of costume. Wine and wassail filled the halls with revelry. When all
+were absorbed in music and mirth, the king, by a private passage,
+stole from the palace, and mounting a swift horse, which was awaiting
+him in the court-yard, accompanied by two or three friends, commenced
+his flight from his crown and his Polish throne. Through the long
+hours of the night they pressed their horses to their utmost speed,
+and when the morning dawned, obtaining fresh steeds, they hurried on
+their way, tarrying not for refreshment or repose until they had
+passed the frontiers of the kingdom. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>Henry was afraid to take the
+direct route through the Protestant states of Germany, for the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew was still bitterly remembered. He
+therefore took a circuitous route through Italy, and arrived at Venice
+in August. In sunny Italy he lingered for some time, surrendering
+himself to every enervating indulgence, and even bartering the
+fortresses of France to purchase the luxuries in the midst of which he
+was reveling. At last, sated with guilty pleasure, he languidly turned
+his steps toward Paris.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The three Henrys.</div>
+
+<p>There were now three Henrys, who had been companions in childhood, who
+were at the head of the three rival houses of Valois, of Bourbon, and
+of Guise. One of these was King of France. One was King of Navarre.
+But Henry of Guise was, in wealth and in the attachment of the
+Catholic population of France, superior to either. The war which
+ensued is sometimes called <i>The War of the three Henrys</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>As soon as his mother learned that he was approaching France, she set
+out from Paris with a magnificent retinue to meet her pet child,
+taking with her his brother, the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, and Henry of
+Navarre. Dissipation had impaired the mental as well as the physical
+energies <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>of the king, and a maudlin good-nature had absorbed all his
+faculties. He greeted his brother and his brother-in-law with much
+kindness, and upon receiving their oaths of obedience, withdrew much
+of the restraint to which they previously had been subjected. Henry
+was now known as Henry III. of France. Soon after his coronation he
+married Louisa of Lorraine, a daughter of one of the sons of the Duke
+of Guise. She was a pure-minded and lovely woman, and her mild and
+gentle virtues contrasted strongly with the vulgarity, coarseness, and
+vice of her degraded husband.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Duke of Alen&ccedil;on.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Alen&ccedil;on was, however, by no means appeased by the kindness
+with which he had been received by his brother the king. He called him
+the robber of his crown, and formed a conspiracy for attacking the
+carriage of his brother and putting him to death. The plot was
+revealed to the king. He called his brother to his presence,
+reproached him with his perfidy and ingratitude, but generously
+forgave him. But the heart of Alen&ccedil;on was impervious to any appeals of
+generosity or of honor. Upon the death of Henry III., the Duke of
+Alen&ccedil;on, his only surviving brother, would ascend the throne.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Suspicions of poison.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Guise hated with implacable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>rancor the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on,
+and even proffered his aid to place Henry of Navarre upon the throne
+in the event of the death of the king, that he might thus exclude his
+detested rival. Francis, the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, was impatient to reach
+the crown, and again formed a plot to poison his brother. The king was
+suddenly taken very ill. He declared his brother had poisoned him. As
+each succeeding day his illness grew more severe, and the
+probabilities became stronger of its fatal termination, Francis
+assumed an air of haughtiness and of authority, as if confident that
+the crown was already his own. The open exultation which he manifested
+in view of the apparently dying condition of his brother Henry
+confirmed all in the suspicion that he had caused poison to be
+administered.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Invectives of the king.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III., believing his death inevitable, called Henry of Navarre to
+his bedside, and heaping the bitterest invectives upon his brother
+Francis, urged Henry of Navarre to procure his assassination, and thus
+secure for himself the vacant throne. Henry of Navarre was the next
+heir to the throne after the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, and the dying king most
+earnestly urged Henry to put the duke to death, showing him the ease
+with which it could be done, and assuring <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>him that he would be
+abundantly supported by all the leading nobles of the kingdom. While
+this scene was taking place at the sick-bed of the monarch, Francis
+passed through the chamber of his brother without deigning to notice
+either him or the King of Navarre. Strongly as Henry of Navarre was
+desirous of securing for himself the throne of France, he was utterly
+incapable of meditating even upon such a crime, and he refused to give
+it a second thought.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Recovery of the king.<br />Disappointment of Francis.<br />Fanaticism of the king.</div>
+
+<p>To the surprise of all, the king recovered, and Francis made no
+efforts to conceal his disappointment. There were thousands of armed
+insurgents ready at any moment to rally around the banner of the Duke
+of Alen&ccedil;on, for they would thus be brought into positions of emolument
+and power. The king, who was ready himself to act the assassin,
+treated his assassin-brother with the most profound contempt. No
+description can convey an adequate idea of the state of France at this
+time. Universal anarchy prevailed. Civil war, exasperated by the
+utmost rancor, was raging in nearly all the provinces. Assassinations
+were continually occurring. Female virtue was almost unknown, and the
+most shameful licentiousness filled the capital. The treasury was so
+utterly exhausted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>that, in a journey made by the king and his retinue
+in mid-winter, the pages were obliged to sell their cloaks to obtain a
+bare subsistence. The king, steeped in pollution, a fanatic and a
+hypocrite, exhibited himself to his subjects bareheaded, barefooted,
+and half naked, scourging himself with a whip, reciting his prayers,
+and preparing the way, by the most ostentatious penances, to plunge
+anew into every degrading sensual indulgence. He was thoroughly
+despised by his subjects, and many were anxious to exchange him for
+the reckless and impetuous, but equally depraved Francis.</p>
+
+<p>The situation of the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on was now not only very
+uncomfortable, but exceedingly perilous. The king did every thing in
+his power to expose him to humiliations, and was evidently watching
+for an opportunity to put him to death, either by the dagger or by a
+cup of poison. The duke, aided by his profligate sister Marguerite,
+wife of Henry of Navarre, formed a plan for escape.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Escape of the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on.</div>
+
+<p>One dark evening he wrapped himself in a large cloak, and issued forth
+alone from the Louvre. Passing through obscure streets, he arrived at
+the suburbs of the city, where a carriage with trusty attendants was
+in waiting. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>Driving as rapidly as possible, he gained the open
+country, and then mounting a very fleet charger, which by previous
+appointment was provided for him, he spurred his horse at the utmost
+speed for many leagues, till he met an escort of three hundred men,
+with whom he took refuge in a fortified town. His escape was not known
+in the palace until nine o'clock the next morning. Henry was
+exceedingly agitated when he received the tidings, for he knew that
+his energetic and reckless brother would join the Protestant party,
+carrying with him powerful influence, and thus add immeasurably to the
+distractions which now crowded upon the king.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The king aroused.<br />War of the public good.</div>
+
+<p>For once, imminent peril roused Henry III. to vigorous action. He
+forgot his spaniels, his parrots, his monkeys, and even his painted
+concubines, and roused himself to circumvent the plans of his hated
+rival. Letter after letter was sent to all the provinces, informing
+the governors of the flight of the prince, and commanding the most
+vigorous efforts to secure his arrest. Francis issued a proclamation
+declaring the reasons for his escape, and calling upon the Protestants
+and all who loved the "public good" to rally around him. Hence the
+short but merciless war which ensued was called "the war of the public
+good."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Defeat of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Alen&ccedil;on was now at the head of a powerful party, for he
+had thrown himself into the arms of the Protestants, and many of his
+Catholic partisans followed him. Henry III. called to his aid the
+fearless and energetic Duke of Guise, and gave him the command of his
+armies. In the first terrible conflict which ensued Guise was
+defeated, and received a hideous gash upon his face, which left a scar
+of which he was very proud as a signet of valor.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Perplexity of Catharine.<br />The guard of honor.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine was now in deep trouble. Her two sons were in open arms
+against each other, heading powerful forces, and sweeping France with
+whirlwinds of destruction. Henry of Navarre was still detained a
+prisoner in the French court, though surrounded by all the luxuries
+and indulgences of the capital. The dignity of his character, and his
+great popularity, alarmed Catharine, lest, in the turmoil of the
+times, he should thrust both of her sons from the throne, and grasp
+the crown himself. Henry and his friends all became fully convinced
+that Catharine entertained designs upon his life. Marguerite was fully
+satisfied that it was so, and, bad as she was, as Henry interfered not
+in the slightest degree with any of her practices, she felt a certain
+kind of regard for him. The guards <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>who had been assigned to Henry
+professedly as a mark of honor, and to add to the splendor of his
+establishment, were in reality his jailers, who watched him with an
+eagle eye. They were all zealous Papists, and most of them, in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew, had dipped their hands deep in Protestant
+blood. Catharine watched him with unceasing vigilance, and crowded
+every temptation upon him which could enervate and ruin. Her depravity
+did but stimulate her woman's shrewdness and tact.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Plan of escape.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre sighed for liberty. He was, however, so closely
+guarded that escape seemed impossible. At last the following plan was
+formed for flight. A hunting-party was got up. Henry was to invite
+persons to attend the chase in whose fidelity he could repose
+confidence, while one only was to be intrusted with the secret. Others
+of his friends were secretly to resort to an appointed rendezvous with
+fresh horses, and all well armed and in sufficient numbers to
+overpower the guard placed about his person. Henry was to press on in
+the chase with the utmost eagerness until the horses of the guard were
+completely exhausted, when his friends with the fresh steeds were to
+appear, rescue him from the guards, and accompany him <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>in his flight.
+The guards, being drawn far from the palace, could not speedily obtain
+fresh horses, neither could they pursue him with their jaded animals.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Successful artifice.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Guise was now in great favor with Henry III. Henry of
+Navarre, during the few days in which he was making preparation for
+his flight, blinded the eagle eyes of the duke by affecting great
+confidence that he should obtain from the king the high office of
+lieutenant general of France. The duke and Henry III. made themselves
+very merry over this supposed simplicity of Henry of Navarre, little
+aware that he was making himself equally merry at their expense.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The false rumor.</div>
+
+<p>Two days before the execution of the scheme, a rumor spread through
+the court that Henry had escaped. For a short time great anxiety and
+confusion ensued. Henry, being informed of the report and of the
+agitation which filled the palace, hastened to the apartments where
+Catharine and the king were in deliberation, and laughingly told them
+that he had arrested the King of Navarre, and that he now surrendered
+him to them for safe keeping.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Escape accomplished.</div>
+
+<p>In the morning of the day fixed for his flight, the King of Navarre
+held a long and familiar <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>conversation with the Duke of Guise, and
+urged him to accompany him to the hunt. Just as the moment arrived for
+the execution of the plot, it was betrayed to the king by the
+treachery of a confederate. Notwithstanding this betrayal, however,
+matters were so thoroughly arranged that Henry, after several
+hair-breadth escapes from arrest, accomplished his flight. His
+apprehension was so great that for sixty miles he rode as rapidly as
+possible, without speaking a word or stopping for one moment except to
+mount a fresh horse. He rode over a hundred miles on horseback that
+day, and took refuge in Alen&ccedil;on, a fortified city held by the
+Protestants. As soon as his escape was known, thousands of his friends
+flocked around him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Trouble of the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Alen&ccedil;on was not a little troubled at the escape of the
+King of Navarre, for he was well aware that the authority he had
+acquired among the Protestants would be lost by the presence of one so
+much his superior in every respect, and so much more entitled to the
+confidence of the Protestants. Thus the two princes remained separate,
+but ready, in case of emergence, to unite their forces, which now
+amounted to fifty thousand men. Henry of Navarre soon established his
+head-quarters on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>the banks of the Loire, where every day fresh
+parties of Protestants were joining his standard.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Terms of settlement.<br />Paix de Monsieur.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III., with no energy of character, despised by his subjects, and
+without either money or armies, seemed to be now entirely at the mercy
+of the confederate princes. Henry of Navarre and the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on
+sent an embassador to the French court to propose terms to Henry III.
+The King of Navarre required, among other conditions, that France
+should unite with him in recovering from Spain that portion of the
+territory of Navarre which had been wrested from his ancestors by
+Ferdinand and Isabella. While the proposed conditions of peace were
+under discussion, Catharine succeeded in bribing her son, the Duke of
+Alen&ccedil;on, to abandon the cause of Henry of Navarre. A treaty of peace
+was then concluded with the Protestants; and by a royal edict, the
+full and free exercise of the Protestant religion was guaranteed in
+every part of France except Paris and a circle twelve miles in
+diameter around the capital. As a bribe to the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, he was
+invested with sovereign power over the three most important provinces
+of the realm, with an annual income of one hundred thousand crowns.
+This celebrated treaty, called the <i>Paix de Monsieur</i>, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>because
+concluded under the auspices of Francis, the brother of the king, was
+signed at Chastenoy the sixth of May, 1576.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Duke of Anjou.</div>
+
+<p>The ambitious and perfidious duke now assumed the title of the Duke of
+Anjou, and entirely separated himself from the Protestants. He tried
+to lure the Prince of Cond&eacute;, the cousin and devoted friend of Henry of
+Navarre, to accompany him into the town of Bourges. The prince,
+suspecting treachery, refused the invitation, saying that some rogue
+would probably be found in the city who would send a bullet through
+his head.</p>
+
+<p>"The rogue would be hanged, I know," he added, "but the Prince of
+Cond&eacute; would be dead. I will not give you occasion, my lord, to hang
+rogues for love of me."</p>
+
+<p>He accordingly took his leave of the Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, and, putting
+spurs to his horse, with fifty followers joined the King of Navarre.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrival at Rochelle.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was received with royal honors in the Protestant town of
+Rochelle, where he publicly renounced the Roman Catholic faith,
+declaring that he had assented to that faith from compulsion, and as
+the only means of saving his life. He also publicly performed penance
+for the sin which he declared that he had thus been compelled to
+commit.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Conduct of Catharine and Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine and Henry III., having detached Francis, who had been the
+Duke of Alen&ccedil;on, but who was now the Duke of Anjou, from the
+Protestants, no longer feigned any friendship or even toleration for
+that cause. They acted upon the principle that no faith was to be kept
+with heretics. The Protestants, notwithstanding the treaty, were
+exposed to every species of insult and injury. The Catholics were
+determined that the Protestant religion should not be tolerated in
+France, and that all who did not conform to the Church of Rome should
+either perish or be driven from the kingdom. Many of the Protestants
+were men of devoted piety, who cherished their religious convictions
+more tenaciously than life. There were others, however, who joined
+them merely from motives of political ambition. Though the Protestant
+party, in France itself, was comparatively small, the great mass of
+the population being Catholics, yet the party was extremely
+influential from the intelligence and the rank of its leaders, and
+from the unconquerable energy with which all of its members were
+animated.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Complexity of politics.</div>
+
+<p>The weak and irresolute king was ever vacillating between the two
+parties. The Duke of Guise was the great idol of the Catholics. Henry
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>of Navarre was the acknowledged leader of the Protestants. The king
+feared them both. It was very apparent that Henry III. could not live
+long. At his death his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou, would ascend
+the throne. Should he die childless, Henry of Navarre would be his
+lawful successor. But the Catholics would be horror-stricken at the
+idea of seeing a <i>heretic</i> on the throne. The Duke of Guise was laying
+his plans deep and broad to array all the Catholic population of
+France in his own favor, and thus to rob the Protestant prince of his
+rights. Henry III., Henry of Navarre, Henry, Duke of Guise, and
+Francis, Duke of Anjou, had all been playmates in childhood and
+classmates at school. They were now heading armies, and struggling for
+the prize of the richest crown in Europe.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Francis and Queen Elizabeth.</div>
+
+<p>Francis was weary of waiting for his brother to die. To strengthen
+himself, he sought in marriage the hand of Queen Elizabeth of England.
+Though she had no disposition to receive a husband, she was ever very
+happy to be surrounded by lovers. She consequently played the coquette
+with Francis until he saw that there was no probability of the
+successful termination of his suit. Francis returned to Paris
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>bitterly disappointed, and with new zeal consecrated his sword to the
+cause of the Catholics. Had Elizabeth accepted his suit, he would then
+most earnestly have espoused the cause of the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">New assaults on the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III. now determined to make a vigorous effort to crush the
+Protestant religion. He raised large armies, and gave the command to
+the Duke of Anjou, the Duke of Guise, and to the brother of the Duke
+of Guise, the Duke of Mayenne. Henry of Navarre, encountering fearful
+odds, was welcomed by acclamation to head the small but indomitable
+band of Protestants, now struggling, not for liberty only, but for
+life. The king was very anxious to get Henry of Navarre again in his
+power, and sent most flattering messages and most pressing invitations
+to lure him again to his court; but years of captivity had taught a
+lesson of caution not soon to be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Again hideous war ravaged France. The Duke of Anjou, exasperated by
+disappointed love, disgraced himself by the most atrocious cruelties.
+He burned the dwellings of the Protestants, surrendered unarmed and
+defenseless men, and women, and children to massacre. The Duke of
+Guise, who had inflicted such an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>ineffaceable stain upon his
+reputation by the foul murder of the Admiral Coligni, made some
+atonement for this shameful act by the chivalrous spirit with which he
+endeavored to mitigate the horrors of civil war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>One day, in the vicinity of Bayonne, a party of Catholics, consisting
+of a few hundred horse and foot, were conducting to their execution
+three Protestant young ladies, who, for their faith, were infamously
+condemned to death. As they were passing over a wide plain, covered
+with broken woods and heath, they were encountered by a body of
+Protestants. A desperate battle immediately ensued. The Protestants,
+impelled by a noble chivalry as well as by religious fervor, rushed
+upon their foes with such impetuosity that resistance was unavailing,
+and the Catholics threw down their arms and implored quarter. Many of
+these soldiers were from the city of Dux. The leader of the Protestant
+band remembered that at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew all the
+Protestants in that city had been slain without mercy. With a most
+deplorable want of magnanimity, he caused all the prisoners who
+belonged to that place to be separated from the rest, and in cold
+blood they were slaughtered.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p><p>The remainder of the prisoners were from the city of Bayonne, whose
+inhabitants, though Catholics, had nobly refused to imbrue their hands
+in the blood of that horrible massacre which Charles IX. had enjoined.
+To them, after they had seen their comrades surrendered to butchery
+before their eyes, he restored their horses and their arms, and gave
+them their entire liberty.</p>
+
+<p>"Go," said he, "to your homes, and there tell the different treatment
+which I show to soldiers and to assassins."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Gratitude of the citizens of Bayonne.</div>
+
+<p>The three ladies, thus rescued from impending death, were borne back
+in triumph to their friends. Eight days after this, a trumpet was
+sounded and a flag of truce appeared emerging from the gates of
+Bayonne. The friends of the Catholic soldiers who had been thus
+generously restored sent a beautifully embroidered scarf and a
+handkerchief to each one of the Protestant soldiers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote of Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>It is a singular illustration of the blending of the horrors of war
+and the courtesies of peace, that in the midst of this sanguinary
+conflict, Henry of Navarre, accompanied by only six companions,
+accepted an invitation to a f&ecirc;te given by his enemies of the town of
+Bayonne. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>was received with the utmost courtesy. His table was
+loaded with luxuries. Voluptuous music floated upon the ear; songs and
+dances animated the festive hours. Henry then returned to head his
+army and to meet his entertainers in the carnage of the field of
+battle.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Another peace.</div>
+
+<p>There was but little repose in France during the year 1577. Skirmish
+succeeded skirmish, and battle was followed by battle; cities were
+bombarded, villages burned, fields ravaged. All the pursuits of
+industry were arrested. Ruin, beggary, and woe desolated thousands of
+once happy homes. Still the Protestants were unsubdued. The king's
+resources at length were entirely exhausted, and he was compelled
+again to conclude a treaty of peace. Both parties immediately
+disbanded their forces, and the blessings of repose followed the
+discords of war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The battle arrested.</div>
+
+<p>One of the Protestant generals, immediately upon receiving the tidings
+of peace, set out at the utmost speed of his horse to convey the
+intelligence to Languedoc, where very numerous forces of Protestants
+and Catholics were preparing for conflict. He spurred his steed over
+hills and plains till he saw, gleaming in the rays of the morning sun,
+the banners of the embattled hosts arrayed against each other on a
+vast plain. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>The drums and the trumpets were just beginning to sound
+the dreadful charge which in a few moments would strew that plain with
+mangled limbs and crimson it with blood. The artillery on the
+adjoining eminences was beginning to utter its voice of thunder, as
+balls, more destructive than the fabled bolts of Jove, were thrown
+into the massive columns marching to the dreadful onset. A few moments
+later, and the cry, the uproar, and the confusion of the battle would
+blind every eye and deafen every ear. La Noue, almost frantic with the
+desire to stop the needless effusion of blood, at the imminent risk of
+being shot, galloped between the antagonistic armies, waving
+energetically the white banner of peace, and succeeded in arresting
+the battle. His generous effort saved the lives of thousands.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Pledge of peace.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III. was required, as a pledge of his sincerity, to place in the
+hands of the Protestants eight fortified cities. The Reformers were
+permitted to conduct public worship unmolested in those places only
+where it was practiced at the time of signing the treaty. In other
+parts of France they were allowed to retain their belief without
+persecution, but they were not permitted to meet in any worshiping
+assemblies. But even these pledges, confirmed by the Edict <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>of
+Poitiers on the 8th of October, 1577, were speedily broken, like all
+the rest.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Morality in France.<br />Disgraceful f&ecirc;te.<br />Murder in the royal palace.</div>
+
+<p>But in the midst of all these conflicts, while every province in
+France was convulsed with civil war, the king, reckless of the woes of
+his subjects, rioted in all voluptuous dissipation. He was accustomed
+to exhibit himself to his court in those effeminate pageants in which
+he found his only joy, dressed in the flaunting robes of a gay woman,
+with his bosom open and a string of pearls encircling his neck. On one
+occasion he gave a f&ecirc;te, when, for the excitement of novelty, the
+gentlemen, in female robes, were waited upon by the ladies of the
+court, who were dressed in male attire, or rather undressed, for their
+persons were veiled by the slightest possible clothing. Such was the
+corruption of the court of France, and, indeed, of nearly the whole
+realm in those days of darkness. Domestic purity was a virtue unknown.
+Law existed only in name. The rich committed any crimes without fear
+of molestation. In the royal palace itself, one of the favorites of
+the king, in a paroxysm of anger, stabbed his wife and her
+waiting-maid while the unfortunate lady was dressing. No notice
+whatever was taken of this bloody deed. The murderer retained all his
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>offices and honors, and it was the general sentiment of the people of
+France that the assassination was committed by the order of the
+sovereign, because the lady refused to be entirely subservient to the
+wishes of the dissolute king.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VIII" id="Chapter_VIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The League.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1585-1589</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Formation of the league.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">bout</span> this time there was formed the celebrated league which occupies
+so conspicuous a position in the history of the sixteenth century.
+Henry III., though conscious that his throne was trembling beneath
+him, and courting now the Catholics and again the Protestants, was
+still amusing himself, day after day, with the most contemptible and
+trivial vices. The extinction of the house of Valois was evidently and
+speedily approaching. Henry of Navarre, calm, sagacious, and
+energetic, was rallying around him all the Protestant influences of
+Europe, to sustain, in that event, his undeniable claim to the throne.
+The Duke of Guise, impetuous and fearless, hoped, in successful
+usurpation, to grasp the rich prize by rallying around his banner all
+the fanatic energies of Catholic Europe.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Politics in the pulpit.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III. was alike despised by Catholics and Protestants. His
+brother Francis, though far more impulsive, had but few traits of
+character <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>to command respect. He could summon but a feeble band for
+his support. Henry of Guise was the available candidate for the
+Catholics. All the priestly influences of France were earnestly
+combined to advance his claims. They declared that Henry of Navarre
+had forfeited every shadow of right to the succession by being a
+heretic. The genealogy of the illustrious house of Guise was blazoned
+forth, and its descent traced from Charlemagne. It was asserted, and
+argued in the pulpit and in the camp, that even the house of Valois
+had usurped the crown which by right belonged to the house of Guise.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The League.</div>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances, the most formidable secret society was
+organized the world has ever known. It assumed the name of The League.
+Its object was to exterminate Protestantism, and to place the Duke of
+Guise upon the throne. The following are, in brief, its covenant and
+oath:</p>
+
+<p class="center">THE LEAGUE.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Object of the League.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>In the name of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
+Ghost, this League of Catholic princes, lords, and gentlemen
+shall be instituted to maintain the holy Catholic,
+apostolical, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>Roman Church, abjuring all errors to the
+contrary. Should opposition to this league arise in any
+quarter, the associates shall employ all their goods and
+means, and even their own persons unto death, to punish and
+hunt down those opposing. Should any of the Leaguers, their
+associates or friends, be molested, the members of the
+League shall be bound to employ their bodies, goods, and
+means to inflict vengeance upon those thus offending. Should
+any Leaguer, after having taken the oath, withdraw from the
+association under any pretext whatever, the refractory
+member shall be injured, in body and goods, in every manner
+which can be devised, as enemies of God, rebels, and
+disturbers of the public peace. The Leaguers shall swear
+implicit obedience to their chief, and shall aid by counsel
+and service in preserving the League, and in the ruin of all
+who oppose it. All Catholic towns and villages shall be
+summoned secretly, by their several governors, to enter into
+this League, and to furnish arms and men for its execution.</p></div>
+
+<p class="center">OATH.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The oath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>I swear by God the Creator, touching the Evangelists, and
+upon the pain of eternal damnation, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>that I have entered
+into this holy Catholic League loyally and sincerely, either
+to command, to obey, or to serve. I promise, upon my life
+and honor, to remain in this League to the last drop of my
+blood, without opposing or retiring upon any pretext
+whatever.</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Influence of the League.<br />Its extension.</div>
+
+<p>Such was the character of secret societies in the sixteenth century. A
+more atrocious confederacy than this the human mind could hardly have
+conceived. It was, however, peculiarly calculated to captivate the
+multitude in those days of darkness and blood. Though at first formed
+and extended secretly, it spread like wildfire through all the cities
+and provinces of France. Princes, lords, gentlemen, artisans, and
+peasants rushed into its impious inclosures. The benighted populace,
+enthralled by the superstitions of the Church, were eager to manifest
+their zeal for God by wreaking the most awful vengeance upon
+<i>heretics</i>. He who, for any cause, declined entering the League, found
+himself exposed to every possible annoyance. His house and his barns
+blazed in midnight conflagrations; his cattle were mutilated and
+slain; his wife and children were insulted and stoned in the streets.
+By day and by night, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>asleep and awake, at home and abroad, at all
+times and every where, he was annoyed by every conceivable form of
+injury and violence.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Vast power of the League.</div>
+
+<p>Soon the League became so powerful that no farther secrecy was
+needful. It stalked abroad in open day, insulting its foes and
+vaunting its invincibility. The gigantic plan it unblushingly avowed
+was to exterminate Protestantism by fire and the sword from France;
+then to drown it in blood in Holland; then to turn to England and
+purify that kingdom from the taint of heresy; then to march upon
+Germany; and thus to advance from kingdom to kingdom, in their holy
+crusade, until Protestantism should be every where ingulfed in blood
+and flame, and the whole of Europe should be again brought back to the
+despotism of Rome.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Alarm of the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Guise was the soul of this mammoth conspiracy, though
+Philip II., the bigoted King of Spain, was its recorded
+commander-in-chief. The Protestants were justly alarmed by the
+enormous energy of the new power thus suddenly evoked against them.
+The Pope, though at first hostile, soon, with his cardinals, espoused
+the cause of the League, and consecrated to its support all the
+weapons which could be wielded by the Vatican. From France, the
+demoniac <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>organization spread through all the kingdoms of Europe.
+Hundreds of thousands were arrayed beneath its crimson banner. Even
+Henry III. in the Louvre, surrounded by his parasites and his
+concubines, trembled as he saw the shadow of this fearful apparition
+darkening his court.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Adroit measures of Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>He immediately perceived that he must mount the car or be crushed by
+it. Adroitly he leaped into the seat of the charioteer and seized the
+reins. The demands of the League he adopted as his own, and urged them
+with energy. He issued a proclamation commending the League to his
+subjects, and announcing that he, to set them an example, had signed
+its covenant and its oath. The Duke of Guise and his followers were
+quite bewildered by this unexpected step.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Embarrassment of the Leaguers.</div>
+
+<p>The League had demanded the assembling of the States-General, a body
+somewhat resembling the Congress of the United States. The king
+immediately summoned them to meet. They declared war against the
+Protestants. The king adopted the declaration as his own decree, and
+called loudly for supplies to prosecute the war with vigor. He
+outleagued the most violent of the Leaguers in denunciations of the
+Protestants, in declaring that but one religion should be tolerated in
+France, and in clamoring for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>arms and munitions of war, that <i>heresy</i>
+might be utterly extirpated. The Leaguers thus found, to their great
+perplexity, the weapon which they had forged wrested from their hands
+and wielded against them. They had organized to drive the imbecile
+Henry III. from the throne. He had seized upon that organization, and
+was using it to establish himself more firmly there.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Excommunication of Henry IV.</div>
+
+<p>The situation of Henry of Navarre was now extremely critical. Pope
+Sextus V., besides giving the League his Papal blessing, had
+fulminated against the King of Navarre the awful thunders of
+excommunication.</p>
+
+<p>The bull of excommunication was exceedingly coarse and vulgar in its
+denunciatory terms, calling the King of Navarre "<i>this bastard and
+detestable progeny of Bourbons</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Henry replied to this assault in accents intrepid and resolute, which
+caused Catholic Europe to stand aghast.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Bold retort.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Henry," said this bold document, "by the grace of God King
+of Navarre, sovereign prince of Bearn, first peer and prince
+of France, resists the declaration and excommunication of
+Sextus V., self-styled Pope of Rome, asserts it to be false,
+and maintains that Mr. Sextus, the self-styled Pope, <i>has
+falsely and maliciously lied;</i> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>that he himself is
+<i>heretic</i>, which he will prove in any full and free council
+lawfully assembled; to which if he does not consent and
+submit, as he is bound by the canons, he, the King of
+Navarre, holds and pronounces him to be anti-Christ and
+heretic, and in that quality declares against him perpetual
+and irreconcilable war."</p></div>
+
+<p>This energetic protest was placarded in most of the towns of France,
+and by some fearless followers of the prince was even attached to the
+walls of the Vatican. The Pope, though at first much irritated, had
+the magnanimity to express his admiration of the spirit manifested by
+Henry.</p>
+
+<p>"There are but two princes in Europe," said he, "to whom I could
+venture to communicate the grand schemes revolving in my mind, Henry
+of Navarre and Elizabeth of England; but, unfortunately, they are both
+heretics."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Edict of Nemours.</div>
+
+<p>Henry III., having no moral principles to guide him in any thing, and
+having no generous affections of any kind, in carrying out his plan of
+wielding the energies of the League without any scruples of
+conscience, issued the infamous Edict of Nemours in 1585, which
+commanded every Protestant minister to leave the kingdom within one
+month, and every member of the Reformed faith either to abjure his
+religion and accept <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>the Catholic faith, or to depart from France
+within six months. The penalty for disobedience in either of these
+cases was <i>death and the confiscation of property</i>. This edict was
+executed with great rigor, and many were burned at the stake.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anguish of Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre was amazed, and, for a time, overwhelmed in receiving
+the news of this atrocious decree. He clearly foresaw that it must
+arouse France and all Europe to war, and that a new Iliad of woes was
+to commence. Leaning his chin upon his hand, he was for a long time
+lost in profound reverie as he pondered the awful theme. It is said
+that his anguish was so intense, that when he removed his hand his
+beard and mustache on that side were turned entirely gray.</p>
+
+<p>But Henry rose with the emergence, and met the crisis with a degree of
+energy and magnanimity which elicited, in those barbarous times, the
+admiration even of his enemies. The Protestants heroically grasped
+their arms and rallied together for mutual protection. War, with all
+its horrors, was immediately resumed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of Francis.<br />Redoubled energies.<br />Toleration.</div>
+
+<p>Affairs were in this condition when Francis, the Duke of Anjou, was
+taken sick and suddenly died. This removed another obstruction from
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>the field, and tended to hasten the crisis. Henry III. was feeble,
+exhausted, and childless. Worn out by shameless dissipation, it was
+evident to all that he must soon sink into his grave. Who was to be
+his successor? This was the question, above all others, which agitated
+France and Europe. Henry of Navarre was, beyond all question,
+legitimately entitled to the throne; but he was, in the estimation of
+France, a <i>heretic</i>. The League consequently, in view of the impending
+peril of having a Protestant king, redoubled its energies to exclude
+him, and to enthrone their bigoted partisan, Henry of Guise. It was a
+terrific struggle. The Protestants saw suspended upon its issue their
+property, their religious liberty, their lives, their earthly all. The
+Catholics were stimulated by all the energies of fanaticism in defense
+of the Church. All Catholic Europe espoused the one side, all
+Protestant Europe the other. One single word was enough to arrest all
+these woes. That word was <span class="smcap">Toleration</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The challenge.</div>
+
+<p>When Henry III. published his famous Edict of Nemours, commanding the
+conversion, the expulsion, or the death of the Protestants, Henry of
+Navarre issued another edict replying to the calumnies of the League,
+and explaining his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>actions and his motives. Then adopting a step
+characteristic of the chivalry of the times, he dispatched a challenge
+to the Duke of Guise, defying him to single combat, or, if he objected
+to that, to a combat of two with two, ten with ten, or a hundred with
+a hundred.</p>
+
+<p>"In this challenge," said Henry, "I call Heaven to witness that I am
+not influenced by any spirit of bravado, but only by the desire of
+deciding a quarrel which will otherwise cost the lives of thousands."</p>
+
+<p>To this appeal the duke made no reply. It was by no means for his
+interest to meet on equal terms those whom he could easily outnumber
+two or three to one.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Efforts to raise an army.<br />The Leaguers baffled.</div>
+
+<p>Though the situation of Henry of Navarre seemed now almost desperate,
+he maintained his courage and his hope unshaken. His estates were
+unhesitatingly sold to raise funds. His friends parted with their
+jewels for gold to obtain the means to carry on the war. But, with his
+utmost efforts, he could raise an army of but four or five thousand
+men to resist two armies of twenty thousand each, headed by the Duke
+of Guise and by his brother, the Duke of Mayenne. Fortunately for
+Henry, there was but little military capacity in the League, and,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>notwithstanding their vast superiority in numbers, they were
+continually circumvented in all their plans by the energy and the
+valor of the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The hostile meeting.</div>
+
+<p>The King of France was secretly rejoiced at the discomfiture of the
+Leaguers, yet, expressing dissatisfaction with the Duke of Guise, he
+intrusted the command of the armies to one of his petted favorites,
+Joyeuse, a rash and fearless youth, who was as prompt to revel in the
+carnage of the battle-field as in the voluptuousness of the palace.
+The king knew not whether to choose victory or defeat for his
+favorite. Victory would increase the influence and the renown of one
+strongly attached to him, and would thus enable him more successfully
+to resist the encroachments of the Duke of Guise. Defeat would weaken
+the overbearing power of the Leaguers, and enable Henry III. more
+securely to retain his position by the balance of the two rival
+parties. Joyeuse, ardent and inexperienced, and despising the feeble
+band he was to encounter, was eager to display his prowess. He pressed
+eagerly to assail the King of Navarre. The two armies met upon a
+battle-field a few leagues from Bordeaux. The army of Joyeuse was
+chiefly of gay and effeminate courtiers and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>young nobles, who had too
+much pride to lack courage, but who possessed but little physical
+vigor, and who were quite unused to the hardships and to the
+vicissitudes of war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Appearance of the two armies.</div>
+
+<p>On the morning of the 20th of October, 1589, as the sun rose over the
+hills of Perigord, the two armies were facing each other upon the
+plains of Coutras. The Leaguers were decked with unusual splendor, and
+presented a glittering array, with gorgeous banners and waving plumes,
+and uniforms of satin and velvet embroidered by the hands of the
+ladies of the court. They numbered twelve thousand men. Henry of
+Navarre, with admirable military skill, had posted his six thousand
+hardy peasants, dressed in tattered skins, to meet the onset.</p>
+
+<p>And now occurred one of the most extraordinary scenes which history
+has recorded. It was a source of constant grief to the devout
+Protestant leaders that Henry of Navarre, notwithstanding his many
+noble traits of character, was not a man of pure morality. Just before
+the battle, Du Plessis, a Christian and a hero, approached the King of
+Navarre and said,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The charge.</div>
+
+<p>"Sire, it is known to all that you have sinned against God, and
+injured a respectable citizen of Rochelle by the seduction of his
+daughter. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>We can not hope that God will bless our arms in this
+approaching battle while such a sin remains unrepented of and
+unrepaired."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Penitence of Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>The king dismounted from his horse, and, uncovering his head, avowed
+in the presence of the whole army his sincere grief for what he had
+done; he called all to witness that he thus publicly implored
+forgiveness of God, and of the family he had injured, and he pledged
+his word that he would do every thing in his power to repair the
+wrong.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Extraordinary scene.</div>
+
+<p>The troops were then called to prayers by the ministers. Every man in
+the ranks fell upon his knees, while one of the clergy implored God to
+forgive the sin of their chieftain, and to grant them protection and
+victory.</p>
+
+<p>The strange movement was seen from the Catholic camp. "By death,"
+exclaimed Joyeuse, "the poltroons are frightened. Look! they kneel,
+imploring our mercy."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not deceive yourself," replied an old captain. "When the Huguenots
+get into that position, they are ready for hard fighting."</p>
+
+<p>The brilliant battalions of the enemy now began to deploy. Some one
+spoke of the splendor of their arms. Henry smiled and replied, "We
+shall have the better aim when the fight begins." <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>Another ventured to
+intimate that the ministers had rebuked him with needless severity. He
+replied, "We can not be too humble before God, nor too brave before
+men." Then turning to his followers, with tears in his eyes, he
+addressed to them a short and noble speech. He deplored the calamities
+of war, and solemnly declared that he had drawn arms only in
+self-defense. "Let them," said he, "perish who are the authors of this
+war. May the blood shed this day rest upon them alone."</p>
+
+<p>To his two prominent generals, the Prince of Cond&eacute; and the Count de
+Soissons, he remarked, with a smile, "To you I shall say nothing but
+that you are of the house of Bourbon, and, please God, I will show you
+this day that I am your elder."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The battle of Coutras.</div>
+
+<p>The battle almost immediately ensued. Like all fierce fights, it was
+for a time but a delirious scene of horror, confusion, and carnage.
+But the Protestants, with sinewy arms, hewed down their effeminate
+foes, and with infantry and cavalry swept to and fro resistlessly over
+the plain. The white plume of Henry of Navarre was ever seen waving in
+the tumultuous throng wherever the battle was waged the fiercest.</p>
+
+<p>There was a singular blending of the facetious <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>with the horrible in
+this sanguinary scene. Before the battle, the Protestant preachers, in
+earnest sermons, had compared Henry with David at the head of the
+Lord's chosen people. In the midst of the bloody fray, when the field
+was covered with the dying and the dead, Henry grappled one of the
+standard-bearers of the enemy. At the moment, humorously reminded of
+the flattering comparison of the preachers, he shouted, with waggery
+which even the excitement of the battle could not repress,</p>
+
+<p>"Surrender, you uncircumcised Philistine."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The victory.</div>
+
+<p>In the course of one hour three thousand of the Leaguers were
+weltering in blood upon the plain, Joyeuse himself, their leader,
+being among the dead. The defeat of the Catholics was so entire that
+not more than one fourth of their number escaped from the field of
+Coutras.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Exultation of the troops.</div>
+
+<p>The victors were immediately assembled upon the bloody field, and,
+after prayers and thanksgiving, they sung, with exultant lips,</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox2 bbox"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The Lord appears my helper now,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor is my faith afraid<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What all the sons of earth can do,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Since Heaven affords its aid."<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Magnanimity of Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was very magnanimous in the hour of victory. When some one asked
+what terms <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>he should now demand, after so great a discomfiture of his
+foes, he replied, "<i>The same as before the battle</i>."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Conduct of Marguerite.</div>
+
+<p>In reading the records of these times, one is surprised to see how
+mirth, festivity, and magnificence are blended with blood, misery, and
+despair. War was desolating France with woes which to thousands of
+families must have made existence a curse, and yet amid these scenes
+we catch many glimpses of merriment and gayety. At one time we see
+Henry III. weeping and groaning upon his bed in utter wretchedness,
+and again he appears before us reveling with his dissolute companions
+in the wildest carousals. While Henry of Navarre was struggling with
+his foes upon the field of battle, Marguerite, his wife, was dancing
+and flirting with congenial paramours amid all the guilty pleasures of
+the court. Henry wrote repeatedly for her to come and join him, but
+she vastly preferred the voluptuousness of the capital to the gloom
+and the hardships of the Protestant camp. She never loved her husband,
+and while she wished that he might triumph, and thus confer upon her
+the illustrious rank of the Queen of France, she still rejoiced in his
+absence, as it allowed her that perfect freedom which she desired.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>When she saw indications of approaching peace, she was so
+apprehensive that she might thus be placed under constraint by the
+presence of her husband, that she did what she could to perpetuate
+civil war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Court of Henry of Navarre.<br />Censure by the clergy.</div>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that several of the fortified cities of France
+were in the hands of the Protestants. Henry of Navarre held his
+comparatively humble court in the town of Agen, where he was very much
+beloved and respected by the inhabitants. Though far from
+irreproachable in his morals, the purity of his court was infinitely
+superior to that of Henry III. and his mother Catharine. Henry of
+Navarre was, however, surrounded by a body of gay and light-hearted
+young noblemen, whose mirth-loving propensities and whose often
+indecorous festivities he could not control. One evening, at a general
+ball, these young gentlemen extinguished the lights, and in the
+darkness a scene of much scandal ensued. Henry was severely censured
+by the Protestant clergy, and by many others of his friends, for not
+holding the members of his court in more perfect control. His
+popularity suffered so severely from this occurrence, that it even
+became necessary for Henry to withdraw his court from the town.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The flying squadron.</div>
+
+<p>Catharine and Marguerite, accompanied by a retinue of the most
+voluptuously-beautiful girls of France, set out to visit the court of
+Henry of Navarre, which had been transferred to Neruc. Henry, hearing
+of their approach, placed himself at the head of five hundred
+gentlemen, and hastened to meet his mother-in-law and his wife, with
+their characteristic and congenial train. These were the
+instrumentalities with which Catharine and Marguerite hoped to bend
+the will of Henry and his friends to suit their purposes. Catharine
+had great confidence in the potency of the influence which these
+pliant maidens could wield, and they were all instructed in the part
+which they were to act. She was accustomed to call these allies her
+<i>flying squadron</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Intrigue and gallantry.</div>
+
+<p>There then ensued a long series of negotiations, intermingled with
+mirth, gallantry, and intrigue, but the result of which was a treaty
+highly conducive to the interests of the Protestants. Various places
+were designated where their religion should be freely tolerated, and
+in which they were to be allowed to build conventicles. They were also
+permitted to raise money for the support of their ministers, and
+fourteen cities were surrendered to their government. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>Several
+incidents occurred during these negotiations very characteristic of
+the corrupt manners of the times.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Influences used by Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Marguerite devoted herself most energetically to the promotion of the
+success of Henry's plans. Catharine found herself, notwithstanding all
+her artifice, and all the peculiar seductions of her female
+associates, completely foiled by the sagacity and the firmness of
+Henry. She had brought with her Monsieur de Pibrac, a man very
+celebrated for his glowing eloquence and for his powers of persuasion.
+The oratory of Pibrac, combined with the blandishments of the ladies,
+were those co-operative influences which the queen imagined none would
+be able to resist. Marguerite, however, instructed in the school of
+Catharine, succeeded in obtaining entire control over the mind of
+Pibrac himself, and he became a perfect tool in her hands. Catharine,
+thus foiled, was compelled to grant far more favorable terms to the
+Protestants than she had contemplated.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">La Reole.<br />Treachery of Ussac.</div>
+
+<p>La Reole was one of the towns of security surrendered to the
+Protestants. There was, however, so little of good faith in that day,
+that, notwithstanding the pledge of honor, possession of the place
+could only be retained by vigilance. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>The government of the town had
+been conferred upon a veteran Protestant general by the name of Ussac.
+His days, from early youth, had been passed on fields of battle. He
+was now far advanced in years, in feeble health, and dreadfully
+disfigured by wounds received in the face. One of the most fascinating
+of the ladies of the queen-mother lavished such endearments upon the
+old man, already in his dotage, that he lost his principles and all
+self-control, and made himself very ridiculous by assuming the airs of
+a young lover. Henry had the imprudence to join in the mockery with
+which the court regarded his tenderness. This was an indignity which
+an old man could never forget. Instigated by his beautiful seducer, he
+became entirely unmindful of those principles of honor which had
+embellished his life, and in revenge invited a Roman Catholic general
+to come and take possession of the town.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">News of the loss of La Reole.<br />The recapture.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was informed of this act of treachery while dancing at a very
+brilliant entertainment given in his palace. He quietly whispered to
+Turenne, Sully, and a few others of his most intimate friends,
+requesting them to escape from the room, gather around them such armed
+men as they could, and join him at a rendezvous in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>the country. They
+all stole unperceived from the mirthful party, concealed their swords
+beneath their cloaks, traveled all night, and arrived, just as the day
+began to dawn, before the gates of the city. They found the place, as
+they had expected, entirely unprepared for such a sudden attack, and,
+rushing in, regained it without difficulty. The Catholic soldiers
+retreated to the castle, where they held out a few days, and many of
+them perished in the assault by which it was soon taken.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the character of the nominal peace which now existed. A
+partisan warfare was still continued throughout France. Catharine and
+her maids did every thing in their power to excite dissensions between
+the Protestant leaders. In this they succeeded so well that the Prince
+of Cond&eacute; became so exasperated against Turenne as to challenge him to
+single combat.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Precarious peace.</div>
+
+<p>Such a peace as we have above described could not, of course, be
+lasting. Both parties were soon again gathering all their forces for
+war. There is a tedious monotony in the recital of the horrors of
+battle. Cities bombarded, and sacked, and burned; shells exploding in
+the cradle of infancy and in the chambers of mothers and maidens;
+mutilated bodies trampled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>beneath the hoofs of horses; the cry of the
+maddened onset, the shrieks of the wounded, and the groans of the
+dying; the despair of the widow and the orphan; smouldering ruins of
+once happy homes; the fruits of the husbandman's toils trodden into
+the mire; starvation, misery, and death&mdash;these are ever the fruits of
+war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Attempt to assassinate Henry.</div>
+
+<p>During the short interval of peace, many attempts had been made to
+assassinate Henry of Navarre by the partisans of the Duke of Guise.
+Henry was, one fine morning, setting out with a few friends for a ride
+of pleasure. Just as the party were leaving the court-yard, he was
+informed that an assassin, very powerfully mounted, was prepared to
+meet him on the way and to take his life. Henry apparently paid no
+heed to the warning, but rode along conversing gayly with his friends.
+They soon met, in a retired part of the way, a stranger, armed
+according to the custom of the times, and mounted upon a very
+magnificent steed, which had been prepared for him to facilitate his
+escape after the accomplishment of the fell deed. Henry immediately
+rode up to the assassin, addressed him in terms of great familiarity
+and cordiality, and, professing to admire the beautiful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>charger upon
+which he was mounted, requested him to dismount, that he might try the
+splendid animal. The man, bewildered, obeyed the wishes of the king,
+when Henry leaped into the saddle, and, seizing the two loaded pistols
+at the saddle-bow, looked the man sternly in the eye, and said,</p>
+
+<p>"I am told that you seek to kill me. You are now in my power, and I
+could easily put you to death; but I will not harm you."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The assassin humiliated.</div>
+
+<p>He then discharged the two pistols in the air, and permitted the
+humiliated man to mount his horse and ride away unharmed.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_IX" id="Chapter_IX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Assassination of the Duke<br />
+of Guise and of Henry III.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1589</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Imbecility of the king.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">he</span> war, again resumed, was fiercely prosecuted. Henry III. remained
+most of the time in the gilded saloons of the Louvre, irritable and
+wretched, and yet incapable of any continued efficient exertion. Many
+of the zealous Leaguers, indignant at the pusillanimity he displayed,
+urged the Duke of Guise to dethrone Henry III. by violence, and openly
+to declare himself King of France. They assured him that the nation
+would sustain him by their arms. But the duke was not prepared to
+enter upon so bold a measure, as he hoped that the death of the king
+would soon present to him a far more favorable opportunity for the
+assumption of the throne. Henry III. was in constant fear that the
+duke, whose popularity in France was almost boundless, might supplant
+him, and he therefore forbade him to approach the metropolis.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Haughtiness of the Duke of Guise.<br />The duke goes to Paris.</div>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding this prohibition, the haughty duke, accompanied by a
+small party of his intrepid <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>followers, as if to pay court to his
+sovereign, boldly entered the city. The populace of the capital, ever
+ripe for excitement and insurrection, greeted him with boundless
+enthusiasm. Thousands thronged the broad streets through which he
+passed with a small but brilliant retinue. Ladies crowded the windows,
+waving scarfs, cheering him with smiles, and showering flowers at his
+feet. The cry resounded along the streets, penetrating even the
+apartments of the Louvre, and falling appallingly upon the ear of the
+king:</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome&mdash;welcome, great duke. Now you are come, we are safe."</p>
+
+<p>Henry III. was amazed and terrified by this insolence of his defiant
+subject. In bewilderment, he asked those about him what he should do.</p>
+
+<p>"Give me the word," said a colonel of his guard, "and I will plunge my
+sword through his body."</p>
+
+<p>"Smite the shepherd," added one of the king's spiritual counselors,
+"and the sheep will disperse."</p>
+
+<p>But Henry feared to exasperate the populace of Paris by the
+assassination of a noble so powerful and so popular. In the midst of
+this consultation, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>the Duke of Guise, accompanied by the queen-mother
+Catharine, whom he had first called upon, entered the Louvre, and,
+passing through the numerous body-guard of the king, whom he saluted
+with much affability, presented himself before the feeble monarch. The
+king looked sternly upon him, and, without any word of greeting,
+exclaimed angrily,</p>
+
+<p>"Did I not forbid you to enter Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sire," the duke replied, firmly, but with affected humility, "I came
+to demand justice, and to reply to the accusations of my enemies."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Interview with the king.</div>
+
+<p>The interview was short and unrelenting. The king, exasperated almost
+beyond endurance, very evidently hesitated whether to give the signal
+for the immediate execution of his dreaded foe. There were those at
+his side, with arms in their hands, who were eager instantly to obey
+his bidding. The Duke of Guise perceived the imminence of his danger,
+and, feigning sudden indisposition, immediately retired. In his own
+almost regal mansion he gathered around him his followers and his
+friends, and thus placed himself in a position where even the arm of
+the sovereign could not venture to touch him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Two rival courts.</div>
+
+<p>There were now in Paris, as it were, two rival <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>courts, emulating each
+other in splendor and power. The one was that of the king at the
+Louvre, the other was that of the duke in his palace. It was rumored
+that the duke was organizing a conspiracy to arrest the king and hold
+him a captive. Henry III., to strengthen his body-guard, called a
+strong force of Swiss mercenaries into the city. The retainers of the
+duke, acting under the secret instigation of their chieftain, roused
+the populace of Paris to resist the Swiss. Barricades were immediately
+constructed by filling barrels with stones and earth; chains were
+stretched across the streets from house to house; and organized bands,
+armed with pikes and muskets, threatened even the gates of the Louvre.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Swiss guard defeated.<br />Tumult in the city.</div>
+
+<p>A conflict soon ensued, and the Swiss guard were defeated by the mob
+at every point. The Duke of Guise, though he secretly guided all these
+movements, remained in his palace, affecting to have no share in the
+occurrences. Night came. Confusion and tumult rioted in the city. The
+insurgent populace, intoxicated and maddened, swarmed around the walls
+of the palace, and the king was besieged. The spiritless and terrified
+monarch, disguising himself in humble garb, crept to his stables,
+mounted a fleet horse, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>and fled from the city. Riding at full speed,
+he sought refuge in Chartres, a walled town forty miles southeast of
+Paris.</p>
+
+<p>The flight of the king before an insurgent populace was a great
+victory to the duke. He was thus left in possession of the metropolis
+without any apparent act of rebellion on his own part, and it became
+manifestly his duty to do all in his power to preserve order in the
+capital thus surrendered to anarchy. The duke had ever been the idol
+of the populace, but now nearly the whole population of Paris, and
+especially the influential citizens, looked to him as their only
+protector.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Dignity of Achille de Harlai.</div>
+
+<p>Some, however, with great heroism, still adhered to the cause of the
+king. The Duke of Guise sent for Achille de Harlai, President of the
+Council, and endeavored to win him over to his cause, that he might
+thus sanction his usurpation by legal forms; but De Harlai, fixing his
+eyes steadfastly upon the duke, fearlessly said,</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis indeed pitiable when the valet expels his master. As for me, my
+soul belongs to my Maker, and my fidelity belongs to the king. My body
+alone is in the hands of the wicked. You talk of assembling the
+Parliament. When the majesty of the prince is violated, the magistrate
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>is without authority." The intrepid president was seized and
+imprisoned.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Measures adopted by the duke.</div>
+
+<p>The followers of Henry III. soon gathered around him at Chartres, and
+he fortified himself strongly there. The Duke of Guise, though still
+protesting great loyalty, immediately assumed at Paris the authority
+of a sovereign. He assembled around him strong military forces,
+professedly to protect the capital from disturbance. For a month or
+two negotiations were conducted between the two parties for a
+compromise, each fearing the other too much to appeal to the decisions
+of the sword. At last Henry III. agreed to appoint the Duke of Guise
+lieutenant general of France and high constable of the kingdom. He
+also, while pledging himself anew to wage a war of extermination
+against the Protestants, promised to bind the people of France, by an
+oath, to exclude from the succession to the throne all persons
+suspected even of Protestantism. This would effectually cut off the
+hopes of Henry of Navarre, and secure the crown to the Duke of Guise
+upon the death of the king.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Endeavors to obtain an assassin.</div>
+
+<p>Both of the antagonists now pretended to a sincere reconciliation, and
+Henry, having received Guise at Chartres with open arms, returned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>to
+Paris, meditating how he might secure the death of his dreaded and
+powerful rival. Imprisonment was not to be thought of, for no fortress
+in France could long hold one so idolized by the populace. The king
+applied in person to one of his friends, a brave and honest soldier by
+the name of Crillon, to assassinate the duke.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not an executioner," the soldier proudly replied, "and the
+function does not become my rank. But I will challenge the duke to
+open combat, and will cheerfully sacrifice my life that I may take
+his."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The king at Blois.</div>
+
+<p>This plan not meeting with the views of the king, he applied to one of
+the commanders of his guard named Lorgnac. This man had no scruples,
+and with alacrity undertook to perform the deed. Henry, having retired
+to the castle of Blois, about one hundred miles south of Paris,
+arranged all the details, while he was daily, with the most consummate
+hypocrisy, receiving his victim with courteous words and smiles. The
+king summoned a council to attend him in his cabinet at Blois on the
+23d of December. It was appointed at an early hour, and the Duke of
+Guise attended without his usual retinue. He had been repeatedly
+warned to guard against the treachery of Henry, but his reply was,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 227-8]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i224.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="347" alt="ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p><p>"I do not know that man on earth who, hand to hand with me, would not
+have his full share of fear. Besides, I am always so well attended
+that it would not be easy to find me off my guard."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Assassination of the Duke of Guise.</div>
+
+<p>The duke arrived at the door of the cabinet after passing through long
+files of the king's body-guard. Just as he was raising the tapestry
+which veiled the entrance, Lorgnac sprang upon him and plunged a
+dagger into his throat. Others immediately joined in the assault, and
+the duke dropped, pierced with innumerable wounds, dead upon the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>Henry, hearing the noise and knowing well what it signified, very
+coolly stepped from his cabinet into the ante-chamber, and, looking
+calmly upon the bloody corpse, said,</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think he is dead, Lorgnac?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sire," Lorgnac replied, "he looks like it."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God, how tall he is!" said the king. "He seems taller dead than
+when he was living." Then giving the gory body a kick, he exclaimed,
+"Venomous beast, thou shalt cast forth no more venom."</p>
+
+<p>In the same manner the duke had treated the remains of the noble
+Admiral Coligni, a solemn <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>comment upon the declaration, "With what
+measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Interview between the king and Catharine.</div>
+
+<p>Cardinal Guise, the brother of the duke, was immediately arrested by
+order of the king, and sent to prison, where he was assassinated.
+Henry III. soon after repaired to the bedside of Catharine his mother,
+who was lying sick in one of the chambers of the castle. Nothing can
+show more clearly the character of the times and of the personages
+than the following laconic dialogue which ensued:</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do, mother, this morning?" inquired the king.</p>
+
+<p>"I am better than I have been," she replied.</p>
+
+<p>"So am I," Henry rejoined, gayly, "for I have made myself this morning
+King of France by putting to death the King of Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Take care," this hardened woman exclaimed, "that you do not soon find
+yourself <i>king of nothing</i>. Diligence and resolution are now
+absolutely necessary for you."</p>
+
+<p>She then turned upon her pillow without the slightest apparent
+emotion. In twelve days from this time, this wretched queen, deformed
+by every vice, without one single redeeming virtue, breathed her last,
+seventy years of age. She <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>was despised by the Catholics, and hated by
+the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indignation of the League.<br />Anathemas against the king.</div>
+
+<p>These acts of violence and crime roused the League to the most intense
+energy. The murder of the Duke of Guise, and especially the murder of
+his brother, a cardinal in the Church, were acts of impiety which no
+atonement could expiate. Though Henry was a Catholic, and all his
+agents in these atrocious murders were Catholics, the death of the
+Duke of Guise increased vastly the probability that Protestant
+influences might become dominant at court. The Pope issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry
+III. The Sorbonne published a decree declaring that the king had
+forfeited all right to the obedience of his subjects, and justifying
+them in taking up arms against him. The clergy, from the pulpit,
+refused communion, absolution, and burial in holy ground to every one
+who yielded obedience to "the perfidious apostate and tyrant; Henry of
+Valois."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The king seeks aid from the Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>The League immediately chose the Duke of Mayenne, a surviving brother
+of the Duke of Guise, as its head. The Pope issued his anathemas
+against Henry III., and Spain sent her armies to unite with the
+League. Henry now <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>found it necessary to court the assistance of the
+Protestants. He dreaded to take this step, for he was superstitious in
+the extreme, and he could not endure the thought of any alliance with
+heretics. He had still quite a formidable force which adhered to him,
+for many of the highest nobles were disgusted with the arrogance of
+the Guises, and were well aware that the enthronement of the house of
+Guise would secure their own banishment from court.</p>
+
+<p>The triumph of the League would be total discomfiture to the
+Protestants. No freedom of worship or of conscience whatever would be
+allowed them. It was therefore for the interest of the Protestants to
+sustain the more moderate party hostile to the League. It was
+estimated that about one sixth of the inhabitants of France were at
+that time Protestants.</p>
+
+<p>Wretched, war-scathed France was now distracted by three parties.
+First, there were the Protestants, contending only in self-defense
+against persecution, and yet earnestly praying that, upon the death of
+the king, Henry of Navarre, the legitimate successor, might ascend the
+throne. Next came those Catholics who were friendly to the claims of
+Henry from their respect for the ancient law of succession. Then
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>came, combined in the League, the bigoted partisans of the Church,
+resolved to exterminate from Europe, with fire and sword, the detested
+heresy of Protestantism.</p>
+
+<p>Henry III. was now at the castle of Blois. Paris was hostile to him.
+The Duke of Mayenne, younger brother of the Duke of Guise, at the head
+of five thousand soldiers of the League, marched to the metropolis,
+where he was received by the Parisians with unbounded joy. He was
+urged by the populace and the Parliament in Paris to proclaim himself
+king. But he was not yet prepared for so decisive a step.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Desolations of war.</div>
+
+<p>No tongue can tell the misery which now pervaded ill-fated France.
+Some cities were Protestant, some were Catholic; division, and war,
+and blood were every where. Armed bands swept to and fro, and
+conflagration and slaughter deluged the kingdom.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Compact with Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>The king immediately sent to Henry of Navarre, promising to confer
+many political privileges upon the Protestants, and to maintain
+Henry's right to the throne, if he would aid him in the conflict
+against the League. The terms of reconciliation were soon effected.
+Henry of Navarre, then leaving his army to advance by rapid marches,
+rode forward with his retinue to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>meet his brother-in-law, Henry of
+Valois. He found him at one of the ancient palaces of France, Plessis
+les Tours. The two monarchs had been friends in childhood, but they
+had not met for many years. The King of Navarre was urged by his
+friends not to trust himself in the power of Henry III. "For," said
+they, "the King of France desires nothing so much as to obtain
+reconciliation with the Pope, and no offering can be so acceptable to
+the Pope as the death of a heretic prince."</p>
+
+<p>Henry hesitated a moment when he arrived upon an eminence which
+commanded a distant view of the palace. Then exclaiming, "God guides
+me, and He will go with me," he plunged his spurs into his horse's
+side, and galloped forward.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Interview at Plessis les Tours.</div>
+
+<p>The two monarchs met, each surrounded with a gorgeous retinue, in one
+of the magnificent avenues which conducted to the castle. Forgetting
+the animosities of years, and remembering only the friendships of
+childhood, they cast themselves cordially into each other's arms. The
+multitude around rent the air with their acclamations.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The manifesto.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre now addressed a manifesto to all the inhabitants of
+France in behalf of their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>woe-stricken country. "I conjure you all,"
+said he, "Catholics as well as Protestants, to have pity on the state
+and on yourselves. We have all done and suffered evil enough. We have
+been four years intoxicate, insensate, and furious. Is not this
+sufficient? Has not God smitten us all enough to allay our fury, and
+to make us wise at last?"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Renewed war.</div>
+
+<p>But passion was too much aroused to allow such appeals to be heeded.
+Battle after battle, with ever-varying success, ensued between the
+combined forces of the king and Henry of Navarre on one side, and of
+the League, aided by many of the princes of Catholic Europe, on the
+other. The storms of winter swept over the freezing armies and the
+smouldering towns, and the wail of the victims of horrid war blended
+with the moanings of the gale. Spring came, but it brought no joy to
+desolate, distracted, wretched France. Summer came, and the bright sun
+looked down upon barren fields, and upon a bleeding, starving,
+fighting nation. Henry of Navarre, in command of the royal forces, at
+the head of thirty thousand troops, was besieging Paris, which was
+held by the Duke of Mayenne, and boldly and skillfully was conducting
+his approaches to a successful termination. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>cause of the League
+began to wane. Henry III. had taken possession of the castle of St.
+Cloud, and from its elevated windows looked out with joy upon the bold
+assaults and the advancing works.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 237-8]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i234.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="361" alt="THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Duchess of Montpensier.<br />The flag of truce.<br />Assassination of Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>The leaders of the League now resolved to resort again to the old
+weapon of assassination. Henry III. was to be killed. But no man could
+kill him unless he was also willing to sacrifice his own life. The
+Duchess of Montpensier, sister of the Duke of Guise, for the
+accomplishment of this purpose, won the love, by caressings and
+endearments, of Jaques Clement, an ardent, enthusiastic monk of wild
+and romantic imaginings, and of the most intense fanaticism. The
+beautiful duchess surrendered herself without any reserve whatever to
+the paramour she had enticed to her arms, that she might obtain the
+entire supremacy over his mind. Clement concealed a dagger in his
+bosom, and then went out from the gates of the city accompanied by two
+soldiers and with a flag of truce, ostensibly to take a message to the
+king. He refused to communicate his message to any one but the monarch
+himself. Henry III., supposing it to be a communication of importance,
+perhaps a proposition to surrender, ordered him to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>be admitted immediately to his cabinet. Two persons only were present
+with the king. The monk entered, and, kneeling, drew a letter from the
+sleeve of his gown, presented it to the king, and instantly drawing a
+large knife from its concealment, plunged it into the entrails of his
+victim. The king uttered a piercing cry, caught the knife from his
+body and struck at the head of his murderer, wounding him above the
+eye. The two gentlemen who were present instantly thrust their swords
+through the body of the assassin, and he fell dead.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrival of Henry of Navarre.</div>
+
+<p>The king, groaning with anguish, was undressed and borne to his bed.
+The tidings spread rapidly, and soon reached the ears of the King of
+Navarre, who was a few miles distant at Meudon. He galloped to St.
+Cloud, and knelt with gushing tears at the couch of the dying monarch.
+Henry III. embraced him with apparently the most tender affection. In
+broken accents, interrupted with groans of anguish, he said,</p>
+
+<p>"If my wound proves mortal, I leave my crown to you as my legitimate
+successor. If my will can have any effect, the crown will remain as
+firmly upon your brow as it was upon that of Charlemagne."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Dying scene.</div>
+
+<p>He then assembled his principal officers around him, and enjoined them
+to unite for the preservation of the monarchy, and to sustain the
+claims of the King of Navarre as the indisputable heir to the throne
+of France.</p>
+
+<p>A day of great anxiety passed slowly away, and as the shades of
+evening settled down over the palace, it became manifest to all that
+the wound was mortal. The wounded monarch writhed upon his bed in
+fearful agony. At midnight, Henry of Navarre, who was busily engaged
+superintending some of the works of the siege, was sent for, as the
+King of France was dying. Accompanied by a retinue of thirty
+gentlemen, he proceeded at full speed to the gates of the castle where
+the monarch was struggling in the grasp of the King of Terrors.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to imagine the emotions which must have agitated the
+soul of Henry of Navarre during this dark and gloomy ride. The day had
+not yet dawned when he arrived at the gates of the castle. The first
+tidings he received were, <i>The king is dead</i>. It was the 2d of August,
+1589.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry IV. assumes the crown.<br />Difficulties of the new reign.</div>
+
+<p>Henry of Navarre was now Henry IV., King of France. But never did
+monarch ascend the throne under circumstances of greater perplexity
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>and peril. Never was a more distracted kingdom placed in the hands of
+a new monarch. Henry was now thirty-four years of age. The whole
+kingdom was convulsed by warring factions. For years France had been
+desolated by all the most virulent elements of religious and political
+animosity. All hearts were demoralized by familiarity with the dagger
+of the assassin and the carnage of the battle-field. Almost universal
+depravity had banished all respect for morality and law. The whole
+fabric of society was utterly disorganized.</p>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances, Henry developed that energy and sagacity
+which have given him a high position among the most renowned of
+earthly monarchs. He immediately assembled around him that portion of
+the royal army in whose fidelity he could confide. Without the delay
+of an hour, he commenced dictating letters to all the monarchies of
+Europe, announcing his accession to the throne, and soliciting their
+aid to confirm him in his legitimate rights.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Danger of assassination.</div>
+
+<p>As the new sovereign entered the chamber of the deceased king, he
+found the corpse surrounded by many of the Catholic nobility of
+France. They were ostentatiously solemnizing the obsequies of the
+departed monarch. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>heard many low mutterings from these zealous
+partisans of Rome, that they would rather die a thousand deaths than
+allow a Protestant king to ascend the throne. Angry eyes glared upon
+him from the tumultuous and mutinous crowd, and, had not Henry retired
+to consult for his own safety, he also might have fallen the victim of
+assassination. In the intense excitement of these hours, the leading
+Catholics held a meeting, and appointed a committee to wait upon
+Henry, and inform him that he must immediately abjure Protestantism
+and adopt the Catholic faith, or forfeit their support to the crown.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you have me," Henry replied, "profess conversion with the
+dagger at my throat? And could you, in the day of battle, follow one
+with confidence who had thus proved that he was an apostate and
+without a God? I can only promise carefully to examine the subject
+that I may be guided to the truth."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Religious principles of Henry IV.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was a Protestant from the force of circumstances rather than
+from conviction. He was not a theologian either in mind or heart, and
+he regarded the Catholics and Protestants merely as two political
+parties, the one or the other of which he would join, according as, in
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>his view, it might promote his personal interests and the welfare of
+France. In his childhood he was a Catholic. In boyhood, under the
+tuition of his mother, Protestant influences were thrown around him,
+and he was nominally a Protestant. He saved his life at St.
+Bartholomew by avowing the Catholic faith. When he escaped from the
+Catholic court and returned to his mother's Protestant court in
+Navarre, he espoused with new vigor the cause of his Protestant
+friends. These changes were of course more or less mortifying, and
+they certainly indicated a total want of religious conviction. He now
+promised carefully to look at the arguments on both sides of the
+question, and to choose deliberately that which should seem to him
+right. This arrangement, however, did not suit the more zealous of the
+Catholics, and, in great numbers, they abandoned his camp and passed
+over to the League.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">News of the death of Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>The news of the death of Henry III. was received with unbounded
+exultation in the besieged city. The Duchess of Montpensier threw her
+arms around the neck of the messenger who brought her the welcome
+tidings, exclaiming,</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! my friend, is it true? Is the monster <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>really dead? What a
+gratification! I am only grieved to think that he did not know that it
+was I who directed the blow."</p>
+
+<p>She rode out immediately, that she might have the pleasure herself of
+communicating the intelligence. She drove through the streets,
+shouting from her carriage, "Good news! good news! the tyrant is
+dead." The joy of the priests rose to the highest pitch of fanatical
+fervor. The assassin was even canonized. The Pope himself condescended
+to pronounce a eulogium upon the "<i>martyr</i>," and a statue was erected
+to his memory, with the inscription, "St. Jaques Clement, pray for
+us."</p>
+
+<p>The League now proclaimed as king the old Cardinal of Bourbon, under
+the title of Charles X., and nearly all of Catholic Europe rallied
+around this pretender to the crown. No one denied the validity of the
+title, according to the principles of legitimacy, of Henry IV. His
+rights, however, the Catholics deemed forfeited by his Protestant
+tendencies. Though Henry immediately issued a decree promising every
+surety and support to the Catholic religion as the established
+religion of France, still, as he did not also promise to devote all
+his energies to the extirpation of the heresy of Protestantism, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>the
+great majority of the Catholics were dissatisfied.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Abandoned by the Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>Epernon, one of the most conspicuous of the Catholic leaders, at the
+head of many thousand Catholic soldiers, waited upon the king
+immediately after the death of Henry III., and informed him that they
+could not maintain a Protestant on the throne. With flying banners and
+resounding bugles they then marched from the camp and joined the
+League. So extensive was this disaffection, that in one day Henry
+found himself deserted by all his army except six thousand, most of
+whom were Protestants. Nearly thirty thousand men had abandoned him,
+some to retire to their homes, and others to join the enemy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The retreat.</div>
+
+<p>The army of the League within the capital was now twenty thousand
+strong. They prepared for a rush upon the scattered and broken ranks
+of Henry IV. Firmly, fearlessly, and with well matured plans, he
+ordered a prompt retreat. Catholic Europe aroused itself in behalf of
+the League. Henry appealed to Protestant Europe to come to his aid.
+Elizabeth of England responded promptly to his appeal, and promised to
+send a fleet and troops to the harbor of Dieppe, about one hundred
+miles <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>northwest of Paris, upon the shores of the English Channel.
+Firmly, and with concentrated ranks, the little army of Protestants
+crossed the Seine. Twenty thousand Leaguers eagerly pursued them,
+watching in vain for a chance to strike a deadly blow. Henry ate not,
+slept not, rested not. Night and day, day and night, he was every
+where present, guiding, encouraging, protecting this valiant band.
+Planting a rear guard upon the western banks of the Seine, the chafing
+foe was held in check until the Royalist army had retired beyond the
+Oise. Upon the farther banks of this stream Henry again reared his
+defenses, thwarting every endeavor of his enemies, exasperated by such
+unexpected discomfiture.</p>
+
+<p>As Henry slowly retreated toward the sea, all the Protestants of the
+region through which he passed, and many of the moderate Catholics who
+were in favor of the royal cause and hostile to the house of Guise,
+flocked to his standard. He soon found himself, with seven thousand
+very determined men, strongly posted behind the ramparts of Dieppe.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The stand at Dieppe.</div>
+
+<p>But the Duke of Mayenne had also received large accessions. The spears
+and banners of his proud host, now numbering thirty-five thousand,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>gleamed from all the hills and valleys which surrounded the fortified
+city. For nearly a month there was almost an incessant conflict. Every
+morning, with anxious eyes, the Royalists scanned the watery horizon,
+hoping to see the fleet of England coming to their aid. Cheered by
+hope, they successfully beat back their assailants. The toils of the
+king were immense. With exalted military genius he guided every
+movement, at the same time sharing the toil of the humblest soldier.
+"It is a marvel," he wrote, "how I live with the labor I undergo. God
+have pity upon me, and show me mercy."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry urged to fly to England.</div>
+
+<p>Some of Henry's friends, appalled by the strength of the army pursuing
+them, urged him to embark and seek refuge in England.</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are," Henry replied, "in France, and here let us be buried.
+If we fly now, all our hopes will vanish with the wind which bears
+us."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote.</div>
+
+<p>In a skirmish, one day, one of the Catholic chieftains, the Count de
+B&eacute;lin, was taken captive. He was led to the head-quarters of the king.
+Henry greeted him with perfect cordiality, and, noticing the
+astonishment of the count in seeing but a few scattered soldiers where
+he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>had expected to see a numerous army, he said, playfully, yet with
+a confident air,</p>
+
+<p>"You do not perceive all that I have with me, M. de B&eacute;lin, for you do
+not reckon God and the right on my side."</p>
+
+<p>The indomitable energy of Henry, accompanied by a countenance ever
+serene and cheerful under circumstances apparently so desperate,
+inspired the soldiers with the same intrepidity which glowed in the
+bosom of their chief.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Arrival of the fleet from England.</div>
+
+<p>But at last the valiant little band, so bravely repelling overwhelming
+numbers, saw, to their inexpressible joy, the distant ocean whitened
+with the sails of the approaching English fleet. Shouts of exultation
+rolled along their exhausted lines, carrying dismay into the camp of
+the Leaguers. A favorable wind pressed the fleet rapidly forward, and
+in a few hours, with streaming banners, and exultant music, and
+resounding salutes, echoed and re-echoed from English ships and French
+batteries, the fleet of Elizabeth, loaded to its utmost capacity with
+money, military supplies, and men, cast anchor in the little harbor of
+Dieppe.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Bigotry of the Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>Nearly six thousand men, Scotch and English, were speedily
+disembarked. The Duke of Mayenne, though his army was still double
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>that of Henry IV., did not dare to await the onset of his foes thus
+recruited. Hastily breaking up his encampment, he retreated to Paris.
+Henry IV., in gratitude to God for the succor which he had thus
+received from the Protestant Queen of England, directed that
+thanksgivings should be offered in his own quarters according to the
+religious rites of the Protestant Church. This so exasperated the
+Catholics, even in his own camp, that a mutiny was excited, and
+several of the Protestant soldiers were wounded in the fray. So
+extreme was the fanaticism at this time that, several Protestants,
+after a sanguinary fight, having been buried on the battle-field
+promiscuously in a pit with some Catholics who had fallen by their
+side, the priests, even of Henry's army, ordered the Protestant bodies
+to be dug up and thrown out as food for dogs.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Desolation of France.</div>
+
+<p>While these scenes were transpiring in the vicinity of Dieppe, almost
+every part of France was scathed and cursed by hateful war. Every
+province, city, village, had its partisans for the League or for the
+king. Beautiful France was as a volcano in the world of woe, in whose
+seething crater flames, and blood, and slaughter, the yell of conflict
+and the shriek of agony, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>blended in horrors which no imagination can
+compass. There was an end to every earthly joy. Cities were bombarded,
+fields of grain trampled in the mire, villages burned. Famine rioted
+over its ghastly victims. Hospitals were filled with miserable
+multitudes, mutilated and with festering wounds, longing for death.
+Not a ray of light pierced the gloom of this dark, black night of
+crime and woe. And yet, undeniably, the responsibility before God must
+rest with the League. Henry IV. was the lawful king of France. The
+Catholics had risen in arms to resist his rights, because they feared
+that he would grant liberty of faith and worship to the Protestants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Ignoble conduct of the League.</div>
+
+<p>The League adopted the most dishonorable and criminal means to
+alienate from Henry the affections of the people. They forged letters,
+in which the king atrociously expressed joy at the murder of Henry
+III., and declared his determination by dissimulation and fraud to
+root out Catholicism entirely from France. No efforts of artifice were
+wanting to render the monarch odious to the Catholic populace. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne occasionally referred to the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon as the king whom he acknowledged, he, with the characteristic
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>haughtiness of the family of Guise, assumed himself the air and the
+language of a sovereign. It was very evident that he intended to place
+himself upon the throne.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Paris besieged.<br />Assault of Etampes.</div>
+
+<p>Henry IV., with the money furnished by Elizabeth, was now able to pay
+his soldiers their arrears. His army steadily increased, and he soon
+marched with twenty-three thousand troops and fourteen pieces of
+artillery to lay siege to Paris. His army had unbounded confidence in
+his military skill. With enthusiastic acclamations they pursued the
+retreating insurgents. Henry was now on the offensive, and his troops
+were posted for the siege of Paris, having driven the foe within its
+walls. After one sanguinary assault, the king became convinced that he
+had not with him sufficient force to carry the city. The Duke of
+Mayenne stood firmly behind the intrenchments of the capital, with an
+army much strengthened by re-enforcements of Spanish and Italian
+troops. Henry accordingly raised the siege, and marched rapidly to
+Etampes, some forty miles south of Paris, where a large part of his
+foes had established themselves. He suddenly attacked the town and
+carried it by assault. The unhappy inhabitants of this city had, in
+the course <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>of four months, experienced the horrors of three assaults.
+The city, in that short period, had been taken and retaken three
+times.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Letter from Lorraine.</div>
+
+<p>While at Etampes, Henry received a letter from the beautiful but
+disconsolate Louisa of Lorraine, the widow of Henry III., imploring
+him to avenge the murder of her husband. The letter was so affecting
+that, when it was read in the king's council, it moved all the members
+to tears.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Military reprisals.</div>
+
+<p>Many of the citizens of Paris, weary of the miseries of civil war,
+were now disposed to rally around their lawful monarch as the only
+mode of averting the horrible calamities which overwhelmed France. The
+Duke of Mayenne rigorously arrested all who were suspected of such
+designs, and four of the most prominent of the citizens were condemned
+to death. Henry immediately sent a message to the duke, that if the
+sentence were carried into effect, he would retaliate by putting to
+death some of the Catholic nobles whom he had in his power. Mayenne
+defiantly executed two Royalists. Henry immediately suspended upon a
+gibbet two unfortunate Leaguers who were his captives. This decisive
+reprisal accomplished its purpose, and compelled Mayenne to be more
+merciful.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Activity of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>With great energy, Henry now advanced to Tours, about one hundred and
+twenty miles south of Paris, on the banks of the Loire, taking every
+town by the way, and sweeping all opposition before him. He seldom
+slept more than three hours at a time, and seized his meals where he
+could.</p>
+
+<p>"It takes Mayenne," said Henry, proudly, "more time to put on his
+boots than it does me to win a battle."</p>
+
+<p>"Henry," remarked Pope Sextus V., sadly, "will surely, in the end,
+gain the day, for he spends less hours in bed than Mayenne spends at
+the table."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Dissension among the Leaguers.</div>
+
+<p>Though the armies of the League were still superior to the Royalist
+army, victory every where followed the banner of the king. Every day
+there was more and more of union and harmony in his ranks, and more
+and more of discord in the armies of the League. There were various
+aspirants for the throne in case Henry IV. could be driven from the
+kingdom, and all these aspirants had their partisans. The more
+reasonable portion of the Catholic party soon saw that there could be
+no end to civil war unless the rights of Henry IV. were maintained.
+Each day consequently witnessed accessions of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>powerful nobles to his
+side. The great mass of the people also, notwithstanding their hatred
+of Protestantism and devotion to the Catholic Church, found it
+difficult to break away from their homage to the ancient law of
+succession.</p>
+
+<p>It was now manifest to all, that if Henry would but proclaim himself a
+Catholic, the war would almost instantly terminate, and the people,
+with almost entire unanimity, would rally around him. Henry IV. was a
+lawful monarch endeavoring to put down insurrection. Mayenne was a
+rebel contending against his king. The Pope was so unwilling to see a
+Protestant sovereign enthroned in France, that he issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry IV.
+Many of the Royalist Catholics, however, instead of yielding to these
+thunders of the Vatican, sent a humble apology to the Pope for their
+adherence to the king, and still sustained his cause.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Triumphant progress of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>Henry now moved on with the strides of a conqueror, and city after
+city fell into his hands. Wherever he entered a city, the ever
+vacillating multitude welcomed him with acclamations. Regardless of
+the storms of winter, Henry dragged his heavy artillery through the
+mire and over the frozen ruts, and before the close of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>year 1589
+his banner waved over fifteen fortified cities and over very many
+minor towns. The forces of the League were entirely swept from three
+of the provinces of France.</p>
+
+<p>Still Paris was in the hands of the Duke of Mayenne, and a large part
+of the kingdom was yet held in subjection by the forces of the League.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Wonderful escape.</div>
+
+<p>At one time, in the face of a fierce cannonade, Henry mounted the
+tower of a church at Meulun to ascertain the position of the enemy. As
+he was ascending, cannon ball passed between his legs. In returning,
+the stairs were found so shot away that he was compelled to let
+himself down by a rope. All the winter long, the storm of battle raged
+in every part of France, and among all the millions of the ill-fated
+realm, there could not then, perhaps, have been found one single
+prosperous and happy home.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_X" id="Chapter_X"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">War and Woe.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1590-1591</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Ferocity of the combatants.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">C</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">ivil</span> war seems peculiarly to arouse the ferocity of man. Family
+quarrels are notoriously implacable. Throughout the whole kingdom of
+France the war raged with intense violence, brother against brother,
+and father against child. Farm-houses, cities, villages, were burned
+mercilessly. Old men, women, and children were tortured and slain with
+insults and derision. Maiden modesty was cruelly violated, and every
+species of inhumanity was practiced by the infuriated antagonists. The
+Catholic priests were in general conspicuous for their brutality. They
+resolved that the Protestant heresy should be drowned in blood and
+terror.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Liberality of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>Henry IV. was peculiarly a humane man. He cherished kind feelings for
+all his subjects, and was perfectly willing that the Catholic religion
+should retain its unquestioned supremacy. His pride, however, revolted
+from yielding to compulsory conversion, and he also refused <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>to become
+the persecutor of his former friends. Indeed, it seems probable that
+he was strongly inclined toward the Catholic faith as, on the whole,
+the safest and the best. He consequently did every thing in his power
+to mitigate the mercilessness of the strife, and to win his Catholic
+subjects by the most signal clemency. But no efforts of his could
+restrain his partisans in different parts of the kingdom from severe
+retaliation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Preparations for a battle.</div>
+
+<p>Through the long months of a cold and dreary winter the awful carnage
+continued, with success so equally balanced that there was no prospect
+of any termination to this most awful of national calamities. Early in
+March, 1590, the armies of Henry IV. and of the Duke of Mayenne began
+to congregate in the vicinity of Ivry, about fifty miles west of
+Paris, for a decisive battle. The snows of winter had nearly
+disappeared, and the cold rains of spring deluged the roads. The
+Sabbath of the eleventh of March was wet and tempestuous. As night
+darkened over the bleak and soaked plains of Ivry, innumerable
+battalions of armed men, with spears, and banners, and heavy pieces of
+artillery, dragged axle-deep through the mire, were dimly discerned
+taking positions for an approaching battle. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>As the blackness of
+midnight enveloped them, the storm increased to fearful fury. The gale
+fiercely swept the plain, in its loud wailings and its roar drowning
+every human sound. The rain, all the night long, poured down in
+torrents. But through the darkness and the storm, and breasting the
+gale, the contending hosts, without even a watch-fire to cheer the
+gloom, waited anxiously for the morning.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Striking phenomenon.<br />The omen.</div>
+
+<p>In the blackest hour of the night, a phenomenon, quite unusual at that
+season of the year, presented itself. The lightning gleamed in
+dazzling brilliance from cloud to cloud, and the thunder rolled over
+their heads as if an aerial army were meeting and charging in the
+sanguinary fight. It was an age of superstition, and the shivering
+soldiers thought that they could distinctly discern the banners of the
+battling hosts. Eagerly and with awe they watched the surgings of the
+strife as spirit squadrons swept to and fro with streaming banners of
+fire, and hurling upon each other the thunderbolts of the skies. At
+length the storm of battle seemed to lull, or, rather, to pass away in
+the distance. There was the retreat of the vanquished, the pursuit of
+the victors. The flash of the guns became more faint, and the roar of
+the artillery <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>diminished as farther and still farther the embattled
+hosts vanished among the clouds. Again there was the silence of
+midnight, and no sounds were heard but the plashing of the rain.</p>
+
+<p>The Royalists and the insurgents, each party inflamed more or less by
+religious fanaticism, were each disposed to regard the ethereal battle
+as waged between the spirits of light and the spirits of darkness,
+angels against fiends. Each party, of course, imagined itself as
+represented by the angel bands, which doubtless conquered. The
+phenomenon was thus, to both, the omen of success, and inspired both
+with new energies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Man&oelig;uvres.<br />Night before the battle.</div>
+
+<p>The morning dawned gloomily. Both armies were exhausted and nearly
+frozen by the chill storm of the night. Neither of the parties were
+eager to commence the fight, as each was anxious to wait for
+re-enforcements, which were hurrying forward, from distant posts, with
+the utmost possible speed. The two next days were passed in various
+man&oelig;uvres to gain posts of advantage. The night of the 13th came.
+Henry took but two hours of repose upon a mattress, and then, every
+thing being arranged according to his wishes, spent nearly all the
+rest of the night in prayer. He urged the Catholics and the
+Protestants in his army to do the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>same, each according to the rites
+of his own Church. The Catholic priests and the Protestant clergy led
+the devotions of their respective bands, and there can be no doubt
+whatever that they implored the aid of God with as perfect a
+conviction of the righteousness of their cause as the human heart can
+feel.</p>
+
+<p>And how was it in the army of the Duke of Mayenne? They also looked to
+God for support. The Pope, Christ's vicar upon earth, had blessed
+their banners. He had called upon all of the faithful to advocate
+their cause. He had anathematized their foes as the enemies of God and
+man, justly doomed to utter extermination. Can it be doubted that the
+ecclesiastics and the soldiers who surrounded the Duke of Mayenne,
+ready to lay down their lives for the Church, were also, many of them,
+sincere in their supplications? Such is bewildered, benighted man.
+When will he imbibe the spirit of a noble toleration&mdash;of a kind
+brotherhood?</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Morning of the battle.</div>
+
+<p>The morning of the 14th of March arrived. The stars shone brilliantly
+in the clear, cold sky. The vast plain of Ivry and its surrounding
+hills gleamed with the camp-fires of the two armies, now face to face.
+It is impossible to estimate with precision the two forces. It is
+generally <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>stated that Henry IV. had from ten to twelve thousand men,
+and the Duke of Mayenne from sixteen to twenty thousand.</p>
+
+<p>Before the first glimmer of day, Henry mounted his horse, a powerful
+bay charger, and riding slowly along his lines, addressed to every
+company words of encouragement and hope. His spirit was subdued and
+his voice was softened by the influence of prayer. He attempted no
+lofty harangue; he gave utterance to no clarion notes of enthusiasm;
+but mildly, gently, with a trembling voice and often with a moistened
+eye, implored them to be true to God, to France, and to themselves.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry's address to his army.</div>
+
+<p>"Your future fame and your personal safety," said he, "depend upon
+your heroism this day. The crown of France awaits the decision of your
+swords. If we are defeated to-day, we are defeated hopelessly, for we
+have no reserves upon which we can fall back."</p>
+
+<p>Then assembling nearly all his little band in a square around him, he
+placed himself upon an eminence where he could be seen by all, and
+where nearly all could hear him, and then, with clasped hands and eyes
+raised to Heaven, offered the following prayer&mdash;a truly extraordinary
+prayer, so humble and so Christian in its spirit of resignation:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The prayer of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>"O God, I pray thee, who alone knowest the intentions of man's heart,
+to do thy will upon me as thou shalt judge necessary for the weal of
+Christendom. And wilt thou preserve me as long as thou seest it to be
+needful for the happiness and the repose of France, and no longer. If
+thou dost see that I should be one of those kings on whom thou dost
+lay thy wrath, take my life with my crown, and let my blood be the
+last poured out in this quarrel."</p>
+
+<p>Then turning to his troops, he said,</p>
+
+<p>"Companions, God is with us. You are to meet His enemies and ours. If,
+in the turmoil of the battle, you lose sight of your banner, follow
+the white plume upon my casque. You will find it in the road to
+victory and honor."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote.</div>
+
+<p>But a few hours before this, General Schomberg, who was in command of
+the auxiliaries furnished to Henry by Germany, urged by the
+importunity of his troops, ventured to ask for their pay, which was in
+arrears. Henry, irritated, replied,</p>
+
+<p>"A man of courage would not ask for money on the eve of a battle."</p>
+
+<p>The words had no sooner escaped his lips than he regretted them. Henry
+now rode to the quarters of this veteran officer, and thus
+magnanimously addressed him:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Magnanimity of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>"General Schomberg, I have insulted you. As this day may be the last
+of my life, I would not carry away the honor of a gentleman and be
+unable to restore it. I know your valor, and I ask your pardon. I
+beseech you to forgive me and embrace me."</p>
+
+<p>This was true magnanimity. General Schomberg nobly replied,</p>
+
+<p>"Sire, you did, indeed, wound me yesterday, but to-day you kill me.
+The honor you have done me will lead me to lay down my life in your
+service."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The battle of Ivry.</div>
+
+<p>A terrible battle immediately ensued. All fought bravely, ferociously,
+infernally. Love and peace are the elements of heaven. Hatred and war
+are the elements of hell. Man, upon the battle-field, even in a good
+cause, must call to his aid the energies of the world of woe. Rushing
+squadrons swept the field, crushing beneath iron hoofs the dying and
+the dead. Grapeshot mowed down the crowded ranks, splintering bones,
+and lacerating nerves, and extorting shrieks of agony which even the
+thunders of the battle could not drown. Henry plunged into the
+thickest of the fight, every where exposing himself to peril like the
+humblest soldier. The conflict was too desperate to be lasting. In
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>less than an hour the field of battle was crimson with blood and
+covered with mangled corpses.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Heroism of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The Leaguers began to waver. They broke and fled in awful confusion.
+The miserable fugitives were pursued and cut down by the keen swords
+of the cavalry, while from every eminence the cannon of the victors
+plowed their retreating ranks with balls. Henry himself headed the
+cavalry in the impetuous pursuit, that the day might be the more
+decisive. When he returned, covered with blood, he was greeted from
+his triumphant ranks with the shout, <i>Vive le roi!</i></p>
+
+<p>Marshal Biron, with a powerful reserve, had remained watching the
+progress of the fight, ready to avail himself of any opportunity which
+might present to promote or to increase the discomfiture of the foe.
+He now joined the monarch, saying,</p>
+
+<p>"This day, sire, you have performed the part of Marshal Biron, and
+Marshal Biron that of the king."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us praise God, marshal," answered Henry, "for the victory is
+his."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Leaguers vanquished.<br />Flight of the Leaguers.<br />Detestable conduct of Mayenne.</div>
+
+<p>The routed army fled with the utmost precipitation in two directions,
+one division toward Chartres and the other toward Ivry. The whole
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>Royalist army hung upon their rear, assailing them with every
+available missile of destruction. The Duke of Mayenne fled across the
+Eure. Thousands of his broken bands were crowding the shore, striving
+to force their way across the thronged bridge, when the Royalist
+cavalry, led by the monarch himself, was seen in the distance spurring
+furiously over the hills. Mayenne himself having passed, in order to
+secure his own safety, cruelly gave the command to destroy the bridge,
+leaving the unhappy men who had not yet crossed at the mercy of the
+victors. The bridge was immediately blown up. Many of those thus
+abandoned, in their terror cast themselves into the flooded stream,
+where multitudes were drowned. Others shot their horses and built a
+rampart of their bodies. Behind this revolting breastwork they
+defended themselves, until, one after another, they all fell beneath
+the sabres and the bullets of the Protestants. In this dreadful
+retreat more than two thousand were put to the sword, large numbers
+were drowned, and many were taken captive.</p>
+
+<p>In this day, so glorious to the Royalist cause, more than one half of
+the army of the Leaguers were either slain or taken prisoners. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne escaped, many of his best <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>generals perished upon
+the field of battle or were captured. It is reported that Henry
+shouted to his victorious troops as they were cutting down the
+fugitives, "Spare the French; they are our brethren."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Lines on the battle of Ivry.</div>
+
+<p>This celebrated battle has often been the theme of the poet. But no
+one has done the subject better justice than Mr. Macaulay in the
+following spirited lines. They are intended to express the feelings of
+a Huguenot soldier.</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox3 bbox"><p class="center">THE BATTLE OF IVRY.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The king has come to marshal us, all in his armor dressed.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And he has bound a snow-white plume upon his gallant crest.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He looked upon his people, and a tear was in his eye;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He looked upon the traitors, and his glance was stern and high.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Down all our line, a deafening shout, 'God save our lord the king!'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Press where ye see my white plume shine, amid the ranks of war,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre.'</span></div>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Hurrah! the foes are coming! Hark to the mingled din<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of fife and steed, and trump and drum, and roaring culverin!<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span><span class="i0">The fiery duke is pricking fast across St. Andre's plain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With all the hireling chivalry of Guelders and Almagne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now, by the lips of those we love, fair gentlemen of France,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Charge for the golden lilies now&mdash;upon them with the lance!'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears in rest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on they burst, and on they rushed, while, like a guiding star,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Amid the thickest carnage blazed the helmet of Navarre.<br /></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Now, God be praised, the day is ours! Mayenne hath turned his rein,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">D'Aumale hath cried for quarter, the Flemish count is slain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their ranks are breaking like thin clouds before a Biscay gale;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The field is heaped with bleeding steeds, and flags, and cloven mail.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And then we thought on vengeance, and all along our van,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Remember St. Bartholomew,' was passed from man to man;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But out spake gentle Henry, 'No Frenchman is my foe;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Down&mdash;down with every foreigner! but let your brethren go.'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, was there ever such a knight, in friendship or in war,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As our sovereign lord King Henry, the soldier of Navarre?"</span></div></div></div>
+
+<p>This decisive battle established Henry on the throne. Mayenne still
+held Paris, and many other important fortresses in other parts of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>France; but his main army was defeated and dispersed, and he could no
+longer venture to encounter Henry in the open field. Having thrown
+some additional forces into Paris, which city he knew that Henry would
+immediately besiege, he fled to Flanders to obtain re-enforcements.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Paris in consternation.</div>
+
+<p>Paris was in consternation. Not a town in its vicinity could resist
+the conqueror. Henry was but two days' march from his rebellious
+capital. The Leaguers could hope for no aid for many weeks. The
+Royalist cause had many friends among the Parisians, eager for an
+opportunity to raise within their walls the banner of their lawful
+sovereign.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Inexplicable delay.</div>
+
+<p>Henry had now the entire command of the Seine from Rouen to Paris. Had
+he immediately marched upon the capital, there can be no doubt that it
+would have been compelled to surrender; but, for some reason which has
+never been satisfactorily explained, he remained for a fortnight
+within one day's march of the field of Ivry. Various causes have been
+surmised for this unaccountable delay, but there is no authentic
+statement to be found in any letters written by Henry, or in any
+contemporaneous records. The time, however, thus lost, whatever <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>might
+have been the cause, proved to him a terrible calamity. The partisans
+of the League in the city had time to recover from their panic, to
+strengthen their defenses, and to collect supplies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Magnanimity to the Swiss Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>One act of magnanimity which Henry performed during this interval is
+worthy of record. Two regiments of Swiss Catholics, who had been sent
+to fight beneath the banners of Mayenne, had surrendered to the royal
+forces. They were for a few days intensely anxious respecting their
+fate. Henry restored to them their ensigns, furnished them with money,
+supplied them with provisions, and sent them back to their native
+country. He gave them a letter to the Swiss cantons, with dignity
+reproaching them for their violation of the friendly treaty existing
+between Switzerland and the crown of France.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Paris blockaded.</div>
+
+<p>It was not until the 28th of March that Henry appeared before the
+walls of Paris. By this time the Leaguers had made preparations to
+resist him. Provisions and military stores had been accumulated.
+Troops had been hurried into the city, and arrangements were made to
+hold out till Mayenne could bring them succor. Now a siege was
+necessary, with all its accompaniments of blood and woe. There were
+now <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>fifty thousand fighting men in the city when Henry commenced the
+siege with but twelve thousand foot and three thousand horse.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Death of the Cardinal of Bourbon.</div>
+
+<p>In this emergence the energy of Henry returned. He took possession of
+the river above and below the city. Batteries were reared upon the
+heights of Montmartre and Montfau&ccedil;on, and cannon balls, portentous of
+the rising storm, began to fall in the thronged streets of the
+metropolis. In the midst of this state of things the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon died. The Leaguers had pronounced him king under the title of
+Charles X. The insurgents, discomfited in battle, and with many rival
+candidates ambitious of the crown, were not in a condition to attempt
+to elect another monarch. They thought it more prudent to combine and
+fight for victory, postponing until some future day their choice of a
+king. The Catholic priests were almost universally on their side, and
+urged them, by all the most sacred importunities of religion, rather
+to die than to allow a heretic to ascend the throne of France.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Horrors of famine.</div>
+
+<p>Day after day the siege continued. There were bombardments, and
+conflagrations, and sallies, and midnight assaults, and all the
+tumult, and carnage, and woe of horrid war. Three <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>hundred thousand
+men, women, and children were in the beleaguered city. All supplies
+were cut off. Famine commenced its ravages. The wheat became
+exhausted, and they ate bran. The bran was all consumed, and the
+haggard citizens devoured the dogs and the cats. Starvation came. On
+parlor floors and on the hard pavement emaciate forms were stretched
+in the convulsions of death. The shrieks of women and children in
+their dying agonies fell in tones horrible to hear upon the ears of
+the besiegers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Kindness of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The tender heart of Henry was so moved by the sufferings which he was
+unwillingly instrumental in inflicting, that he allowed some
+provisions to be carried into the city, though he thus protracted the
+siege. He hoped that this humanity would prove to his foes that he did
+not seek revenge. The Duke of Nemours, who conducted the defense,
+encouraged by this unmilitary humanity, that he might relieve himself
+from the encumbrance of useless mouths, drove several thousands out of
+the city. Henry, with extraordinary clemency, allowed three thousand
+to pass through the ranks of his army. He nobly said, "I can not bear
+to think of their sufferings. I had rather conquer my foes by kindness
+than by arms." But the number still <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>increasing, and the inevitable
+effect being only to enable the combatants to hold out more
+stubbornly, Henry reluctantly ordered the soldiers to allow no more to
+pass.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Murmurs in Paris.</div>
+
+<p>The misery which now desolated the city was awful. Famine bred
+pestilence. Woe and death were every where. The Duke of Nemours,
+younger brother of the Duke of Mayenne, hoping that Mayenne might yet
+bring relief, still continued the defense. The citizens, tortured by
+the unearthly woes which pressed them on every side, began to murmur.
+Nemours erected scaffolds, and ordered every murmurer to be promptly
+hung as a partisan of Henry. Even this harsh remedy could not entirely
+silence fathers whose wives and children were dying of starvation
+before their eyes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The assault.</div>
+
+<p>The Duke of Mayenne was preparing to march to the relief of the city
+with an army of Spaniards. Henry resolved to make an attempt to take
+the city by assault before their arrival. The hour was fixed at
+midnight, on the 24th of July. Henry watched the sublime and terrific
+spectacle from an observatory reared on the heights of Montmartre. In
+ten massive columns the Royalists made the fierce onset. The besieged
+were ready for them, with artillery loaded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>to the muzzle and with
+lighted torches. An eye-witness thus describes the spectacle:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The immense city seemed instantly to blaze with conflagrations, or
+rather by an infinity of mines sprung in its heart. Thick whirlwinds
+of smoke, pierced at intervals by flashes and long lines of flame,
+covered the doomed city. The blackness of darkness at one moment
+enveloped it. Again it blazed forth as if it were a sea of fire. The
+roar of cannon, the clash of arms, and the shouts of the combatants
+added to the horrors of the night."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The suburbs taken.<br />The Duchess of Montpensier.</div>
+
+<p>By this attack all of the suburbs were taken, and the condition of the
+besieged rendered more hopeless and miserable. There is no siege upon
+record more replete with horrors. The flesh of the dead was eaten. The
+dry bones of the cemetery were ground up for bread. Starving mothers
+ate their children. It is reported that the Duchess of Montpensier was
+offered three thousand crowns for her dog. She declined the offer,
+saying that she should keep it to eat herself as her last resource.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Great clemency of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The compassion of Henry triumphed again and again over his military
+firmness. He allowed the women and children to leave the city, then
+the ecclesiastics, then the starving poor, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>then the starving rich.
+Each of these acts of generosity added to the strength of his foes.
+The famished Leaguers were now in a condition to make but a feeble
+resistance. Henry was urged to take the city by storm. He could easily
+do this, but fearful slaughter would be the inevitable result. For
+this reason Henry refused, saying,</p>
+
+<p>"I am their father and their king. I can not hear the recital of their
+woes without the deepest sympathy. I would gladly relieve them. I can
+not prevent those who are possessed with the fury of the League from
+perishing, but to those who seek my clemency I must open my arms."</p>
+
+<p>Early in August, more than thirty thousand within the walls of the
+city had perished by famine. Mayenne now marched to the relief of
+Paris. Henry, unwisely, military critics say, raised the siege and
+advanced to meet him, hoping to compel him to a decisive battle.
+Mayenne skillfully avoided a battle, and still more skillfully threw
+abundant supplies into the city.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Murmurs in the camp.</div>
+
+<p>And now loud murmurs began to arise in the camp of Henry. Many of the
+most influential of the Catholics who adhered to his cause,
+disheartened by this result and by the indications <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>of an endless war,
+declared that it was in vain to hope that any Protestant could be
+accepted as King of France. The soldiers could not conceal their
+discouragement, and the cause of the king was involved anew in gloom.</p>
+
+<p>Still Henry firmly kept the field, and a long series of conflicts
+ensued between detachments of the Royalist army and portions of the
+Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Mayenne and the Duke
+of Parma. The energy of the king was roused to the utmost. Victory
+accompanied his marches, and his foes were driven before him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Desultory warfare.<br />Awful condition of France.</div>
+
+<p>The winter of 1591 had now arrived, and still unhappy France was one
+wide and wasted battle-field. Confusion, anarchy, and misery every
+where reigned. Every village had its hostile partisans. Catholic
+cities were besieged by Protestants, and Protestant towns by
+Catholics. In the midst of these terrible scenes, Henry had caught a
+glimpse, at the chateau of C&oelig;uvres, of the beautiful face of
+Gabrielle d'Estr&eacute;es. Ignobly yielding to a guilty passion, he again
+forgot the great affairs of state and the woes of his distracted
+country in the pursuit of this new amour. The history of this period
+contains but a monotonous record of the siege of innumerable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>towns,
+with all the melancholy accompaniments of famine and blood. Summer
+came and went, and hardly a sound of joy was heard amid all the hills
+and valleys of beautiful but war-scathed France.</p>
+
+<p>There was great division existing among the partisans of the League,
+there being several candidates for the throne. There was but one cause
+of division in the ranks of Henry. That he was the legitimate
+sovereign all admitted. It was evident to all that, would Henry but
+abjure Protestantism and embrace the Catholic faith, nearly all
+opposition to him would instantly cease. Many pamphlets were issued by
+the priests urging the iniquity of sustaining a <i>heretic</i> upon the
+throne. The Pope had not only anathematized the heretical sovereign,
+but had condemned to eternal flames all who should maintain his cause.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Attempts to conciliate the Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>Henry had no objection to Catholicism. It was the religion of five
+sixths of his subjects. He was now anxious to give his adherence to
+that faith, could he contrive some way to do it with decency. He
+issued many decrees to conciliate the Romanists. He proclaimed that he
+had never yet had time to examine the subject of religious faith; that
+he was anxious for instruction; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>that he was ready to submit to the
+decision of a council; and that under no circumstances would he suffer
+any change in France detrimental to the Catholic religion. At the same
+time, with energy which reflects credit upon his name, he declared the
+bull fulminated against him by Gregory XIV. as abusive, seditious, and
+damnable, and ordered it to be burned by the public hangman.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Curious challenge.</div>
+
+<p>By the middle of November, 1591, Henry, with an army of thirty-five
+thousand men, surrounded the city of Rouen. Queen Elizabeth had again
+sent him aid. The Earl of Essex joined the royal army with a retinue
+whose splendor amazed the impoverished nobles of France. His own
+gorgeous dress, and the caparisons of his steed, were estimated to be
+worth sixty thousand crowns of gold. The garrison of Rouen was under
+the command of Governor Villars. Essex sent a curious challenge to
+Villars, that if he would meet him on horseback or on foot, in armor
+or doublet, he would maintain against him man to man, twenty to
+twenty, or sixty to sixty. To this defiance the earl added, "I am thus
+ready to prove that the cause of the king is better than that of the
+League, that Essex is a braver man than Villars, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>that my mistress
+is more beautiful than yours." Villars declined the challenge,
+declaring, however, that the three assertions were false, but that he
+did not trouble himself much about the respective beauty of their
+mistresses.</p>
+
+<p>The weary siege continued many weeks, varied with fierce sallies and
+bloody skirmishes. Henry labored in the trenches like a common
+soldier, and shared every peril. He was not wise in so doing, for his
+life was of far too much value to France to be thus needlessly
+periled.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">A new dynasty contemplated.</div>
+
+<p>The influential Leaguers in Paris now formed the plan to found a new
+dynasty in France by uniting in marriage the young Duke of Guise&mdash;son
+of Henry of Guise who had been assassinated&mdash;with Isabella, the
+daughter of Philip II., King of Spain. This secured for their cause
+all the energies of the Spanish monarchy. This plan immediately
+introduced serious discord between Mayenne and his Spanish allies, as
+Mayenne hoped for the crown for himself. About the same time Pope
+Gregory XIV. died, still more depressing the prospects of Mayenne;
+but, with indomitable vigor of intrigue and of battle, he still
+continued to guide the movements of the League, and to watch for
+opportunities to secure for himself the crown of France.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Trouble in the camp of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The politics of the nation were now in an inextricable labyrinth of
+confusion. Henry IV. was still sustained by the Protestants, though
+they were ever complaining that he favored too much the Catholics. He
+was also sustained by a portion of the moderate Catholics. They were,
+however, quite lukewarm in their zeal, and were importunately
+demanding that he should renounce the Protestant faith and avow
+himself a Catholic, or they would entirely abandon him. The Swiss and
+Germans in his ranks were filling the camp with murmurs, demanding
+their arrears of pay. The English troops furnished him by Elizabeth
+refused to march from the coast to penetrate the interior.</p>
+
+<p>The League was split into innumerable factions, some in favor of
+Mayenne, others supporting the young Cardinal of Bourbon, and others
+still advocating the claims of the young Duke of Guise and the Infanta
+of Spain. They were all, however, united by a common detestation of
+Protestantism and an undying devotion to the Church of Rome.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Motives for abjuring Protestantism.</div>
+
+<p>In the mean time, though the siege of Rouen was pressed with great
+vigor, all efforts to take the place were unavailing. Henry was
+repeatedly baffled and discomfited, and it became daily <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>more evident
+that, as a Protestant, he never could occupy a peaceful throne in
+Catholic France. Even many of the Protestant leaders, who were
+politicians rather than theologians, urged Henry to become a Catholic,
+as the only possible means of putting an end to this cruel civil war.
+They urged that while his adoption of the Catholic faith would
+reconcile the Catholics, the Protestants, confiding in the freedom of
+faith and worship which his just judgment would secure to them, would
+prefer him for their sovereign to any other whom they could hope to
+obtain. Thus peace would be restored to distracted France. Henry
+listened with a willing mind to these suggestions. To give assurance
+to the Catholics of his sincerity, he sent embassadors to Rome to
+treat with the Pope in regard to his reconciliation with the Church.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_XI" id="Chapter_XI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Conversion of the King.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1593-1595</p>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">his</span> bloody war of the succession had now desolated France for four
+years. The Duke of Sully, one of the most conspicuous of the political
+Calvinists, was at last induced to give his influence to lead the king
+to accept the Catholic faith. Sully had been Henry's companion from
+childhood. Though not a man of deep religious convictions, he was one
+of the most illustrious of men in ability, courage, and integrity.
+Conversing with Henry upon the distracted affairs of state, he said,
+one day,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Advice of the Duke of Sully.</div>
+
+<p>"That you should wait for me, being a Protestant, to counsel you to go
+to mass, is a thing you should not do, although I will boldly declare
+to you that it is the prompt and easy way of destroying all malign
+projects. You will thus meet no more enemies, sorrows, nor
+difficulties <i>in this world</i>. As to the <i>other world</i>," he continued,
+smiling, "I can not answer for that."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Perplexity of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The king continued in great perplexity. He felt that it was degrading
+to change his religion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>upon apparent compulsion, or for the
+accomplishment of any selfish purpose. He knew that he must expose
+himself to the charge of apostasy and of hypocrisy in affirming a
+change of belief, even to accomplish so meritorious a purpose as to
+rescue a whole nation from misery. These embarrassments to a
+vacillating mind were terrible.</p>
+
+<p>Early one morning, before rising, he sent for Sully. The duke found
+the king sitting up in his bed, "scratching his head in great
+perplexity." The political considerations in favor of the change urged
+by the duke could not satisfy fully the mind of the king. He had still
+some conscientious scruples, imbibed from the teachings of a pious and
+sainted mother. The illustrious warrior, financier, and diplomatist
+now essayed the availability of theological considerations, and urged
+the following argument of Jesuitical shrewdness:</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Theological argument of Sully.</div>
+
+<p>"I hold it certain," argued the duke, "that whatever be the exterior
+form of the religion which men profess, if they live in the
+observation of the Decalogue, believe in the Creed of the apostles,
+love God with all their heart, have charity toward their neighbor,
+hope in the mercy of God, and to obtain salvation by the death,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>merits, and justice of Jesus Christ, they can not fail to be saved."</p>
+
+<p>Henry caught eagerly at this plausible argument. The Catholics say
+that no Protestant can be saved, but the Protestants admit that a
+Catholic may be, if in heart honest, just, and true. The sophistry of
+the plea in behalf of an <i>insincere</i> renunciation of faith is too
+palpable to influence any mind but one eager to be convinced. The king
+was counseled to obey the Decalogue, which <i>forbids false witness</i>,
+while at the same time he was to be guilty of an act of fraud and
+hypocrisy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis.</div>
+
+<p>But Henry had another counselor. Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis,
+had imbibed from his mother's lips a knowledge of the religion of
+Jesus Christ. His soul was endowed by nature with the most noble
+lineaments, and he was, if man can judge, a devoted and exalted
+Christian. There was no one, in those stormy times, more illustrious
+as a warrior, statesman, theologian, and orator. "We can not," says a
+French writer, "indicate a species of merit in which he did not excel,
+except that he did not advance his own fortune." When but twelve years
+of age, a priest exhorted him to beware of the opinions of the
+Protestants.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Inflexible integrity of Mornay.</div>
+
+<p>"I am resolved," Philip replied, firmly, "to remain steadfast in what
+I have learned of the service of God. When I doubt any point, I will
+diligently examine the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles."</p>
+
+<p>His uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims, advised him to read the fathers
+of the Church, and promised him the revenues of a rich abbey and the
+prospect of still higher advancement if he would adhere to the
+Catholic religion. Philip read the fathers and declined the bribe,
+saying,</p>
+
+<p>"I must trust to God for what I need."</p>
+
+<p>Almost by a miracle he had escaped the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and
+fled to England. The Duke of Anjou, who had become King of Poland,
+wishing to conciliate the Protestants, wrote to Mornay in his poverty
+and exile, proposing to him a place in his ministry. The noble man
+replied,</p>
+
+<p>"I will never enter the service of those who have shed the blood of my
+brethren."</p>
+
+<p>He soon joined the feeble court of the King of Navarre, and adhered
+conscientiously, through all vicissitudes, to the Protestant cause.
+Henry IV. was abundantly capable of appreciating such a character, and
+he revered and loved Mornay. His services were invaluable to Henry,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>for he seemed to be equally skillful in nearly all departments of
+knowledge and of business. He could with equal facility guide an army,
+construct a fortress, and write a theological treatise. Many of the
+most important state papers of Henry IV. he hurriedly wrote upon the
+field of battle or beneath his wind-shaken tent. Henry III., on one
+occasion, had said to him,</p>
+
+<p>"How can a man of your intelligence and ability be a Protestant? Have
+you never read the Catholic doctors?"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Mornay's reply to Henry III.</div>
+
+<p>"Not only have I read the Catholic doctors," Mornay replied, "but I
+have read them with eagerness; for I am flesh and blood like other
+men, and I was not born without ambition. I should have been very glad
+to find something to flatter my conscience that I might participate in
+the favors and honors you distribute, and from which my religion
+excludes me; but, above all, I find something which fortifies my
+faith, and the world must yield to conscience."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Attempt to bribe Mornay.</div>
+
+<p>The firm Christian principles of Philip of Mornay were now almost the
+only barrier which stood in the way of the conversion of Henry. The
+Catholic lords offered Mornay twenty thousand crowns of gold if he
+would no more awaken the scruples of the king. Nobly he replied,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p><p>"The conscience of my master is not for sale, neither is mine."</p>
+
+<p>Great efforts were then made to alienate Henry from his faithful
+minister. Mornay by chance one day entered the cabinet of the king,
+where his enemies were busy in their cabals. In the boldness of an
+integrity which never gave him cause to blush, he thus addressed them
+in the presence of the sovereign:</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">His address to the courtiers.</div>
+
+<p>"It is hard, gentlemen, to prevent the king my master from speaking to
+his faithful servant. The proposals which I offer the king are such
+that I can pronounce them distinctly before you all. I propose to him
+to serve God with a good conscience; to keep Him in view in every
+action; to quiet the schism which is in his state by a holy
+reformation of the Church, and to be an example for all Christendom
+during all time to come. Are these things to be spoken in a corner? Do
+you wish me to counsel him to go to mass? With what conscience shall I
+advise if I do not first go myself? And what is religion, if it can be
+laid aside like a shirt?"</p>
+
+<p>The Catholic nobles felt the power of this moral courage and
+integrity, and one of them, Marshal d'Aumont, yielding to a generous
+impulse, exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p><p>"You are better than we are, Monsieur Mornay; and if I said, two days
+ago, that it was necessary to give you a pistol-shot in the head, I
+say to-day entirely the contrary, and that you should have a statue."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Indecision of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>Henry, however, was a politician, not a Christian; and nothing is more
+amazing than the deaf ear which even apparently good men can turn to
+the pleadings of conscience when they are involved in the mazes of
+political ambition. The process of conversion was, for decency's sake,
+protracted and ostentatious. As Henry probably had no fixed religious
+principles, he could with perhaps as much truth say that he was a
+Catholic as that he was a Protestant.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Process of conversion.</div>
+
+<p>On the 23d of July the king listened to a public argument, five hours
+in length, from the Archbishop of Bourges, upon the points of
+essential difference between the two antagonistic creeds. Henry found
+the reasoning of the archbishop most comfortably persuasive, and,
+having separated himself for a time from Mornay, he professed to be
+solemnly convinced that the Roman Catholic faith was the true
+religion. Those who knew Henry the best declare that he was sincere in
+the change, and his subsequent life seems certainly to indicate that
+he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>was so. The Duke of Sully, who refused to follow Henry into the
+Catholic Church, records,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Sully.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"As uprightness and sincerity formed the depth of his heart, as they
+did of his words, I am persuaded that nothing would have been capable
+of making him embrace a religion which he internally despised, or of
+which he even doubted."</p></div>
+
+<p>In view of this long interview with the Archbishop of Bourges, Henry
+wrote to the frail but beautiful Gabrielle d'Estr&eacute;es,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Gabrielle d'Estr&eacute;es.<br />Influence of Gabrielle.</div>
+
+<p>"I began this morning to speak to the bishops. On Sunday I shall take
+the perilous leap." The king's connection with Gabrielle presented
+another strong motive to influence his conversion. Henry, when a mere
+boy, had been constrained by political considerations to marry the
+worthless and hateful sister of Charles IX. For the wife thus coldly
+received he never felt an emotion of affection. She was an unblushing
+profligate. The king, in one of his campaigns, met the beautiful
+maiden Gabrielle in the chateau of her father. They both immediately
+loved each other, and a relation prohibited by the divine law soon
+existed between them. Never, perhaps, was there a better excuse for
+unlawful love. But guilt ever brings woe. Neither <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>party were happy.
+Gabrielle felt condemned and degraded, and urged the king to obtain a
+divorce from the notoriously profligate Marguerite of Valois, that
+their union might be sanctioned by the rites of religion. Henry loved
+Gabrielle tenderly. Her society was his chiefest joy, and it is said
+that he ever remained faithful to her. He was anxious for a divorce
+from Marguerite, and for marriage with Gabrielle. But this divorce
+could only be obtained through the Pope. Hence Gabrielle exerted all
+her influence to lead the king into the Church, that this most desired
+end might be attained.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Abjuration of Protestantism.</div>
+
+<p>The king now openly proclaimed his readiness to renounce Protestantism
+and to accept the Papal Creed. The Catholic bishops prepared an act of
+abjuration, rejecting, very decisively, one after another, every
+distinguishing article of the Protestant faith. The king glanced his
+eye over it, and instinctively recoiled from an act which he seemed to
+deem humiliating. He would only consent to sign a very brief
+declaration, in six lines, of his return to the Church of Rome. The
+paper, however, which he had rejected, containing the emphatic
+recantation of every article of the Protestant faith, was sent to the
+Pope with the forged signature of the king.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Public adoption of the Catholic faith.</div>
+
+<p>The final act of renunciation was public, and was attended with much
+dramatic pomp, in the great church of St. Denis. It was Sunday, the
+twenty-fifth of July, 1593. The immense cathedral was richly
+decorated. Flowers were scattered upon the pavements, and garlands and
+banners festooned the streets and the dwellings.</p>
+
+<p>At eight o'clock in the morning Henry presented himself before the
+massive portals of the Cathedral. He was dressed in white satin, with
+a black mantle and chapeau. The white plume, which both pen and pencil
+have rendered illustrious, waved from his hat. He was surrounded by a
+gorgeous retinue of nobles and officers of the crown. Several
+regiments of soldiers, in the richest uniform, preceded and followed
+him as he advanced toward the church. Though a decree had been issued
+strictly prohibiting the populace from being present at the ceremony,
+an immense concourse thronged the streets, greeting the monarch with
+enthusiastic cries of "<i>Vive le roi!</i>"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 291-2]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i288.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="360" alt="THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Ceremony in the Church of St. Denis.</div>
+
+<p>The Archbishop of Bourges was seated at the entrance of the church in
+a chair draped with white damask. The Cardinal of Bourbon, and several
+bishops glittering in pontifical robes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>composed his brilliant retinue. The monks of St. Denis were also in
+attendance, clad in their sombre attire, bearing the cross, the
+Gospels, and the holy water. Thus the train of the exalted dignitary
+of the Church even eclipsed in splendor the suite of the king.</p>
+
+<p>As Henry approached the door of the church, the archbishop, as if to
+repel intrusion, imperiously inquired,</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am the king," Henry modestly replied.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you desire?" demanded the archbishop.</p>
+
+<p>"I ask," answered the king, "to be received into the bosom of the
+Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you desire this <i>sincerely</i>?" rejoined the archbishop.</p>
+
+<p>"I do," the king replied. Then kneeling at the feet of the prelate, he
+pronounced the following oath:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I protest and swear, in the presence of Almighty God, to live and die
+in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion; to protect and defend
+it against all its enemies at the hazard of my blood and life,
+renouncing all heresies contrary to it."</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p><p>The king then placed a copy of this oath in writing in the hands of
+the archbishop, and kissed the consecrated ring upon his holy finger.
+Then entering the Cathedral, he received the absolution of his sins
+and the benediction of the Church. A <i>Te Deum</i> was then sung, high
+mass was solemnized, and thus the imposing ceremony was terminated.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Alleged sincerity of the king.</div>
+
+<p>It is easy to treat this whole affair as a farce. The elements of
+ridicule are abundant. But it was by no means a farce in the vast
+influences which it evolved. Catholic historians have almost
+invariably assumed that the king acted in perfect good faith, being
+fully convinced by the arguments of the Church. Even Henry's
+Protestant friend, the Duke of Sully, remarks,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I should betray the cause of truth if I suffered it even to be
+suspected that policy, the threats of the Catholics, the fatigue of
+labor, the desire of rest, and of freeing himself from the tyranny of
+foreigners, or even the good of the people, had entirely influenced
+the king's resolution. As far as I am able to judge of the heart of
+this prince, which I believe I know better than any other person, it
+was, indeed, these considerations which first hinted to him the
+necessity of his conversion; but, in the end, he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>became convinced in
+his own mind that the Catholic religion was the safest."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Other motives assigned.</div>
+
+<p>Others have affirmed that it was a shameful act of apostasy, in which
+the king, stimulated by ambition and unlawful love, stooped to
+hypocrisy, and feigned a conversion which in heart he despised. He is
+represented as saying, with levity,</p>
+
+<p>"Paris is well worth a mass."</p>
+
+<p>Others still assert that Henry was humanely anxious to arrest the
+horrors of civil war; to introduce peace to distracted France, and to
+secure the Protestants from oppression. His acceptance of the Catholic
+faith was the only apparent way of accomplishing these results. Being
+a humane man, but not a man of established Christian principle, he
+deemed it his duty to pursue the course which would accomplish such
+results. The facts, so far as known, are before the reader, and each
+one can form his own judgment.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Political effects of Henry's conversion.</div>
+
+<p>The announcement throughout the kingdom that Henry had become a
+Catholic almost immediately put an end to the civil war. Incited by
+the royal example, many of the leading Protestants, nobles and
+gentlemen, also renounced Protestantism, and conformed to the religion
+of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>the state. The chiefs of the League, many of whom were ambitious
+political partisans rather than zealous theologians, and who were
+clamorous for Catholicism only as the means of obtaining power, at
+once relinquished all hope of victory. For a time, however, they still
+assumed a hostile attitude, and heaped unmeasured ridicule upon what
+they styled the feigned conversion of the king. They wished to compel
+the monarch to purchase their adhesion at as dear a price as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Many important cities surrendered to the royal cause under the
+stipulation that the preaching of the Protestants should be utterly
+prohibited in their precincts and suburbs. Even the Pope, Clement
+VIII., a weak and bigoted man, for a time refused to ratify the act of
+the Archbishop of Bourges in absolving Henry from the pains and
+penalties of excommunication. He forbade the envoy of Henry to
+approach the Vatican. The Duke of Nevers, who was the appointed envoy,
+notwithstanding this prohibition, persisted in his endeavors to obtain
+an audience; but the Pope was anxious to have the crown of France in
+the possession of one whose Catholic zeal could not be questioned. He
+would much have preferred to see the fanatic <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>Duke of Mayenne upon the
+throne, or to have promoted the Spanish succession. He therefore
+treated the Duke of Nevers with great indignity, and finally gave him
+an abrupt dismission.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Satisfaction of the people.<br />Ferocity of the Pope.</div>
+
+<p>But the mass of the French people, longing for repose, gladly accepted
+the conversion of the king. One after another the leaders of the
+League gave in their adhesion to the royal cause. The Duke of Mayenne,
+however, held out, Paris being still in his possession, and several
+other important cities and fortresses being garrisoned by his troops.
+The Pope, at length, having vainly done every thing in his power to
+rouse France and Catholic Europe to resist Henry, condescended to
+negotiate. His spirit may be seen in the atrocious conditions which he
+proposed. As the price of his absolution, he required that Henry
+should abrogate every edict of toleration, that he should exclude
+Protestants from all public offices, and that he should exterminate
+them from the kingdom as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>To these demands Henry promptly replied, "I should be justly accused
+of shamelessness and ingratitude if, after having received such signal
+services from the Protestants, I should thus persecute them."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Coronation of the king.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was fully aware of the influence of forms upon the imaginations
+of the people. He accordingly made preparations for his coronation.
+The event was celebrated with great pomp, in the city of Chartres, on
+the 27th of February, 1594. The Leaguers were now quite disheartened.
+Every day their ranks were diminishing. The Duke of Mayenne,
+apprehensive that his own partisans might surrender Paris to the king,
+and that thus he might be taken prisoner, on the 6th of March, with
+his wife and children, left the city, under the pretense of being
+called away by important business.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Paris secretly surrendered.</div>
+
+<p>Three hours after midnight of the 21st of the month the gates were
+secretly thrown open, and a body of the king's troops entered the
+metropolis. They marched rapidly along the silent streets, hardly
+encountering the slightest opposition. Before the morning dawned they
+had taken possession of the bridges, the squares, and the ramparts,
+and their cannon were planted so as to sweep all the important streets
+and avenues.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The entry to Paris.</div>
+
+<p>The citizens, aroused by the tramp of infantry and of cavalry, and by
+the rumbling of the heavy artillery over the pavements, rose from
+their beds, and crowded the windows, and thronged <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>the streets. In the
+early dawn, the king, accompanied by the officers of his staff,
+entered the capital. He was dressed in the garb of a civilian, and was
+entirely unarmed. All were ready to receive him. Shouts of "Peace!
+peace! Long live the king!" reverberated in tones of almost delirious
+joy through the thoroughfares of the metropolis. Henry thus advanced
+through the ranks of the rejoicing people to the great cathedral of
+Notre Dame, where mass was performed. He then proceeded to the royal
+palace of the Louvre, which his officers had already prepared for his
+reception. All the bells of the city rung their merriest chimes, bands
+of music pealed forth their most exultant strains, and the air was
+rent with acclamations as the king, after all these long and bloody
+wars, thus peacefully took possession of the capital of his kingdom.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Noble conduct.</div>
+
+<p>In this hour of triumph Henry manifested the most noble clemency. He
+issued a decree declaring that no citizen who had been in rebellion
+against him should be molested. Even the Spanish troops who were in
+the city to fight against him were permitted to depart with their arms
+in their hands. As they defiled through the gate of St. Denis, the
+king stood by a window, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>and, lifting his hat, respectfully saluted
+the officers. They immediately approached the magnanimous monarch,
+and, bending the knee, thanked him feelingly for his great clemency.
+The king courteously replied,</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, gentlemen, adieu! Commend me to your master, and go in peace,
+but do not come back again."</p>
+
+<p>La Noue, one of Henry's chief supporters, as he was entering the city,
+had his baggage attached for an old debt. Indignantly he hastened to
+the king to complain of the outrage. The just monarch promptly but
+pleasantly replied,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Justice of Henry IV.</div>
+
+<p>"We must pay our debts, La Noue. I pay mine." Then drawing his
+faithful servant aside, he gave him his jewels to pledge for the
+deliverance of his baggage. The king was so impoverished that he had
+not money sufficient to pay the debt.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Joy in Paris.</div>
+
+<p>These principles of justice and magnanimity, which were instinctive
+with the king, and which were daily manifested in multiplied ways,
+soon won to him nearly all hearts. All France had writhed in anguish
+through years of war and misery. Peace, the greatest of all earthly
+blessings, was now beginning to diffuse its joys. The happiness of the
+Parisians amounted almost to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>transport. It was difficult for the king
+to pass through the streets, the crowd so thronged him with their
+acclamations. Many other important towns soon surrendered. But the
+haughty Duke of Mayenne refused to accept the proffered clemency, and,
+strengthened by the tremendous spiritual power of the head of the
+Church, still endeavored to arouse the energies of Papal fanaticism in
+Flanders and in Spain.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Reconciliation with the Pope.</div>
+
+<p>Soon, however, the Pope became convinced that all further resistance
+would be in vain. It was but compromising his dignity to be
+vanquished, and he accordingly decided to accept reconciliation. In
+yielding to this, the Pope stooped to the following silly farce, quite
+characteristic of those days of darkness and delusion. It was deemed
+necessary that the king should do penance for his sins before he could
+be received to the bosom of holy mother Church. It was proper that the
+severe mother should chastise her wayward child. "Whom the Lord loveth
+he chasteneth."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry chastised by proxy.</div>
+
+<p>It was the sixteenth of September, 1595. The two embassadors of Henry
+IV. kneeled upon the vestibule of one of the churches in Rome as
+unworthy to enter. In strains of affected penitence, they chanted the
+<i>Miserere</i>&mdash;"Have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>mercy, Lord." At the close of every verse they
+received, in the name of their master, the blows of a little switch on
+their shoulders. The king, having thus made expiation for his sins,
+through the reception of this chastisement by proxy, and having thus
+emphatically acknowledged the authority of the sacred mother, received
+the absolution of the vicar of Christ, and was declared to be worthy
+of the loyalty of the faithful.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The farce.</div>
+
+<p>We have called this a <i>farce</i>. And yet can it be justly called so? The
+proud spirit of the king must indeed have been humiliated ere he could
+have consented to such a degradation. The spirit ennobled can bid
+defiance to any amount of corporeal pain. It is ignominy alone which
+can punish the soul. The Pope triumphed; the monarch was flogged. It
+is but just to remark that the friends of Henry deny that he was
+accessory to this act of humiliation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Cause of the war.<br />The Protestants still persecuted.<br />Scene of massacre.</div>
+
+<p>The atrocious civil war, thus virtually, for a time, terminated, was
+caused by the Leaguers, who had bound themselves together in a <i>secret
+society</i> for the persecution of the Protestants. Their demand was
+inexorable that the Protestants throughout France should be proscribed
+and exterminated. The Protestants were compelled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>to unite in
+self-defense. They only asked for liberty to worship God according to
+their understanding of the teachings of the Bible. Henry, to
+conciliate the Catholics, was now compelled to yield to many of their
+claims which were exceedingly intolerant. He did this very
+unwillingly, for it was his desire to do every thing in his power to
+meliorate the condition of his Protestant friends. But,
+notwithstanding all the kind wishes of the king, the condition of the
+Protestants was still very deplorable. Public opinion was vehemently
+against them. The magistrates were every where their foes, and the
+courts of justice were closed against all their appeals. Petty
+persecution and tumultuary violence in a thousand forms annoyed them.
+During the year of Henry's coronation, a Protestant congregation in
+Chalaigneraie was assailed by a Catholic mob instigated by the
+Leaguers, and two hundred men, women, and children were massacred. A
+little boy eight years old, in the simplicity of his heart, offered
+eight coppers which he had in his pocket to ransom his life; but the
+merciless fanatics struck him down. Most of these outrages were
+committed with entire impunity. The king had even felt himself forced
+to take the oath, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>"I will endeavor with all my power, in good faith,
+to drive from my jurisdiction and estates all the heretics denounced
+by the Church."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Dissatisfaction of both Catholics and Protestants.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants, finding themselves thus denounced as enemies, and
+being cut off from all ordinary privileges and from all common
+justice, decided, for mutual protection, vigorously to maintain their
+political organization. The king, though he feigned to be displeased,
+still encouraged them to do so. Though the Protestants were few in
+numbers, they were powerful in intelligence, rank, and energy; and in
+their emergencies, the strong arm of England was ever generously
+extended for their aid. The king was glad to avail himself of their
+strength to moderate the intolerant demands of the Leaguers. Many of
+the Protestants complained bitterly that the king had abandoned them.
+On the other hand, the haughty leaders of the League clamored loudly
+that the king was not a true son of the Church, and, in multiform
+conspiracies, they sought his death by assassination.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Complaints of the Reformed Churches of France.</div>
+
+<p>The Protestants held several large assemblies in which they discussed
+their affairs. They drew up an important document&mdash;an address to the
+king, entitled, "Complaints of the Reformed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>Churches of France." Many
+pages were filled with a narrative of the intolerable grievances they
+endured. This paper contained, in conclusion, the following noble
+words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"And yet, sire, we have among us no Jacobins or Jesuits who
+wish for your life, or Leaguers who aspire to your crown. We
+have never presented, instead of petitions, the points of
+our swords. We are rewarded with <i>considerations of state</i>.
+It is not yet time, they say, to grant us an edict. And yet,
+after thirty-five years of persecution, ten years of
+banishment by the edicts of the League, eight years of the
+king's reign, four years of proscription, we are still under
+the necessity of imploring from your majesty an edict which
+shall allow us to enjoy what is common to all your subjects.
+The sole glory of God, the liberty of our consciences, the
+repose of the state, the security of our property and our
+lives&mdash;this is the summit of our wishes, and the end of our
+requests."</p></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Chapter_XII" id="Chapter_XII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XII.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Reign and Death of Henry IV.</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center">1596-1610</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Mayenne professes reconciliation.</div>
+
+<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">he</span> reconciliation of the king with the Pope presented a favorable
+opportunity for the Duke of Mayenne, consistently with his pride, to
+abandon the hopeless conflict. He declared that, as the Pope had
+accepted the conversion of the king, all his scruples were removed,
+and that he could now conscientiously accept him as the sovereign of
+France. But the power of the haughty duke may be seen in the terms he
+exacted.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Terms exacted by the duke.</div>
+
+<p>The king was compelled to declare, though he knew to the contrary,
+that, all things considered, it was evident that neither the princes
+nor the princesses of the League were at all implicated in the
+assassination of Henry III., and to stop all proceedings in Parliament
+in reference to that atrocious murder. Three fortified cities were
+surrendered to the duke, to be held by him and his partisans for six
+years, in pledge for the faithful observance of the terms of the
+capitulation. The king also assumed all the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>debts which Mayenne had
+contracted during the war, and granted a term of six weeks to all the
+Leaguers who were still in arms to give in their adhesion and to
+accept his clemency.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Interview between Henry and the duke.</div>
+
+<p>The king was at this time at Monceaux. The Duke of Mayenne hastened to
+meet him. He found Henry riding on horseback in the beautiful park of
+that place with the fair Gabrielle, and accompanied by the Duke of
+Sully. Mayenne, in compliance with the obsequious etiquette of those
+days, kneeled humbly before the king, embraced his knees, and,
+assuring him of his entire devotion for the future, thanked the
+monarch for having delivered him "from the arrogance of the Spaniards
+and from the cunning of the Italians."</p>
+
+<p>Henry, who had a vein of waggery about him, immediately raised the
+duke, embraced him with the utmost cordiality, and, taking his arm,
+without any allusion whatever to their past difficulties, led him
+through the park, pointing out to him, with great volubility and
+cheerfulness, the improvements he was contemplating.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry's revenge.</div>
+
+<p>Henry was a well-built, vigorous man, and walked with great rapidity.
+Mayenne was excessively corpulent, and lame with the gout. With the
+utmost difficulty he kept up with the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>king, panting, limping, and his
+face blazing with the heat. Henry, with sly malice, for some time
+appeared not to notice the sufferings of his victim; then, with a
+concealed smile, he whispered to Sully,</p>
+
+<p>"If I walk this great fat body much longer, I shall avenge myself
+without any further trouble." Then turning to Mayenne, he added, "Tell
+me the truth, cousin, do I not walk a little too fast for you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sire," exclaimed the puffing duke, "I am almost dead with fatigue."</p>
+
+<p>"There's my hand," exclaimed the kind-hearted king, again cordially
+embracing the duke. "Take it, for, on my life, this is all the
+vengeance I shall ever seek."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309-10]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i305.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="334" alt="THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote2">Hostility of Spain and Flanders.</div>
+
+<p>There were still parts of the kingdom which held out against Henry,
+and Spain and Flanders freely supplied men and ammunition to the
+fragments of the League. Calais was in the hands of the enemy. Queen
+Elizabeth of England had ceased to take much interest in the conflict
+since the king had gone over to the Catholics. When Calais was
+besieged by the foe, before its surrender she offered to send her
+fleet for its protection if Henry would give the city to her. Henry
+tartly replied, "I had rather <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>be plundered by my enemies than by my friends."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Calais taken by the Leaguers.</div>
+
+<p>The queen was offended, sent no succor, and Calais passed into the
+hands of the Leaguers. The king was exceedingly distressed at the loss
+of this important town. It indicated new and rising energy on the part
+of his foes. The more fanatical Catholics all over the kingdom, who
+had never been more than half reconciled to Henry, were encouraged to
+think that, after all their defeats, resistance might still be
+successful. The heroic energies of the king were, however, not
+depressed by this great disaster. When its surrender was announced,
+turning to the gentlemen of his court, he calmly said,</p>
+
+<p>"My friends, there is no remedy. Calais is taken, but we must not lose
+our courage. It is in the midst of disasters that bold men grow
+bolder. Our enemies have had their turn. With God's blessing, who has
+never abandoned me when I have prayed to him with my whole heart, we
+shall yet have ours. At any event, I am greatly comforted by the
+conviction that I have omitted nothing that was possible to save the
+city. All of its defenders have acquitted themselves loyally and
+nobly. Let us not reproach them. On the contrary, let us do honor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>to
+their generous defense. And now let us rouse our energies to retake
+the city, that it may remain in the hands of the Spaniards not so many
+days as our ancestors left it years in the hands of the English."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Movement of the nobles.</div>
+
+<p>A large body of the nobles now combined to extort from the king some
+of the despotic feudal privileges which existed in the twelfth
+century. They thought that in this hour of reverse Henry would be glad
+to purchase their powerful support by surrendering many of the
+prerogatives of the crown. After holding a meeting, they appointed the
+Duke of Montpensier, who was very young and self-sufficient, to
+present their demands to the king. Their plan was this, that the king
+should consent to the division of France into several large
+departments, over each of which, as a vassal prince, some
+distinguished nobleman should reign, collecting his own revenues and
+maintaining his own army. Each of these vassal nobles was to be bound,
+when required, to furnish a military contingent to their liege lord
+the king.</p>
+
+<p>Montpensier entered the presence of the monarch, and in a long
+discourse urged the insulting proposal. The king listened calmly, and
+without interrupting him, to the end. Then, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>tones unimpassioned,
+but firm and deliberate, he replied,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Energetic reply of the king.</div>
+
+<p>"My cousin, you must be insane. Such language coming from <i>you</i>, and
+addressed to <i>me</i>, leads me to think that I am in a dream. Views so
+full of insult to the sovereign, and ruin to the state, can not have
+originated in your benevolent and upright mind. Think you that the
+people, having stripped me of the august prerogatives of royalty,
+would respect in you the rights of a prince of the blood? Did I
+believe that you, in heart, desired to see me thus humiliated, I would
+teach you that such an offense is not to be committed with impunity.
+My cousin, abandon these follies. Reveal not your accomplices, but
+reply to them that you yourself have such a horror of these
+propositions that you will hold him as a deadly enemy who shall ever
+speak to you of them again."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Dark days.</div>
+
+<p>This firmness crushed the conspiracy; but still darkness and gloom
+seemed to rest upon unhappy France. The year 1596 was one of famine
+and of pestilence. "We had," says a writer of the times, "summer in
+April, autumn in May, and winter in June." In the city and in the
+country, thousands perished of starvation. Famishing multitudes
+crowded to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>gates of the city in search of food, but in the city
+the plague had broken forth. The authorities drove the mendicants back
+into the country. They carried with them the awful pestilence in every
+direction. At the same time, several attempts were made to assassinate
+the king. Though he escaped the knife of the assassin, he came near
+losing his life by a singular accident.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Singular accident.</div>
+
+<p>The Princess of Navarre, sister of the king, had accompanied him, with
+the rest of the court, into Picardy. She was taken suddenly ill. The
+king called to see her, carrying in his arms his infant son, the
+idolized child of the fair Gabrielle. While standing by the bedside of
+his sister, from some unexplained cause, the flooring gave way beneath
+them. Henry instinctively sprang upon the bed with his child.
+Providentially, that portion of the floor remained firm, while all the
+rest was precipitated with a crash into the rooms below. Neither
+Henry, his sister, or his child sustained any injury.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Deplorable state of France.<br />Poverty of the king.</div>
+
+<p>The financial condition of the empire was in a state of utter ruin&mdash;a
+ruin so hopeless that the almost inconceivable story is told that the
+king actually suffered both for food and raiment. He at times made
+himself merry with his own ragged appearance. At one time he said
+gayly, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>when the Parliament sent the president, Seguier, to
+remonstrate against a fiscal edict,</p>
+
+<p>"I only ask to be treated as they treat the monks, with food and
+clothing. Now, Mr. President, I often have not enough to eat. As for
+my habiliments, look and see how I am accoutred," and he pointed to
+his faded and thread-bare doublet.</p>
+
+<p>Le Grain, a contemporary, writes, "I have seen the king with a plain
+doublet of white stuff, all soiled by his cuirass and torn at the
+sleeve, and with well-worn breeches, unsewn on the side of the
+sword-belt."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Depression of the king.</div>
+
+<p>While the king was thus destitute, the members of the council of
+finance were practicing gross extortion, and living in extravagance.
+The king was naturally light-hearted and gay, but the deplorable
+condition of the kingdom occasionally plunged him into the deepest of
+melancholy. A lady of the court one day remarked to him that he looked
+sad.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed," he replied, "how can I be otherwise, to see a people so
+ungrateful toward their king? Though I have done and still do all I
+can for them, and though for their welfare I would willingly sacrifice
+a thousand lives had God given me so many, as I have often proved, yet
+they daily attempt my life."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span></p><p>The council insisted that it was not safe for the king to leave so
+many of the Leaguers in the city, and urged their banishment. The king
+refused, saying,</p>
+
+<p>"They are all my subjects, and I wish to love them equally."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Duke of Sully.</div>
+
+<p>The king now resolved, notwithstanding strong opposition from the
+Catholics, to place his illustrious Protestant friend, Sully, at the
+head of the ministry of finance. Sully entered upon his Herculean task
+with shrewdness which no cunning could baffle, and with integrity
+which no threat or bribe could bias. All the energies of calumny,
+malice, and violence were exhausted upon him, but this majestic man
+moved straight on, heedless of the storm, till he caused order to
+emerge from apparently inextricable confusion, and, by just and
+healthy measures, replenished the bankrupt treasury of the state.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Siege of Amiens.<br />Its capitulation.</div>
+
+<p>The king was now pushing the siege of Amiens, which had for some time
+been in the hands of his enemies. During this time he wrote to his
+devoted friend and faithful minister of finance,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am very near the enemy, yet I have scarcely a horse upon which I
+can fight, or a suit of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>armor to put on. My doublet is in holes at
+the elbows. My kettle is often empty. For these two last days I have
+dined with one and another as I could. My purveyors inform me that
+they have no longer the means of supplying my table."</p></div>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fifth of June, 1597, Amiens capitulated.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Edict of Nantes.<br />Provisions of the edict.</div>
+
+<p>One of the kings of England is said to have remarked to his son, who
+was eager to ascend the throne, "Thou little knowest, my child, what a
+heap of cares and sorrows thou graspest at." History does, indeed,
+prove that "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." New perplexities
+now burst upon the king. The Protestants, many of them irritated by
+his conversion, and by the tardy and insufficient concessions they
+received, violently demanded entire equality with the Catholics. This
+demand led to the famous Edict of Nantes. This ordinance, which
+receives its name from the place where it was published, was issued in
+the month of April, 1598. It granted to the Protestants full private
+liberty of conscience. It also permitted them to enjoy public worship
+in all places where the right was already established. Protestant
+lords of the highest rank could celebrate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>divine service in their
+castles with any number of their retainers. Nobles of the second rank
+might maintain private worship in their mansions, to which thirty
+persons could be admitted. Protestants were pronounced to be eligible
+to public office. Their children were to be admitted to the schools,
+their sick to the hospitals, and their poor to a share of the public
+charities. In a few specified places they were permitted to print
+books. Such, in the main, was the celebrated "Edict of Nantes."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Clamors of the Catholics.</div>
+
+<p>The Catholics considered this an enormous and atrocious concession to
+deadly heresy. New clamors blazed forth against Henry, as in heart
+false to the Church. The Catholic clergy, in one combined voice,
+protested against it, and Pope Clement VIII. declared the Edict of
+Nantes, which permitted <i>liberty of conscience to every one, the most
+execrable that was ever made</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Toleration slowly learned.</div>
+
+<p>It has required centuries of blood and woe to teach even a few
+individuals the true principles of religious liberty. Even in
+Protestant lands, the masses of the people have not yet fully learned
+that lesson. All over Catholic Europe, and all through the realms of
+paganism, intolerance still sways her cruel and bloody <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>sceptre. These
+miserable religious wars in France, the birth of ignorance,
+fanaticism, and depravity, for seventy years polluted the state with
+gory scaffolds and blazing stakes. Three thousand millions of dollars
+were expended in the senseless strife, and two millions of lives were
+thrown away. At the close of the war, one half of the towns and the
+majestic castles of beautiful France were but heaps of smouldering
+ruins. All industry was paralyzed. The fields were abandoned to weeds
+and barrenness. The heart and the mind of the whole nation was
+thoroughly demoralized. Poverty, emaciation, and a semi-barbarism
+deformed the whole kingdom.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Dissatisfaction of both parties.</div>
+
+<p>Neither the Catholics nor Protestants were satisfied with the Edict of
+Nantes. The Parliament of Paris, composed almost entirely of
+Catholics, for a long time refused its ratification. Henry called the
+courts before him, and insisted with kindness, but with firmness, that
+the edict should be verified.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," said he, in the long speech which he made upon the
+occasion, "there must be no more distinction between Catholics and
+Protestants. All must be good Frenchmen. Let the Catholics convert the
+Protestants by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>the example of a good life. I am a shepherd-king, who
+will not shed the blood of his sheep, but who will seek to bring them
+all with kindness into the same fold."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Progress of affairs.</div>
+
+<p>The Catholic Parliament, thus constrained, finally adopted the edict.
+The Protestants also, perceiving clearly that this was the best that
+the king could do for them, after long discussion in their Consistory,
+which was, in reality, their Parliament, finally gave in their
+adhesion. The adjoining hostile powers, having no longer a party in
+France to join them, were thus disarmed. They sent embassadors to
+promote peace. Friendly treaties were speedily formed, and Henry was
+the undisputed monarch of a kingdom in repose.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Prosperity in the kingdom.</div>
+
+<p>Henry now commenced, with great energy, the promotion of the
+prosperity of his exhausted kingdom. To check the warlike spirit which
+had so long been dominant, he forbade any of his subjects, except his
+guards, to carry arms. The army was immediately greatly reduced, and
+public expenditures so diminished as materially to lighten the weight
+of taxation. Many of the nobles claimed exemption from the tax, but
+Henry was inflexible that the public burden should be borne equally by
+all. The people, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>enjoying the long unknown blessings of peace, became
+enthusiastically grateful to their illustrious benefactor.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Henry's illness.<br />Devotion of his subjects.</div>
+
+<p>In the month of October, 1598, the king was taken dangerously ill. The
+whole nation was in a panic. The touching demonstrations which Henry
+then received of the universal love and homage of his subjects
+affected him deeply. But few men find enough happiness in this world
+to lead them to cling very tenaciously to life when apparently on a
+dying bed. Henry at this time said to his attendants,</p>
+
+<p>"I have no fear of death. I do not shrink at all from the great
+journey to the spirit land. But I greatly regret being removed from my
+beloved country before I have restored it to complete prosperity."</p>
+
+<p>Happily, the fever was subdued, and he again, with indefatigable
+diligence, resumed his labors. To discourage the extravagance of the
+nobles, he set the example of extreme economy in all his personal
+expenses. He indulged in no gaudy equipage, his table was very
+frugally served, and his dress was simple in the extreme. No man in
+the kingdom devoted more hours to labor. He met his council daily, and
+in all their conferences exhibited a degree of information,
+shrewdness, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>and of comprehensive statesmanship which astonished the
+most experienced politicians who surrounded him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Hostility of the nobles.</div>
+
+<p>It was a fierce battle which the king and his minister were compelled
+to fight for many years against the haughty nobles, who had ever
+regarded the mass of the people but as beasts of burden, made to
+contribute to their pleasure. The demands of these proud aristocrats
+were incessant and inexorable. It is a singular fact that, among them
+all, there was not a more thorough-going aristocrat than Sully
+himself. He had a perfect contempt for the people as to any power of
+self-government. They were, in his view, but sheep, to be carefully
+protected by a kind shepherd. It was as absurd, he thought, to consult
+them, as it would be for a shepherd to ask the advice of his flock.
+But Sully wished to take good care of the people, to shield them from
+all unequal burdens, from all aristocratic usurpations, and to protect
+them with inflexible justice in person and in property. His government
+was absolute in the extreme.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The Marchioness of Verneuil.</div>
+
+<p>The Marchioness of Verneuil, in a towering rage, bitterly reproached
+the duke for preventing her from receiving a monopoly from the king,
+which would have secured to her an income <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>of some five hundred
+thousand dollars a year.</p>
+
+<p>"Truly the king will be a great fool," exclaimed the enraged
+marchioness, "if he continues to follow your advice, and thus
+alienates so many distinguished families. On whom, pray, should the
+king confer favors, if not on his relatives and his influential
+friends?"</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Integrity of Sully.</div>
+
+<p>"What you say," replied the unbending minister, "would be reasonable
+enough if his majesty took the money all out of his own purse. But to
+assess a new tax upon the merchants, artisans, laborers, and country
+people will never do. It is by them that the king and all of us are
+supported, and it is enough that they provide for a master, without
+having to maintain his cousins and friends."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The slave of love.<br />The king's greatness.</div>
+
+<p>For twelve years Henry, with his illustrious minister, labored with
+unintermitted zeal for the good of France. His love of France was an
+ever-glowing and growing passion for which every thing was to be
+surrendered. Henry was great in all respects but one. He was a slave
+to the passion of love. "And no one," says Napoleon, "can surrender
+himself to the passion of love without forfeiting some palms of
+glory." This great frailty has left a stain upon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>his reputation which
+truth must not conceal, which the genius of history with sorrow
+regards, and which can never be effaced. He was a great statesman. His
+heart was warm and generous. His philanthropy was noble and
+all-embracing, and his devotion to the best welfare of France was
+sincere and intense. Witness the following memorable prayer as he was
+just entering upon a great battle:</p>
+
+<p>"O Lord, if thou meanest this day to punish me for my sins, I bow my
+head to the stroke of thy justice. Spare not the guilty. But, Lord, by
+thy holy mercy, have pity on this poor realm, and strike not the flock
+for the fault of the shepherd."</p>
+
+<p>"If God," said he at another time, "shall grant me the ordinary term
+of human life, I hope to see France in such a condition that every
+peasant shall be able to have a fowl in the pot on Sunday."</p>
+
+<p>This memorable saying shows both the benevolence of the king and the
+exceeding poverty, at that time, of the peasantry of France. Sully, in
+speaking of the corruption which had prevailed and of the measures of
+reform introduced, says,</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Financial skill of Sully.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The revenue annually paid into the royal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>treasury was thirty
+millions. It could not be, I thought, that such a sum could reduce the
+kingdom of France so low. I resolved to enter upon the immense
+investigation. To my horror, I found that for these thirty millions
+given to his majesty there were extorted from the purses of his
+subjects, I almost blush to say, one hundred and fifty millions. After
+this I was no longer ignorant whence the misery of the people
+proceeded. I applied my cares to the authors of this oppression, who
+were the governors and other officers of the army, who all, even to
+the meanest, abused, in an enormous manner, their authority over the
+people. I immediately caused a decree to be issued, by which they were
+prohibited, under great penalties, to exact any thing from the people,
+under any title whatever, without a warrant in form."</p></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Co-operation of Henry.</div>
+
+<p>The king co-operated cordially with his minister in these rigorous
+acts of reform, and shielded him with all the power of the monarchy
+from the storm of obloquy which these measures drew down upon him. The
+proud Duke of Epernon, exasperated beyond control, grossly insulted
+Sully. Henry immediately wrote to his minister, "If Epernon challenges
+you, I will be your second."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Solicitations of Gabrielle.</div>
+
+<p>The amiable, but sinning and consequently wretched Gabrielle was now
+importunate for the divorce, that she might be lawfully married to the
+king. But the children already born could not be legitimated, and
+Sully so clearly unfolded to the king the confusion which would thus
+be introduced, and the certainty that, in consequence of it, a
+disputed succession would deluge France in blood, that the king,
+ardently as he loved Gabrielle, was compelled to abandon the plan.
+Gabrielle was inconsolable, and inveighed bitterly against Sully. The
+king for a moment forgot himself, and cruelly retorted,</p>
+
+<p>"Know, woman, that a minister like Sully must be dearer to me than
+even such a friend as you."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Her death.</div>
+
+<p>This harshness broke the heart of the unhappy Gabrielle. She
+immediately left Fontainebleau, where she was at that time with the
+king, and retired to Paris, saying, as she bade Henry adieu, "We shall
+never meet again." Her words proved true. On reaching Paris she was
+seized with convulsions, gave birth to a lifeless child, and died.
+Poor Gabrielle! Let compassion drop a tear over her grave! She was by
+nature one of the most lovely and noble of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>women. She lived in a day
+of darkness and of almost universal corruption. Yielding to the
+temptation of a heroic monarch's love, she fell, and a subsequent life
+of sorrow was terminated by an awful death, probably caused by poison.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Grief of the king.</div>
+
+<p>Henry, as soon as informed of her sickness, mounted his horse to
+gallop to Paris. He had proceeded but half way when he was met by a
+courier who informed him that Gabrielle was dead. The dreadful blow
+staggered the king, and he would have fallen from his horse had he not
+been supported by his attendants. He retired to Fontainebleau, shut
+himself up from all society, and surrendered himself to the most
+bitter grief. Sully in vain endeavored to console him. It was long
+before he could turn his mind to any business. But there is no pain
+whose anguish time will not diminish. New cares and new loves at
+length engrossed the heart where Gabrielle had for a few brief years
+so supremely reigned.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The divorce.<br />Henrietta d'Entragues.</div>
+
+<p>The utterly profligate Marguerite, now that Gabrielle was dead, whom
+she of course hated, was perfectly willing to assent to a divorce.
+While arrangements were making to accomplish this end, the king
+chanced to meet a fascinating, yet pert and heartless coquette,
+Henriette <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>d'Entragues, daughter of Francis Balzac, Lord of Entragues.
+Though exceedingly beautiful, she was a calculating, soulless girl,
+who was glad of a chance to sell herself for rank and money. She thus
+readily bartered her beauty to the king, exacting, with the most cool
+financiering, as the price, a written promise that he would marry her
+as soon as he should obtain a divorce from Marguerite of Valois, upon
+condition that she, within the year, should bear him a son.</p>
+
+<p>The king, having written the promise, placed it in the hands of Sully.
+The bold minister read it, then tore it into fragments. The king,
+amazed at such boldness, exclaimed in a passion, "Sir, I believe that
+you are mad."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Bold fidelity of Sully.</div>
+
+<p>"True, sire, I am," replied Sully; "but would to God that I were the
+only madman in France."</p>
+
+<p>But Henry, notwithstanding his anger, could not part from a minister
+whose services were so invaluable. He immediately drew up another
+promise, which he placed in the hands of the despicable beauty. This
+rash and guilty pledge was subsequently the cause of great trouble to
+the king.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Marriage to Maria of Medici.</div>
+
+<p>Henry having obtained a divorce, the nation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>demanded that he should
+form a connection which should produce a suitable heir to inherit the
+throne. Thus urged, and as Henrietta did not give birth to the
+wished-for son, Henry reluctantly married, in the year 1600, Maria of
+Medici, niece of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Anecdote.</div>
+
+<p>Maria was a domineering, crafty, ambitious woman, who embittered the
+life of the king. She was very jealous, and with reason enough, of the
+continued influence of Henrietta; and the palace was the scene of
+disgraceful domestic broils. Henry, in one of his letters to Sully,
+describes the queen as "terribly robust and healthy." But when she
+gave birth to a son who was undeniably heir to the throne, thus
+allaying the fears of a disputed succession, the whole nation
+rejoiced, and Henry became somewhat reconciled to his unattractive
+spouse. The king was exceedingly fond of this child. One day the
+Spanish embassador, a dignified Castilian, was rather suddenly ushered
+into the royal presence at Fontainebleau. The monarch was on all fours
+on the floor, running about the room with the little dauphin on his
+back. Raising his eyes, he said to the embassador,</p>
+
+<p>"Are you a father?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sire," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p><p>"Then I may finish my play," said Henry, and he took another trot
+around the room.</p>
+
+<p>Henrietta and her relatives were greatly exasperated that the king did
+not fulfill his promise of marriage. The father and daughter, joined
+by the Count d'Auvergne, plotted against the king's life. They were
+arrested and condemned to death. The king, however, transmuted their
+punishment to exile.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Grand political scheme.</div>
+
+<p>One of the grandest schemes of Henry deserves particular mention.
+Reflecting deeply upon the wars with which Europe had ever been
+desolated, and seeing the occasion for this in the innumerable states
+and nations into which Europe was divided, of various degrees of
+power, and each struggling for its own selfish interest, he proposed
+to unite all the states of Europe in one vast Christian Republic. The
+whole continent was to be divided into fifteen states, as uniform in
+size and power as possible. These states were to be, according to
+their choice, monarchical or republican. They were to be associated on
+a plan somewhat resembling that of the United States of America.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Mode of preventing religious quarrels.</div>
+
+<p>Nothing can more conclusively show the entire absence of correct
+notions of religious toleration prevailing at that day than the plan
+proposed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>to prevent religious quarrels. Wherever any one form of
+faith predominated, that was to be maintained as the national faith.
+In Catholic states, there were to be no Protestants; in Protestant
+states, no Catholics. The minority, however, were not to be
+exterminated; they were only to be compelled to emigrate to the
+countries where their own form of faith prevailed. All pagans and
+Mohammedans were to be driven out of Europe into Asia. To enforce this
+change, an army of two hundred and seventy thousand infantry, fifty
+thousand cavalry, two hundred cannon, and one hundred and twenty ships
+of war, was deemed amply sufficient.</p>
+
+<p>The first step was to secure the co-operation of two or three of the
+most powerful kings of Europe. This would render success almost
+certain. Sully examined the plan with the utmost care in all its
+details. Henry wished first to secure the approval of England, Sweden,
+and Denmark.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Assassination of the king.</div>
+
+<p>But, in the midst of these schemes of grandeur, Henry was struck down
+by the hand of an assassin. On the fourteenth of May, 1610, the king
+left the Louvre at four o'clock in the afternoon to visit Sully, who
+was sick. Preparations were making for the public entry of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>the queen,
+who, after a long delay, had just been crowned. The city was thronged;
+the day was fine, and the curtains of the coach were drawn up. Several
+nobles were in the spacious carriage with the king. As the coach was
+turning out of the street Honor&eacute; into the narrow street Ferronnerie,
+it was stopped by two carts which blocked up the way. Just at that
+instant a man from the crowd sprang upon a spoke of the wheel, and
+struck a dagger into the king just above the heart. Instantly
+repeating the blow, the heart was pierced. Blood gushed from the wound
+and from the mouth of the king, and, without uttering a word, he sank
+dead in the arms of his friends.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched assassin, a fanatic monk, was immediately seized by the
+guard. With difficulty they protected him from being torn to pieces by
+the infuriated people. His name was Francis Ravaillac. According to
+the savage custom of the times, he was subsequently put to death with
+the most frightful tortures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Character of Henry IV.</div>
+
+<p>The lifeless body of the king was immediately taken to the Tuileries
+and placed upon a bed. Surgeons and physicians hurried to the room
+only to gaze upon his corpse. No language can depict the grief and
+despair of France <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>at his death. He had won the love of the whole
+nation, and, to the present day, no one hears the name of Henry the
+Fourth mentioned in France but with affection. He was truly the father
+of his people. All conditions, employments, and professions were
+embraced in his comprehensive regard. He spared no toil to make France
+a happy land. He was a man of genius and of instinctive magnanimity.
+In conversation he had no rival. His profound and witty sayings which
+have been transmitted to us are sufficient to form a volume. His one
+great and almost only fault sadly tarnishes his otherwise fair and
+honorable fame.</p>
+
+<p>In Henry commenced the reign of the house of Bourbon. For nearly two
+hundred years the family retained the crown. It is now expelled, and
+the members are wandering in exile through foreign lands.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">The truth to be enforced.</div>
+
+<p>There is one great truth which this narrative enforces: it is the
+doctrine of <i>freedom of conscience</i>. It was the denial of this simple
+truth which deluged France in blood and woe. The recognition of this
+one sentiment would have saved for France hundreds of thousands of
+lives, and millions of treasure. Let us take warning. We need it.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p><p>Let us emblazon upon our banner the noble words, "<i>Toleration&mdash;perfect
+civil and religious toleration</i>." But Toleration is not a slave. It is
+a spirit of light and of liberty. It has much to give, but it has just
+as much to demand. It bears the olive-branch in one hand, and the
+gleaming sword in the other. I grant <i>to you</i>, it says, perfect
+liberty of opinion and of expression, and I demand <i>of you</i> the same.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Free speech.<br />Free press.<br />Free men.</div>
+
+<p>Let us then inscribe upon the arch which spans our glorious Union,
+making us one in its celestial embrace, "<i>Freedom of speech, freedom
+of the press, and free men</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Then shall that arch beam upon us like God's bow of promise in the
+cloud, proclaiming that this land shall never be deluged by the surges
+of civil war&mdash;that it never shall be inundated by flames and blood.</p>
+
+<p>The human mind is now so roused that it will have this liberty; and if
+there are any institutions of religion or of civil law which can not
+stand this scrutiny, they are doomed to die. The human mind will move
+with untrammeled sweep through the whole range of religious doctrine,
+and around the whole circumference and into the very centre of all
+political assumptions.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Practical application of the moral.</div>
+
+<p>If the Catholic bishop have a word to say, let <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>him say it. If some
+one, rising in the spirit and power of Martin Luther, has a reply to
+make, let him make it. Those who wish to listen to the one or the
+other, let them do so. Those who wish to close their ears, let them
+have their way.</p>
+
+<p>Our country is one. Our liberty is national. Let us then grant
+toleration every where throughout our wide domain, in Maine and in
+Georgia, amid the forests of the Aroostook and upon the plains of
+Kansas.</p>
+
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Footnote:</span></h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote">Execution of Servetus.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> In reference to the execution of Servetus for heresy, an
+event which, in the estimation of many, has seriously tarnished the
+reputation of Calvin, the celebrated French historian M. Mignet, in a
+very able dissertation, establishes the following points:
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>1. Servetus was not an ordinary heretic; he was a bold
+pantheist, and outraged the dogma of all Christian
+communions by saying that God, in three persons, was a
+Cerberus, a monster with three heads. 2. He had already been
+condemned to death by the Catholic doctors at Vienne in
+Dauphiny. 3. The affair was judged, not by Calvin, but by
+the magistrates of Geneva; and if it is objected that his
+advice must have influenced their decision, it is necessary
+to recollect that the councils of the other reformed cantons
+of Switzerland approved the sentence with a unanimous voice.
+4. It was of the utmost importance for the Reformation to
+separate distinctly its cause from that of such an
+unbeliever as Servetus. The Catholic Church, which in our
+day accuses Calvin of having participated in his
+condemnation, much more would have accused him, in the
+sixteenth century, with having solicited his acquittal.</p></div></div>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Transcriber's Note:</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise,
+every effort has been made to remain true to the original book.</p>
+
+<p>2. The sidenotes used in this text were originally published as banners in the page headers, and have been moved to the relevant paragraph
+for the reader's convenience.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Henry IV, Makers of History, by John S. C. Abbott
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+Project Gutenberg's Henry IV, Makers of History, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Henry IV, Makers of History
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29603]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY IV, MAKERS OF HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Makers of History
+
+ Henry IV.
+
+ BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT
+
+ WITH ENGRAVINGS
+
+ NEW YORK AND LONDON
+ HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
+ 1904
+
+
+
+
+ Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
+ hundred and fifty-six, by
+
+ HARPER & BROTHERS,
+
+ in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District
+ of New York.
+
+ Copyright, 1884, by SUSAN ABBOT MEAD.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+History is our Heaven-appointed instructor. It is the guide for the
+future. The calamities of yesterday are the protectors of to-day.
+
+The sea of time we navigate is full of perils. But it is not an
+unknown sea. It has been traversed for ages, and there is not a sunken
+rock or a treacherous sand-bar which is not marked by the wreck of
+those who have preceded us.
+
+There is no portion of history fraught with more valuable instruction
+than the period of those terrible religious wars which desolated the
+sixteenth century. There is no romance so wild as the veritable
+history of those times. The majestic outgoings of the Almighty, as
+developed in the onward progress of our race, infinitely transcend, in
+all the elements of profoundness, mystery, and grandeur, all that
+man's fancy can create.
+
+The cartoons of Raphael are beautiful, but what are they when compared
+with the heaving ocean, the clouds of sunset, and the pinnacles of the
+Alps? The dome of St. Peter's is man's noblest architecture, but what
+is it when compared with the magnificent rotunda of the skies?
+
+                         JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+Brunswick, Maine, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ Chapter                                                    Page
+
+    I. CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH                                   13
+
+   II. CIVIL WAR                                             45
+
+  III. THE MARRIAGE                                          68
+
+   IV. PREPARATIONS FOR MASSACRE                             93
+
+    V. MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW                          109
+
+   VI. THE HOUSES OF VALOIS, OF GUISE, AND OF
+       BOURBON                                              137
+
+  VII. REIGN OF HENRY III                                   167
+
+ VIII. THE LEAGUE                                           196
+
+   IX. THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF GUISE
+       AND OF HENRY III                                     220
+
+    X. WAR AND WOE                                          256
+
+   XI. THE CONVERSION OF THE KING                           281
+
+  XII. THE REIGN OF HENRY IV. AND HIS DEATH                 306
+
+
+
+
+ENGRAVINGS.
+
+                                                            Page
+
+ THE BIRTH OF HENRY OF NAVARRE                               19
+
+ THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE                          52
+
+ THE MARRIAGE                                                87
+
+ THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW                            115
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE                161
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE                  228
+
+ THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.                            238
+
+ THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM                          292
+
+ THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE                            309
+
+
+
+
+KING HENRY IV.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.
+
+1475-1564
+
+Navarre.--Catharine de Foix.--Ferdinand and Isabella.--Dismemberment
+of Navarre.--Plans for revenge.--Death of Catharine.--Marriage of
+Henry and Margaret.--Lingering hopes of Henry.--Jeanne returns to
+Navarre.--Birth of Henry IV.--The royal nurse.--Name chosen for the
+young prince.--The castle of Courasse.--Education of Henry.--Death of
+the King of Navarre.--Jeanne d'Albret ascends the throne.--Residence
+in Bearn.--Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots.--Betrothal of
+Henry.--Henry's tutor.--Remark of Dr. Johnson.--Henry's motto.--La
+Gaucherie's method of instruction.--Death of Henry II.--Catharine de
+Medicis regent.--Influence of Plutarch.--Religious agitation.--The
+Huguenots.--The present controversy.--The Sorbonne.--Purging the
+empire.--The burning chamber.--Persecution of the Protestants.--Calvin
+and his writings.--Calvin's physical debility.--Continued
+labors.--Execution of Servetus.--Inhabitants of France.--Antony
+of Bourbon.--Jeanne d'Albret.--The separation.--Different
+life.--Rage of the Pope.--Growth of Protestantism.--Catharine's
+blandishments.--Undecided action.--Seizure of the queen.--Civil
+war.--Death of Antony of Bourbon.--Effects of the war.--Liberty of
+worship.--Indignation and animosity.--Religious toleration.--Belief of
+the Romanists.--Establishment of freedom of conscience.
+
+
+About four hundred years ago there was a small kingdom, spreading over
+the cliffs and ravines of the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees,
+called Navarre. Its population, of about five hundred thousand,
+consisted of a very simple, frugal, and industrious people. Those who
+lived upon the shore washed by the stormy waves of the Bay of Biscay
+gratified their love of excitement and of adventure by braving the
+perils of the sea. Those who lived in the solitude of the interior, on
+the sunny slopes of the mountains, or by the streams which meandered
+through the verdant valleys, fed their flocks, and harvested their
+grain, and pressed rich wine from the grapes of their vineyards, in
+the enjoyment of the most pleasant duties of rural life. Proud of
+their independence, they were ever ready to grasp arms to repel
+foreign aggression. The throne of this kingdom was, at the time of
+which we speak, occupied by Catharine de Foix. She was a widow, and
+all her hopes and affections were centred in her son Henry, an ardent
+and impetuous boy six or seven years of age, who was to receive the
+crown when it should fall from her brow, and transmit to posterity
+their ancestral honors.
+
+Ferdinand of Aragon had just married Isabella of Castile, and had thus
+united those two populous and wealthy kingdoms; and now, in the
+arrogance of power, seized with the pride of annexation, he began to
+look with a wistful eye upon the picturesque kingdom of Navarre. Its
+comparative feebleness, under the reign of a bereaved woman weary of
+the world, invited to the enterprise. Should he grasp at the whole
+territory of the little realm, France might interpose her powerful
+remonstrance. Should he take but the half which was spread out upon
+the southern declivity of the Pyrenees, it would be virtually saying
+to the French monarch, "The rest I courteously leave for you." The
+armies of Spain were soon sweeping resistlessly through these sunny
+valleys, and one half of her empire was ruthlessly torn from the Queen
+of Navarre, and transferred to the dominion of imperious Castile and
+Aragon.
+
+Catharine retired with her child to the colder and more uncongenial
+regions of the northern declivity of the mountains. Her bosom glowed
+with mortification and rage in view of her hopeless defeat. As she sat
+down gloomily in the small portion which remained to her of her
+dismembered empire, she endeavored to foster in the heart of her son
+the spirit of revenge, and to inspire him with the resolution to
+regain those lost leagues of territory which had been wrested from the
+inheritance of his fathers. Henry imbibed his mother's spirit, and
+chafed and fretted under wrongs for which he could obtain no redress.
+Ferdinand and Isabella could not be annoyed even by any force which
+feeble Navarre could raise. Queen Catharine, however, brooded deeply
+over her wrongs, and laid plans for retributions of revenge, the
+execution of which she knew must be deferred till long after her body
+should have mouldered to dust in the grave. She courted the most
+intimate alliance with Francis I., King of France. She contemplated
+the merging of her own little kingdom into that powerful monarchy,
+that the infant Navarre, having grown into the giant France, might
+crush the Spanish tyrants into humiliation. Nerved by this determined
+spirit of revenge, and inspired by a mother's ambition, she intrigued
+to wed her son to the heiress of the French throne, that even in the
+world of spirits she might be cheered by seeing Henry heading the
+armies of France, the terrible avenger of her wrongs. These hopes
+invigorated her until the fitful dream of her joyless life was
+terminated, and her restless spirit sank into the repose of the grave.
+She lived, however, to see her plans apparently in progress toward
+their most successful fulfillment.
+
+Henry, her son, was married to Margaret, the favorite sister of the
+King of France. Their nuptials were blessed with but one child, Jeanne
+d'Albret. This child, in whose destiny such ambitious hopes were
+centred, bloomed into most marvelous beauty, and became also as
+conspicuous for her mental endowments as for her personal charms. She
+had hardly emerged from the period of childhood when she was married
+to Antony of Bourbon, a near relative of the royal family of France.
+Immediately after her marriage she left Navarre with her husband, to
+take up her residence in the French metropolis.
+
+One hope still lived, with undying vigor, in the bosom of Henry. It
+was the hope, the intense passion, with which his departed mother had
+inspired him, that a grandson would arise from this union, who would,
+with the spirit of Hannibal, avenge the family wrongs upon Spain.
+Twice Henry took a grandson into his arms with the feeling that the
+great desire of his life was about to be realized; and twice, with
+almost a broken heart, he saw these hopes blighted as he committed the
+little ones to the grave.
+
+Summers and winters had now lingered wearily away, and Henry had
+become an old man. Disappointment and care had worn down his frame.
+World-weary and joyless, he still clung to hope. The tidings that
+Jeanne was again to become a mother rekindled the lustre of his fading
+eye. The aged king sent importunately for his daughter to return
+without delay to the paternal castle, that the child might be born in
+the kingdom of Navarre, whose wrongs it was to be his peculiar destiny
+to avenge. It was mid-winter. The journey was long and the roads
+rough. But the dutiful and energetic Jeanne promptly obeyed the wishes
+of her father, and hastened to his court.
+
+Henry could hardly restrain his impatience as he waited, week after
+week, for the advent of the long-looked-for avenger. With the
+characteristic superstition of the times, he constrained his daughter
+to promise that, at the period of birth, during the most painful
+moments of her trial, she would sing a mirthful and triumphant song,
+that her child might possess a sanguine, joyous, and energetic spirit.
+
+Henry entertained not a doubt that the child would prove a boy,
+commissioned by Providence as the avenger of Navarre. The old king
+received the child, at the moment of its birth, into his own arms,
+totally regardless of a mother's rights, and exultingly enveloping it
+in soft folds, bore it off, as his own property, to his private
+apartment. He rubbed the lips of the plump little boy with garlic, and
+then taking a golden goblet of generous wine, the rough and royal
+nurse forced the beverage he loved so well down the untainted throat
+of his new-born heir.
+
+"A little good old wine," said the doting grandfather, "will make the
+boy vigorous, and brave."
+
+We may remark, in passing, that it was _wine_, rich and pure: not that
+mixture of all abominations, whose only vintage is in cellars,
+sunless, damp, and fetid, where guilty men fabricate poison for a
+nation.
+
+[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF HENRY IV.]
+
+This little stranger received the ancestral name of Henry. By his
+subsequent exploits he filled the world with his renown. He was the
+first of the Bourbon line who ascended the throne of France, and he
+swayed the sceptre of energetic rule over that wide-spread realm with
+a degree of power and grandeur which none of his descendants have ever
+rivaled. The name of Henry IV. is one of the most illustrious in the
+annals of France. The story of his struggles for the attainment of the
+throne of Charlemagne is full of interest. His birth, to which we have
+just alluded, occurred at Parr, in the kingdom of Navarre, in the year
+1553.
+
+His grandfather immediately assumed the direction of every thing
+relating to the child, apparently without the slightest consciousness
+that either the father or the mother of Henry had any prior claims.
+The king possessed, among the wild and romantic fastnesses of the
+mountains, a strong old castle, as rugged and frowning as the eternal
+granite upon which its foundations were laid. Gloomy evergreens clung
+to the hill-sides. A mountain stream, often swollen to an impetuous
+torrent by the autumnal rains and the spring thaws, swept through the
+little verdant lawn, which smiled amid the stern sublimities
+surrounding this venerable and moss-covered fortress. Around the
+solitary towers the eagles wheeled and screamed in harmony with the
+gales and storms which often swept through these wild regions. The
+expanse around was sparsely settled by a few hardy peasants, who, by
+feeding their herds, and cultivating little patches of soil among the
+crags, obtained a humble living, and by exercise and the pure mountain
+air acquired a vigor and an athletic-hardihood of frame which had
+given them much celebrity.
+
+To the storm-battered castle of Courasse, thus lowering in congenial
+gloom among these rocks, the old king sent the infant Henry to be
+nurtured as a peasant-boy, that, by frugal fare and exposure to
+hardship, he might acquire a peasant's robust frame. He resolved that
+no French delicacies should enfeeble the constitution of this noble
+child. Bareheaded and barefooted, the young prince, as yet hardly
+emerging from infancy, rolled upon the grass, played with the poultry,
+and the dogs, and the sturdy young mountaineers, and plunged into the
+brook or paddled in the pools of water with which the mountain showers
+often filled the court-yard. His hair was bleached and his cheeks
+bronzed by the sun and the wind. Few would have imagined that the
+unattractive child, with his unshorn locks and in his studiously
+neglected garb, was the descendant of a long line of kings, and was
+destined to eclipse them all by the grandeur of his name.
+
+As years glided along he advanced to energetic boyhood, the constant
+companion, and, in all his sports and modes of life, the equal of the
+peasant-boys by whom he was surrounded. He hardly wore a better dress
+than they; he was nourished with the same coarse fare. With them he
+climbed the mountains, and leaped the streams, and swung upon the
+trees. He struggled with his youthful competitors in all their
+athletic games, running, wrestling, pitching the quoit, and tossing
+the bar. This active out-door exercise gave a relish to the coarse
+food of the peasants, consisting of brown bread, beef, cheese, and
+garlic. His grandfather had decided that this regimen was essential
+for the education of a prince who was to humble the proud monarchy of
+Spain, and regain the territory which had been so unjustly wrested
+from his ancestors.
+
+When Henry was about six years of age, his grandfather, by gradual
+decay, sank sorrowingly into his grave. Consequently, his mother,
+Jeanne d'Albret, ascended the throne of Navarre. Her husband, Antony
+of Bourbon, was a rough, fearless old soldier, with nothing to
+distinguish him from the multitude who do but live, fight, and die.
+Jeanne and her husband were in Paris at the time of the death of her
+father. They immediately hastened to Bearn, the capital of Navarre, to
+take possession of the dominions which had thus descended to them. The
+little Henry was then brought from his wild mountain home to reside
+with his mother in the royal palace. Though Navarre was but a feeble
+kingdom, the grandeur of its court was said to have been unsurpassed,
+at that time, by that of any other in Europe. The intellectual
+education of Henry had been almost entirely neglected; but the
+hardihood of his body had given such vigor and energy to his mind,
+that he was now prepared to distance in intellectual pursuits, with
+perfect ease, those whose infantile brains had been overtasked with
+study.
+
+Henry remained in Bearn with his parents two years, and in that time
+ingrafted many courtly graces upon the free and fetterless carriage he
+had acquired among the mountains. His mind expanded with remarkable
+rapidity, and he became one of the most beautiful and engaging of
+children.
+
+About this time Mary, Queen of Scots, was to be married to the Dauphin
+Francis, son of the King of France. Their nuptials were to be
+celebrated with great magnificence. The King and Queen of Navarre
+returned to the court of France to attend the marriage. They took with
+them their son. His beauty and vivacity excited much admiration in the
+French metropolis. One day the young prince, then but six or seven
+years of age, came running into the room where his father and Henry
+II. of France were conversing, and, by his artlessness and grace,
+strongly attracted the attention of the French monarch. The king
+fondly took the playful child in his arms, and said affectionately,
+
+"Will you be my son?"
+
+"No, sire, no! that is my father," replied the ardent boy, pointing to
+the King of Navarre.
+
+"Well, then, will you be my son-in-law?" demanded Henry.
+
+"Oh yes, most willingly," the prince replied.
+
+Henry II. had a daughter Marguerite, a year or two younger than the
+Prince of Navarre, and it was immediately resolved between the two
+parents that the young princes should be considered as betrothed.
+
+Soon after this the King and Queen of Navarre, with their son,
+returned to the mountainous domain which Jeanne so ardently loved. The
+queen devoted herself assiduously to the education of the young
+prince, providing for him the ablest teachers whom that age could
+afford. A gentleman of very distinguished attainments, named La
+Gaucherie, undertook the general superintendence of his studies. The
+young prince was at this time an exceedingly energetic, active,
+ambitious boy, very inquisitive respecting all matters of information,
+and passionately fond of study.
+
+Dr. Johnson, with his rough and impetuous severity, has said,
+
+"It is impossible to get Latin into a boy unless you flog it into
+him."
+
+The experience of La Gaucherie, however, did not confirm this
+sentiment. Henry always went with alacrity to his Latin and his Greek.
+His judicious teacher did not disgust his mind with long and laborious
+rules, but introduced him at once to words and phrases, while
+gradually he developed the grammatical structure of the language. The
+vigorous mind of Henry, grasping eagerly at intellectual culture,
+made rapid progress, and he was soon able to read and write both Latin
+and Greek with fluency, and ever retained the power of quoting, with
+great facility and appositeness, from the classical writers of Athens
+and of Rome. Even in these early days he seized upon the Greek phrase
+[Greek: "_e nikan e apothanein_"], _to conquer or to die_, and adopted
+it for his motto.
+
+La Gaucherie was warmly attached to the principles of the Protestant
+faith. He made a companion of his noble pupil, and taught him by
+conversation in pleasant walks and rides as well as by books. It was
+his practice to have him commit to memory any fine passage in prose or
+verse which inculcated generous and lofty ideas. The mind of Henry
+thus became filled with beautiful images and noble sentiments from the
+classic writers of France. These gems of literature exerted a powerful
+influence in moulding his character, and he was fond of quoting them
+as the guide of his life. Such passages as the following were
+frequently on the lips of the young prince:
+
+     "Over their subjects princes bear the rule,
+     But God, more mighty, governs kings themselves."
+
+Soon after the return of the King and Queen of Navarre to their own
+kingdom, Henry II. of France died, leaving the crown to his son
+Charles, a feeble boy both in body and in mind. As Charles was but ten
+or twelve years of age, his mother, Catharine de Medicis, was
+appointed regent during his minority. Catharine was a woman of great
+strength of mind, but of the utmost depravity of heart. There was no
+crime ambition could instigate her to commit from which, in the
+slightest degree, she would recoil. Perhaps the history of the world
+retains not another instance in which a mother could so far forget the
+yearnings of nature as to endeavor, studiously and perseveringly, to
+deprave the morals, and by vice to enfeeble the constitution of her
+son, that she might retain the power which belonged to him. This proud
+and dissolute woman looked with great solicitude upon the enterprising
+and energetic spirits of the young Prince of Navarre. There were many
+providential indications that ere long Henry would be a prominent
+candidate for the throne of France.
+
+Plutarch's Lives of Ancient Heroes has perhaps been more influential
+than any other uninspired book in invigorating genius and in
+enkindling a passion for great achievements. Napoleon was a careful
+student and a great admirer of Plutarch. His spirit was entranced with
+the grandeur of the Greek and Roman heroes, and they were ever to him
+as companions and bosom friends. During the whole of his stormy
+career, their examples animated him, and his addresses and
+proclamations were often invigorated by happy quotations from classic
+story. Henry, with similar exaltation of genius, read and re-read the
+pages of Plutarch with the most absorbing delight. Catharine, with an
+eagle eye, watched these indications of a lofty mind. Her solicitude
+was roused lest the young Prince of Navarre should, with his
+commanding genius, supplant her degenerate house.
+
+At the close of the sixteenth century, the period of which we write,
+all Europe was agitated by the great controversy between the Catholics
+and the Protestants. The writings of Luther, Calvin, and other
+reformers had aroused the attention of the whole Christian world. In
+England and Scotland the ancient faith had been overthrown, and the
+doctrines of the Reformation were, in those kingdoms, established. In
+France, where the writings of Calvin had been extensively circulated,
+the Protestants had also become quite numerous, embracing generally
+the most intelligent portion of the populace. The Protestants were in
+France called Huguenots, but for what reason is not now known. They
+were sustained by many noble families, and had for their leaders the
+Prince of Conde, Admiral Coligni, and the house of Navarre. There were
+arrayed against them the power of the crown, many of the most powerful
+nobles, and conspicuously the almost regal house of Guise.
+
+It is perhaps difficult for a Protestant to write upon this subject
+with perfect impartiality, however earnestly he may desire to do so.
+The lapse of two hundred years has not terminated the great conflict.
+The surging strife has swept across the ocean, and even now, with more
+or less of vehemence, rages in all the states of this new world.
+Though the weapons of blood are laid aside, the mighty controversy is
+still undecided.
+
+The advocates of the old faith were determined to maintain their
+creed, and to force all to its adoption, at whatever price. They
+deemed heresy the greatest of all crimes, and thought--and doubtless
+many conscientiously thought--that it should be exterminated even by
+the pains of torture and death. The French Parliament adopted for its
+motto, "_One religion, one law, one king._" They declared that two
+religions could no more be endured in a kingdom than two governments.
+
+At Paris there was a celebrated theological school called the
+Sorbonne. It included in its faculty the most distinguished doctors of
+the Catholic Church. The decisions and the decrees of the Sorbonne
+were esteemed highly authoritative. The views of the Sorbonne were
+almost invariably asked in reference to any measures affecting the
+Church.
+
+In 1525 the court presented the following question to the Sorbonne:
+"_How can we suppress and extirpate the damnable doctrine of Luther
+from this very Christian kingdom, and purge it from it entirely?_"
+
+The prompt reply was, "_The heresy has already been endured too long.
+It must be pursued with the extremest rigor, or it will overthrow the
+throne._"
+
+Two years after this, Pope Clement VII. sent a communication to the
+Parliament of Paris, stating,
+
+    "It is necessary, in this great and astounding disorder,
+    which arises from the rage of Satan, and from the fury and
+    impiety of his instruments, that every body exert himself to
+    guard the common safety, seeing that this madness would not
+    only embroil and destroy religion, but also all principality,
+    nobility, laws, orders, and ranks."
+
+The Protestants were pursued by the most unrelenting persecution. The
+Parliament established a court called the _burning chamber_, because
+all who were convicted of heresy were burned. The estates of those
+who, to save their lives, fled from the kingdom, were sold, and their
+children, who were left behind, were pursued with merciless cruelty.
+
+The Protestants, with boldness which religious faith alone could
+inspire, braved all these perils. They resolutely declared that the
+Bible taught their faith, and their faith only, and that no earthly
+power could compel them to swerve from the truth. Notwithstanding the
+perils of exile, torture, and death, they persisted in preaching what
+they considered the pure Gospel of Christ. In 1533 Calvin was driven
+from Paris. When one said to him, "Mass must be true, since it is
+celebrated in all Christendom;" he replied, pointing to the Bible,
+
+"There is my mass." Then raising his eyes to heaven, he solemnly said,
+"O Lord, if in the day of judgment thou chargest me with not having
+been at mass, I will say to thee with truth, 'Lord, thou hast not
+commanded it. Behold thy law. In it I have not found any other
+sacrifice than that which was immolated on the altar of the cross.'"
+
+In 1535 Calvin's celebrated "Institutes of the Christian Religion"
+were published, the great reformer then residing in the city of Basle.
+This great work became the banner of the Protestants of France. It was
+read with avidity in the cottage of the peasant, in the work-shop of
+the artisan, and in the chateau of the noble. In reference to this
+extraordinary man, of whom it has been said,
+
+     "On Calvin some think Heaven's own mantle fell,
+     While others deem him instrument of hell,"
+
+Theodore Beza writes, "I do not believe that his equal can be found.
+Besides preaching every day from week to week, very often, and as much
+as he was able, he preached twice every Sunday. He lectured on
+theology three times a week. He delivered addresses to the Consistory,
+and also instructed at length every Friday before the Bible
+Conference, which we call the congregation. He continued this course
+so constantly that he never failed a single time except in extreme
+illness. Moreover, who could recount his other common or extraordinary
+labors? I know of no man of our age who has had more to hear, to
+answer, to write, nor things of greater importance. The number and
+quality of his writings alone is enough to astonish any man who sees
+them, and still more those who read them. And what renders his labors
+still more astonishing is, that he had a body so feeble by nature, so
+debilitated by night labors and too great abstemiousness, and, what is
+more, subject to so many maladies, that no man who saw him could
+understand how he had lived so long. And yet, for all that, he never
+ceased to labor night and day in the work of the Lord. We entreated
+him to have more regard for himself; but his ordinary reply was that
+he was doing nothing, and that we should allow God to find him always
+watching, and working as he could to his latest breath."
+
+Calvin died in 1564, eleven years after the birth of Henry of Navarre,
+at the age of fifty-five. For several years he was so abstemious that
+he had eaten but one meal a day.[A]
+
+[Footnote A: In reference to the execution of Servetus for heresy, an
+event which, in the estimation of many, has seriously tarnished the
+reputation of Calvin, the celebrated French historian M. Mignet, in a
+very able dissertation, establishes the following points:
+
+     1. Servetus was not an ordinary heretic; he was a bold
+     pantheist, and outraged the dogma of all Christian
+     communions by saying that God, in three persons, was a
+     Cerberus, a monster with three heads. 2. He had already been
+     condemned to death by the Catholic doctors at Vienne in
+     Dauphiny. 3. The affair was judged, not by Calvin, but by
+     the magistrates of Geneva; and if it is objected that his
+     advice must have influenced their decision, it is necessary
+     to recollect that the councils of the other reformed cantons
+     of Switzerland approved the sentence with a unanimous voice.
+     4. It was of the utmost importance for the Reformation to
+     separate distinctly its cause from that of such an
+     unbeliever as Servetus. The Catholic Church, which in our
+     day accuses Calvin of having participated in his
+     condemnation, much more would have accused him, in the
+     sixteenth century, with having solicited his acquittal.]
+
+At this time the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of France
+were Catholics--it has generally been estimated a hundred to one; but
+the doctrines of the reformers gained ground until, toward the close
+of the century, about the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, the
+Protestants composed about one sixth of the population.
+
+The storm of persecution which fell upon them was so terrible that
+they were compelled to protect themselves by force of arms. Gradually
+they gained the ascendency in several cities, which they fortified,
+and where they protected refugees from the persecution which had
+driven them from the cities where the Catholics predominated. Such was
+the deplorable condition of France at the time of which we write.
+
+In the little kingdom of Navarre, which was but about one third as
+large as the State of Massachusetts, and which, since its
+dismemberment, contained less than three hundred thousand inhabitants,
+nearly every individual was a Protestant. Antony of Bourbon, who had
+married the queen, was a Frenchman. With him, as with many others in
+that day, religion was merely a badge of party politics. Antony spent
+much of his time in the voluptuous court of France, and as he was, of
+course, solicitous for popularity there, he espoused the Catholic side
+of the controversy.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret was energetically a Protestant. Apparently, her faith
+was founded in deep religious conviction. When Catharine of Medici
+advised her to follow her husband into the Catholic Church, she
+replied with firmness,
+
+"Madam, sooner than ever go to mass, if I had my kingdom and my son
+both in my hands, I would hurl them to the bottom of the sea before
+they should change my purpose."
+
+Jeanne had been married to Antony merely as a matter of state policy.
+There was nothing in his character to win a noble woman's love. With
+no social or religious sympathies, they lived together for a time in a
+state of respectful indifference; but the court of Navarre was too
+quiet and religious to satisfy the taste of the voluptuous Parisian.
+He consequently spent most of his time enjoying the gayeties of the
+metropolis of France. A separation, mutually and amicably agreed upon,
+was the result.
+
+Antony conveyed with him to Paris his son Henry, and there took up his
+residence. Amidst the changes and the fluctuations of the
+ever-agitated metropolis, he eagerly watched for opportunities to
+advance his own fame and fortune. As Jeanne took leave of her beloved
+child, she embraced him tenderly, and with tears entreated him never
+to abandon the faith in which he had been educated.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, with her little daughter, remained in the less
+splendid but more moral and refined metropolis of her paternal domain.
+A mother's solicitude and prayers, however, followed her son. Antony
+consented to retain as a tutor for Henry the wise and learned La
+Gaucherie, who was himself strongly attached to the reformed religion.
+
+The inflexibility of Jeanne d'Albret, and the refuge she ever
+cheerfully afforded to the persecuted Protestants, quite enraged the
+Pope. As a measure of intimidation, he at one time summoned her as a
+heretic to appear before the Inquisition within six months, under
+penalty of losing her crown and her possessions. Jeanne, unawed by the
+threat, appealed to the monarchs of Europe for protection. None were
+disposed in that age to encourage such arrogant claims, and Pope Pius
+VI. was compelled to moderate his haughty tone. A plot, however, was
+then formed to seize her and her children, and hand them over to the
+"tender mercies" of the Spanish Inquisition. But this plot also
+failed.
+
+In Paris itself there were many bold Protestant nobles who, with arms
+at their side, and stout retainers around them, kept personal
+persecution at bay. They were generally men of commanding character,
+of intelligence and integrity. The new religion, throughout the
+country, was manifestly growing fast in strength, and at times, even
+in the saloons of the palace, the rival parties were pretty nearly
+balanced. Although, throughout the kingdom of France, the Catholics
+were vastly more numerous than the Protestants, yet as England and
+much of Germany had warmly espoused the cause of the reformers, it
+was perhaps difficult to decide which party, on the whole, in Europe,
+was the strongest. Nobles and princes of the highest rank were, in all
+parts of Europe, ranged under either banner. In the two factions thus
+contending for dominion, there were, of course, some who were not much
+influenced by conscientious considerations, but who were merely
+struggling for political power.
+
+When Henry first arrived in Paris, Catharine kept a constant watch
+over his words and his actions. She spared no possible efforts to
+bring him under her entire control. Efforts were made to lead his
+teacher to check his enthusiasm for lofty exploits, and to surrender
+him to the claims of frivolous amusement. This detestable queen
+presented before the impassioned young man all the blandishments of
+female beauty, that she might betray him to licentious indulgence. In
+some of these infamous arts she was but too successful.
+
+Catharine, in her ambitious projects, was often undecided as to which
+cause she should espouse and which party she should call to her aid.
+At one time she would favor the Protestants, and again the Catholics.
+At about this time she suddenly turned to the Protestants, and
+courted them so decidedly as greatly to alarm and exasperate the
+Catholics. Some of the Catholic nobles formed a conspiracy, and seized
+Catharine and her son at the palace of Fontainebleau, and held them
+both as captives. The proud queen was almost frantic with indignation
+at the insult.
+
+The Protestants, conscious that the conspiracy was aimed against them,
+rallied for the defense of the queen. The Catholics all over the
+kingdom sprang to arms. A bloody civil war ensued. Nearly all Europe
+was drawn into the conflict. Germany and England came with eager
+armies to the aid of the Protestants. Catharine hated the proud and
+haughty Elizabeth, England's domineering queen, and was very jealous
+of her fame and power. She resolved that she would not be indebted to
+her ambitious rival for aid. She therefore, most strangely, threw
+herself into the arms of the _Catholics_, and ardently espoused their
+cause. The Protestants soon found her, with all the energy of her
+powerful mind, heading their foes. France was deluged in blood.
+
+A large number of Protestants threw themselves into Rouen. Antony of
+Bourbon headed an army of the Catholics to besiege the city. A ball
+struck him, and he fell senseless to the ground. His attendants placed
+him, covered with blood, in a carriage, to convey him to a hospital.
+While in the carriage and jostling over the rough ground, and as the
+thunders of the cannonade were pealing in his ears, the spirit of the
+blood-stained soldier ascended to the tribunal of the God of Peace.
+Henry was now left fatherless, and subject entirely to the control of
+his mother, whom he most tenderly loved, and whose views, as one of
+the most prominent leaders of the Protestant party, he was strongly
+inclined to espouse.
+
+The sanguinary conflict still raged with unabated violence throughout
+the whole kingdom, arming brother against brother, friend against
+friend. Churches were sacked and destroyed; vast extents of country
+were almost depopulated; cities were surrendered to pillage, and
+atrocities innumerable perpetrated, from which it would seem that even
+fiends would revolt. France was filled with smouldering ruins; and the
+wailing cry of widows and of orphans, thus made by the wrath of man,
+ascended from every plain and every hill-side to the ear of that God
+who has said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
+
+At last both parties were weary of the horrid strife. The Catholics
+were struggling to extirpate what they deemed ruinous heresy from the
+kingdom. The Protestants were repelling the assault, and contending,
+not for general liberty of conscience, but that their doctrines _were
+true_, and _therefore_ should be sustained. Terms of accommodation
+were proposed, and the Catholics made the great concession, as they
+regarded it, of allowing the Protestants to conduct public worship
+_outside of the walls of towns_. The Protestants accepted these terms,
+and sheathed the sword; but many of the more fanatic Catholics were
+greatly enraged at this toleration. The Guises, the most arrogant
+family of nobles the world has ever known, retired from Paris in
+indignation, declaring that they would not witness such a triumph of
+heresy. The decree which granted this poor boon was the famous edict
+of January, 1562, issued from St. Germain. But such a peace as this
+could only be a truce caused by exhaustion. Deep-seated animosity
+still rankled in the bosom of both parties; and, notwithstanding all
+the woes which desolating wars had engendered, the spirit of religious
+intolerance was eager again to grasp the weapons of deadly strife.
+
+During the sixteenth century the doctrine of religious toleration was
+recognized by no one. That great truth had not then even dawned upon
+the world. The noble toleration so earnestly advocated by Bayle and
+Locke a century later, was almost a new revelation to the human mind;
+but in the sixteenth century it would have been regarded as impious,
+and rebellion against God to have affirmed that _error_ was not to be
+pursued and punished. The reformers did not advocate the view that a
+man had a right to believe what he pleased, and to disseminate that
+belief. They only declared that they were bound, at all hazards, to
+believe the _truth;_ that the views which they cherished were _true_,
+and that _therefore_ they should be protected in them. They appealed
+to the Bible, and challenged their adversaries to meet them there. Our
+fathers must not be condemned for not being in advance of the age in
+which they lived. That toleration which allows a man to adopt, without
+any civil disabilities, any mode of worship that does not disturb the
+peace of society, exists, as we believe, only in the United States.
+Even in England Dissenters are excluded from many privileges.
+Throughout the whole of Catholic Europe no religious toleration is
+recognized. The Emperor Napoleon, during his reign, established the
+most perfect freedom of conscience in every government his influence
+could control. His downfall re-established through Europe the dominion
+of intolerance.
+
+The Reformation, in contending for the right of private judgment in
+contradiction to the claims of councils, maintained a principle which
+necessarily involved the freedom of conscience. This was not then
+perceived; but time developed the truth. The Reformation became, in
+reality, the mother of all religious liberty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+CIVIL WAR.
+
+1565-1568
+
+Henry but little acquainted with his parents.--Indecision of
+Henry.--Hypocrisy of Catharine.--She desires to save Henry.--A
+significant reply.--Indications of future greatness.--The
+prophecy.--Visit of Catharine.--Endeavors of Catharine to influence
+the young prince.--The return visit.--Obstacles to the departure.--The
+stratagem.--Its success.--Home again.--Description of the
+prince.--Evil effects of dissolute society.--Influence of Jeanne
+d'Albret.--Catharine's deity.--Principle of Jeanne d'Albret.--The
+cannon the missionary.--Devastation.--Indecision of the
+prince.--Arguments pro and con.--Chances of a crown.--War
+again.--Arrival of the Queen of Navarre.--Education of the
+prince.--The Prince of Conde.--Slaughter of the Protestants.--The
+battle.--Courage of the Prince of Conde.--The defeat.--Death
+of the Prince of Conde.--Retreat of the Protestants.--Fiendish
+barbarity.--Advice of the Pope.--Incitement to massacre.--The
+protectorate.
+
+
+While France was thus deluged with the blood of a civil war, young
+Henry was busily pursuing his studies in college. He could have had
+but little affection for his father, for the stern soldier had passed
+most of his days in the tented field, and his son had hardly known
+him. From his mother he had long been separated; but he cherished her
+memory with affectionate regard, and his predilections strongly
+inclined him toward the faith which he knew that she had so warmly
+espoused. It was, however, in its political aspects that Henry mainly
+contemplated the question. He regarded the two sects merely as two
+political parties struggling for power. For some time he did not
+venture to commit himself openly, but, availing himself of the
+privilege of his youth, carefully studied the principles and the
+prospects of the contending factions, patiently waiting for the time
+to come in which he should introduce his strong arm into the conflict.
+Each party, aware that his parents had espoused opposite sides, and
+regarding him as an invaluable accession to either cause, adopted all
+possible allurements to win his favor.
+
+Catharine, as unprincipled as she was ambitious, invited him to her
+court, lavished upon him, with queenly profusion, caresses and
+flattery, and enticed him with all those blandishments which might
+most effectually enthrall the impassioned spirit of youth.
+Voluptuousness, gilded with its most dazzling and deceitful
+enchantments, was studiously presented to his eye. The queen was all
+love and complaisance. She received him to her cabinet council. She
+affected to regard him as her chief confidant. She had already formed
+the design of perfidiously throwing the Protestants off their guard by
+professions of friendship, and then, by indiscriminate massacre, of
+obliterating from the kingdom every vestige of the reformed faith. The
+great mass of the people being Catholics, she thought that, by a
+simultaneous uprising all over the kingdom, the Protestants might be
+so generally destroyed that not enough would be left to cause her any
+serious embarrassments.
+
+For many reasons Catharine wished to save Henry from the doom
+impending over his friends, if she could, by any means, win him to
+her side. She held many interviews with the highest ecclesiastics upon
+the subject of the contemplated massacre. At one time, when she was
+urging the expediency of sparing some few Protestant nobles who had
+been her personal friends, Henry overheard the significant reply from
+the Duke of Alva, "The head of a salmon is worth a hundred frogs." The
+young prince meditated deeply upon the import of those words.
+Surmising their significance, and alarmed for the safety of his
+mother, he dispatched a trusty messenger to communicate to her his
+suspicions.
+
+His mind was now thoroughly aroused to vigilance, to careful and
+hourly scrutiny of the plots and counterplots which were ever forming
+around him. While others of his age were absorbed in the pleasures of
+licentiousness and gaming, to which that corrupt court was abandoned,
+Henry, though he had not escaped unspotted from the contamination
+which surrounded him, displayed, by the dignity of his demeanor and
+the elevation of his character, those extraordinary qualities which so
+remarkably distinguished him in future life, and which indicated, even
+then, that he was born to command. One of the grandees of the Spanish
+court, the Duke of Medina, after meeting him incidentally but for a
+few moments, remarked,
+
+"It appears to me that this young prince is either an emperor, or is
+destined soon to become one."
+
+Henry was very punctilious in regard to etiquette, and would allow no
+one to treat him without due respect, or to deprive him of the
+position to which he was entitled by his rank.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of Navarre, was now considered the most
+illustrious leader of the Protestant party. Catharine, the better to
+disguise her infamous designs, went with Henry, in great splendor, to
+make a friendly visit to his mother in the little Protestant court of
+Bearn. Catharine insidiously lavished upon Jeanne d'Albret the warmest
+congratulations and the most winning smiles, and omitted no courtly
+blandishments which could disarm the suspicions and win the confidence
+of the Protestant queen. The situation of Jeanne in her feeble
+dominion was extremely embarrassing. The Pope, in consequence of her
+alleged heresy, had issued against her the bull of excommunication,
+declaring her incapable of reigning, forbidding all good Catholics, by
+the peril of their own salvation, from obeying any of her commands. As
+her own subjects were almost all Protestants, she was in no danger of
+any insurrection on their part; but this decree, in that age of
+superstition and of profligacy, invited each neighboring power to
+seize upon her territory. The only safety of the queen consisted in
+the mutual jealousies of the rival kingdoms of France and Spain,
+neither of them being willing that the other should receive such an
+accession to its political importance.
+
+The Queen of Navarre was not at all shaken in her faith, or influenced
+to change her measure, by the visit of the French court to her
+capital. She regarded, however, with much solicitude, the ascendency
+which, it appeared to her, Catharine was obtaining over the mind of
+her son. Catharine caressed and flattered the young Prince of Navarre
+in every possible way. All her blandishments were exerted to obtain a
+commanding influence over his mind. She endeavored unceasingly to lure
+him to indulgence in all forbidden pleasure, and especially to crowd
+upon his youthful and ardent passions all the temptations which
+yielding female beauty could present. After the visit of a few weeks,
+during which the little court of Navarre had witnessed an importation
+of profligacy unknown before, the Queen of France, with Henry and
+with her voluptuous train, returned again to Paris.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret had seen enough of the blandishments of vice to excite
+her deepest maternal solicitude in view of the peril of her son. She
+earnestly urged his return to Navarre; but Catharine continually threw
+such chains of influence around him that he could not escape. At last
+Jeanne resolved, under the pretense of returning the visit of
+Catharine, to go herself to the court of France and try to recover
+Henry. With a small but illustrious retinue, embellished with great
+elegance of manners and purity of life, she arrived in Paris. The
+Queen of France received her with every possible mark of respect and
+affection, and lavished upon her entertainments, and fetes, and
+gorgeous spectacles until the Queen of Navarre was almost bewildered.
+
+[Illustration: THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN OF NAVARRE.]
+
+Whenever Jeanne proposed to return to her kingdom there was some very
+special celebration appointed, from which Jeanne could not, without
+extreme rudeness, break away. Thus again and again was Jeanne
+frustrated in her endeavors to leave Paris, until she found, to her
+surprise and chagrin, that both she and her son were prisoners,
+detained in captivity by bonds of the most provoking politeness.
+Catharine managed so adroitly that Jeanne could not enter any
+complaints, for the shackles which were thrown around her were those
+of ostensibly the most excessive kindness and the most unbounded love.
+It was of no avail to provoke a quarrel, for the Queen of Navarre was
+powerless in the heart of France.
+
+At last she resolved to effect by stratagem that which she could not
+accomplish openly. One day a large party had gone out upon a hunting
+excursion. The Queen of Navarre made arrangements with her son, and a
+few of the most energetic and trustworthy gentlemen of her court, to
+separate themselves, as it were accidentally, when in the eagerness of
+the chase, from the rest of the company, and to meet at an appointed
+place of rendezvous. The little band, thus assembled, turned the heads
+of their horses toward Navarre. They drove with the utmost speed day
+and night, furnishing themselves with fresh relays of horses, and
+rested not till the clatter of the iron hoofs of the steeds were heard
+among the mountains of Navarre. Jeanne left a very polite note upon
+her table in the palace of St. Cloud, thanking Queen Catharine for all
+her kindness, and praying her to excuse the liberty she had taken in
+avoiding the pain of words of adieu. Catharine was exceedingly
+annoyed at their escape, but, perceiving that it was not in her power
+to overtake the fugitives, she submitted with as good a grace as
+possible.
+
+Henry found himself thus again among his native hills. He was placed
+under the tuition of a gentleman who had a high appreciation of all
+that was poetic and beautiful. Henry, under his guidance, devoted
+himself with great delight to the study of polite literature, and gave
+free wing to an ennobled imagination as he clambered up the cliffs,
+and wandered over the ravines familiar to the days of his childhood.
+His personal appearance in 1567, when he was thirteen years of age, is
+thus described by a Roman Catholic gentleman who was accustomed to
+meet him daily in the court of Catharine.
+
+     "We have here the young Prince of Bearn. One can not help
+     acknowledging that he is a beautiful creature. At the age of
+     thirteen he displays all the qualities of a person of
+     eighteen or nineteen. He is agreeable, he is civil, he is
+     obliging. Others might say that as yet he does not know what
+     he is; but, for my part, I, who study him very often, can
+     assure you that he does know perfectly well. He demeans
+     himself toward all the world with so easy a carriage, that
+     people crowd round wherever he is; and he acts so nobly in
+     every thing, that one sees clearly that he is a great
+     prince. He enters into conversation as a highly-polished
+     man. He speaks always to the purpose, and it is remarked
+     that he is very well informed. I shall hate the reformed
+     religion all my life for having carried off from us so
+     worthy a person. Without this original sin, he would be the
+     first after the king, and we should see him, in a short
+     time, at the head of the armies. He gains new friends every
+     day. He insinuates himself into all hearts with
+     inconceivable skill. He is highly honored by the men, and no
+     less beloved by the ladies. His face is very well formed,
+     the nose neither too large nor too small. His eyes are very
+     soft; his skin brown, but very smooth; and his whole
+     features animated with such uncommon vivacity, that, if he
+     does not make progress with the fair, it will be very
+     extraordinary."
+
+Henry had not escaped the natural influence of the dissolute society
+in the midst of which he had been educated, and manifested, on his
+first return to his mother, a strong passion for balls and
+masquerades, and all the enervating pleasures of fashionable life. His
+courtly and persuasive manners were so insinuating, that, without
+difficulty, he borrowed any sums of money he pleased, and with these
+borrowed treasures he fed his passion for excitement at the
+gaming-table.
+
+The firm principles and high intellectual elevation of his mother
+roused her to the immediate and vigorous endeavor to correct all these
+radical defects in his character and education. She kept him, as much
+as possible, under her own eye. She appointed teachers of the highest
+mental and moral attainments to instruct him. By her conversation and
+example she impressed upon his mind the sentiment that it was the most
+distinguished honor of one born to command others to be their superior
+in intelligence, judgment, and self-control. The Prince of Navarre, in
+his mother's court at Bearn, found himself surrounded by Protestant
+friends and influences, and he could not but feel and admit the
+superior dignity and purity of these his new friends.
+
+Catharine worshiped no deity but ambition. She was ready to adopt any
+measures and to plunge into any crimes which would give stability and
+lustre to her power. She had no religious opinions or even
+preferences. She espoused the cause of the Catholics because, on the
+whole, she deemed that party the more powerful; and then she sought
+the entire destruction of the Protestants, that none might be left to
+dispute her sway. Had the Protestants been in the majority, she would,
+with equal zeal, have given them the aid of her strong arm, and
+unrelentingly would have striven to crush the whole papal power.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, on the contrary, was in _principle_ a Protestant. She
+was a woman of reflection, of feeling, of highly-cultivated intellect,
+and probably of sincere piety. She had read, with deep interest, the
+religious controversies of the day. She had prayed for light and
+guidance. She had finally and cordially adopted the Protestant faith
+as the truth of God. Thus guided by her sense of duty, she was
+exceedingly anxious that her son should be a Protestant--a Protestant
+Christian. In most solemn prayer she dedicated him to God's service,
+to defend the faith of the Reformers. In the darkness of that day, the
+bloody and cruel sword was almost universally recognized as the great
+champion of truth. Both parties appeared to think that the thunders of
+artillery and musketry must accompany the persuasive influence of
+eloquence. If it were deemed important that one hand should guide the
+pen of controversy, to establish the truth, it was considered no less
+important that the other should wield the sword to extirpate heresy.
+Military heroism was thought as essential as scholarship for the
+defense of the faith.
+
+A truly liberal mind will find its indignation, in view of the
+atrocities of these religious wars, mitigated by comparison in view of
+the ignorance and the frailty of man. The Protestants often needlessly
+exasperated the Catholics by demolishing, in the hour of victory,
+their churches, their paintings, and their statues, and by pouring
+contempt upon all that was most hallowed in the Catholic heart. There
+was, however, this marked difference between the two parties: the
+leaders of the Protestants, as a general rule, did every thing in
+their power to check the fury of their less enlightened followers. The
+leaders of the Catholics, as a general rule, did every thing in their
+power to stimulate the fanaticism of the frenzied populace. In the
+first religious war the Protestant soldiers broke open and plundered
+the great church of Orleans. The Prince of Conde and Admiral Coligni
+hastened to repress the disorder. The prince pointed a musket at a
+soldier who had ascended a ladder to break an image, threatening to
+shoot him if he did not immediately desist.
+
+"My lord," exclaimed the fanatic Protestant, "wait till I have thrown
+down this idol, and then, if it please you, I will die."
+
+It is well for man that Omniscience presides at the day of judgment.
+"The Lord knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."
+
+Europe was manifestly preparing for another dreadful religious
+conflict. The foreboding cloud blackened the skies. The young Prince
+of Navarre had not yet taken his side. Both Catholics and Protestants
+left no exertions untried to win to their cause so important an
+auxiliary. Henry had warm friends in the court of Navarre and in the
+court of St. Cloud. He was bound by many ties to both Catholics and
+Protestants. Love of pleasure, of self-indulgence, of power, urged him
+to cast in his lot with the Catholics. Reverence for his mother
+inclined him to adopt the weaker party, who were struggling for purity
+of morals and of faith. To be popular with his subjects in his own
+kingdom of Navarre, he must be a Protestant. To be popular in France,
+to whose throne he was already casting a wistful eye, it was necessary
+for him to be a Catholic. He vacillated between these views of
+self-interest. His conscience and his heart were untouched. Both
+parties were aware of the magnitude of the weight he could place in
+either scale, while each deemed it quite uncertain which cause he
+would espouse. His father had died contending for the Catholic faith,
+and all knew that the throne of Catholic France was one of the prizes
+which the young Prince of Navarre had a fair chance of obtaining. His
+mother was the most illustrious leader of the Protestant forces on the
+Continent, and the crown of Henry's hereditary domain could not repose
+quietly upon any brow but that of a Protestant.
+
+Such was the state of affairs when the clangor of arms again burst
+upon the ear of Europe. France was the arena of woe upon which the
+Catholics and the Protestants of England and of the Continent hurled
+themselves against each other. Catharine, breathing vengeance, headed
+the Catholic armies. Jeanne, calm yet inflexible, was recognized as at
+the head of the Protestant leaders, and was alike the idol of the
+common soldiers and of their generals. The two contending armies,
+after various marchings and countermarchings, met at Rochelle. The
+whole country around, for many leagues, was illuminated at night by
+the camp-fires of the hostile hosts. The Protestants, inferior in
+numbers, with hymns and prayers calmly awaited an attack. The
+Catholics, divided in council, were fearful of hazarding a decisive
+engagement. Day after day thus passed, with occasional skirmishes,
+when, one sunny morning, the sound of trumpets was heard, and the
+gleam of the spears and banners of an approaching host was seen on the
+distant hills. The joyful tidings spread through the ranks of the
+Protestants that the Queen of Navarre, with her son and four thousand
+troops, had arrived. At the head of her firm and almost invincible
+band she rode, calm and serene, magnificently mounted, with her proud
+boy by her side. As the queen and her son entered the plain, an
+exultant shout from the whole Protestant host seemed to rend the
+skies. These enthusiastic plaudits, loud, long, reiterated, sent
+dismay to the hearts of the Catholics.
+
+Jeanne presented her son to the Protestant army, and solemnly
+dedicated him to the defense of the Protestant faith. At the same time
+she published a declaration to the world that she deplored the horrors
+of war; that she was not contending for the oppression of others, but
+to secure for herself and her friends the right to worship God
+according to the teachings of the Bible. The young prince was placed
+under the charge of the most experienced generals, to guard his person
+from danger and to instruct him in military science. The Prince of
+Conde was his teacher in that terrible accomplishment in which both
+master and pupil have obtained such worldwide renown.
+
+Long files of English troops, with trumpet tones, and waving banners,
+and heavy artillery, were seen winding their way along the streams of
+France, hastening to the scene of conflict. The heavy battalions of
+the Pope were marshaling upon all the sunny plains of Italy, and the
+banners of the rushing squadrons glittered from the pinnacles of the
+Alps, as Europe rose in arms, desolating ten thousand homes with
+conflagrations, and blood, and woe. Could the pen record the
+smouldering ruins, the desolate hearthstones, the shrieks of mortal
+agony, the wailings of the widow, the cry of the orphan, which thus
+resulted from man's inhumanity to man, the heart would sicken at the
+recital. The summer passed away in marches and counter-marches, in
+assassinations, and skirmishes, and battles. The fields of the
+husbandmen were trampled under the hoofs of horses. Villages were
+burned to the ground, and their wretched inhabitants driven out in
+nakedness and starvation to meet the storms of merciless winter. Noble
+ladies and refined and beautiful maidens fled shrieking from the
+pursuit of brutal and licentious soldiers. Still neither party gained
+any decisive victory. The storms of winter came, and beat heavily,
+with frost and drifting snow, upon the worn and weary hosts.
+
+In three months ten thousand Protestants had perished. At Orleans two
+hundred Protestants were thrown into prison. The populace set the
+prison on fire, and they were all consumed.
+
+At length the Catholic armies, having become far more numerous than
+the Protestant, ventured upon a general engagement. They met upon the
+field of Jarnac. The battle was conducted by the Reformers with a
+degree of fearlessness bordering on desperation. The Prince of Conde
+plunged into the thickest ranks of the enemy with his unfurled banner
+bearing the motto, "Danger is sweet for Christ and my country." Just
+as he commenced his desperate charge, a kick from a wounded horse
+fractured his leg so severely that the fragments of the bone protruded
+through his boot. Pointing to the mangled and helpless limb, he said
+to those around him, "Remember the state in which Louis of Bourbon
+enters the fight for Christ and his country." Immediately sounding the
+charge, like a whirlwind his little band plunged into the midst of
+their foes. For a moment the shock was irresistible, and the assailed
+fell like grass before the scythe of the mower. Soon, however, the
+undaunted band was entirely surrounded by their powerful adversaries.
+The Prince of Conde, with but about two hundred and fifty men, with
+indomitable determination sustained himself against the serried ranks
+of five thousand men closing up around him on every side. This was the
+last earthly conflict of the Prince of Conde. With his leg broken and
+his arm nearly severed from his body, his horse fell dead beneath him,
+and the prince, deluged with blood, was precipitated into the dust
+under the trampling hoofs of wounded and frantic chargers. His men
+still fought with desperation around their wounded chieftain. Of
+twenty-five nephews who accompanied him, fifteen were slain by his
+side. Soon all his defenders were cut down or dispersed. The wounded
+prince, an invaluable prize, was taken prisoner. Montesquieu, captain
+of the guards of the Duke of Anjou, came driving up, and as he saw
+the prisoner attracting much attention, besmeared with blood and dirt,
+
+"Whom have we here?" he inquired.
+
+"The Prince of Conde," was the exultant reply.
+
+"Kill him! kill him!" exclaimed the captain, and he discharged a
+pistol at his head.
+
+The ball passed through his brain, and the prince fell lifeless upon
+the ground. The corpse was left where it fell, and the Catholic troops
+pursued their foes, now flying in every direction. The Protestants
+retreated across a river, blew up the bridge, and protected themselves
+from farther assault. The next day the Duke of Anjou, the younger
+brother of Charles IX., and who afterward became Henry III., who was
+one of the leaders of the Catholic army, rode over the field of
+battle, to find, if possible, the body of his illustrious enemy.
+
+"We had not rode far," says one who accompanied him, "when we
+perceived a great number of the dead bodies piled up in a heap, which
+led us to judge that this was the spot where the body of the prince
+was to be found: in fact, we found it there. Baron de Magnac took the
+corpse by the hair to lift up the face, which was turned toward the
+ground, and asked me if I recognized him; but, as one eye was torn
+out, and his face was covered with blood and dirt, I could only reply
+that it was certainly his height and his complexion, but farther I
+could not say."
+
+They washed the bloody and mangled face, and found that it was indeed
+the prince. His body was carried, with infamous ribaldry, on an ass to
+the castle of Jarnac, and thrown contemptuously upon the ground.
+Several illustrious prisoners were brought to the spot and butchered
+in cold blood, and their corpses thrown upon that of the prince, while
+the soldiers passed a night of drunkenness and revelry, exulting over
+the remains of their dead enemies.
+
+Such was the terrible battle of Jarnac, the first conflict which Henry
+witnessed. The tidings of this great victory and of the death of the
+illustrious Conde excited transports of joy among the Catholics.
+Charles IX. sent to Pope Pius V. the standards taken from the
+Protestants. The Pope, who affirmed that Luther was a ravenous beast,
+and that his doctrines were the sum of all crimes, wrote to the king
+a letter of congratulation. He urged him to extirpate every fibre
+of heresy, regardless of all entreaty, and of every tie of blood
+and affection. To encourage him, he cited the example of Saul
+exterminating the Amalekites, and assured him that all tendency to
+clemency was a snare of the devil.
+
+The Catholics now considered the condition of the Protestants as
+desperate. The pulpits resounded with imprecations and anathemas. The
+Catholic priests earnestly advocated the sentiment that no faith was
+to be kept with heretics; that to massacre them was an action
+essential to the safety of the state, and which would secure the
+approbation of God.
+
+But the Protestants, though defeated, were still unsubdued. The noble
+Admiral Coligni still remained to them; and after the disaster, Jeanne
+d'Albret presented herself before the troops, holding her son Henry,
+then fourteen years of age, by one hand, and Henry, son of the Prince
+de Conde, by the other, and devoted them both to the cause. The young
+Henry of Navarre was then proclaimed _generalissimo_ of the army and
+_protector_ of the churches. He took the following oath: "I swear to
+defend the Protestant religion, and to persevere in the common cause,
+till death or till victory has secured for all the liberty which we
+desire."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE MARRIAGE.
+
+1568-1572
+
+Emotions of Henry.--His military sagacity.--Enthusiasm inspired by
+Jeanne.--The failure of Catharine.--The second defeat.--The wounded
+friends.--The reserve force.--Misfortunes of Coligni.--His
+letter.--The third army.--The tide of victory changed.--The treaty
+of St. Germaine-en-Laye.--Perfidy of Catharine.--The court at
+Rochelle.--The two courts.--Marriage of Elizabeth.--The Princess
+Marguerite.--Effects of the connection.--A royal match.--Repugnance
+of Jeanne d'Albret.--Objections overcome.--Perjury of Charles
+IX.--Displays of friendship.--Indifference of Marguerite.--Preparations
+for the wedding.--Death of Jeanne.--Demonstrations of grief.--Different
+reports.--The King of Navarre.--Indifference.--Coligni lured to
+Paris.--He is remonstrated with.--The nuptial day.--The scene.--Small
+favors gratefully received.--Mass.--National festivities.--The
+tournament.--Strange representations.--Regal courtesy.--Impediments
+to departure.--Mission from the Pope.--The reply.
+
+
+Young Henry of Navarre was but about fourteen years of age when, from
+one of the hills in the vicinity, he looked upon the terrible battle
+of Jarnac. It is reported that, young as he was, he pointed out the
+fatal errors which were committed by the Protestants in all the
+arrangements which preceded the battle.
+
+"It is folly," he said, "to think of fighting, with forces so divided,
+a united army making an attack at one point."
+
+For the security of his person, deemed so precious to the Protestants,
+his friends, notwithstanding his entreaties and even tears, would not
+allow him to expose himself to any of the perils of the conflict. As
+he stood upon an eminence which overlooked the field of battle,
+surrounded by a few faithful guards, he gazed with intense anguish
+upon the sanguinary scene spread out before him. He saw his friends
+utterly defeated, and their squadrons trampled in the dust beneath the
+hoofs of the Catholic cavalry.
+
+The Protestants, without loss of time, rallied anew their forces. The
+Queen of Navarre soon saw thousands of strong arms and brave hearts
+collecting again around her banner. Accompanied by her son, she rode
+through their ranks, and addressed them in words of feminine yet
+heroic eloquence, which roused their utmost enthusiasm. But few
+instances have been recorded in which human hearts have been more
+deeply moved than were these martial hosts by the brief sentences
+which dropped from the lips of this extraordinary woman. Henry, in the
+most solemn manner, pledged himself to consecrate all his energies to
+the defense of the Protestant religion. To each of the chiefs of the
+army the queen also presented a gold medal, suspended from a golden
+chain, with her own name and that of her son impressed upon one side,
+and on the other the words "Certain peace, complete victory, or
+honorable death." The enthusiasm of the army was raised to the highest
+pitch, and the heroic queen became the object almost of the adoration
+of her soldiers.
+
+Catharine, seeing the wonderful enthusiasm with which the Protestant
+troops were inspired by the presence of the Queen of Navarre, visited
+the head-quarters of her own army, hoping that she might also
+enkindle similar ardor. Accompanied by a magnificent retinue of her
+brilliantly-accoutred generals, she swept, like a gorgeous vision,
+before her troops. She lavished presents upon her officers, and in
+high-sounding phrase harangued the soldiers; but there was not a
+private in the ranks who did not know that she was a wicked and a
+polluted woman. She had talent, but no soul. All her efforts were
+unavailing to evoke one single electric spark of emotion. She had
+sense enough to perceive her signal failure and to feel its
+mortification. No one either loved or respected Catharine. Thousands
+hated her, yet, conscious of her power, either courting her smiles or
+dreading her frown, they often bowed before her in adulation.
+
+The two armies were soon facing each other upon the field of battle.
+It was the third of October, 1569. More than fifty thousand combatants
+met upon the plains of Moncontour. All generalship seemed to be
+ignored as the exasperated adversaries rushed upon each other in a
+headlong fight. The Protestants, outnumbered, were awfully defeated.
+Out of twenty-five thousand combatants whom they led into the field,
+but eight thousand could be rallied around their retreating banner
+after a fight of but three quarters of an hour. All their cannon,
+baggage, and munitions of war were lost. No mercy was granted to the
+vanquished.
+
+Coligni, at the very commencement of the battle, was struck by a
+bullet which shattered his jaw. The gushing blood under his helmet
+choked him, and they bore him upon a litter from the field. As they
+were carrying the wounded admiral along, they overtook another litter
+upon which was stretched L'Estrange, the bosom friend of the admiral,
+also desperately wounded. L'Estrange, forgetting himself, gazed for a
+moment with tearful eyes upon the noble Coligni, and then gently said,
+"It is sweet to trust in God." Coligni, unable to speak, could only
+_look_ a reply. Thus the two wounded friends parted. Coligni afterward
+remarked that these few words were a cordial to his spirit, inspiring
+him with resolution and hope.
+
+Henry of Navarre, and his cousin, Henry of Conde, son of the prince
+who fell at the battle of Jarnac, from a neighboring eminence
+witnessed this scene of defeat and of awful carnage. The admiral,
+unwilling to expose to danger lives so precious to their cause, had
+stationed them there with a reserve of four thousand men under the
+command of Louis of Nassau. When Henry saw the Protestants giving way,
+he implored Louis that they should hasten with the reserve to the
+protection of their friends; but Louis, with military rigor, awaited
+the commands of the admiral. "We lose our advantage, then," exclaimed
+the prince, "and consequently the battle."
+
+The most awful of earthly calamities seemed now to fall like an
+avalanche upon Coligni, the noble Huguenot chieftain. His beloved
+brother was slain. Bands of wretches had burned down his castle and
+laid waste his estates. The Parliament of Paris, composed of zealous
+Catholics, had declared him guilty of high treason, and offered fifty
+thousand crowns to whoever would deliver him up, dead or alive. The
+Pope declared to all Europe that he was a "detestable, infamous,
+execrable man, if, indeed, he even merited the name of man." His army
+was defeated, his friends cut to pieces, and he himself was grievously
+wounded, and was lying upon a couch in great anguish. Under these
+circumstances, thirteen days after receiving his wound, he thus wrote
+to his children:
+
+     "We should not repose on earthly possessions. Let us place
+     our hope beyond the earth, and acquire other treasures than
+     those which we see with our eyes and touch with our hands.
+     We must follow Jesus our leader, who has gone before us. Men
+     have ravished us of what they could. If such is the will of
+     God, we shall be happy and our condition good, since we
+     endure this loss from no wrong you have done those who have
+     brought it to you, but solely for the hate they have borne
+     me because God was pleased to direct me to assist his
+     Church. For the present, it is enough to admonish and
+     conjure you, in the name of God, to persevere courageously
+     in the study of virtue."
+
+In the course of a few weeks Coligni rose from his bed, and the
+Catholics were amazed to find him at the head of a third army. The
+indomitable Queen of Navarre, with the calm energy which ever
+signalized her character, had rallied the fugitives around her, and
+had reanimated their waning courage by her own invincible spirit.
+Nobles and peasants from all the mountains of Bearn, and from every
+province in France, thronged to the Protestant camp. Conflict after
+conflict ensued. The tide of victory now turned in favor of the
+Reformers. Henry, absolutely refusing any longer to retire from the
+perils of the field, engaged with the utmost coolness, judgment, and
+yet impetuosity in all the toils and dangers of the battle. The
+Protestant cause gained strength. The Catholics were disheartened.
+Even Catharine became convinced that the extermination of the
+Protestants by force was no longer possible. So once more they offered
+conditions of peace, which were promptly accepted. These terms, which
+were signed at St. Germaine-en-Laye the 8th of August, 1570, were more
+favorable than the preceding. The Protestants were allowed liberty of
+worship in all the places then in their possession. They were also
+allowed public worship in two towns in each province of the kingdom.
+They were permitted to reside any where without molestation, and were
+declared _eligible_ to any public office.
+
+Coligni, mourning over the untold evils and miseries of war, with
+alacrity accepted these conditions. "Sooner than fall back into these
+disturbances," said he, "I would choose to die a thousand deaths, and
+be dragged through the streets of Paris."
+
+The queen, however, and her advisers were guilty of the most extreme
+perfidy in this truce. It was merely their object to induce the
+foreign troops who had come to the aid of the allies to leave the
+kingdom, that they might then exterminate the Protestants by a general
+massacre. Catharine decided to accomplish by the dagger of the
+assassin that which she had in vain attempted to accomplish on the
+field of battle. This peace was but the first act in the awful tragedy
+of St. Bartholomew.
+
+Peace being thus apparently restored, the young Prince of Navarre now
+returned to his hereditary domains and visited its various provinces,
+where he was received with the most lively demonstrations of
+affection. Various circumstances, however, indicated to the Protestant
+leaders that some mysterious and treacherous plot was forming for
+their destruction. The Protestant gentlemen absented themselves,
+consequently, from the court of Charles IX. The king and his mother
+were mortified by these evidences that their perfidy was suspected.
+
+Jeanne, with her son, after visiting her subjects in all parts of her
+own dominions, went to Rochelle, where they were joined by many of the
+most illustrious of their friends. Large numbers gathered around them,
+and the court of the Queen of Navarre was virtually transferred to
+that place. Thus there were two rival courts, side by side, in the
+same kingdom. Catharine, with her courtiers, exhibited boundless
+luxury and voluptuousness at Paris. Jeanne d'Albret, at Rochelle,
+embellished her court with all that was noble in intellect, elegant in
+manners, and pure in morals. Catharine and her submissive son Charles
+IX. left nothing untried to lure the Protestants into a false
+security. Jeanne scrupulously requited the courtesies she received
+from Catharine, though she regarded with much suspicion the adulation
+and the sycophancy of her proud hostess.
+
+The young King of France, Charles IX., who was of about the same age
+with Henry, and who had been his companion and playmate in childhood,
+was now married to Elizabeth, the daughter of the Emperor Maximilian
+II. of Austria. Their nuptials were celebrated with all the
+ostentatious pomp which the luxury of the times and the opulence of
+the French monarchy could furnish. In these rejoicings the courts of
+France and Navarre participated with the semblance of the most
+heartfelt cordiality. Protestants and Catholics, pretending to forget
+that they had recently encountered each other with fiendlike fury in
+fields of blood, mingled gayly in these festivities, and vied with
+each other in the exchange of courtly greetings and polished
+flatteries. Catharine and Charles IX. lavished, with the utmost
+profusion, their commendations and attentions upon the young Prince of
+Navarre, and left no arts of dissimulation unessayed which might
+disarm the fears and win the confidence of their victims.
+
+The queen mother, with caressing fondness, declared that Henry must be
+her son. She would confer upon him Marguerite, her youngest daughter.
+This princess had now become a young lady, beautiful in the extreme,
+and highly accomplished in all those graces which can kindle the fires
+and feed the flames of passion; but she was also as devoid of
+principle as any male libertine who contaminated by his presence a
+court whose very atmosphere was corruption. Many persons of royal
+blood had most earnestly sought the hand of this princess, for an
+alliance with the royal family of France was an honor which the
+proudest sovereigns might covet. Such a connection, in its political
+aspects, was every thing Henry could desire. It would vastly augment
+the consideration and the power of the young prince, and would bring
+him a long step nearer to the throne of France. The Protestants were
+all intensely interested in this match, as it would invest one,
+destined soon to become their most prominent leader, with new ability
+to defend their rights and to advocate their cause. It is a singular
+illustration of the hopeless corruption of the times, that the
+notorious profligacy of Marguerite seems to have been considered, even
+by Henry himself, as no obstacle to the union.
+
+A royal marriage is ordinarily but a matter of state policy. Upon the
+cold and icy eminence of kingly life the flowers of sympathy and
+affection rarely bloom. Henry, without hesitation, acquiesced in the
+expediency of this nuptial alliance. He regarded it as manifestly a
+very politic partnership, and did not concern himself in the least
+about the agreeable or disagreeable qualities of his contemplated
+spouse. He had no idea of making her his companion, much less his
+friend. She was to be merely his _wife_.
+
+Jeanne d'Albret, however, a woman of sincere piety, and in whose bosom
+all noble thoughts were nurtured, cherished many misgivings. Her
+Protestant principles caused her to shrink from the espousals of her
+son with a Roman Catholic. Her religious scruples, and the spotless
+purity of her character, aroused the most lively emotions of
+repugnance in view of her son's connection with one who had not even
+the modesty to conceal her vices. State considerations, however,
+finally prevailed, and Jeanne, waiving her objections, consented to
+the marriage. She yielded, however, with the greatest reluctance, to
+the unceasing importunities of her friends. They urged that this
+marriage would unite the two parties in a solid peace, and thus
+protect the Protestants from persecution, and rescue France from
+unutterable woe. Even the Admiral Coligni was deceived. But the result
+proved, in this case as in every other, that _it is never safe to do
+evil that good may come_. If any fact is established under the
+government of God, it is this.
+
+The Queen of Navarre, in her extreme repugnance to this match,
+remarked,
+
+"I would choose to descend to the condition of the poorest damsel in
+France rather than sacrifice to the grandeur of my family my own soul
+and that of my son."
+
+With consummate perjury, Charles IX. declared, "I give my sister in
+marriage, not only to the Prince of Navarre, but, as it were, to the
+whole Protestant party. This will be the strongest and closest bond
+for the maintenance of peace between my subjects, and a sure evidence
+of my good-will toward the Protestants."
+
+Thus influenced, this noble woman consented to the union. She then
+went to Blois to meet Catharine and the king. They received her with
+exuberant displays of love. The foolish king quite overacted his part,
+calling her "his great aunt, his all, his best beloved." As the Queen
+of Navarre retired for the night, Charles said to Catharine, laughing,
+
+"Well, mother, what do you think of it? Do I play my little part
+well?"
+
+"Yes," said Catharine, encouragingly, "very well; but it is of no use
+unless it continues."
+
+"Allow me to go on," said the king, "and you will see that I shall
+ensnare them."
+
+The young Princess Marguerite, heartless, proud, and petulant,
+received the cold addresses of Henry with still more chilling
+indifference. She refused to make even the slightest concessions to
+his religious views, and, though she made no objection to the
+decidedly politic partnership, she very ostentatiously displayed her
+utter disregard for Henry and his friends. The haughty and dissolute
+beauty was piqued by the reluctance which Jeanne had manifested to an
+alliance which Marguerite thought should have been regarded as the
+very highest of all earthly honors. Preparations were, however, made
+for the marriage ceremony, which was to be performed in the French
+capital with unexampled splendor. The most distinguished gentlemen of
+the Protestant party, nobles, statesmen, warriors, from all parts of
+the realm, were invited to the metropolis, to add lustre to the
+festivities by their presence. Many, however, of the wisest counselors
+of the Queen of Navarre, deeply impressed with the conviction of the
+utter perfidy of Catharine, and apprehending some deep-laid plot,
+remonstrated against the acceptance of the invitations, presaging
+that, "if the wedding were celebrated in Paris, the liveries would be
+very crimson."
+
+Jeanne, solicited by the most pressing letters from Catharine and her
+son Charles IX., and urged by her courtiers, who were eager to share
+the renowned pleasures of the French metropolis, proceeded to Paris.
+She had hardly entered the sumptuous lodgings provided for her in the
+court of Catharine, when she was seized with a violent fever, which
+raged in her veins nine days, and then she died. In death she
+manifested the same faith and fortitude which had embellished her
+life. Not a murmur or a groan escaped her lips in the most violent
+paroxysms of pain. She had no desire to live except from maternal
+solicitude for her children, Henry and Catharine.
+
+"But God," said she, "will be their father and protector, as he has
+been mine in my greatest afflictions. I confide them to his
+providence."
+
+She died in June, 1572, in the forty-fourth year of her age. Catharine
+exhibited the most ostentatious and extravagant demonstrations of
+grief. Charles gave utterance to loud and poignant lamentations, and
+ordered a surgeon to examine the body, that the cause of her death
+might be ascertained. Notwithstanding these efforts to allay
+suspicion, the report spread like wildfire through all the departments
+of France, and all the Protestant countries of Europe, that the queen
+had been perfidiously poisoned by Catharine. The Protestant writers of
+the time assert that she fell a victim to poison communicated by a
+pair of perfumed gloves. The Catholics as confidently affirm that she
+died of a natural disease. The truth can now never be known till the
+secrets of all hearts shall be revealed at the judgment day.
+
+Henry, with his retinue, was slowly traveling toward Paris,
+unconscious of his mother's sickness, when the unexpected tidings
+arrived of her death. It is difficult to imagine what must have been
+the precise nature of the emotions of an ambitious young man in such
+an event, who ardently loved both his mother and the crown which she
+wore, as by the loss of the one he gained the other. The cloud of his
+grief was embellished with the gilded edgings of joy. The Prince of
+Bearn now assumed the title and the style of the King of Navarre, and
+honored the memory of his noble mother with every manifestation of
+regret and veneration. This melancholy event caused the postponement
+of the marriage ceremony for a short time, as it was not deemed
+decorous that epithalamiums should be shouted and requiems chanted
+from the same lips in the same hour. The knell tolling the burial of
+the dead would not blend harmoniously with the joyous peals of the
+marriage bell. Henry was not at all annoyed by this delay, for no
+impatient ardor urged him to his nuptials. Marguerite, annoyed by the
+opposition which Henry's mother had expressed in regard to the
+alliance, and vexed by the utter indifference which her betrothed
+manifested toward her person, indulged in all the wayward humors of a
+worse than spoiled child. She studiously displayed her utter disregard
+for Henry, which manifestations, with the most provoking
+indifference, he did not seem even to notice.
+
+During this short interval the Protestant nobles continued to flock to
+Paris, that they might honor with their presence the marriage of the
+young chief. The Admiral Coligni was, by very special exertions on the
+part of Catharine and Charles, lured to the metropolis. He had
+received anonymous letters warning him of his danger. Many of his more
+prudent friends openly remonstrated against his placing himself in the
+power of the perfidious queen. Coligni, however, was strongly attached
+to Henry, and, in defiance of all these warnings, he resolved to
+attend his nuptials. "I confide," said he, "in the sacred word of his
+majesty."
+
+Upon his arrival in the metropolis, Catharine and Charles lavished
+upon him the most unbounded manifestations of regard. The king,
+embracing the admiral, exclaimed, "This is the happiest day of my
+life." Very soon one of the admiral's friends called upon him to take
+leave, saying that he was immediately about to retire into the
+country. When asked by the admiral the cause of his unexpected
+departure, he replied, "I go because they caress you too much, and I
+would rather save myself with fools than perish with sages."
+
+At length the nuptial day arrived. It was the seventeenth of August,
+1572. Paris had laid aside its mourning weeds, and a gay and brilliant
+carnival succeeded its dismal days of gloom. Protestants and
+Catholics, of highest name and note, from every part of Europe, who
+had met in the dreadful encounters of a hundred fields of blood, now
+mingled in apparent fraternity with the glittering throng, all
+interchanging smiles and congratulations. The unimpassioned bridegroom
+led his scornful bride to the church of Notre Dame. Before the massive
+portals of this renowned edifice, and under the shadow of its
+venerable towers, a magnificent platform had been reared, canopied
+with the most gorgeous tapestry. Hundreds of thousands thronged the
+surrounding amphitheatre, swarming at the windows, crowding the
+balconies, and clustered upon the house-tops, to witness the imposing
+ceremony. The gentle breeze breathing over the multitude was laden
+with the perfume of flowers. Banners, and pennants, and ribbons of
+every varied hue waved in the air, or hung in gay festoons from window
+to window, and from roof to roof. Upon that conspicuous platform, in
+the presence of all the highest nobility of France, and of the most
+illustrious representatives of every court of Europe, Henry received
+the hand of the haughty princess, and the nuptial oath was
+administered.
+
+Marguerite, however, even in that hour, and in the presence of all
+those spectators, gave a ludicrous exhibition of her girlish petulance
+and ungoverned willfulness. When, in the progress of the ceremony, she
+was asked if she willingly received Henry of Bourbon for her husband,
+she pouted, coquettishly tossed her proud head, and was silent. The
+question was repeated. The spirit of Marguerite was now roused, and
+all the powers of Europe could not tame the shrew. She fixed her eyes
+defiantly upon the officiating bishop, and refusing, by look, or word,
+or gesture, to express the slightest assent, remained as immovable as
+a statue. Embarrassment and delay ensued. Her royal brother, Charles
+IX., fully aware of his sister's indomitable resolution, coolly walked
+up to the termagant at bay, and placing one hand upon her chest and
+the other upon the back of her head, compelled an involuntary nod. The
+bishop smiled and bowed, and acting upon the principle that small
+favors were gratefully received, proceeded with the ceremony. Such
+were the vows with which Henry and Marguerite were united. Such is too
+often _love in the palace_.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE.]
+
+The Roman Catholic wife, unaccompanied by her Protestant husband, who
+waited at the door with his retinue, now entered the church of Notre
+Dame to participate in the solemnities of the mass. The young King of
+Navarre then submissively received his bride and conducted her to a
+very magnificent dinner. Catharine and Charles IX., at this
+entertainment, were very specially attentive to the Protestant nobles.
+The weak and despicable king leaned affectionately upon the arm of the
+Admiral Coligni, and for a long time conversed with him with every
+appearance of friendship and esteem. Balls, illuminations, and
+pageants ensued in the evening. For many days these unnatural and
+chilling nuptials were celebrated with all the splendor of national
+festivities. Among these entertainments there was a tournament,
+singularly characteristic of the times, and which certainly sheds
+peculiar lustre either upon the humility or upon the good-nature of
+the Protestants.
+
+A large area was prepared for the display of one of those barbaric
+passes of arms in which the rude chivalry of that day delighted. The
+inclosure was surrounded by all the polished intellect, rank, and
+beauty of France. Charles IX., with his two brothers and several of
+the Catholic nobility, then appeared upon one side of the arena on
+noble war-horses gorgeously caparisoned, and threw down the gauntlet
+of defiance to Henry of Navarre and his Protestant retinue, who,
+similarly mounted and accoutred, awaited the challenge upon the
+opposite side.
+
+The portion of the inclosure in which the Catholics appeared was
+decorated to represent heaven. Birds of Paradise displayed their
+gorgeous plumage, and the air was vocal with the melody of trilling
+songsters. Beauty displayed its charms arrayed in celestial robes, and
+ambrosial odors lulled the senses in luxurious indulgence. All the
+resources of wealth and art were lavished to create a vision of the
+home of the blessed.
+
+The Protestants, in the opposite extreme of the arena, were seen
+emerging from the desolation, the gloom, and the sulphurous canopy of
+hell. The two parties, from their antagonistic realms, rushed to the
+encounter, the fiends of darkness battling with the angels of light.
+Gradually the Catholics, in accordance with previous arrangements,
+drove back the Protestants toward their grim abodes, when suddenly
+numerous demons appeared rushing from the dungeons of the infernal
+regions, who, with cloven hoofs, and satanic weapons, and chains
+forged in penal fires, seized upon the Protestants and dragged them to
+the blackness of darkness from whence they had emerged. Plaudits loud
+and long greeted this discomfiture of the Protestants by the infernal
+powers.
+
+But suddenly the scene is changed. A winged Cupid appears, the
+representative of the pious and amiable bride Marguerite. The demons
+fly in dismay before the irresistible boy. Fearlessly this emissary of
+love penetrates the realms of despair. The Protestants, by this
+agency, are liberated from their thralldom, and conducted in triumph
+to the Elysium of the Catholics. A more curious display of regal
+courtesy history has not recorded. And this was in Paris!
+
+Immediately after the marriage, the Admiral Coligni was anxious to
+obtain permission to leave the city. His devout spirit found no
+enjoyment in the gayeties of the metropolis, and he was deeply
+disgusted with the unveiled licentiousness which he witnessed every
+where around him. Day after day, however, impediments were placed in
+the way of his departure, and it was not until three days after the
+marriage festivities that he succeeded in obtaining an audience with
+Charles. He accompanied Charles to the racket-court, where the young
+monarch was accustomed to spend much of his time, and there bidding
+him adieu, left him to his amusements, and took his way on foot toward
+his lodgings.
+
+The Pope, not aware of the treachery which was contemplated, was much
+displeased in view of the apparently friendly relations which had thus
+suddenly sprung up between the Catholics and the Protestants. He was
+exceedingly perplexed by the marriage, and at last sent a legate to
+expostulate with the French king. Charles IX. was exceedingly
+embarrassed how to frame a reply. He wished to convince the legate of
+his entire devotion to the Papal Church, and, at the same time, he did
+not dare to betray his intentions; for the detection of the conspiracy
+would not only frustrate all his plans, but would load him with
+ignominy, and vastly augment the power of his enemies.
+
+"I do devoutly wish," Charles replied, "that I could tell you all; but
+you and the Pope shall soon know how beneficial this marriage shall
+prove to the interests of religion. Take my word for it, in a little
+time the holy father shall have reason to praise my designs, my piety,
+and my zeal in behalf of the faith."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+PREPARATIONS FOR MASSACRE.
+
+1572
+
+The attempted assassination of Coligni.--Escape of the
+assassin.--Arrival of Henry.--Christian submission of
+Coligni.--Indignation of Henry.--Artifice of Catharine and
+Charles.--Perplexity of the Protestants.--Secret preparations.--Feeble
+condition of the Protestants.--The visit.--The secret
+council.--Preparations to arm the citizens.--Directions for the
+massacre.--Signals.--Feast at the Louvre.--Embarrassment of
+Henry.--The Duke of Lorraine.--His hatred toward the Protestants.--The
+assassin's revenge.--Anxiety of the Duchess of Lorraine.--Scene in
+Henry's chamber.--Rumors of trouble.--Assembling for work.--Alarm
+in the metropolis.--Inflexibility of Catharine.--The faltering of
+Charles.--Nerved for the work.--The knell of death.--"Vive Dieu et
+le roi!"
+
+
+As the Admiral Coligni was quietly passing through the streets from
+his interview with Charles at the Louvre to his residence, in
+preparation for his departure, accompanied by twelve or fifteen of his
+personal friends, a letter was placed in his hands. He opened it, and
+began to read as he walked slowly along. Just as he was turning a
+corner of the street, a musket was discharged from the window of an
+adjoining house, and two balls struck him. One cut off a finger of his
+right hand, and the other entered his left arm. The admiral, inured to
+scenes of danger, manifested not the slightest agitation or alarm. He
+calmly pointed out to his friends the house from which the gun had
+been discharged, and his attendants rushed forward and broke open the
+door. The assassin, however, escaped through a back window, and,
+mounting a fleet horse stationed there, and which was subsequently
+proved to have belonged to a nephew of the king, avoided arrest. It
+was clearly proved in the investigations which immediately ensued
+that the assassin was in connivance with some of the most prominent
+Catholics of the realm. The Duke of Guise and Catharine were clearly
+implicated.
+
+Messengers were immediately dispatched to inform the king of the crime
+which had been perpetrated. Charles was still playing in the
+tennis-court. Casting away his racket, he exclaimed, with every
+appearance of indignation, "Shall I never be at peace?"
+
+The wounded admiral was conveyed to his lodgings. The surgeons of the
+court, the ministers of the Protestant Church, and the most
+illustrious princes and nobles of the admiral's party hastened to the
+couch of the sufferer. Henry of Navarre was one of the first that
+arrived, and he was deeply moved as he bent over his revered and
+much-loved friend. The intrepid and noble old man seemed perfectly
+calm and composed, reposing unfailing trust in God.
+
+"My friends," said he, "why do you weep? For myself, I deem it an
+honor to have received these wounds for the name of God. Pray him to
+strengthen me."
+
+Henry proceeded from the bedside of the admiral to the Louvre. He
+found Charles and Catharine there, surrounded by many of the nobles
+of their court. In indignant terms Henry reproached both mother and
+son with the atrocity of the crime which had been committed, and
+demanded immediate permission to retire from Paris, asserting that
+neither he nor his friends could any longer remain in the capital in
+safety. The king and his mother vied with each other in noisy,
+voluble, and even blasphemous declarations of their utter abhorrence
+of the deed; but all the oaths of Charles and all the vociferations of
+Catharine did but strengthen the conviction of the Protestants that
+they both were implicated in this plot of assassination. Catharine and
+Charles, feigning the deepest interest in the fate of their wounded
+guest, hastened to his sick-chamber with every possible assurance of
+their distress and sympathy. Charles expressed the utmost indignation
+at the murderous attempt, and declared, with those oaths which are
+common to vulgar minds, that he would take the most terrible vengeance
+upon the perpetrators as soon as he could discover them.
+
+"To discover them can not be difficult," coolly replied the admiral.
+
+Henry of Navarre, overwhelmed with indignation and sorrow, was
+greatly alarmed in view of the toils in which he found himself and his
+friends hopelessly involved. The Protestants, who had been thus lured
+to Paris, unarmed and helpless, were panic-stricken by these
+indications of relentless perfidy. They immediately made preparations
+to escape from the city. Henry, bewildered by rumors of plots and
+perils, hesitated whether to retire from the capital with his friends
+in a body, taking the admiral with them, or more secretly to endeavor
+to effect an escape.
+
+But Catharine and Charles, the moment for action having not quite
+arrived, were unwearied in their exertions to allay this excitement
+and soothe these alarms. They became renewedly clamorous in their
+expressions of grief and indignation in view of the assault upon the
+admiral. The king placed a strong guard around the house where the
+wounded nobleman lay, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting him
+from any popular outbreak, but in reality, as it subsequently
+appeared, to guard against his escape through the intervention of his
+friends. He also, with consummate perfidy, urged the Protestants in
+the city to occupy quarters near together, that, in case of trouble,
+they might more easily be protected by him, and might more
+effectually aid one another. His real object, however, was to assemble
+them in more convenient proximity for the slaughter to which they were
+doomed. The Protestants were in the deepest perplexity. They were not
+sure but that all their apprehensions were groundless; and yet they
+knew not but that in the next hour some fearful battery would be
+unmasked for their destruction. They were unarmed, unorganized, and
+unable to make any preparation to meet an unknown danger. Catharine,
+whose depraved yet imperious spirit was guiding with such consummate
+duplicity all this enginery of intrigue, hourly administered the
+stimulus of her own stern will to sustain the faltering purpose of her
+equally depraved but fickle-minded and imbecile son.
+
+Some circumstances seem to indicate that Charles was not an accomplice
+with his mother in the attempt upon the life of the admiral. She said
+to her son, "Notwithstanding all your protestations, the deed will
+certainly be laid to your charge. Civil war will again be enkindled.
+The chiefs of the Protestants are now all in Paris. You had better
+gain the victory at once here than incur the hazard of a new
+campaign."
+
+"Well, then," said Charles, petulantly, "since you approve the murder
+of the admiral, I am content. But let all the Huguenots also fall,
+that there may not be one left to reproach me."
+
+It was on Friday, the 22d of August, that the bullets of the assassin
+wounded Coligni. The next day Henry called again, with his bride, to
+visit his friend, whose finger had been amputated, and who was
+suffering extreme pain from the wound in his arm. Marguerite had but
+few sympathies with the scenes which are to be witnessed in the
+chamber of sickness. She did not conceal her impatience, but, after a
+few commonplace phrases of condolence with her husband's bosom friend,
+she hastened away, leaving Henry to perform alone the offices of
+friendly sympathy.
+
+While the young King of Navarre was thus sitting at the bedside of the
+admiral, recounting to him the assurances of faith and honor given by
+Catharine and her son, the question was then under discussion, in
+secret council, at the palace, by this very Catharine and Charles,
+whether Henry, the husband of the daughter of the one and of the
+sister of the other, should be included with the rest of the
+Protestants in the massacre which they were plotting. Charles
+manifested some reluctance thus treacherously to take the life of his
+early playmate and friend, his brother-in-law, and his invited guest.
+It was, after much deliberation, decided to protect him from the
+general slaughter to which his friends were destined.
+
+The king sent for some of the leading officers of his troops, and
+commanded them immediately, but secretly, to send his agents through
+every section of the city, to arm the Roman Catholic citizens, and
+assemble them, at midnight, in front of the Hotel de Ville.
+
+The energetic Duke of Guise, who had acquired much notoriety by the
+sanguinary spirit with which he had persecuted the Protestants, was to
+take the lead of the carnage. To prevent mistakes in the confusion of
+the night, he had issued secret orders for all the Catholics "to wear
+a white cross on the hat, and to bind a piece of white cloth around
+the arm." In the darkest hour of the night, when all the sentinels of
+vigilance and all the powers of resistance should be most effectually
+disarmed by sleep, the alarm-bell, from the tower of the Palace of
+Justice, was to toll the signal for the indiscriminate massacre of the
+Protestants. The bullet and the dagger were to be every where
+employed, and men, women, and children were to be cut down without
+mercy. With a very few individual exceptions, none were to be left to
+avenge the deed. Large bodies of troops, who hated the Protestants
+with that implacable bitterness which the most sanguinary wars of many
+years had engendered, had been called into the city, and they,
+familiar with deeds of blood, were to commence the slaughter. All good
+citizens were enjoined, as they loved their Savior, to aid in the
+extermination of the enemies of the Church of Rome. Thus, it was
+declared, God would be glorified and the best interests of man
+promoted. The spirit of the age was in harmony with the act, and it
+can not be doubted that there were those who had been so instructed by
+their spiritual guides that they truly believed that by this sacrifice
+they were doing God service.
+
+The conspiracy extended throughout all the provinces of France. The
+storm was to burst, at the same moment, upon the unsuspecting victims
+in every city and village of the kingdom. Beacon-fires, with their
+lurid midnight glare, were to flash the tidings from mountain to
+mountain. The peal of alarm was to ring along from steeple to steeple,
+from city to hamlet, from valley to hill-side, till the whole
+Catholic population should be aroused to obliterate every vestige of
+Protestantism from the land.
+
+While Catharine and Charles were arranging all the details of this
+deed of infamy, even to the very last moment they maintained with the
+Protestants the appearance of the most cordial friendship. They
+lavished caresses upon the Protestant generals and nobles. The very
+day preceding the night when the massacre commenced, the king
+entertained, at a sumptuous feast in the Louvre, many of the most
+illustrious of the doomed guests. Many of the Protestant nobles were
+that night, by the most pressing invitations, detained in the palace
+to sleep. Charles appeared in a glow of amiable spirits, and amused
+them, till a late hour, with his pleasantries.
+
+Henry of Navarre, however, had his suspicions very strongly aroused.
+Though he did not and could not imagine any thing so dreadful as a
+general massacre, he clearly foresaw that preparations were making for
+some very extraordinary event. The entire depravity of both Catharine
+and Charles he fully understood. But he knew not where the blow would
+fall, and he was extremely perplexed in deciding as to the course he
+ought to pursue. The apartments assigned to him and his bride were in
+the palace of the Louvre. It would be so manifestly for his worldly
+interest for him to unite with the Catholic party, especially when he
+should see the Protestant cause hopelessly ruined, that the mother and
+the brother of his wife had hesitatingly concluded that it would be
+safe to spare his life. Many of the most conspicuous members of the
+court of Navarre lodged also in the capacious palace, in chambers
+contiguous to those which were occupied by their sovereign.
+
+Marguerite's oldest sister had married the Duke of Lorraine, and her
+son, the Duke of Guise, an energetic, ambitious, unprincipled
+profligate, was one of the most active agents in this conspiracy. His
+illustrious rank, his near relationship with the king--rendering it
+not improbable that he might yet inherit the throne--his restless
+activity, and his implacable hatred of the Protestants, gave him the
+most prominent position as the leader of the Catholic party. He had
+often encountered the Admiral Coligni upon fields of battle, where all
+the malignity of the human heart had been aroused, and he had often
+been compelled to fly before the strong arm of his powerful adversary.
+He felt that now the hour of revenge had come, and with an assassin's
+despicable heart he thirsted for the blood of his noble foe. It was
+one of his paid agents who fired upon the admiral from the window,
+and, mounted upon one of the fleetest chargers of the Duke of Guise,
+the wretch made his escape.
+
+The conspiracy had been kept a profound secret from Marguerite, lest
+she should divulge it to her husband. The Duchess of Lorraine,
+however, was in all their deliberations, and, fully aware of the
+dreadful carnage which the night was to witness, she began to feel, as
+the hour of midnight approached, very considerable anxiety in
+reference to the safety of her sister. Conscious guilt magnified her
+fears; and she was apprehensive lest the Protestants, when they should
+first awake to the treachery which surrounded them, would rush to the
+chamber of their king to protect him, and would wreak their vengeance
+upon his Catholic spouse. She did not dare to communicate to her
+sister the cause of her alarm; and yet, when Marguerite, about 11
+o'clock, arose to retire, she importuned her sister, even with tears,
+not to occupy the same apartment with her husband that night, but to
+sleep in her own private chamber. Catharine sharply reproved the
+Duchess of Lorraine for her imprudent remonstrances, and bidding the
+Queen of Navarre good-night, with maternal authority directed her to
+repair to the room of her husband. She departed to the nuptial
+chamber, wondering what could be the cause of such an unwonted display
+of sisterly solicitude and affection.
+
+When she entered her room, to her great surprise she found thirty or
+forty gentlemen assembled there. They were the friends and the
+supporters of Henry, who had become alarmed by the mysterious rumors
+which were floating from ear to ear, and by the signs of agitation,
+and secrecy, and strange preparation which every where met the eye. No
+one could imagine what danger was impending. No one knew from what
+quarter the storm would burst. But that some very extraordinary event
+was about to transpire was evident to all. It was too late to adopt
+any precautions for safety. The Protestants, unarmed, unorganized, and
+widely dispersed, could now only practice the virtue of heroic
+fortitude in meeting their doom, whatever that doom might be. The
+gentlemen in Henry's chamber did not venture to separate, and not an
+eye was closed in sleep. They sat together in the deepest perplexity
+and consternation, as the hours of the night lingered slowly along,
+anxiously awaiting the developments with which the moments seemed to
+be fraught.
+
+In the mean time, aided by the gloom of a starless night, in every
+street of Paris preparations were going on for the enormous
+perpetration. Soldiers were assembling in different places of
+rendezvous. Guards were stationed at important points in the city,
+that their victims might not escape. Armed citizens, with loaded
+muskets and sabres gleaming in the lamplight, began to emerge, through
+the darkness, from their dwellings, and to gather, in motley and
+interminable assemblage, around the Hotel de Ville. A regiment of
+guards were stationed at the gates of the royal palace to protect
+Charles and Catharine from any possibility of danger. Many of the
+houses were illuminated, that by the light blazing from the windows,
+the bullet might be thrown with precision, and that the dagger might
+strike an unerring blow. Agitation and alarm pervaded the vast
+metropolis. The Catholics were rejoicing that the hour of vengeance
+had arrived. The Protestants gazed upon the portentous gatherings of
+this storm in utter bewilderment.
+
+All the arrangements of the enterprise were left to the Duke of Guise,
+and a more efficient and fitting agent could not have been found. He
+had ordered that the tocsin, the signal for the massacre, should be
+tolled at two o'clock in the morning. Catharine and Charles, in one of
+the apartments of the palace of the Louvre, were impatiently awaiting
+the lingering flight of the hours till the alarm-bell should toll
+forth the death-warrant of their Protestant subjects. Catharine,
+inured to treachery and hardened in vice, was apparently a stranger to
+all compunctious visitings. A life of crime had steeled her soul
+against every merciful impression. But she was very apprehensive lest
+her son, less obdurate in purpose, might relent. Though impotent in
+character, he was, at times, petulant and self-willed, and in
+paroxysms of stubbornness spurned his mother's counsels and exerted
+his own despotic power.
+
+Charles was now in a state of the most feverish excitement. He hastily
+paced the room, peering out at the window, and almost every moment
+looking at his watch, wishing that the hour would come, and again half
+regretting that the plot had been formed. The companions and the
+friends of his childhood, the invited guests who, for many weeks, had
+been his associates in gay festivities, and in the interchange of all
+kindly words and deeds, were, at his command, before the morning
+should dawn, to fall before the bullet and the poniard of the midnight
+murderer. His mother witnessed with intense anxiety this wavering of
+his mind. She therefore urged him no longer to delay, but to
+anticipate the hour, and to send a servant immediately to sound the
+alarm.
+
+Charles hesitated, while a cold sweat ran from his forehead. "Are you
+a coward?" tauntingly inquired the fiendlike mother. This is the
+charge which will always make the poltroon squirm. The young king
+nervously exclaimed, "Well, then, begin."
+
+There were in the chamber at the time only the king, his mother, and
+his brother the Duke of Anjou. A messenger was immediately dispatched
+to strike the bell. It was two hours after midnight. A few moments of
+terrible suspense ensued. There was a dead silence, neither of the
+three uttering a word. They all stood at the windows looking out into
+the rayless night. Suddenly, through the still air, the ponderous
+tones of the alarm-bell fell upon the ear, and rolled, the knell of
+death, over the city. Its vibrations awakened the demon in ten
+thousand hearts. It was the morning of the Sabbath, August 24th, 1572.
+It was the anniversary of a festival in honor of St. Bartholomew,
+which had long been celebrated. At the sound of the tocsin, the signal
+for the massacre, armed men rushed from every door into the streets,
+shouting, "_Vive Dieu et le roi!_"--_Live God and the king!_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.
+
+1572
+
+The commencement of the massacre.--The house forced.--Flight of the
+servants.--Death of Admiral Coligni.--Brutality.--Fate of the Duke
+of Guise.--Excitement of the Parisians.--Fiendish spirit of
+Charles.--Fugitives butchered.--Terror of Marguerite.--Flight of
+Marguerite.--Terrors of the night.--Remarkable escape of
+Maximilian.--Efforts to save his life.--The disguise.--Scene in the
+street.--The talisman.--Arrival at the college.--His protection.--Henry
+taken before the king.--He yields.--Paris on the Sabbath
+following.--Encouragement by the priests.--The massacre
+continued.--Exultation of the Catholics.--Triumphal procession.--Extent
+of the massacre.--Magnanimity of Catholic officers.--The Bishop
+of Lisieux.--Noble replies to the king's decree.--The higher
+law.--Attempted justification.--Punishment of Coligni.--Valor
+of the survivors.--Pledges of aid.--Prophecy of Knox.--Apology
+of the court.--Opinions of the courts of Europe.--Rejoicings at
+Rome.--Atrocity of the deed.--Results of the massacre.--Retribution.
+
+
+As the solemn dirge from the steeple rang out upon the night air, the
+king stood at the window of the palace trembling in every nerve.
+Hardly had the first tones of the alarm-bell fallen upon his ear when
+the report of a musket was heard, and the first victim fell. The sound
+seemed to animate to frenzy the demoniac Catharine, while it almost
+froze the blood in the veins of the young monarch, and he passionately
+called out for the massacre to be stopped. It was too late. The train
+was fired, and could not be extinguished. The signal passed with the
+rapidity of sound from steeple to steeple, till not only Paris, but
+entire France, was roused. The roar of human passion, the crackling
+fire of musketry, and the shrieks of the wounded and the dying, rose
+and blended in one fearful din throughout the whole metropolis. Guns,
+pistols, daggers, were every where busy. Old men, terrified maidens,
+helpless infants, venerable matrons, were alike smitten, and mercy
+had no appeal which could touch the heart of the murderers.
+
+The wounded Admiral Coligni was lying helpless upon his bed,
+surrounded by a few personal friends, as the uproar of the rising
+storm of human violence and rage rolled in upon their ears. The Duke
+of Guise, with three hundred soldiers, hastened to the lodgings of the
+admiral. The gates were immediately knocked down, and the sentinels
+stabbed. A servant, greatly terrified, rushed into the inner apartment
+where the wounded admiral was lying, and exclaimed,
+
+"The house is forced, and there is no means of resisting."
+
+"I have long since," said the admiral, calmly, "prepared myself to
+die. Save yourselves, my friends, if you can, for you can not defend
+my life. I commend my soul to the mercy of God."
+
+The companions of the admiral, having no possible means of protection,
+and perhaps adding to his peril by their presence, immediately fled to
+other apartments of the house. They were pursued and stabbed. Three
+leaped from the windows and were shot in the streets.
+
+Coligni, left alone in his apartment, rose with difficulty from his
+bed, and, being unable to stand, leaned for support against the wall.
+A desperado by the name of Breme, a follower of the Duke of Guise,
+with a congenial band of accomplices, rushed into the room. They saw a
+venerable man, pale, and with bandaged wounds, in his night-dress,
+engaged in prayer.
+
+"Art thou the admiral?" demanded the assassin, with brandished sword.
+
+"I am," replied the admiral; "and thou, young man, shouldst respect my
+gray hairs. Nevertheless, thou canst abridge my life but a little."
+
+Breme plunged his sword into his bosom, and then withdrawing it, gave
+him a cut upon the head. The admiral fell, calmly saying, "If I could
+but die by the hand of a gentleman instead of such a knave as this!"
+The rest of the assassins then rushed upon him, piercing his body with
+their daggers.
+
+The Duke of Guise, ashamed himself to meet the eye of this noble
+victim to the basest treachery, remained impatiently in the court-yard
+below.
+
+"Breme!" he shouted, looking up at the window, "have you done it?"
+
+"Yes," Breme exclaimed from the chamber, "he is done for."
+
+"Let us see, though," rejoined the duke. "Throw the body from the
+window."
+
+The mangled corpse was immediately thrown down upon the pavement of
+the court-yard. The duke, with his handkerchief, wiped the blood and
+the dirt from his face, and carefully scrutinized the features.
+
+"Yes," said he, "I recognize him. He is the man."
+
+Then giving the pallid cheek a kick, he exclaimed, "Courage, comrades!
+we have happily begun. Let us now go for others. The king commands
+it."
+
+In sixteen years from this event the Duke of Guise was himself
+assassinated, and received a kick in the face from Henry III., brother
+of the same king in whose service he had drawn the dagger of the
+murderer. Thus died the Admiral Coligni, one of the noblest sons of
+France. Though but fifty-six years of age, he was prematurely infirm
+from care, and toil, and suffering.
+
+For three days the body was exposed to the insults of the populace,
+and finally was hung up by the feet on a gibbet. A cousin of Coligni
+secretly caused it to be taken down and buried.
+
+The tiger, having once lapped his tongue in blood, seems to be imbued
+with a new spirit of ferocity. There is in man a similar temper, which
+is roused and stimulated by carnage. The excitement of human slaughter
+converts man into a demon. The riotous multitude of Parisians was
+becoming each moment more and more clamorous for blood. They broke
+open the houses of the Protestants, and, rushing into their chambers,
+murdered indiscriminately both sexes and every age. The streets
+resounded with the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their
+victims. Cries of "Kill! kill! more blood!" rent the air. The bodies
+of the slain were thrown out of the windows into the streets, and the
+pavements of the city were clotted with human gore.
+
+Charles, who was overwhelmed with such compunctions of conscience when
+he heard the first shot, and beheld from his window the commencement
+of the butchery, soon recovered from his momentary wavering, and,
+conscious that it was too late to draw back, with fiendlike eagerness
+engaged himself in the work of death. The monarch, when a boy, had
+been noted for his sanguinary spirit, delighting with his own hand to
+perform the revolting acts of the slaughter-house. Perfect fury seemed
+now to take possession of him. His cheeks were flushed, his lips
+compressed, his eyes glared with frenzy. Bending eagerly from his
+window, he shouted words of encouragement to the assassins. Grasping a
+gun, in the handling of which he had become very skillful from long
+practice in the chase, he watched, like a sportsman, for his prey; and
+when he saw an unfortunate Protestant, wounded and bleeding, flying
+from his pursuers, he would take deliberate aim from the window of his
+palace, and shout with exultation as he saw him fall, pierced by his
+bullet. A crowd of fugitives rushed into the court-yard of the Louvre
+to throw themselves upon the protection of the king. Charles sent his
+own body-guard into the yard, with guns and daggers, to butcher them
+all, and the pavements of the palace-yard were drenched with their
+blood.
+
+[Illustration: THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.]
+
+Just before the carnage commenced, Marguerite, weary with excitement
+and the agitating conversation to which she had so long been
+listening, retired to her private apartment for sleep. She had hardly
+closed her eyes when the fearful outcries of the pursuers and the
+pursued filled the palace. She sprang up in her bed, and heard some
+one struggling at the door, and shrieking "Navarre! Navarre!" In a
+paroxysm of terror, she ordered an attendant to open the door. One
+of her husband's retinue instantly rushed in, covered with wounds and
+blood, pursued by four soldiers of her brother's guard. The captain of
+the guard entered at the same moment, and, at the earnest entreaty of
+the princess, spared her the anguish of seeing the friend of her
+husband murdered before her eyes.
+
+Marguerite, half delirious with bewilderment and terror, fled from her
+room to seek the apartment of her sister. The palace was filled with
+uproar, the shouts of the assassins and the shrieks of their victims
+blending in awful confusion. As she was rushing through the hall, she
+encountered another Protestant gentleman flying before the dripping
+sword of his pursuer. He was covered with blood, flowing from the many
+wounds he had already received. Just as he reached the young Queen of
+Navarre, his pursuer overtook him and plunged a sword through his
+body. He fell dead at her feet.
+
+No tongue can tell the horrors of that night. It would require volumes
+to record the frightful scenes which were enacted before the morning
+dawned. Among the most remarkable escapes we may mention that of a lad
+whose name afterward attained much celebrity. The Baron de Rosny, a
+Protestant lord of great influence and worth, had accompanied his son
+Maximilian, a very intelligent and spirited boy, about eleven years of
+age, to Paris, to attend the nuptials of the King of Navarre. This
+young prince, Maximilian, afterward the world-renowned Duke of Sully,
+had previously been prosecuting his studies in the College of
+Burgundy, in the metropolis, and had become a very great favorite of
+the warm-hearted King of Navarre. His father had come to Paris with
+great reluctance, for he had no confidence in the protestations of
+Catharine and Charles IX. Immediately after the attempt was made to
+assassinate the admiral, the Baron de Rosny, with many of his friends,
+left the city, intrusting his son to the care of a private tutor and a
+valet de chambre. He occupied lodgings in a remote quarter of the city
+and near the colleges.
+
+Young Maximilian was asleep in his room, when, a little after
+midnight, he was aroused by the ringing of the alarm-bells, and the
+confused cries of the populace. His tutor and valet de chambre sprang
+from their beds, and hurried out to ascertain the cause of the tumult.
+They did not, however, return, for they had hardly reached the door
+when they were shot down. Maximilian, in great bewilderment respecting
+their continued absence, and the dreadful clamor continually
+increasing, was hurriedly dressing himself, when his landlord came in,
+pale and trembling, and informed him of the massacre which was going
+on, and that he had saved his own life only by the avowal of his faith
+in the Catholic religion. He earnestly urged Maximilian to do the
+same. The young prince magnanimously resolved not to save his life by
+falsehood and apostasy. He determined to attempt, in the darkness and
+confusion of the night, to gain the College of Burgundy, where he
+hoped to find some Catholic friends who would protect him.
+
+The distance of the college from the house in which he was rendered
+the undertaking desperately perilous. Having disguised himself in the
+dress of a Roman Catholic priest, he took a large prayer-book under
+his arm, and tremblingly issued forth into the streets. The sights
+which met his eye in the gloom of that awful night were enough to
+appal the stoutest heart. The murderers, frantic with excitement and
+intoxication, were uttering wild outcries, and pursuing, in every
+direction, their terrified victims. Women and children, in their
+night-clothes, having just sprung in terror from their beds, were
+flying from their pursuers, covered with wounds, and uttering fearful
+shrieks. The mangled bodies of the young and of the old, of males and
+females, were strewn along the streets, and the pavements were
+slippery with blood. Loud and dreadful outcries were heard from the
+interior of the dwellings as the work of midnight assassination
+proceeded; and struggles of desperate violence were witnessed, as the
+murderers attempted to throw their bleeding and dying victims from the
+high windows of chambers and attics upon the pavements below. The
+shouts of the assailants, the shrieks of the wounded, as blow after
+blow fell upon them, the incessant reports of muskets and pistols, the
+tramp of soldiers, and the peals of the alarm-bell, all combined to
+create a scene of terror such as human eyes have seldom witnessed. In
+the midst of ten thousand perils, the young man crept along, protected
+by his priestly garb, while he frequently saw his fellow-Christians
+shot and stabbed at his very side.
+
+Suddenly, in turning a corner, he fell into the midst of a band of the
+body-guard of the king, whose swords were dripping with blood. They
+seized him with great roughness, when, seeing the Catholic
+prayer-book which was in his hands, they considered it a safe
+passport, and permitted him to continue on his way uninjured. Twice
+again he encountered similar peril, as he was seized by bands of
+infuriated men, and each time he was extricated in the same way.
+
+At length he arrived at the College of Burgundy; and now his danger
+increased tenfold. It was a Catholic college. The porter at the gate
+absolutely refused him admittance. The murderers began to multiply in
+the street around him with fierce and threatening questions.
+Maximilian at length, by inquiring for La Faye, the president of the
+college, and by placing a bribe in the hands of the porter, succeeded
+in obtaining entrance. La Faye was a humane man, and exceedingly
+attached to his Protestant pupil. Maximilian entered the apartment of
+the president, and found there two Catholic priests. The priests, as
+soon as they saw him, insisted upon cutting him down, declaring that
+the king had commanded that not even the infant at the breast should
+be spared. The good old man, however, firmly resolved to protect his
+young friend, and, conducting him privately to a secure chamber,
+locked him up. Here he remained three days in the greatest suspense,
+apprehensive every hour that the assassins would break in upon him. A
+faithful servant of the president brought him food, but could tell him
+of nothing but deeds of treachery and blood. At the end of three days,
+the heroic boy, who afterward attained great celebrity as the minister
+and bosom friend of Henry, was released and protected.
+
+The morning of St. Bartholomew's day had not dawned when a band of
+soldiers entered the chamber of Henry of Navarre and conveyed him to
+the presence of the king. Frenzied with the excitements of the scene,
+the imbecile but passionate monarch received him with a countenance
+inflamed with fury. With blasphemous oaths and imprecations, he
+commanded the King of Navarre, as he valued his life, to abandon a
+religion which Charles affirmed that the Protestants had assumed only
+as a cloak for their rebellion. With violent gesticulations and
+threats, he declared that he would no longer submit to be contradicted
+by his subjects, but that they should revere him as the image of God.
+Henry, who was a Protestant from considerations of state policy rather
+than from Christian principle, and who saw in the conflict merely a
+strife between two political parties, ingloriously yielded to that
+necessity by which alone he could save his life. Charles gave him
+three days to deliberate, declaring, with a violent oath, that if, at
+the end of that time, he did not yield to his commands, he would cause
+him to be strangled. Henry yielded. He not only went to mass himself,
+but submitted to the degradation of sending an edict to his own
+dominions, prohibiting the exercise of any religion except that of
+Rome. This indecision was a serious blot upon his character. Energetic
+and decisive as he was in all his measures of government, his
+religious convictions were ever feeble and wavering.
+
+When the darkness of night passed away and the morning of the Sabbath
+dawned upon Paris, a spectacle was witnessed such as the streets even
+of that blood-renowned metropolis have seldom presented. The city
+still resounded with that most awful of all tumults, the clamor of an
+infuriated mob. The pavements were covered with gory corpses. Men,
+women, and children were still flying in every direction, wounded and
+bleeding, pursued by merciless assassins, riotous with demoniac
+laughter and drunk with blood. The report of guns and pistols was
+heard in all parts of the city, sometimes in continuous volleys, as if
+platoons of soldiers were firing upon their victims, while the
+scattered shots, incessantly repeated in every section of the extended
+metropolis, proved the universality of the massacre. Drunken wretches,
+besmeared with blood, were swaggering along the streets, with ribald
+jests and demoniac howlings, hunting for the Protestants. Bodies, torn
+and gory, were hanging from the windows, and dissevered heads were
+spurned like footballs along the pavements. Priests were seen in their
+sacerdotal robes, with elevated crucifixes, and with fanatical
+exclamations encouraging the murderers not to grow weary in their holy
+work of exterminating God's enemies. The most distinguished nobles and
+generals of the court and the camp of Charles, mounted on horseback
+with gorgeous retinue, rode through the streets, encouraging by voice
+and arm the indiscriminate massacre.
+
+"Let not," the king proclaimed, "one single Protestant be spared to
+reproach me hereafter with this deed."
+
+For a whole week the massacre continued, and it was computed that from
+eighty to a hundred thousand Protestants were slain throughout the
+kingdom.
+
+Charles himself, with Catharine and the highborn but profligate ladies
+who disgraced her court, emerged with the morning light, in splendid
+array, into the reeking streets. The ladies contemplated with
+merriment and ribald jests the dead bodies of the Protestants piled up
+before the Louvre. Some of the retinue, appalled by the horrid
+spectacle, wished to retire, alleging that the bodies already emitted
+a putrid odor. Charles inhumanly replied, "The smell of a dead enemy
+is always pleasant."
+
+On Thursday, after four days spent in hunting out the fugitives
+and finishing the bloody work, the clergy paraded the streets
+in a triumphal procession, and with jubilant prayers and hymns gave
+thanks to God for their great victory. The Catholic pulpits resounded
+with exultant harangues, and in honor of the event a medallion
+was struck off, with the inscription "_La piete a reveille la
+justice_"--_Religion has awakened justice_.
+
+In the distant provinces of France the massacre was continued, as the
+Protestants were hunted from all their hiding-places. In some
+departments, as in Santonge and Lower Languedoc, the Protestants were
+so numerous that the Catholics did not venture to attack them. In
+some other provinces they were so few that the Catholics had nothing
+whatever to fear from them, and therefore spared them; and in the
+sparsely-settled rural districts the peasants refused to imbrue their
+hands in the blood of their neighbors. Many thousand Protestants
+throughout the kingdom in these ways escaped.
+
+But in nearly all the populous towns, where the Catholic population
+predominated, the massacre was universal and indiscriminate. In Meaux,
+four hundred houses of Protestants were pillaged and devastated, and
+the inmates, without regard to age or sex, utterly exterminated. At
+Orleans there were three thousand Protestants. A troop of armed
+horsemen rode furiously through the streets, shouting, "Courage, boys!
+kill all, and then you shall divide their property." At Rouen, many of
+the Protestants, at the first alarm, fled. The rest were arrested and
+thrown into prison. They were then brought out one by one, and
+deliberately murdered. Six hundred were thus slain. Such were the
+scenes which were enacted in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bourges, Angers,
+Lyons, and scores of other cities in France. It is impossible to
+ascertain with precision the number of victims. The Duke of Sully
+estimates them at seventy thousand; the Bishop Perefixe at one
+hundred thousand. This latter estimate is probably not exaggerated, if
+we include the unhappy fugitives, who, fleeing from their homes, died
+of cold, hunger, and fatigue, and all the other nameless woes which
+accrued from this great calamity.
+
+In the midst of these scenes of horror it is pleasant to record
+several instances of generous humanity. In the barbarism of those
+times dueling was a common practice. A Catholic officer by the name of
+Vessins, one of the most fierce and irritable men in France, had a
+private quarrel with a Protestant officer whose name was Regnier. They
+had mutually sought each other in Paris to obtain such satisfaction as
+a duel could afford. In the midst of the massacre, Regnier, while at
+prayers with his servant (for in those days dueling and praying were
+not deemed inconsistent), heard the door of his room broken open, and,
+looking round in expectation of instant death, saw his foe Vessins
+enter breathless with excitement and haste. Regnier, conscious that
+all resistance would be unavailing, calmly bared his bosom to his
+enemy, exclaiming,
+
+"You will have an easy victory."
+
+Vessins made no reply, but ordered the valet to seek his master's
+cloak and sword. Then leading him into the street, he mounted him upon
+a powerful horse, and with fifteen armed men escorted him out of the
+city. Not a word was exchanged between them. When they arrived at a
+little grove at a short distance from the residence of the Protestant
+gentleman, Vessins presented him with his sword, and bade him dismount
+and defend himself, saying,
+
+"Do not imagine that I seek your friendship by what I have done. All I
+wish is to take your life honorably."
+
+Regnier threw away his sword, saying, "I will never strike at one who
+has saved my life."
+
+"Very well!" Vessins replied, and left him, making him a present of
+the horse on which he rode.
+
+Though the commands which the king sent to the various provinces of
+France for the massacre were very generally obeyed, there were
+examples of distinguished virtue, in which Catholics of high rank not
+only refused to imbrue their own hands in blood, but periled their
+lives to protect the Protestants. The Bishop of Lisieux, in the
+exercise of true Christian charity, saved all the Protestants in the
+town over which he presided. The Governor of Auvergne replied to the
+secret letter of the king in the following words:
+
+     "Sire, I have received an order, under your majesty's seal,
+     to put all the Protestants of this province to death, and
+     if, which God forbid, the order be genuine, I respect your
+     majesty still too much to obey you."
+
+The king had sent a similar order to the commandant at Bayonne, the
+Viscount of Orthez. The following noble words were returned in reply:
+
+     "Sire, I have communicated the commands of your majesty to
+     the inhabitants of the town and to the soldiers of the
+     garrison, and I have found good citizens and brave soldiers,
+     _but not one executioner_; on which account, they and I
+     humbly beseech you to employ our arms and our lives in
+     enterprises in which we can conscientiously engage. However
+     perilous they may be, we will willingly shed therein the
+     last drop of our blood."
+
+Both of these noble-minded men soon after very suddenly and
+mysteriously died. Few entertained a doubt that poison had been
+administered by the order of Charles.
+
+The _law_ of France required that these Protestants should be hunted
+to death. This was _the law_ promulgated by the king and sent by his
+own letters missive to the appointed officers of the crown.
+
+But there is--_there is_ a HIGHER LAW than that of kings and courts.
+Nobly these majestic men rendered to it their allegiance. They sealed
+their fidelity to this HIGHER LAW with their blood. They were martyrs,
+not fanatics.
+
+On the third day of the massacre the king assembled the Parliament in
+Paris, and made a public avowal of the part he had taken in this
+fearful tragedy, and of the reasons which had influenced him to the
+deed. Though he hoped to silence all Protestant tongues in his own
+realms in death, he knew that the tale would be told throughout all
+Europe. He therefore stated, in justification of the act, that he had,
+"as if by a miracle," discovered that the Protestants were engaged in
+a conspiracy against his own life and that of all of his family.
+
+This charge, however, uttered for the moment, was speedily dropped and
+forgotten. There was not the slightest evidence of such a design.
+
+The Parliament, to give a little semblance of justice to the king's
+accusation, sat in judgment upon the memory of the noble Coligni. They
+sentenced him to be hung in effigy; ordered his arms to be dragged at
+the heels of a horse through all the principal towns of France; his
+magnificent castle of Chatillon to be razed to its foundations, and
+never to be rebuilt; his fertile acres, in the culture of which he had
+found his chief delight, to be desolated and sown with salt; his
+portraits and statues, wherever found, to be destroyed; his children
+to lose their title of nobility; all his goods and estates to be
+confiscated to the use of the crown, and a monument of durable marble
+to be raised, upon which this sentence of the court should be
+engraved, to transmit to all posterity his alleged infamy. Thus was
+punished on earth one of the noblest servants both of God and man. But
+there is a day of final judgment yet to come. The oppressor has but
+his brief hour. There is eternity to right the oppressed.
+
+Notwithstanding this general and awful massacre, the Protestants were
+far from being exterminated. Several nobles, surrounded by their
+retainers in their distant castles, suspicious of treachery, had
+refused to go to Paris to attend the wedding of Henry and Marguerite.
+Others who had gone to Paris, alarmed by the attack upon Admiral
+Coligni, immediately retired to their homes. Some concealed themselves
+in garrets, cellars, and wells until the massacre was over. As has
+been stated, in some towns the governors refused to engage in the
+merciless butchery, and in others the Protestants had the majority,
+and with their own arms could defend themselves within the walls which
+their own troops garrisoned.
+
+Though, in the first panic caused by the dreadful slaughter, the
+Protestants made no resistance, but either surrendered themselves
+submissively to the sword of the assassin, or sought safety in
+concealment or flight, soon indignation took the place of fear. Those
+who had fled from the kingdom to Protestant states rallied together.
+The survivors in France began to count their numbers and marshal their
+forces for self-preservation. From every part of Protestant Europe a
+cry of horror and execration simultaneously arose in view of this
+crime of unparalleled enormity. In many places the Catholics
+themselves seemed appalled in contemplation of the deed they had
+perpetrated. Words of sympathy were sent to these martyrs to a pure
+faith from many of the Protestant kingdoms, with pledges of determined
+and efficient aid. The Protestants rapidly gained courage. From all
+the country, they flocked into those walled towns which still
+remained in their power.
+
+As the fugitives from France, emaciate, pale, and woe-stricken, with
+tattered and dusty garb, recited in England, Switzerland, and Germany
+the horrid story of the massacre, the hearts of their auditors were
+frozen with horror. In Geneva a day of fasting and prayer was
+instituted, which is observed even to the present day. In Scotland
+every church resounded with the thrilling tale; and Knox, whose
+inflexible spirit was nerved for those iron times, exclaimed, in
+language of prophetic nerve,
+
+"Sentence has gone forth against that murderer, the King of France,
+and the vengeance of God will never be withdrawn from his house. His
+name shall be held in everlasting execration."
+
+The French court, alarmed by the indignation it had aroused, sent an
+embassador to London with a poor apology for the crime, by pretending
+that the Protestants had conspired against the life of the king. The
+embassador was received in the court of the queen with appalling
+coldness and gloom. Arrangements were made to invest the occasion with
+the most impressive solemnity. The court was shrouded in mourning,
+and all the lords and ladies appeared in sable weeds. A stern and
+sombre sadness was upon every countenance. The embassador, overwhelmed
+by his reception, was overheard to exclaim to himself, in bitterness
+of heart,
+
+"I am ashamed to acknowledge myself a Frenchman."
+
+He entered, however, the presence of the queen, passed through the
+long line of silent courtiers, who refused to salute him, or even to
+honor him with a look, stammered out his miserable apology, and,
+receiving no response, retired covered with confusion. Elizabeth, we
+thank thee! This one noble deed atones for many of thy crimes.
+
+Very different was the reception of these tidings in the court of
+Rome. The messenger who carried the news was received with transports
+of joy, and was rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. Cannons were
+fired, bells rung, and an immense procession, with all the trappings
+of sacerdotal rejoicing, paraded the streets. Anthems were chanted and
+thanksgivings were solemnly offered for the great victory over the
+enemies of the Church. A gold medal was struck off to commemorate the
+event; and Charles IX. and Catharine were pronounced, by the
+infallible word of his holiness, to be the especial favorites of God.
+Spain and the Netherlands united with Rome in these infamous
+exultations. Philip II. wrote from Madrid to Catharine,
+
+    "These tidings are the greatest and the most glorious I could
+    have received."
+
+Such was the awful massacre of St. Bartholomew. When contemplated in
+all its aspects of perfidy, cruelty, and cowardice, it must be
+pronounced the greatest crime recorded in history. The victims were
+invited under the guise of friendship to Paris. They were received
+with solemn oaths of peace and protection. The leading men in the
+nation placed the dagger in the hands of an ignorant and degraded
+people. The priests, professed ministers of Jesus Christ, stimulated
+the benighted multitude by all the appeals of fanaticism to
+exterminate those whom they denounced as the enemies of God and man.
+After the great atrocity was perpetrated, princes and priests, with
+blood-stained hands, flocked to the altars of God, our common Father,
+to thank him that the massacre had been accomplished.
+
+The annals of the world are filled with narratives of crime and woe,
+but the Massacre of St. Bartholomew stands perhaps without a parallel.
+
+It has been said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
+Church." This is only true with exceptions. Protestantism in France
+has never recovered from this blow. But for this massacre one half of
+the nobles of France would have continued Protestant. The Reformers
+would have constituted so large a portion of the population that
+mutual toleration would have been necessary. Henry IV. would not have
+abjured the Protestant faith. Intelligence would have been diffused;
+religion would have been respected; and in all probability, the
+horrors of the French Revolution would have been averted.
+
+God is an avenger. In the mysterious government which he wields,
+mysterious only to our feeble vision, he "visits the iniquities of the
+fathers upon the children, even unto the third and fourth generation."
+As we see the priests of Paris and of France, during the awful tragedy
+of the Revolution, massacred in the prisons, shot in the streets, hung
+upon the lamp-posts, and driven in starvation and woe from the
+kingdom, we can not but remember the day of St. Bartholomew. The 24th
+of August, 1572, and the 2d of September, 1792, though far apart in
+the records of time, are consecutive days in the government of God.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE HOUSES OF VALOIS, OF GUISE, AND OF BOURBON.
+
+Illustrious French families.--The house of Valois.--Early condition
+of France.--Clovis.--The Carlovingian dynasty.--Capet and
+Philip.--Decay of the house of Valois.--House of Guise.--The dukedom
+of Lorraine.--Claude of Lorraine.--Marriage of the Count of
+Guise.--Francis I.--The suggestion and its results.--Bravery of
+the duke.--His prominence.--Days of war.--The bloody rout.--Scene
+from the castle.--Claude the Butcher.--The Cardinal of Lorraine.--The
+reprimand.--Duke of Mayence.--The family of Guise.--Henry the
+Eighth.--Death of Claude.--Francis, Duke of Guise.--The dreadful
+wound.--Le Balafre.--Interview with the king.--Jealousy of
+the king.--Arrogance of the Guises.--Power of the house of
+Guise.--Appointment of Francis.--Thralldom of Henry II.--Mary, Queen
+of Scots.--Francis II.--Troubles between the Protestants and
+Catholics.--Admiral Coligni.--Antoinette.--Massacre by the Duke of
+Guise.--The Butcher of Vassy.--Remonstrance to the queen.--Magnanimity
+of the Duke of Guise.--Religious wars.--Assassination of the Duke of
+Guise.--Death of the duke.--Jean Poltrot.--Anecdote.--Prediction of
+Francis.--Enthusiasm of the populace.--The house of Bourbon.--The
+houses united.
+
+
+At this time, in France, there were three illustrious and rival
+families, prominent above all others. Their origin was lost in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Their renown had been accumulating for many
+generations, through rank, and wealth, and power, and deeds of heroic
+and semi-barbarian daring. As these three families are so blended in
+all the struggles of this most warlike period, it is important to give
+a brief history of their origin and condition.
+
+1. _The House of Valois._ More than a thousand years before the birth
+of Christ, we get dim glimpses of France, or, as it was then called,
+Gaul. It was peopled by a barbarian race, divided into petty tribes or
+clans, each with its chieftain, and each possessing undefined and
+sometimes almost unlimited power. Age after age rolled on, during
+which generations came and went like ocean billows, and all Gaul was
+but a continued battle-field. The history of each individual of its
+countless millions seems to have been, that he was born, killed as
+many of his fellow-creatures as he could, and then, having acquired
+thus much of glory, died.
+
+About fifty years before the birth of Christ, Caesar, with his
+conquering hosts, swept through the whole country, causing its rivers
+to run red with blood, until the subjugated Gauls submitted to Roman
+sway. In the decay of the Roman empire, about four hundred years after
+Christ, the Franks, from Germany, a barbarian horde as ferocious as
+wolves, penetrated the northern portion of Gaul, and, obtaining
+permanent settlement there, gave the whole country the name of France.
+Clovis was the chieftain of this warlike tribe. In the course of a few
+years, France was threatened with another invasion by combined hordes
+of barbarians from the north. The chiefs of the several independent
+tribes in France found it necessary to unite to repel the foe. They
+chose Clovis as their leader. This was the origin of the French
+monarchy. He was but little elevated above the surrounding chieftains,
+but by intrigue and power perpetuated his supremacy. For about three
+hundred years the family of Clovis retained its precarious and
+oft-contested elevation. At last, this line, enervated by luxury,
+became extinct, and another family obtained the throne. This new
+dynasty, under Pepin, was called the Carlovingian. The crown descended
+generally from father to son for about two hundred years, when the
+last of the race was poisoned by his wife. This family has been
+rendered very illustrious, both by Pepin and by his son, the still
+more widely renowned Charlemagne.
+
+Hugh Capet then succeeded in grasping the sceptre, and for three
+hundred years the Capets held at bay the powerful chieftains who
+alternately assailed and defended the throne. Thirteen hundred years
+after Christ, the last of the Capets was borne to his tomb, and the
+feudal lords gave the pre-eminence to Philip of Valois. For about two
+hundred years the house of Valois had reigned. At the period of which
+we treat in this history, luxury and vice had brought the family near
+to extinction.
+
+Charles IX., who now occupied the throne under the rigorous rule of
+his infamous mother, was feeble in body and still more feeble in mind.
+He had no child, and there was no probability that he would ever be
+blessed with an heir. His exhausted constitution indicated that a
+premature death was his inevitable destiny. His brother Henry, who
+had been elected King of Poland, would then succeed to the throne; but
+he had still less of manly character than Charles. An early death was
+his unquestioned doom. At his death, if childless, the house of Valois
+would become extinct. Who then should grasp the rich prize of the
+sceptre of France? The house of Guise and the house of Bourbon were
+rivals for this honor, and were mustering their strength and arraying
+their forces for the anticipated conflict. Each family could bring
+such vast influences into the struggle that no one could imagine in
+whose favor victory would decide. Such was the condition of the house
+of Valois in France in the year 1592.
+
+2. Let us now turn to the house of Guise. No tale of fiction can
+present a more fascinating collection of romantic enterprises and of
+wild adventures than must be recorded by the truthful historian of the
+house of Guise. On the western banks of the Rhine, between that river
+and the Meuse, there was the dukedom of Lorraine. It was a state of no
+inconsiderable wealth and power, extending over a territory of about
+ten thousand square miles, and containing a million and a half of
+inhabitants. Rene II., Duke of Lorraine, was a man of great renown,
+and in all the pride and pomp of feudal power he energetically
+governed his little realm. His body was scarred with the wounds he had
+received in innumerable battles, and he was ever ready to head his
+army of fifty thousand men, to punish any of the feudal lords around
+him who trespassed upon his rights.
+
+The wealthy old duke owned large possessions in Normandy, Picardy, and
+various other of the French provinces. He had a large family. His
+fifth son, Claude, was a proud-spirited boy of sixteen. Rene sent this
+lad to France, and endowed him with all the fertile acres, and the
+castles, and the feudal rights which, in France, pertained to the
+noble house of Lorraine. Young Claude of Lorraine was presented at the
+court of St. Cloud as the Count of Guise, a title derived from one of
+his domains. His illustrious rank, his manly beauty, his princely
+bearing, his energetic mind, and brilliant talents, immediately gave
+him great prominence among the glittering throng of courtiers. Louis
+XII. was much delighted with the young count, and wished to attach the
+powerful and attractive stranger to his own house by an alliance with
+his daughter. The heart of the proud boy was, however, captivated by
+another beauty who embellished the court of the monarch, and, turning
+from the princess royal, he sought the hand of Antoinette, an
+exceedingly beautiful maiden of about his own age, a daughter of the
+house of Bourbon. The wedding of this young pair was celebrated with
+great magnificence in Paris, in the presence of the whole French
+court. Claude was then but sixteen years of age.
+
+A few days after this event the infirm old king espoused the young and
+beautiful sister of Henry VIII. of England. The Count of Guise was
+honored with the commission of proceeding to Boulogne with several
+princes of the blood to receive the royal bride. Louis soon died, and
+his son, Francis I., ascended the throne. Claude was, by marriage, his
+cousin. He could bring all the influence of the proud house of Bourbon
+and the powerful house of Lorraine in support of the king. His own
+energetic, fearless, war-loving spirit invested him with great power
+in those barbarous days of violence and blood. Francis received his
+young cousin into high favor. Claude was, indeed, a young man of very
+rare accomplishments. His prowess in the jousts and tournaments, then
+so common, and his grace and magnificence in the drawing-room,
+rendered him an object of universal admiration.
+
+One night Claude accompanied Francis I. to the queen's circle. She had
+gathered around her the most brilliant beauty of her realm. In those
+days woman occupied a very inferior position in society, and seldom
+made her appearance in the general assemblages of men. The gallant
+young count was fascinated with the amiability and charms of those
+distinguished ladies, and suggested to the king the expediency of
+breaking over the restraints which long usage had imposed, and
+embellishing his court with the attractions of female society and
+conversation. The king immediately adopted the welcome suggestion, and
+decided that, throughout the whole realm, women should be freed from
+the unjust restraint to which they had so long been subject. Guise had
+already gained the good-will of the nobility and of the army, and he
+now became a universal favorite with the ladies, and was thus the most
+popular man in France. Francis I. was at this time making preparations
+for the invasion of Italy, and the Count of Guise, though but eighteen
+years of age, was appointed commander-in-chief of a division of the
+army consisting of twenty thousand men.
+
+In all the perils of the bloody battles which soon ensued, he
+displayed that utter recklessness of danger which had been the
+distinguishing trait of his ancestors. In the first battle, when
+discomfiture and flight were spreading through his ranks, the proud
+count refused to retire one step before his foes. He was surrounded,
+overmatched, his horse killed from under him, and he fell, covered
+with twenty-two wounds, in the midst of the piles of mangled bodies
+which strewed the ground. He was afterward dragged from among the
+dead, insensible and apparently lifeless, and conveyed to his tent,
+where his vigorous constitution, and that energetic vitality which
+seemed to characterize his race, triumphed over wounds whose severity
+rendered their cure almost miraculous.
+
+Francis I., in his report of the battle, extolled in the most glowing
+terms the prodigies of valor which Guise had displayed. War,
+desolating war, still ravaged wretched Europe, and Guise, with his
+untiring energy, became so prominent in the court and the camp that he
+was regarded rather as an ally of the King of France than as his
+subject. His enormous fortune, his ancestral renown, the vast
+political and military influences which were at his command, made him
+almost equal to the monarch whom he served. Francis lavished honors
+upon him, converted one of his counties into a dukedom, and, as _duke_
+of Guise, young Claude of Lorraine had now attained the highest
+position which a subject could occupy.
+
+Years of conflagration, carnage, and woe rolled over war-deluged
+Europe, during which all the energies of the human race seemed to be
+expended in destruction; and in almost every scene of smouldering
+cities, of ravaged valleys, of battle-fields rendered hideous with the
+shouts of onset and shrieks of despair, we see the apparition of the
+stalwart frame of Guise, scarred, and war-worn, and blackened with the
+smoke and dust of the fray, riding upon his proud charger, wherever
+peril was most imminent, as if his body were made of iron.
+
+At one time he drove before him, in most bloody rout, a numerous army
+of Germans. The fugitives, spreading over leagues of country, fled by
+his own strong castle of Neufchateau. Antoinette and the ladies of her
+court stood upon the battlements of the castle, gazing upon the scene,
+to them so new and to them so pleasantly exciting. As they saw the
+charges of the cavalry trampling the dead and the dying beneath their
+feet, as they witnessed all the horrors of that most horrible scene
+which earth can present--a victorious army cutting to pieces its
+flying foes, with shouts of applause they animated the ardor of the
+victors. The once fair-faced boy had now become a veteran. His bronzed
+cheek and sinewy frame attested his life of hardship and toil. The
+nobles were jealous of his power. The king was annoyed by his haughty
+bearing; but he was the idol of the people. In one campaign he caused
+the death of forty thousand Protestants, for he was the devoted
+servant of mother Church. _Claude the Butcher_ was the not
+inappropriate name by which the Protestants designated him. His
+brother John attained the dignity of Cardinal of Lorraine. Claude with
+his keen sword, and John with pomp, and pride, and spiritual power,
+became the most relentless foes of the Reformation, and the most
+valiant defenders of the Catholic faith.
+
+The kind-heartedness of the wealthy but dissolute cardinal, and the
+prodigality of his charity, rendered him almost as popular as his
+warlike brother. When he went abroad, his _valet de chambre_
+invariably prepared him a bag filled with gold, from which he gave to
+the poor most freely. His reputation for charity was so exalted that
+a poor blind mendicant, to whom he gave gold in the streets of Rome,
+overjoyed at the acquisition of such a treasure, exclaimed, "Surely
+thou art either Christ or the Cardinal of Lorraine."
+
+The Duke of Guise, in his advancing years, was accompanied to the
+field of battle by his son Francis, who inherited all of his father's
+courtly bearing, energy, talent, and headlong valor. At the siege of
+Luxemburg a musket ball shattered the ankle of young Francis, then
+Count of Aumale, and about eighteen years of age. As the surgeon was
+operating upon the splintered bones and quivering nerves, the sufferer
+gave some slight indication of his sense of pain. His iron father
+severely reprimanded him, saying,
+
+"Persons of your rank should not feel their wounds, but, on the
+contrary, should take pleasure in building up their reputation upon
+the ruin of their bodies."
+
+Others of the sons of Claude also signalized themselves in the wars
+which then desolated Europe, and they received wealth and honors. The
+king erected certain lands and lordships belonging to the Duke of
+Guise into a marquisate, and then immediately elevated the marquisate
+into a duchy, and the youngest son of the Duke of Guise, inheriting
+the property, was ennobled with the title of the Duke of Mayence. Thus
+there were two rich dukedoms in the same family.
+
+Claude had six sons, all young men of imperious spirit and magnificent
+bearing. They were allied by marriage with the most illustrious
+families in France, several of them being connected with princes of
+the blood royal. The war-worn duke, covered with wounds which he
+deemed his most glorious ornaments, often appeared at court
+accompanied by his sons. They occupied the following posts of rank and
+power: Francis, the eldest, Count of Aumale, was the heir of the
+titles and the estates of the noble house. Claude was Marquis of
+Mayence; Charles was Archbishop of Rheims, the richest benefice in
+France, and he soon attained one of the highest dignities of the
+Church by the reception of a cardinal's hat; Louis was Bishop of
+Troyes, and Francis, the youngest, Chevalier of Lorraine and Duke of
+Mayence, was general of the galleys of France. One of the daughters
+was married to the King of Scotland, and the others had formed most
+illustrious connections. Thus the house of Guise towered proudly and
+sublimely from among the noble families in the midst of whom it had so
+recently been implanted.
+
+Henry VIII. of England, inflamed by the report of the exceeding beauty
+of Mary, daughter of the Duke of Guise, had solicited her hand; but
+Claude was unwilling to surrender his daughter to England's burly and
+brutal old tyrant, and declined the regal alliance. The exasperated
+monarch, in revenge, declared war against France. Years of violence
+and blood lingered away. At last Claude, aged and infirm, surrendered
+to that king of terrors before whom all must bow. In his strong castle
+of Joinville, on the twelfth of April, 1550, the illustrious,
+magnanimous, blood-stained duke, after a whole lifetime spent in
+slaughter, breathed his last. His children and his grandchildren were
+gathered around the bed of the dying chieftain. In the darkness of
+that age, he felt that he had been contending, with divine approval,
+for Christ and his Church. With prayers and thanksgivings, and
+language expressive of meekness and humility before God, he ascended
+to that tribunal of final judgment where there is no difference
+between the peasant and the prince.
+
+The chivalrous and warlike Francis inherited his father's titles,
+wealth, and power; and now the house of Guise was so influential that
+the king trembled in view of its rivalry. It was but the kingly office
+alone which rendered the house of Valois superior to the house of
+Guise. In illustration of the character of those times, and the
+hardihood and sufferings through which the renown of these chieftains
+was obtained, the following anecdote may be narrated.
+
+Francis, Duke of Guise, in one of the skirmishes with the English
+invaders, received a wound which is described as the most severe from
+which any one ever recovered. The lance of an English officer "entered
+above the right eye, declining toward the nose, and piercing through
+on the other side, between the nape and the ear." The weapon, having
+thus penetrated the head more than half a foot, was broken off by the
+violence of the blow, the lance-iron and two fingers' breadth of the
+staff remaining in the dreadful wound. The surgeons of the army,
+stupefied by the magnitude of the injury, declined to attempt the
+extraction of the splinter, saying that it would only expose him to
+dreadful and unavailing suffering, as he must inevitably die. The king
+immediately sent his surgeon, with orders to spare no possible
+efforts to save the life of the hero. The lance-head was broken off so
+short that it was impossible to grasp it with the hand. The surgeon
+took the heavy pincers of a blacksmith, and asked the sufferer if he
+would allow him to make use of so rude an instrument, and would also
+permit him to place his foot upon his face.
+
+"You may do any thing you consider necessary," said the duke.
+
+The officers standing around looked on with horror as the king's
+surgeon, aided by an experienced practitioner, tore out thus violently
+the barbed iron, fracturing the bones, and tearing nerves, veins, and
+arteries. The hardy soldier bore the anguish without the contraction
+of a muscle, and was only heard gently to exclaim to himself, "Oh my
+God!" The sufferer recovered, and ever after regarded the frightful
+scar which was left as a signal badge of honor. He hence bore the
+common name of Le Balafre, or _The Scarred_.
+
+As the duke returned to court, the king hurried forth from his chamber
+to meet him, embraced him warmly, and said,
+
+"It is fair that I should come out to meet my old friend, who, on his
+part, is ever so ready to meet my enemies."
+
+Gradually, however, Francis, the king, became very jealous of the
+boundless popularity and enormous power acquired by this ambitious
+house. Upon his dying bed he warned his son of the dangerous rivalry
+to which the Guises had attained, and enjoined it upon him to curb
+their ambition by admitting none of the princes of that house to a
+share in the government; but as soon as King Francis was consigned to
+his tomb, Henry II., his son and successor, rallied the members of
+this family around him, and made the duke almost the partner of his
+throne. He needed the support of the strong arm and of the
+inexhaustible purse of the princes of Lorraine.
+
+The arrogance of the Guises, or the princes of Lorraine, as they were
+frequently called, in consequence of their descent from Claude of
+Lorraine, reached such a pitch that on the occasion of a proud
+pageant, when Henry II. was on a visit of inspection to one of his
+frontier fortresses, the Duke of Guise claimed equal rank with Henry
+of Navarre, who was not only King of Navarre, but, as the Duke of
+Vendome, was also first prince of the blood in France. An angry
+dispute immediately arose. The king settled it in favor of the
+audacious Guise, for he was intimidated by the power of that arrogant
+house. He thus exasperated Henry of Navarre, and also nurtured the
+pride of a dangerous rival.
+
+All classes were now courting the Duke of Guise. The first nobles of
+the land sought his protection and support by flattering letters and
+costly presents. "From all quarters," says an ancient manuscript, "he
+received offerings of wine, fruit, confections, ortolans, horses,
+dogs, hawks, and gerfalcons. The letters accompanying these often
+contained a second paragraph petitioning for pensions or grants from
+the king, or for places, even down to that of apothecary or of barber
+to the Dauphin." The monarchs of foreign countries often wrote to him
+soliciting his aid. The duke, in the enjoyment of this immense wealth,
+influence, and power, assumed the splendors of royalty, and his court
+was hardly inferior to that of the monarch. The King of Poland and the
+Duke of Guise were rivals for the hand of Anne, the beautiful daughter
+of the Duke of Ferrara, and Guise was the successful suitor.
+
+Francis of Lorraine was now appointed lieutenant general of the French
+armies, and the king addressed to all the provincial authorities
+special injunction to render as prompt and absolute obedience to the
+orders of the Duke of Guise as if they emanated from himself. "And
+truly," says one of the writers of those times, "never had monarch in
+France been obeyed more punctually or with greater zeal." In fact,
+Guise was now the head of the government, and all the great interests
+of the nation were ordered by his mind. Henry was a feeble prince,
+with neither vigor of body nor energy of intellect to resist the
+encroachments of so imperial a spirit. He gave many indications of
+uneasiness in view of his own thralldom, but he was entirely unable to
+dispense with the aid of his sagacious ally.
+
+It will be remembered that one of the daughters of Claude, and a
+sister of Francis, the second duke of Guise, married the King of
+Scotland. Her daughter, the niece of Francis, was the celebrated Mary,
+Queen of Scots. She had been sent to France for her education, and she
+was married, when very young, to her cousin Francis, son of Henry II.
+and of the infamous Catharine de Medici. He was heir of the French
+throne. This wedding was celebrated with the utmost magnificence, and
+the Guises moved on the occasion through the palaces of royalty with
+the pride of monarchs. Henry II. was accidentally killed in a
+tournament; and Francis, his son, under the title of Francis II., with
+his young and beautiful bride, the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots,
+ascended the throne. Francis was a feeble-minded, consumptive youth of
+16, whose thoughts were all centred in his lovely wife. Mary, who was
+but fifteen years of age, was fascinating in the extreme, and entirely
+devoted to pleasure. She gladly transferred all the power of the realm
+to her uncles, the Guises.
+
+About this time the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants
+began to grow more violent. The Catholics drew the sword for the
+extirpation of heresy; the Protestants grasped their arms to defend
+themselves. The Guises consecrated all their energies to the support
+of the Papal Church and to the suppression of the Reformation. The
+feeble boy, Francis II., sat languidly upon his throne but seventeen
+months, when he died, on the 5th of December, 1560, and his brother,
+Charles IX., equally enervated in mind and with far less moral worth,
+succeeded to the crown. The death of Francis II. was a heavy blow to
+the Guises. The Admiral Coligni, one of the most illustrious of the
+Protestants, and the bosom friend of Henry of Navarre, was standing,
+with many other nobles, at the bedside of the monarch as he breathed
+his last.
+
+"Gentlemen," said the admiral, with that gravity which was in
+accordance with his character and his religious principles, "the king
+is dead. It is a lesson to teach us all how to live."
+
+The Protestants could not but rejoice that the Guises had thus lost
+the peculiar influence which they had secured from their near
+relationship to the queen. Admiral Coligni retired from the death-bed
+of the monarch to his own mansion, and, sitting down by the fire,
+became lost in the most profound reverie. He did not observe that his
+boots were burning until one of his friends called his attention to
+the fact.
+
+"Ah!" he replied, "not a week ago, you and I would each have given a
+leg to have things take this turn, and now we get off with a pair of
+boots."
+
+Antoinette, the widow of Claude of Lorraine, and the mother of
+Francis, the then Duke of Guise, was still living. She was so
+rancorous in her hostility to the Protestants that she was designated
+by them "_Mother of the tyrants and enemies of the Gospel_." Greatly
+to her annoyance, a large number of Protestants conducted their
+worship in the little town of Vassy, just on the frontier of the
+domains of the Duke of Guise. She was incessantly imploring her son to
+drive off these obnoxious neighbors. The duke was at one time
+journeying with his wife. Their route lay through the town of Vassy.
+His suite consisted of two hundred and sixty men at arms, all showing
+the warlike temper of their chief, and even far surpassing him in
+bigoted hatred of the Protestants.
+
+On arriving at Vassy, the duke entered the church to hear high mass.
+It is said that while engaged in this act of devotion his ears were
+annoyed by the psalms of the Protestants, who were assembled in the
+vicinity. He sent an imperious message for the minister and the
+leading members of the congregation immediately to appear before him.
+The young men fulfilled their mission in a manner so taunting and
+insulting that a quarrel ensued, shots were exchanged, and immediately
+all the vassals of the duke, who were ripe for a fray, commenced an
+indiscriminate massacre. The Protestants valiantly but unavailingly
+defended themselves with sticks and stones; but the bullets of their
+enemies reached them everywhere, in the houses, on the roofs, in the
+streets. For an hour the carnage continued unchecked, and sixty men
+and women were killed and two hundred wounded. One only of the men of
+the duke was killed. Francis was ashamed of this slaughter of the
+defenseless, and declared that it was a sudden outbreak, for which he
+was not responsible, and which he had done every thing in his power to
+check; but ever after this he was called by the Protestants "_The
+Butcher of Vassy_."
+
+When the news of this massacre reached Paris, Theodore de Beza was
+deputed by the Protestants to demand of Catharine, their regent,
+severe justice on the Duke of Guise; but Catharine feared the princes
+of Lorraine, and said to Beza,
+
+"Whoever touches so much as the finger-tip of the Duke of Guise,
+touches me in the middle of my heart."
+
+Beza meekly but courageously replied, "It assuredly behooves that
+Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to
+strike them; but may it please your majesty also to remember that it
+is an anvil which has worn out many hammers."
+
+At the siege of Rouen the Duke of Guise was informed that an assassin
+had been arrested who had entered the camp with the intention of
+taking his life. He ordered the man to be brought before him, and
+calmly inquired,
+
+"Have you not come hither to kill me?"
+
+The intrepid but misguided young man openly avowed his intention.
+
+"And what motive," inquired the duke, "impelled you to such a deed?
+Have I done you any wrong?"
+
+"No," he replied; "but in removing you from the world I should promote
+the best interests of the Protestant religion, which I profess."
+
+"My religion, then," generously replied the duke, "is better than
+yours, for it commands me to pardon, of my own accord, you who are
+convicted of guilt." And, by his orders, the assassin was safely
+conducted out of camp.
+
+"A fine example," exclaims his historian, "of truly religious
+sentiments and magnanimous proselytism very natural to the Duke of
+Guise, the most moderate and humane of the chiefs of the Catholic
+army, and whose brilliant generosity had been but temporarily obscured
+by the occurrence at Vassy."
+
+The war between the Catholics and Protestants was now raging with
+implacable fury, and Guise, victorious in many battles, had acquired
+from the Catholic party the name of "Savior of his Country." The duke
+was now upon the very loftiest summits of power which a subject can
+attain. In great exaltation of spirits, he one morning left the army
+over which he was commander-in-chief to visit the duchess, who had
+come to meet him at the neighboring castle of Corney. The duke very
+imprudently took with him merely one general officer and a page. It
+was a beautiful morning in February. As he crossed, in a boat, the
+mirrored surface of the Loiret, the vegetation of returning spring and
+the songs of the rejoicing birds strikingly contrasted with the blood,
+desolation, and misery with which the hateful spirit of war was
+desolating France. The duke was silent, apparently lost in painful
+reveries. His companions disturbed not his thoughts. Having crossed
+the stream, he was slowly walking his horse, with the reins hanging
+listlessly upon his mane, when a pistol was discharged at him from
+behind a hedge, at a distance of but six or seven paces. Two bullets
+pierced his side. On feeling himself wounded, he calmly said,
+
+"They have long had this shot in reserve for me. I deserve it for my
+want of precaution."
+
+[Illustration: THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCIS, DUKE OF GUISE.]
+
+He immediately fell upon his horse's neck, and was caught in the arms
+of his friends. They conveyed him to the castle, where the duchess
+received him with cries of anguish. He embraced her tenderly,
+minutely described the circumstances of his assassination, and
+expressed himself grieved in view of the stain which such a crime
+would inflict upon the honor of France. He exhorted his wife to bow in
+submission to the will of Heaven, and kissing his son Henry, the Duke
+of Joinville, who was weeping by his side, gently said to him,
+
+"God grant thee grace, my son, to be a good man."
+
+Thus died Francis, the second Duke of Guise, on the twenty-fourth of
+February, 1563. His murderer was a young Protestant noble, Jean
+Poltrot, twenty-four years of age. Poltrot, from being an ardent
+Catholic, had embraced the Protestant faith. This exposed him to
+persecution, and he was driven from France with the loss of his
+estates. He was compelled to support himself by manual labor. Soured
+in disposition, exasperated and half maddened, he insanely felt that
+he would be doing God service by the assassination of the _Butcher of
+Vassy_, the most formidable foe of the Protestant religion. It was a
+day of general darkness, and of the confusion of all correct ideas of
+morals.
+
+Henry, the eldest son of the Duke of Guise, a lad of but thirteen
+years of age, now inherited the titles and the renown which his bold
+ancestors had accumulated. This was the Duke of Guise who was the
+bandit chieftain in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.
+
+One day Henry II. was holding his little daughter Marguerite, who
+afterward became the wife of Henry of Navarre, in his lap, when Henry
+of Guise, then Prince of Joinville, and the Marquis of Beaupreau, were
+playing together upon the floor, the one being but seven years of age,
+and the other but nine.
+
+"Which of the two do you like the best?" inquired the king of his
+child.
+
+"I prefer the marquis," she promptly replied.
+
+"Yes; but the Prince of Joinville is the handsomest," the king
+rejoined.
+
+"Oh," retorted Marguerite, "he is always in mischief, and he will be
+master every where."
+
+Francis, the Duke of Guise, had fully apprehended the ambitious,
+impetuous, and reckless character of his son. He is said to have
+predicted that Henry, intoxicated by popularity, would perish in the
+attempt to seat himself upon the throne of France.
+
+"Henry," says a writer of those times, "surpassed all the princes of
+his house in certain natural gifts, in certain talents, which procured
+him the respect of the court, the affection of the people, but which,
+nevertheless, were tarnished by a singular alloy of great faults and
+unlimited ambition."
+
+"France was mad about that man," writes another, "for it is too little
+to say that she was in love with him. Her passion approached idolatry.
+There were persons who invoked him in their prayers. His portrait was
+every where. Some ran after him in the streets to touch his mantle
+with their rosaries. One day that he entered Paris on his return from
+a journey, the multitude not only cried '_Vive Guise!_' but many sang,
+on his passage, '_Hosanna to the son of David!_'"
+
+3. _The House of Bourbon._ The origin of this family fades away in the
+remoteness of antiquity. Some bold chieftain, far remote in barbarian
+ages, emerged from obscurity and laid the foundations of the
+illustrious house. Generation after generation passed away, as the son
+succeeded the father in baronial pomp, and pride, and power, till the
+light of history, with its steadily-increasing brilliancy, illumined
+Europe. The family had often been connected in marriage both with the
+house of Guise and the royal line, the house of Valois. Antony of
+Bourbon, a sturdy soldier, united the houses of Bourbon and Navarre
+by marrying Jeanne d'Albret, the only child of the King of Navarre.
+Henry came from the union, an only son; and he, by marrying
+Marguerite, the daughter of the King of France, united the houses of
+Bourbon, Navarre, and Valois, and became heir to the throne of France
+should the sons of Henry II. die without issue.
+
+This episode in reference to the condition of France at the time of
+which we write seems necessary to enable the reader fully to
+understand the succeeding chapters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DEATH OF CHARLES IX. AND THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III.
+
+1576-1577
+
+Henry, King of Poland.--Henry's journey through Germany.--Enmity
+between the two brothers.--Sickness of Charles IX.--Remorse of the
+king.--Death of Charles IX.--Chateaubriand.--Character of the
+king.--Henry III.--The stratagem.--Flight from the crown.--The
+sojourn in Italy.--The three Henrys.--Marriage of Henry III.--The
+Duke of Alencon.--Suspicions of poison.--Invectives of the
+king.--Recovery of the king.--Disappointment of Francis.--Fanaticism
+of the king.--Escape of the Duke of Alencon.--The king aroused.--War
+of the public good.--Defeat of Guise.--Perplexity of Catharine.--The
+guard of honor.--Plan of escape.--Successful artifice.--The false
+rumor.--Escape accomplished.--Trouble of the Duke of Alencon.--Terms
+of settlement.--Paix de Monsieur.--Duke of Anjou.--Arrival at
+Rochelle.--Conduct of Catharine and Henry III.--Complexity of
+politics.--Francis and Queen Elizabeth.--New assaults on the
+Protestants.--Anecdote of the Protestants.--Gratitude of the citizens
+of Bayonne.--Anecdote of Henry of Navarre.--Another peace.--The
+battle arrested.--Pledge of peace.--Morality in France.--Disgraceful
+fete.--Murder in the royal palace.
+
+
+After the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, a large number of the
+Protestants threw themselves into the city of Rochelle. For seven
+months they were besieged by all the power which the King of France
+could bring against them. They were at length, weakened by sickness
+and exhausted by famine, compelled to surrender. By their valiant
+resistance, however, they obtained highly honorable terms, securing
+for the inhabitants of Rochelle the free exercise of their religion
+within the walls of the city, and a general act of amnesty for all the
+Protestants in the realm.
+
+Immediately after this event, Henry, the brother of Charles IX., was
+elected King of Poland, an honor which he attained in consequence of
+the military prowess he had displayed in the wars against the
+Protestants of France. Accompanied by his mother, Catharine de Medici,
+the young monarch set out for his distant dominions. Henry had been a
+very active agent in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. At Lorraine
+Catharine took leave of him, and he went on his way in a very
+melancholy mood. His election had been secured by the greatest efforts
+of intrigue and bribery on the part of his mother. The melancholy
+countenances of the Protestants, driven into exile, and bewailing the
+murder of friends and relatives, whose assassination he had caused,
+met him at every turn. His reception at the German courts was cold and
+repulsive. In the palace of the Elector Palatine, Henry beheld the
+portrait of Coligni, who had been so treacherously slaughtered in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The portrait was suspended in a very
+conspicuous place of honor, and beneath it were inscribed the words,
+
+     "SUCH WAS THE FORMER COUNTENANCE OF THE HERO COLIGNI, WHO
+     HAS BEEN RENDERED TRULY ILLUSTRIOUS BOTH BY HIS LIFE AND HIS
+     DEATH."
+
+The Protestant Elector pointed out the picture to the young king, whom
+he both hated and despised, and coolly asked him if he knew the man.
+Henry, not a little embarrassed, replied that he did.
+
+"He was," rejoined the German prince, "the most honest man, and the
+wisest and the greatest captain of Europe, whose children I keep with
+me, lest the dogs of France should tear them as their father has been
+torn."
+
+Thus Henry, gloomy through the repulses which he was ever
+encountering, journeyed along to Poland, where he was crowned king,
+notwithstanding energetic remonstrances on the part of those who
+execrated him for his deeds. The two brothers, Charles IX. and Henry,
+were bitter enemies, and Charles had declared, with many oaths, that
+one of the two should leave the realm. Henry was the favorite of
+Catharine, and hence she made such efforts to secure his safety by
+placing him upon the throne of Poland. She was aware that the feeble
+Charles would not live long, and when, with tears, she took leave of
+Henry, she assured him that he would soon return.
+
+The outcry of indignation which the Massacre of St. Bartholomew called
+forth from combined Europe fell like the knell of death on the ear of
+the depraved and cowardly Charles. Disease began to ravage, with new
+violence, his exhausted frame. He became silent, morose, irritable,
+and gloomy. He secluded himself from all society, and surrendered
+himself to the dominion of remorse. He was detested by the
+Protestants, and utterly despised by the Catholics. A bloody sweat,
+oozing from every pore, crimsoned his bed-clothes. His occasional
+outcries of remorse and his aspect of misery drove all from his
+chamber excepting those who were compelled to render him service. He
+groaned and wept incessantly, exclaiming,
+
+"Oh, what blood! oh, what murders! Alas! why did I follow such evil
+counsels?"
+
+He saw continually the spectres of the slain, with ghastly, gory
+wounds, stalking about his bed; and demons of hideous aspect, and with
+weapons of torture in their hands, with horrid and derisive malice,
+were impatiently waiting to seize his soul the moment it should pass
+from the decaying body.
+
+The day before his death he lay for some time upon his bed in perfect
+silence. Suddenly starting up, he exclaimed,
+
+"Call my brother."
+
+His mother, who was sitting by his side, directed an attendant to call
+his brother Francis, the Duke of Alencon.
+
+"No, not him," the king replied; "my brother, the King of Navarre, I
+mean."
+
+Henry of Navarre was then detained in princely imprisonment in the
+court of Catharine. He had made many efforts to escape, but all had
+been unavailing.
+
+Catharine directed that Henry should be called. In order to intimidate
+him, and thus to prevent him from speaking with freedom and boldness
+to her dying son, she ordered him to be brought through the vaults of
+the castle, between a double line of armed guards. Henry, as he
+descended into those gloomy dungeons, and saw the glittering arms of
+the soldiers, felt that the hour for his assassination had arrived.
+He, however, passed safely through, and was ushered into the chamber
+of his brother-in-law and former playfellow, the dying king. Charles
+IX., subdued by remorse and appalled by approaching death, received
+him with gentleness and affection, and weeping profusely, embraced him
+as he knelt by his bedside.
+
+"My brother," said the dying king, "you lose a good master and a good
+friend. I know that you are not the cause of the troubles which have
+come upon me. If I had believed all which has been told me, you would
+not now have been living; but I have always loved you." Then turning
+his eyes to the queen mother, he said energetically, "Do not trust
+to--" Here Catharine hastily interrupted him, and prevented the
+finishing of the sentence with the words "_my mother_."
+
+Charles designated his brother Henry, the King of Poland, as his
+successor. He expressed the earnest wish that neither his younger
+brother, Francis, the Duke of Alencon, nor Henry, would disturb the
+repose of the realm. The next night, as the Cathedral clock was
+tolling the hour of twelve, the nurse, who was sitting, with two
+watchers, at the bedside of the dying monarch, heard him sighing and
+moaning, and then convulsively weeping. Gently she approached the bed
+and drew aside the curtains. Charles turned his dimmed and despairing
+eye upon her, and exclaimed,
+
+"Oh, my nurse! my nurse! what blood have I shed! what murders have I
+committed! Great God! pardon me--pardon me!"
+
+A convulsive shuddering for a moment agitated his frame, his head fell
+back upon his pillow, and the wretched man was dead. He died at
+twenty-four years of age, expressing satisfaction that he left no heir
+to live and to suffer in a world so full of misery. In reference to
+this guilty king, Chateaubriand says,
+
+"Should we not have some pity for this monarch of twenty-three years,
+born with fine talents, a taste for literature and the arts, a
+character naturally generous, whom an execrable mother had tried to
+deprave by all the abuses of debauchery and power?"
+
+"Yes," warmly responds G. de Felice, "we will have compassion for him,
+with the Huguenots themselves, whose fathers he ordered to be slain,
+and who, with a merciful hand, would wipe away the blood which covers
+his face to find still something human."
+
+Henry, his brother, who was to succeed him upon the throne, was then
+in Poland. Catharine was glad to have the pusillanimous Charles out of
+the way. He was sufficiently depraved to commit any crime, without
+being sufficiently resolute to brave its penalty. Henry III. had, in
+early life, displayed great vigor of character. At the age of fifteen
+he had been placed in the command of armies, and in several combats
+had defeated the veteran generals of the Protestant forces. His renown
+had extended through Europe, and had contributed much in placing him
+on the elective throne of Poland. Catharine, by the will of the king,
+was appointed regent until the return of Henry. She immediately
+dispatched messengers to recall the King of Poland. In the mean time,
+she kept Henry of Navarre and her youngest son, the Duke of Alencon,
+in close captivity, and watched them with the greatest vigilance, that
+they might make no movements toward the throne.
+
+Henry was by this time utterly weary of his Polish crown, and sighed
+for the voluptuous pleasures of Paris. The Poles were not willing that
+their king should leave the realm, as it might lead to civil war in
+the choice of a successor. Henry was compelled to resort to stratagem
+to effect his escape. A large and splendid party was invited to the
+palace. A wilderness of rooms, brilliantly illuminated, were thrown
+open to the guests. Masked dancers walked the floor in every variety
+of costume. Wine and wassail filled the halls with revelry. When all
+were absorbed in music and mirth, the king, by a private passage,
+stole from the palace, and mounting a swift horse, which was awaiting
+him in the court-yard, accompanied by two or three friends, commenced
+his flight from his crown and his Polish throne. Through the long
+hours of the night they pressed their horses to their utmost speed,
+and when the morning dawned, obtaining fresh steeds, they hurried on
+their way, tarrying not for refreshment or repose until they had
+passed the frontiers of the kingdom. Henry was afraid to take the
+direct route through the Protestant states of Germany, for the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew was still bitterly remembered. He
+therefore took a circuitous route through Italy, and arrived at Venice
+in August. In sunny Italy he lingered for some time, surrendering
+himself to every enervating indulgence, and even bartering the
+fortresses of France to purchase the luxuries in the midst of which he
+was reveling. At last, sated with guilty pleasure, he languidly turned
+his steps toward Paris.
+
+There were now three Henrys, who had been companions in childhood, who
+were at the head of the three rival houses of Valois, of Bourbon, and
+of Guise. One of these was King of France. One was King of Navarre.
+But Henry of Guise was, in wealth and in the attachment of the
+Catholic population of France, superior to either. The war which
+ensued is sometimes called _The War of the three Henrys_.
+
+As soon as his mother learned that he was approaching France, she set
+out from Paris with a magnificent retinue to meet her pet child,
+taking with her his brother, the Duke of Alencon, and Henry of
+Navarre. Dissipation had impaired the mental as well as the physical
+energies of the king, and a maudlin good-nature had absorbed all his
+faculties. He greeted his brother and his brother-in-law with much
+kindness, and upon receiving their oaths of obedience, withdrew much
+of the restraint to which they previously had been subjected. Henry
+was now known as Henry III. of France. Soon after his coronation he
+married Louisa of Lorraine, a daughter of one of the sons of the Duke
+of Guise. She was a pure-minded and lovely woman, and her mild and
+gentle virtues contrasted strongly with the vulgarity, coarseness, and
+vice of her degraded husband.
+
+The Duke of Alencon was, however, by no means appeased by the kindness
+with which he had been received by his brother the king. He called him
+the robber of his crown, and formed a conspiracy for attacking the
+carriage of his brother and putting him to death. The plot was
+revealed to the king. He called his brother to his presence,
+reproached him with his perfidy and ingratitude, but generously
+forgave him. But the heart of Alencon was impervious to any appeals of
+generosity or of honor. Upon the death of Henry III., the Duke of
+Alencon, his only surviving brother, would ascend the throne.
+
+The Duke of Guise hated with implacable rancor the Duke of Alencon,
+and even proffered his aid to place Henry of Navarre upon the throne
+in the event of the death of the king, that he might thus exclude his
+detested rival. Francis, the Duke of Alencon, was impatient to reach
+the crown, and again formed a plot to poison his brother. The king was
+suddenly taken very ill. He declared his brother had poisoned him. As
+each succeeding day his illness grew more severe, and the
+probabilities became stronger of its fatal termination, Francis
+assumed an air of haughtiness and of authority, as if confident that
+the crown was already his own. The open exultation which he manifested
+in view of the apparently dying condition of his brother Henry
+confirmed all in the suspicion that he had caused poison to be
+administered.
+
+Henry III., believing his death inevitable, called Henry of Navarre to
+his bedside, and heaping the bitterest invectives upon his brother
+Francis, urged Henry of Navarre to procure his assassination, and thus
+secure for himself the vacant throne. Henry of Navarre was the next
+heir to the throne after the Duke of Alencon, and the dying king most
+earnestly urged Henry to put the duke to death, showing him the ease
+with which it could be done, and assuring him that he would be
+abundantly supported by all the leading nobles of the kingdom. While
+this scene was taking place at the sick-bed of the monarch, Francis
+passed through the chamber of his brother without deigning to notice
+either him or the King of Navarre. Strongly as Henry of Navarre was
+desirous of securing for himself the throne of France, he was utterly
+incapable of meditating even upon such a crime, and he refused to give
+it a second thought.
+
+To the surprise of all, the king recovered, and Francis made no
+efforts to conceal his disappointment. There were thousands of armed
+insurgents ready at any moment to rally around the banner of the Duke
+of Alencon, for they would thus be brought into positions of emolument
+and power. The king, who was ready himself to act the assassin,
+treated his assassin-brother with the most profound contempt. No
+description can convey an adequate idea of the state of France at this
+time. Universal anarchy prevailed. Civil war, exasperated by the
+utmost rancor, was raging in nearly all the provinces. Assassinations
+were continually occurring. Female virtue was almost unknown, and the
+most shameful licentiousness filled the capital. The treasury was so
+utterly exhausted that, in a journey made by the king and his retinue
+in mid-winter, the pages were obliged to sell their cloaks to obtain a
+bare subsistence. The king, steeped in pollution, a fanatic and a
+hypocrite, exhibited himself to his subjects bareheaded, barefooted,
+and half naked, scourging himself with a whip, reciting his prayers,
+and preparing the way, by the most ostentatious penances, to plunge
+anew into every degrading sensual indulgence. He was thoroughly
+despised by his subjects, and many were anxious to exchange him for
+the reckless and impetuous, but equally depraved Francis.
+
+The situation of the Duke of Alencon was now not only very
+uncomfortable, but exceedingly perilous. The king did every thing in
+his power to expose him to humiliations, and was evidently watching
+for an opportunity to put him to death, either by the dagger or by a
+cup of poison. The duke, aided by his profligate sister Marguerite,
+wife of Henry of Navarre, formed a plan for escape.
+
+One dark evening he wrapped himself in a large cloak, and issued forth
+alone from the Louvre. Passing through obscure streets, he arrived at
+the suburbs of the city, where a carriage with trusty attendants was
+in waiting. Driving as rapidly as possible, he gained the open
+country, and then mounting a very fleet charger, which by previous
+appointment was provided for him, he spurred his horse at the utmost
+speed for many leagues, till he met an escort of three hundred men,
+with whom he took refuge in a fortified town. His escape was not known
+in the palace until nine o'clock the next morning. Henry was
+exceedingly agitated when he received the tidings, for he knew that
+his energetic and reckless brother would join the Protestant party,
+carrying with him powerful influence, and thus add immeasurably to the
+distractions which now crowded upon the king.
+
+For once, imminent peril roused Henry III. to vigorous action. He
+forgot his spaniels, his parrots, his monkeys, and even his painted
+concubines, and roused himself to circumvent the plans of his hated
+rival. Letter after letter was sent to all the provinces, informing
+the governors of the flight of the prince, and commanding the most
+vigorous efforts to secure his arrest. Francis issued a proclamation
+declaring the reasons for his escape, and calling upon the Protestants
+and all who loved the "public good" to rally around him. Hence the
+short but merciless war which ensued was called "the war of the public
+good."
+
+The Duke of Alencon was now at the head of a powerful party, for he
+had thrown himself into the arms of the Protestants, and many of his
+Catholic partisans followed him. Henry III. called to his aid the
+fearless and energetic Duke of Guise, and gave him the command of his
+armies. In the first terrible conflict which ensued Guise was
+defeated, and received a hideous gash upon his face, which left a scar
+of which he was very proud as a signet of valor.
+
+Catharine was now in deep trouble. Her two sons were in open arms
+against each other, heading powerful forces, and sweeping France with
+whirlwinds of destruction. Henry of Navarre was still detained a
+prisoner in the French court, though surrounded by all the luxuries
+and indulgences of the capital. The dignity of his character, and his
+great popularity, alarmed Catharine, lest, in the turmoil of the
+times, he should thrust both of her sons from the throne, and grasp
+the crown himself. Henry and his friends all became fully convinced
+that Catharine entertained designs upon his life. Marguerite was fully
+satisfied that it was so, and, bad as she was, as Henry interfered not
+in the slightest degree with any of her practices, she felt a certain
+kind of regard for him. The guards who had been assigned to Henry
+professedly as a mark of honor, and to add to the splendor of his
+establishment, were in reality his jailers, who watched him with an
+eagle eye. They were all zealous Papists, and most of them, in the
+Massacre of St. Bartholomew, had dipped their hands deep in Protestant
+blood. Catharine watched him with unceasing vigilance, and crowded
+every temptation upon him which could enervate and ruin. Her depravity
+did but stimulate her woman's shrewdness and tact.
+
+Henry of Navarre sighed for liberty. He was, however, so closely
+guarded that escape seemed impossible. At last the following plan was
+formed for flight. A hunting-party was got up. Henry was to invite
+persons to attend the chase in whose fidelity he could repose
+confidence, while one only was to be intrusted with the secret. Others
+of his friends were secretly to resort to an appointed rendezvous with
+fresh horses, and all well armed and in sufficient numbers to
+overpower the guard placed about his person. Henry was to press on in
+the chase with the utmost eagerness until the horses of the guard were
+completely exhausted, when his friends with the fresh steeds were to
+appear, rescue him from the guards, and accompany him in his flight.
+The guards, being drawn far from the palace, could not speedily obtain
+fresh horses, neither could they pursue him with their jaded animals.
+
+The Duke of Guise was now in great favor with Henry III. Henry of
+Navarre, during the few days in which he was making preparation for
+his flight, blinded the eagle eyes of the duke by affecting great
+confidence that he should obtain from the king the high office of
+lieutenant general of France. The duke and Henry III. made themselves
+very merry over this supposed simplicity of Henry of Navarre, little
+aware that he was making himself equally merry at their expense.
+
+Two days before the execution of the scheme, a rumor spread through
+the court that Henry had escaped. For a short time great anxiety and
+confusion ensued. Henry, being informed of the report and of the
+agitation which filled the palace, hastened to the apartments where
+Catharine and the king were in deliberation, and laughingly told them
+that he had arrested the King of Navarre, and that he now surrendered
+him to them for safe keeping.
+
+In the morning of the day fixed for his flight, the King of Navarre
+held a long and familiar conversation with the Duke of Guise, and
+urged him to accompany him to the hunt. Just as the moment arrived for
+the execution of the plot, it was betrayed to the king by the
+treachery of a confederate. Notwithstanding this betrayal, however,
+matters were so thoroughly arranged that Henry, after several
+hair-breadth escapes from arrest, accomplished his flight. His
+apprehension was so great that for sixty miles he rode as rapidly as
+possible, without speaking a word or stopping for one moment except to
+mount a fresh horse. He rode over a hundred miles on horseback that
+day, and took refuge in Alencon, a fortified city held by the
+Protestants. As soon as his escape was known, thousands of his friends
+flocked around him.
+
+The Duke of Alencon was not a little troubled at the escape of the
+King of Navarre, for he was well aware that the authority he had
+acquired among the Protestants would be lost by the presence of one so
+much his superior in every respect, and so much more entitled to the
+confidence of the Protestants. Thus the two princes remained separate,
+but ready, in case of emergence, to unite their forces, which now
+amounted to fifty thousand men. Henry of Navarre soon established his
+head-quarters on the banks of the Loire, where every day fresh
+parties of Protestants were joining his standard.
+
+Henry III., with no energy of character, despised by his subjects, and
+without either money or armies, seemed to be now entirely at the mercy
+of the confederate princes. Henry of Navarre and the Duke of Alencon
+sent an embassador to the French court to propose terms to Henry III.
+The King of Navarre required, among other conditions, that France
+should unite with him in recovering from Spain that portion of the
+territory of Navarre which had been wrested from his ancestors by
+Ferdinand and Isabella. While the proposed conditions of peace were
+under discussion, Catharine succeeded in bribing her son, the Duke of
+Alencon, to abandon the cause of Henry of Navarre. A treaty of peace
+was then concluded with the Protestants; and by a royal edict, the
+full and free exercise of the Protestant religion was guaranteed in
+every part of France except Paris and a circle twelve miles in
+diameter around the capital. As a bribe to the Duke of Alencon, he was
+invested with sovereign power over the three most important provinces
+of the realm, with an annual income of one hundred thousand crowns.
+This celebrated treaty, called the _Paix de Monsieur_, because
+concluded under the auspices of Francis, the brother of the king, was
+signed at Chastenoy the sixth of May, 1576.
+
+The ambitious and perfidious duke now assumed the title of the Duke of
+Anjou, and entirely separated himself from the Protestants. He tried
+to lure the Prince of Conde, the cousin and devoted friend of Henry of
+Navarre, to accompany him into the town of Bourges. The prince,
+suspecting treachery, refused the invitation, saying that some rogue
+would probably be found in the city who would send a bullet through
+his head.
+
+"The rogue would be hanged, I know," he added, "but the Prince of
+Conde would be dead. I will not give you occasion, my lord, to hang
+rogues for love of me."
+
+He accordingly took his leave of the Duke of Alencon, and, putting
+spurs to his horse, with fifty followers joined the King of Navarre.
+
+Henry was received with royal honors in the Protestant town of
+Rochelle, where he publicly renounced the Roman Catholic faith,
+declaring that he had assented to that faith from compulsion, and as
+the only means of saving his life. He also publicly performed penance
+for the sin which he declared that he had thus been compelled to
+commit.
+
+Catharine and Henry III., having detached Francis, who had been the
+Duke of Alencon, but who was now the Duke of Anjou, from the
+Protestants, no longer feigned any friendship or even toleration for
+that cause. They acted upon the principle that no faith was to be kept
+with heretics. The Protestants, notwithstanding the treaty, were
+exposed to every species of insult and injury. The Catholics were
+determined that the Protestant religion should not be tolerated in
+France, and that all who did not conform to the Church of Rome should
+either perish or be driven from the kingdom. Many of the Protestants
+were men of devoted piety, who cherished their religious convictions
+more tenaciously than life. There were others, however, who joined
+them merely from motives of political ambition. Though the Protestant
+party, in France itself, was comparatively small, the great mass of
+the population being Catholics, yet the party was extremely
+influential from the intelligence and the rank of its leaders, and
+from the unconquerable energy with which all of its members were
+animated.
+
+The weak and irresolute king was ever vacillating between the two
+parties. The Duke of Guise was the great idol of the Catholics. Henry
+of Navarre was the acknowledged leader of the Protestants. The king
+feared them both. It was very apparent that Henry III. could not live
+long. At his death his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou, would ascend
+the throne. Should he die childless, Henry of Navarre would be his
+lawful successor. But the Catholics would be horror-stricken at the
+idea of seeing a _heretic_ on the throne. The Duke of Guise was laying
+his plans deep and broad to array all the Catholic population of
+France in his own favor, and thus to rob the Protestant prince of his
+rights. Henry III., Henry of Navarre, Henry, Duke of Guise, and
+Francis, Duke of Anjou, had all been playmates in childhood and
+classmates at school. They were now heading armies, and struggling for
+the prize of the richest crown in Europe.
+
+Francis was weary of waiting for his brother to die. To strengthen
+himself, he sought in marriage the hand of Queen Elizabeth of England.
+Though she had no disposition to receive a husband, she was ever very
+happy to be surrounded by lovers. She consequently played the coquette
+with Francis until he saw that there was no probability of the
+successful termination of his suit. Francis returned to Paris
+bitterly disappointed, and with new zeal consecrated his sword to the
+cause of the Catholics. Had Elizabeth accepted his suit, he would then
+most earnestly have espoused the cause of the Protestants.
+
+Henry III. now determined to make a vigorous effort to crush the
+Protestant religion. He raised large armies, and gave the command to
+the Duke of Anjou, the Duke of Guise, and to the brother of the Duke
+of Guise, the Duke of Mayenne. Henry of Navarre, encountering fearful
+odds, was welcomed by acclamation to head the small but indomitable
+band of Protestants, now struggling, not for liberty only, but for
+life. The king was very anxious to get Henry of Navarre again in his
+power, and sent most flattering messages and most pressing invitations
+to lure him again to his court; but years of captivity had taught a
+lesson of caution not soon to be forgotten.
+
+Again hideous war ravaged France. The Duke of Anjou, exasperated by
+disappointed love, disgraced himself by the most atrocious cruelties.
+He burned the dwellings of the Protestants, surrendered unarmed and
+defenseless men, and women, and children to massacre. The Duke of
+Guise, who had inflicted such an ineffaceable stain upon his
+reputation by the foul murder of the Admiral Coligni, made some
+atonement for this shameful act by the chivalrous spirit with which he
+endeavored to mitigate the horrors of civil war.
+
+One day, in the vicinity of Bayonne, a party of Catholics, consisting
+of a few hundred horse and foot, were conducting to their execution
+three Protestant young ladies, who, for their faith, were infamously
+condemned to death. As they were passing over a wide plain, covered
+with broken woods and heath, they were encountered by a body of
+Protestants. A desperate battle immediately ensued. The Protestants,
+impelled by a noble chivalry as well as by religious fervor, rushed
+upon their foes with such impetuosity that resistance was unavailing,
+and the Catholics threw down their arms and implored quarter. Many of
+these soldiers were from the city of Dux. The leader of the Protestant
+band remembered that at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew all the
+Protestants in that city had been slain without mercy. With a most
+deplorable want of magnanimity, he caused all the prisoners who
+belonged to that place to be separated from the rest, and in cold
+blood they were slaughtered.
+
+The remainder of the prisoners were from the city of Bayonne, whose
+inhabitants, though Catholics, had nobly refused to imbrue their hands
+in the blood of that horrible massacre which Charles IX. had enjoined.
+To them, after they had seen their comrades surrendered to butchery
+before their eyes, he restored their horses and their arms, and gave
+them their entire liberty.
+
+"Go," said he, "to your homes, and there tell the different treatment
+which I show to soldiers and to assassins."
+
+The three ladies, thus rescued from impending death, were borne back
+in triumph to their friends. Eight days after this, a trumpet was
+sounded and a flag of truce appeared emerging from the gates of
+Bayonne. The friends of the Catholic soldiers who had been thus
+generously restored sent a beautifully embroidered scarf and a
+handkerchief to each one of the Protestant soldiers.
+
+It is a singular illustration of the blending of the horrors of war
+and the courtesies of peace, that in the midst of this sanguinary
+conflict, Henry of Navarre, accompanied by only six companions,
+accepted an invitation to a fete given by his enemies of the town of
+Bayonne. He was received with the utmost courtesy. His table was
+loaded with luxuries. Voluptuous music floated upon the ear; songs and
+dances animated the festive hours. Henry then returned to head his
+army and to meet his entertainers in the carnage of the field of
+battle.
+
+There was but little repose in France during the year 1577. Skirmish
+succeeded skirmish, and battle was followed by battle; cities were
+bombarded, villages burned, fields ravaged. All the pursuits of
+industry were arrested. Ruin, beggary, and woe desolated thousands of
+once happy homes. Still the Protestants were unsubdued. The king's
+resources at length were entirely exhausted, and he was compelled
+again to conclude a treaty of peace. Both parties immediately
+disbanded their forces, and the blessings of repose followed the
+discords of war.
+
+One of the Protestant generals, immediately upon receiving the tidings
+of peace, set out at the utmost speed of his horse to convey the
+intelligence to Languedoc, where very numerous forces of Protestants
+and Catholics were preparing for conflict. He spurred his steed over
+hills and plains till he saw, gleaming in the rays of the morning sun,
+the banners of the embattled hosts arrayed against each other on a
+vast plain. The drums and the trumpets were just beginning to sound
+the dreadful charge which in a few moments would strew that plain with
+mangled limbs and crimson it with blood. The artillery on the
+adjoining eminences was beginning to utter its voice of thunder, as
+balls, more destructive than the fabled bolts of Jove, were thrown
+into the massive columns marching to the dreadful onset. A few moments
+later, and the cry, the uproar, and the confusion of the battle would
+blind every eye and deafen every ear. La Noue, almost frantic with the
+desire to stop the needless effusion of blood, at the imminent risk of
+being shot, galloped between the antagonistic armies, waving
+energetically the white banner of peace, and succeeded in arresting
+the battle. His generous effort saved the lives of thousands.
+
+Henry III. was required, as a pledge of his sincerity, to place in the
+hands of the Protestants eight fortified cities. The Reformers were
+permitted to conduct public worship unmolested in those places only
+where it was practiced at the time of signing the treaty. In other
+parts of France they were allowed to retain their belief without
+persecution, but they were not permitted to meet in any worshiping
+assemblies. But even these pledges, confirmed by the Edict of
+Poitiers on the 8th of October, 1577, were speedily broken, like all
+the rest.
+
+But in the midst of all these conflicts, while every province in
+France was convulsed with civil war, the king, reckless of the woes of
+his subjects, rioted in all voluptuous dissipation. He was accustomed
+to exhibit himself to his court in those effeminate pageants in which
+he found his only joy, dressed in the flaunting robes of a gay woman,
+with his bosom open and a string of pearls encircling his neck. On one
+occasion he gave a fete, when, for the excitement of novelty, the
+gentlemen, in female robes, were waited upon by the ladies of the
+court, who were dressed in male attire, or rather undressed, for their
+persons were veiled by the slightest possible clothing. Such was the
+corruption of the court of France, and, indeed, of nearly the whole
+realm in those days of darkness. Domestic purity was a virtue unknown.
+Law existed only in name. The rich committed any crimes without fear
+of molestation. In the royal palace itself, one of the favorites of
+the king, in a paroxysm of anger, stabbed his wife and her
+waiting-maid while the unfortunate lady was dressing. No notice
+whatever was taken of this bloody deed. The murderer retained all his
+offices and honors, and it was the general sentiment of the people of
+France that the assassination was committed by the order of the
+sovereign, because the lady refused to be entirely subservient to the
+wishes of the dissolute king.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE LEAGUE.
+
+1585-1589
+
+Formation of the league.--Politics in the pulpit.--The League.--Object
+of the League.--The oath.--Influence of the League.--Its
+extension.--Vast power of the League.--Alarm of the
+Protestants.--Adroit measures of Henry III.--Embarrassment of the
+Leaguers.--Excommunication of Henry IV.--Bold retort.--Edict of
+Nemours.--Anguish of Henry of Navarre.--Death of Francis.--Redoubled
+energies.--Toleration.--The challenge.--Efforts to raise an army.--The
+Leaguers baffled.--The hostile meeting.--Appearance of the two
+armies.--The charge.--Penitence of Henry of Navarre.--Extraordinary
+scene.--The battle of Coutras.--The victory.--Exultation of
+the troops.--Magnanimity of Henry of Navarre.--Conduct of
+Marguerite.--Court of Henry of Navarre.--Censure by the clergy.--The
+flying squadron.--Intrigue and gallantry.--Influences used by
+Catharine.--La Reole.--Treachery of Ussac.--News of the loss of La
+Reole.--The recapture.--Precarious peace.--Attempt to assassinate
+Henry.--The assassin humiliated.
+
+
+About this time there was formed the celebrated league which occupies
+so conspicuous a position in the history of the sixteenth century.
+Henry III., though conscious that his throne was trembling beneath
+him, and courting now the Catholics and again the Protestants, was
+still amusing himself, day after day, with the most contemptible and
+trivial vices. The extinction of the house of Valois was evidently
+and speedily approaching. Henry of Navarre, calm, sagacious, and
+energetic, was rallying around him all the Protestant influences of
+Europe, to sustain, in that event, his undeniable claim to the throne.
+The Duke of Guise, impetuous and fearless, hoped, in successful
+usurpation, to grasp the rich prize by rallying around his banner all
+the fanatic energies of Catholic Europe.
+
+Henry III. was alike despised by Catholics and Protestants. His
+brother Francis, though far more impulsive, had but few traits of
+character to command respect. He could summon but a feeble band for
+his support. Henry of Guise was the available candidate for the
+Catholics. All the priestly influences of France were earnestly
+combined to advance his claims. They declared that Henry of Navarre
+had forfeited every shadow of right to the succession by being a
+heretic. The genealogy of the illustrious house of Guise was blazoned
+forth, and its descent traced from Charlemagne. It was asserted, and
+argued in the pulpit and in the camp, that even the house of Valois
+had usurped the crown which by right belonged to the house of Guise.
+
+Under these circumstances, the most formidable secret society was
+organized the world has ever known. It assumed the name of The League.
+Its object was to exterminate Protestantism, and to place the Duke of
+Guise upon the throne. The following are, in brief, its covenant and
+oath:
+
+                         THE LEAGUE.
+
+     In the name of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
+     Ghost, this League of Catholic princes, lords, and gentlemen
+     shall be instituted to maintain the holy Catholic,
+     apostolical, and Roman Church, abjuring all errors to the
+     contrary. Should opposition to this league arise in any
+     quarter, the associates shall employ all their goods and
+     means, and even their own persons unto death, to punish and
+     hunt down those opposing. Should any of the Leaguers, their
+     associates or friends, be molested, the members of the
+     League shall be bound to employ their bodies, goods, and
+     means to inflict vengeance upon those thus offending. Should
+     any Leaguer, after having taken the oath, withdraw from the
+     association under any pretext whatever, the refractory
+     member shall be injured, in body and goods, in every manner
+     which can be devised, as enemies of God, rebels, and
+     disturbers of the public peace. The Leaguers shall swear
+     implicit obedience to their chief, and shall aid by counsel
+     and service in preserving the League, and in the ruin of all
+     who oppose it. All Catholic towns and villages shall be
+     summoned secretly, by their several governors, to enter into
+     this League, and to furnish arms and men for its execution.
+
+                         OATH.
+
+     I swear by God the Creator, touching the Evangelists, and
+     upon the pain of eternal damnation, that I have entered
+     into this holy Catholic League loyally and sincerely, either
+     to command, to obey, or to serve. I promise, upon my life
+     and honor, to remain in this League to the last drop of my
+     blood, without opposing or retiring upon any pretext
+     whatever.
+
+Such was the character of secret societies in the sixteenth century. A
+more atrocious confederacy than this the human mind could hardly have
+conceived. It was, however, peculiarly calculated to captivate the
+multitude in those days of darkness and blood. Though at first formed
+and extended secretly, it spread like wildfire through all the cities
+and provinces of France. Princes, lords, gentlemen, artisans, and
+peasants rushed into its impious inclosures. The benighted populace,
+enthralled by the superstitions of the Church, were eager to manifest
+their zeal for God by wreaking the most awful vengeance upon
+_heretics_. He who, for any cause, declined entering the League, found
+himself exposed to every possible annoyance. His house and his barns
+blazed in midnight conflagrations; his cattle were mutilated and
+slain; his wife and children were insulted and stoned in the streets.
+By day and by night, asleep and awake, at home and abroad, at all
+times and every where, he was annoyed by every conceivable form of
+injury and violence.
+
+Soon the League became so powerful that no farther secrecy was
+needful. It stalked abroad in open day, insulting its foes and
+vaunting its invincibility. The gigantic plan it unblushingly avowed
+was to exterminate Protestantism by fire and the sword from France;
+then to drown it in blood in Holland; then to turn to England and
+purify that kingdom from the taint of heresy; then to march upon
+Germany; and thus to advance from kingdom to kingdom, in their holy
+crusade, until Protestantism should be every where ingulfed in blood
+and flame, and the whole of Europe should be again brought back to the
+despotism of Rome.
+
+The Duke of Guise was the soul of this mammoth conspiracy, though
+Philip II., the bigoted King of Spain, was its recorded
+commander-in-chief. The Protestants were justly alarmed by the
+enormous energy of the new power thus suddenly evoked against them.
+The Pope, though at first hostile, soon, with his cardinals, espoused
+the cause of the League, and consecrated to its support all the
+weapons which could be wielded by the Vatican. From France, the
+demoniac organization spread through all the kingdoms of Europe.
+Hundreds of thousands were arrayed beneath its crimson banner. Even
+Henry III. in the Louvre, surrounded by his parasites and his
+concubines, trembled as he saw the shadow of this fearful apparition
+darkening his court.
+
+He immediately perceived that he must mount the car or be crushed by
+it. Adroitly he leaped into the seat of the charioteer and seized the
+reins. The demands of the League he adopted as his own, and urged them
+with energy. He issued a proclamation commending the League to his
+subjects, and announcing that he, to set them an example, had signed
+its covenant and its oath. The Duke of Guise and his followers were
+quite bewildered by this unexpected step.
+
+The League had demanded the assembling of the States-General, a body
+somewhat resembling the Congress of the United States. The king
+immediately summoned them to meet. They declared war against the
+Protestants. The king adopted the declaration as his own decree, and
+called loudly for supplies to prosecute the war with vigor. He
+outleagued the most violent of the Leaguers in denunciations of the
+Protestants, in declaring that but one religion should be tolerated in
+France, and in clamoring for arms and munitions of war, that _heresy_
+might be utterly extirpated. The Leaguers thus found, to their great
+perplexity, the weapon which they had forged wrested from their hands
+and wielded against them. They had organized to drive the imbecile
+Henry III. from the throne. He had seized upon that organization, and
+was using it to establish himself more firmly there.
+
+The situation of Henry of Navarre was now extremely critical. Pope
+Sextus V., besides giving the League his Papal blessing, had
+fulminated against the King of Navarre the awful thunders of
+excommunication.
+
+The bull of excommunication was exceedingly coarse and vulgar in its
+denunciatory terms, calling the King of Navarre "_this bastard and
+detestable progeny of Bourbons_."
+
+Henry replied to this assault in accents intrepid and resolute, which
+caused Catholic Europe to stand aghast.
+
+     "Henry," said this bold document, "by the grace of God King
+     of Navarre, sovereign prince of Bearn, first peer and prince
+     of France, resists the declaration and excommunication of
+     Sextus V., self-styled Pope of Rome, asserts it to be false,
+     and maintains that Mr. Sextus, the self-styled Pope, _has
+     falsely and maliciously lied;_ that he himself is
+     _heretic_, which he will prove in any full and free council
+     lawfully assembled; to which if he does not consent and
+     submit, as he is bound by the canons, he, the King of
+     Navarre, holds and pronounces him to be anti-Christ and
+     heretic, and in that quality declares against him perpetual
+     and irreconcilable war."
+
+This energetic protest was placarded in most of the towns of France,
+and by some fearless followers of the prince was even attached to the
+walls of the Vatican. The Pope, though at first much irritated, had
+the magnanimity to express his admiration of the spirit manifested by
+Henry.
+
+"There are but two princes in Europe," said he, "to whom I could
+venture to communicate the grand schemes revolving in my mind, Henry
+of Navarre and Elizabeth of England; but, unfortunately, they are both
+heretics."
+
+Henry III., having no moral principles to guide him in any thing, and
+having no generous affections of any kind, in carrying out his plan of
+wielding the energies of the League without any scruples of
+conscience, issued the infamous Edict of Nemours in 1585, which
+commanded every Protestant minister to leave the kingdom within one
+month, and every member of the Reformed faith either to abjure his
+religion and accept the Catholic faith, or to depart from France
+within six months. The penalty for disobedience in either of these
+cases was _death and the confiscation of property_. This edict was
+executed with great rigor, and many were burned at the stake.
+
+Henry of Navarre was amazed, and, for a time, overwhelmed in receiving
+the news of this atrocious decree. He clearly foresaw that it must
+arouse France and all Europe to war, and that a new Iliad of woes was
+to commence. Leaning his chin upon his hand, he was for a long time
+lost in profound reverie as he pondered the awful theme. It is said
+that his anguish was so intense, that when he removed his hand his
+beard and mustache on that side were turned entirely gray.
+
+But Henry rose with the emergence, and met the crisis with a degree of
+energy and magnanimity which elicited, in those barbarous times, the
+admiration even of his enemies. The Protestants heroically grasped
+their arms and rallied together for mutual protection. War, with all
+its horrors, was immediately resumed.
+
+Affairs were in this condition when Francis, the Duke of Anjou, was
+taken sick and suddenly died. This removed another obstruction from
+the field, and tended to hasten the crisis. Henry III. was feeble,
+exhausted, and childless. Worn out by shameless dissipation, it was
+evident to all that he must soon sink into his grave. Who was to be
+his successor? This was the question, above all others, which agitated
+France and Europe. Henry of Navarre was, beyond all question,
+legitimately entitled to the throne; but he was, in the estimation of
+France, a _heretic_. The League consequently, in view of the impending
+peril of having a Protestant king, redoubled its energies to exclude
+him, and to enthrone their bigoted partisan, Henry of Guise. It was a
+terrific struggle. The Protestants saw suspended upon its issue their
+property, their religious liberty, their lives, their earthly all. The
+Catholics were stimulated by all the energies of fanaticism in defense
+of the Church. All Catholic Europe espoused the one side, all
+Protestant Europe the other. One single word was enough to arrest all
+these woes. That word was TOLERATION.
+
+When Henry III. published his famous Edict of Nemours, commanding the
+conversion, the expulsion, or the death of the Protestants, Henry of
+Navarre issued another edict replying to the calumnies of the League,
+and explaining his actions and his motives. Then adopting a step
+characteristic of the chivalry of the times, he dispatched a challenge
+to the Duke of Guise, defying him to single combat, or, if he objected
+to that, to a combat of two with two, ten with ten, or a hundred with
+a hundred.
+
+"In this challenge," said Henry, "I call Heaven to witness that I am
+not influenced by any spirit of bravado, but only by the desire of
+deciding a quarrel which will otherwise cost the lives of thousands."
+
+To this appeal the duke made no reply. It was by no means for his
+interest to meet on equal terms those whom he could easily outnumber
+two or three to one.
+
+Though the situation of Henry of Navarre seemed now almost desperate,
+he maintained his courage and his hope unshaken. His estates were
+unhesitatingly sold to raise funds. His friends parted with their
+jewels for gold to obtain the means to carry on the war. But, with his
+utmost efforts, he could raise an army of but four or five thousand
+men to resist two armies of twenty thousand each, headed by the Duke
+of Guise and by his brother, the Duke of Mayenne. Fortunately for
+Henry, there was but little military capacity in the League, and,
+notwithstanding their vast superiority in numbers, they were
+continually circumvented in all their plans by the energy and the
+valor of the Protestants.
+
+The King of France was secretly rejoiced at the discomfiture of the
+Leaguers, yet, expressing dissatisfaction with the Duke of Guise, he
+intrusted the command of the armies to one of his petted favorites,
+Joyeuse, a rash and fearless youth, who was as prompt to revel in the
+carnage of the battle-field as in the voluptuousness of the palace.
+The king knew not whether to choose victory or defeat for his
+favorite. Victory would increase the influence and the renown of one
+strongly attached to him, and would thus enable him more successfully
+to resist the encroachments of the Duke of Guise. Defeat would weaken
+the overbearing power of the Leaguers, and enable Henry III. more
+securely to retain his position by the balance of the two rival
+parties. Joyeuse, ardent and inexperienced, and despising the feeble
+band he was to encounter, was eager to display his prowess. He pressed
+eagerly to assail the King of Navarre. The two armies met upon a
+battle-field a few leagues from Bordeaux. The army of Joyeuse was
+chiefly of gay and effeminate courtiers and young nobles, who had too
+much pride to lack courage, but who possessed but little physical
+vigor, and who were quite unused to the hardships and to the
+vicissitudes of war.
+
+On the morning of the 20th of October, 1589, as the sun rose over the
+hills of Perigord, the two armies were facing each other upon the
+plains of Coutras. The Leaguers were decked with unusual splendor, and
+presented a glittering array, with gorgeous banners and waving plumes,
+and uniforms of satin and velvet embroidered by the hands of the
+ladies of the court. They numbered twelve thousand men. Henry of
+Navarre, with admirable military skill, had posted his six thousand
+hardy peasants, dressed in tattered skins, to meet the onset.
+
+And now occurred one of the most extraordinary scenes which history
+has recorded. It was a source of constant grief to the devout
+Protestant leaders that Henry of Navarre, notwithstanding his many
+noble traits of character, was not a man of pure morality. Just before
+the battle, Du Plessis, a Christian and a hero, approached the King of
+Navarre and said,
+
+"Sire, it is known to all that you have sinned against God, and
+injured a respectable citizen of Rochelle by the seduction of his
+daughter. We can not hope that God will bless our arms in this
+approaching battle while such a sin remains unrepented of and
+unrepaired."
+
+The king dismounted from his horse, and, uncovering his head, avowed
+in the presence of the whole army his sincere grief for what he had
+done; he called all to witness that he thus publicly implored
+forgiveness of God, and of the family he had injured, and he pledged
+his word that he would do every thing in his power to repair the
+wrong.
+
+The troops were then called to prayers by the ministers. Every man in
+the ranks fell upon his knees, while one of the clergy implored God to
+forgive the sin of their chieftain, and to grant them protection and
+victory.
+
+The strange movement was seen from the Catholic camp. "By death,"
+exclaimed Joyeuse, "the poltroons are frightened. Look! they kneel,
+imploring our mercy."
+
+"Do not deceive yourself," replied an old captain. "When the Huguenots
+get into that position, they are ready for hard fighting."
+
+The brilliant battalions of the enemy now began to deploy. Some one
+spoke of the splendor of their arms. Henry smiled and replied, "We
+shall have the better aim when the fight begins." Another ventured to
+intimate that the ministers had rebuked him with needless severity. He
+replied, "We can not be too humble before God, nor too brave before
+men." Then turning to his followers, with tears in his eyes, he
+addressed to them a short and noble speech. He deplored the calamities
+of war, and solemnly declared that he had drawn arms only in
+self-defense. "Let them," said he, "perish who are the authors of this
+war. May the blood shed this day rest upon them alone."
+
+To his two prominent generals, the Prince of Conde and the Count de
+Soissons, he remarked, with a smile, "To you I shall say nothing but
+that you are of the house of Bourbon, and, please God, I will show you
+this day that I am your elder."
+
+The battle almost immediately ensued. Like all fierce fights, it was
+for a time but a delirious scene of horror, confusion, and carnage.
+But the Protestants, with sinewy arms, hewed down their effeminate
+foes, and with infantry and cavalry swept to and fro resistlessly over
+the plain. The white plume of Henry of Navarre was ever seen waving in
+the tumultuous throng wherever the battle was waged the fiercest.
+
+There was a singular blending of the facetious with the horrible in
+this sanguinary scene. Before the battle, the Protestant preachers, in
+earnest sermons, had compared Henry with David at the head of the
+Lord's chosen people. In the midst of the bloody fray, when the field
+was covered with the dying and the dead, Henry grappled one of the
+standard-bearers of the enemy. At the moment, humorously reminded of
+the flattering comparison of the preachers, he shouted, with waggery
+which even the excitement of the battle could not repress,
+
+"Surrender, you uncircumcised Philistine."
+
+In the course of one hour three thousand of the Leaguers were
+weltering in blood upon the plain, Joyeuse himself, their leader,
+being among the dead. The defeat of the Catholics was so entire that
+not more than one fourth of their number escaped from the field of
+Coutras.
+
+The victors were immediately assembled upon the bloody field, and,
+after prayers and thanksgiving, they sung, with exultant lips,
+
+     "The Lord appears my helper now,
+       Nor is my faith afraid
+     What all the sons of earth can do,
+       Since Heaven affords its aid."
+
+Henry was very magnanimous in the hour of victory. When some one asked
+what terms he should now demand, after so great a discomfiture of his
+foes, he replied, "_The same as before the battle_."
+
+In reading the records of these times, one is surprised to see how
+mirth, festivity, and magnificence are blended with blood, misery, and
+despair. War was desolating France with woes which to thousands of
+families must have made existence a curse, and yet amid these scenes
+we catch many glimpses of merriment and gayety. At one time we see
+Henry III. weeping and groaning upon his bed in utter wretchedness,
+and again he appears before us reveling with his dissolute companions
+in the wildest carousals. While Henry of Navarre was struggling with
+his foes upon the field of battle, Marguerite, his wife, was dancing
+and flirting with congenial paramours amid all the guilty pleasures of
+the court. Henry wrote repeatedly for her to come and join him, but
+she vastly preferred the voluptuousness of the capital to the gloom
+and the hardships of the Protestant camp. She never loved her husband,
+and while she wished that he might triumph, and thus confer upon her
+the illustrious rank of the Queen of France, she still rejoiced in his
+absence, as it allowed her that perfect freedom which she desired.
+When she saw indications of approaching peace, she was so
+apprehensive that she might thus be placed under constraint by the
+presence of her husband, that she did what she could to perpetuate
+civil war.
+
+It will be remembered that several of the fortified cities of France
+were in the hands of the Protestants. Henry of Navarre held his
+comparatively humble court in the town of Agen, where he was very much
+beloved and respected by the inhabitants. Though far from
+irreproachable in his morals, the purity of his court was infinitely
+superior to that of Henry III. and his mother Catharine. Henry of
+Navarre was, however, surrounded by a body of gay and light-hearted
+young noblemen, whose mirth-loving propensities and whose often
+indecorous festivities he could not control. One evening, at a general
+ball, these young gentlemen extinguished the lights, and in the
+darkness a scene of much scandal ensued. Henry was severely censured
+by the Protestant clergy, and by many others of his friends, for not
+holding the members of his court in more perfect control. His
+popularity suffered so severely from this occurrence, that it even
+became necessary for Henry to withdraw his court from the town.
+
+Catharine and Marguerite, accompanied by a retinue of the most
+voluptuously-beautiful girls of France, set out to visit the court of
+Henry of Navarre, which had been transferred to Neruc. Henry, hearing
+of their approach, placed himself at the head of five hundred
+gentlemen, and hastened to meet his mother-in-law and his wife, with
+their characteristic and congenial train. These were the
+instrumentalities with which Catharine and Marguerite hoped to bend
+the will of Henry and his friends to suit their purposes. Catharine
+had great confidence in the potency of the influence which these
+pliant maidens could wield, and they were all instructed in the part
+which they were to act. She was accustomed to call these allies her
+_flying squadron_.
+
+There then ensued a long series of negotiations, intermingled with
+mirth, gallantry, and intrigue, but the result of which was a treaty
+highly conducive to the interests of the Protestants. Various places
+were designated where their religion should be freely tolerated, and
+in which they were to be allowed to build conventicles. They were also
+permitted to raise money for the support of their ministers, and
+fourteen cities were surrendered to their government. Several
+incidents occurred during these negotiations very characteristic of
+the corrupt manners of the times.
+
+Marguerite devoted herself most energetically to the promotion of the
+success of Henry's plans. Catharine found herself, notwithstanding all
+her artifice, and all the peculiar seductions of her female
+associates, completely foiled by the sagacity and the firmness of
+Henry. She had brought with her Monsieur de Pibrac, a man very
+celebrated for his glowing eloquence and for his powers of persuasion.
+The oratory of Pibrac, combined with the blandishments of the ladies,
+were those co-operative influences which the queen imagined none would
+be able to resist. Marguerite, however, instructed in the school of
+Catharine, succeeded in obtaining entire control over the mind of
+Pibrac himself, and he became a perfect tool in her hands. Catharine,
+thus foiled, was compelled to grant far more favorable terms to the
+Protestants than she had contemplated.
+
+La Reole was one of the towns of security surrendered to the
+Protestants. There was, however, so little of good faith in that day,
+that, notwithstanding the pledge of honor, possession of the place
+could only be retained by vigilance. The government of the town had
+been conferred upon a veteran Protestant general by the name of Ussac.
+His days, from early youth, had been passed on fields of battle. He
+was now far advanced in years, in feeble health, and dreadfully
+disfigured by wounds received in the face. One of the most fascinating
+of the ladies of the queen-mother lavished such endearments upon the
+old man, already in his dotage, that he lost his principles and all
+self-control, and made himself very ridiculous by assuming the airs of
+a young lover. Henry had the imprudence to join in the mockery with
+which the court regarded his tenderness. This was an indignity which
+an old man could never forget. Instigated by his beautiful seducer, he
+became entirely unmindful of those principles of honor which had
+embellished his life, and in revenge invited a Roman Catholic general
+to come and take possession of the town.
+
+Henry was informed of this act of treachery while dancing at a very
+brilliant entertainment given in his palace. He quietly whispered to
+Turenne, Sully, and a few others of his most intimate friends,
+requesting them to escape from the room, gather around them such armed
+men as they could, and join him at a rendezvous in the country. They
+all stole unperceived from the mirthful party, concealed their swords
+beneath their cloaks, traveled all night, and arrived, just as the day
+began to dawn, before the gates of the city. They found the place, as
+they had expected, entirely unprepared for such a sudden attack, and,
+rushing in, regained it without difficulty. The Catholic soldiers
+retreated to the castle, where they held out a few days, and many of
+them perished in the assault by which it was soon taken.
+
+Such was the character of the nominal peace which now existed. A
+partisan warfare was still continued throughout France. Catharine and
+her maids did every thing in their power to excite dissensions between
+the Protestant leaders. In this they succeeded so well that the Prince
+of Conde became so exasperated against Turenne as to challenge him to
+single combat.
+
+Such a peace as we have above described could not, of course, be
+lasting. Both parties were soon again gathering all their forces for
+war. There is a tedious monotony in the recital of the horrors of
+battle. Cities bombarded, and sacked, and burned; shells exploding in
+the cradle of infancy and in the chambers of mothers and maidens;
+mutilated bodies trampled beneath the hoofs of horses; the cry of the
+maddened onset, the shrieks of the wounded, and the groans of the
+dying; the despair of the widow and the orphan; smouldering ruins of
+once happy homes; the fruits of the husbandman's toils trodden into
+the mire; starvation, misery, and death--these are ever the fruits of
+war.
+
+During the short interval of peace, many attempts had been made to
+assassinate Henry of Navarre by the partisans of the Duke of Guise.
+Henry was, one fine morning, setting out with a few friends for a ride
+of pleasure. Just as the party were leaving the court-yard, he was
+informed that an assassin, very powerfully mounted, was prepared to
+meet him on the way and to take his life. Henry apparently paid no
+heed to the warning, but rode along conversing gayly with his friends.
+They soon met, in a retired part of the way, a stranger, armed
+according to the custom of the times, and mounted upon a very
+magnificent steed, which had been prepared for him to facilitate his
+escape after the accomplishment of the fell deed. Henry immediately
+rode up to the assassin, addressed him in terms of great familiarity
+and cordiality, and, professing to admire the beautiful charger upon
+which he was mounted, requested him to dismount, that he might try the
+splendid animal. The man, bewildered, obeyed the wishes of the king,
+when Henry leaped into the saddle, and, seizing the two loaded pistols
+at the saddle-bow, looked the man sternly in the eye, and said,
+
+"I am told that you seek to kill me. You are now in my power, and I
+could easily put you to death; but I will not harm you."
+
+He then discharged the two pistols in the air, and permitted the
+humiliated man to mount his horse and ride away unharmed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF GUISE AND OF HENRY III.
+
+1589
+
+Imbecility of the king.--Haughtiness of the Duke of Guise.--The duke
+goes to Paris.--Interview with the king.--Two rival courts.--The
+Swiss guard defeated.--Tumult in the city.--Dignity of Achille de
+Harlai.--Measures adopted by the duke.--Endeavors to obtain an
+assassin.--The king at Blois.--Assassination of the Duke of
+Guise.--Interview between the king and Catharine.--Indignation of
+the League.--Anathemas against the king.--The king seeks aid from
+the Protestants.--Desolations of war.--Compact with Henry of
+Navarre.--Interview at Plessis les Tours.--The manifesto.--Renewed
+war.--Duchess of Montpensier.--The flag of truce.--Assassination of
+Henry III.--Arrival of Henry of Navarre.--Dying scene.--Henry IV.
+assumes the crown.--Difficulties of the new reign.--Danger of
+assassination.--Religious principles of Henry IV.--News of the death
+of Henry III.--Abandoned by the Catholics.--The retreat.--The stand
+at Dieppe.--Henry urged to fly to England.--Anecdote.--Arrival of
+the fleet from England.--Bigotry of the Catholics.--Desolation of
+France.--Ignoble conduct of the League.--Paris besieged.--Assault of
+Etampes.--Letter from Lorraine.--Military reprisals.--Activity of
+Henry.--Dissension among the Leaguers.--Triumphant progress of
+Henry.--Wonderful escape.
+
+
+The war, again resumed, was fiercely prosecuted. Henry III. remained
+most of the time in the gilded saloons of the Louvre, irritable and
+wretched, and yet incapable of any continued efficient exertion. Many
+of the zealous Leaguers, indignant at the pusillanimity he displayed,
+urged the Duke of Guise to dethrone Henry III. by violence, and openly
+to declare himself King of France. They assured him that the nation
+would sustain him by their arms. But the duke was not prepared to
+enter upon so bold a measure, as he hoped that the death of the king
+would soon present to him a far more favorable opportunity for the
+assumption of the throne. Henry III. was in constant fear that the
+duke, whose popularity in France was almost boundless, might supplant
+him, and he therefore forbade him to approach the metropolis.
+
+Notwithstanding this prohibition, the haughty duke, accompanied by a
+small party of his intrepid followers, as if to pay court to his
+sovereign, boldly entered the city. The populace of the capital, ever
+ripe for excitement and insurrection, greeted him with boundless
+enthusiasm. Thousands thronged the broad streets through which he
+passed with a small but brilliant retinue. Ladies crowded the windows,
+waving scarfs, cheering him with smiles, and showering flowers at his
+feet. The cry resounded along the streets, penetrating even the
+apartments of the Louvre, and falling appallingly upon the ear of the
+king:
+
+"Welcome--welcome, great duke. Now you are come, we are safe."
+
+Henry III. was amazed and terrified by this insolence of his defiant
+subject. In bewilderment, he asked those about him what he should do.
+
+"Give me the word," said a colonel of his guard, "and I will plunge my
+sword through his body."
+
+"Smite the shepherd," added one of the king's spiritual counselors,
+"and the sheep will disperse."
+
+But Henry feared to exasperate the populace of Paris by the
+assassination of a noble so powerful and so popular. In the midst of
+this consultation, the Duke of Guise, accompanied by the queen-mother
+Catharine, whom he had first called upon, entered the Louvre, and,
+passing through the numerous body-guard of the king, whom he saluted
+with much affability, presented himself before the feeble monarch. The
+king looked sternly upon him, and, without any word of greeting,
+exclaimed angrily,
+
+"Did I not forbid you to enter Paris?"
+
+"Sire," the duke replied, firmly, but with affected humility, "I came
+to demand justice, and to reply to the accusations of my enemies."
+
+The interview was short and unrelenting. The king, exasperated almost
+beyond endurance, very evidently hesitated whether to give the signal
+for the immediate execution of his dreaded foe. There were those at
+his side, with arms in their hands, who were eager instantly to obey
+his bidding. The Duke of Guise perceived the imminence of his danger,
+and, feigning sudden indisposition, immediately retired. In his own
+almost regal mansion he gathered around him his followers and his
+friends, and thus placed himself in a position where even the arm of
+the sovereign could not venture to touch him.
+
+There were now in Paris, as it were, two rival courts, emulating each
+other in splendor and power. The one was that of the king at the
+Louvre, the other was that of the duke in his palace. It was rumored
+that the duke was organizing a conspiracy to arrest the king and hold
+him a captive. Henry III., to strengthen his body-guard, called a
+strong force of Swiss mercenaries into the city. The retainers of the
+duke, acting under the secret instigation of their chieftain, roused
+the populace of Paris to resist the Swiss. Barricades were immediately
+constructed by filling barrels with stones and earth; chains were
+stretched across the streets from house to house; and organized bands,
+armed with pikes and muskets, threatened even the gates of the Louvre.
+
+A conflict soon ensued, and the Swiss guard were defeated by the mob
+at every point. The Duke of Guise, though he secretly guided all these
+movements, remained in his palace, affecting to have no share in the
+occurrences. Night came. Confusion and tumult rioted in the city. The
+insurgent populace, intoxicated and maddened, swarmed around the walls
+of the palace, and the king was besieged. The spiritless and terrified
+monarch, disguising himself in humble garb, crept to his stables,
+mounted a fleet horse, and fled from the city. Riding at full speed,
+he sought refuge in Chartres, a walled town forty miles southeast of
+Paris.
+
+The flight of the king before an insurgent populace was a great
+victory to the duke. He was thus left in possession of the metropolis
+without any apparent act of rebellion on his own part, and it became
+manifestly his duty to do all in his power to preserve order in the
+capital thus surrendered to anarchy. The duke had ever been the idol
+of the populace, but now nearly the whole population of Paris, and
+especially the influential citizens, looked to him as their only
+protector.
+
+Some, however, with great heroism, still adhered to the cause of the
+king. The Duke of Guise sent for Achille de Harlai, President of the
+Council, and endeavored to win him over to his cause, that he might
+thus sanction his usurpation by legal forms; but De Harlai, fixing his
+eyes steadfastly upon the duke, fearlessly said,
+
+"'Tis indeed pitiable when the valet expels his master. As for me, my
+soul belongs to my Maker, and my fidelity belongs to the king. My body
+alone is in the hands of the wicked. You talk of assembling the
+Parliament. When the majesty of the prince is violated, the magistrate
+is without authority." The intrepid president was seized and
+imprisoned.
+
+The followers of Henry III. soon gathered around him at Chartres, and
+he fortified himself strongly there. The Duke of Guise, though still
+protesting great loyalty, immediately assumed at Paris the authority
+of a sovereign. He assembled around him strong military forces,
+professedly to protect the capital from disturbance. For a month or
+two negotiations were conducted between the two parties for a
+compromise, each fearing the other too much to appeal to the decisions
+of the sword. At last Henry III. agreed to appoint the Duke of Guise
+lieutenant general of France and high constable of the kingdom. He
+also, while pledging himself anew to wage a war of extermination
+against the Protestants, promised to bind the people of France, by an
+oath, to exclude from the succession to the throne all persons
+suspected even of Protestantism. This would effectually cut off the
+hopes of Henry of Navarre, and secure the crown to the Duke of Guise
+upon the death of the king.
+
+Both of the antagonists now pretended to a sincere reconciliation, and
+Henry, having received Guise at Chartres with open arms, returned to
+Paris, meditating how he might secure the death of his dreaded and
+powerful rival. Imprisonment was not to be thought of, for no fortress
+in France could long hold one so idolized by the populace. The king
+applied in person to one of his friends, a brave and honest soldier by
+the name of Crillon, to assassinate the duke.
+
+"I am not an executioner," the soldier proudly replied, "and the
+function does not become my rank. But I will challenge the duke to
+open combat, and will cheerfully sacrifice my life that I may take
+his."
+
+This plan not meeting with the views of the king, he applied to one of
+the commanders of his guard named Lorgnac. This man had no scruples,
+and with alacrity undertook to perform the deed. Henry, having retired
+to the castle of Blois, about one hundred miles south of Paris,
+arranged all the details, while he was daily, with the most consummate
+hypocrisy, receiving his victim with courteous words and smiles. The
+king summoned a council to attend him in his cabinet at Blois on the
+23d of December. It was appointed at an early hour, and the Duke of
+Guise attended without his usual retinue. He had been repeatedly
+warned to guard against the treachery of Henry, but his reply was,
+
+[Illustration: ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE.]
+
+"I do not know that man on earth who, hand to hand with me, would not
+have his full share of fear. Besides, I am always so well attended
+that it would not be easy to find me off my guard."
+
+The duke arrived at the door of the cabinet after passing through long
+files of the king's body-guard. Just as he was raising the tapestry
+which veiled the entrance, Lorgnac sprang upon him and plunged a
+dagger into his throat. Others immediately joined in the assault, and
+the duke dropped, pierced with innumerable wounds, dead upon the
+floor.
+
+Henry, hearing the noise and knowing well what it signified, very
+coolly stepped from his cabinet into the ante-chamber, and, looking
+calmly upon the bloody corpse, said,
+
+"Do you think he is dead, Lorgnac?"
+
+"Yes, sire," Lorgnac replied, "he looks like it."
+
+"Good God, how tall he is!" said the king. "He seems taller dead than
+when he was living." Then giving the gory body a kick, he exclaimed,
+"Venomous beast, thou shalt cast forth no more venom."
+
+In the same manner the duke had treated the remains of the noble
+Admiral Coligni, a solemn comment upon the declaration, "With what
+measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again."
+
+Cardinal Guise, the brother of the duke, was immediately arrested by
+order of the king, and sent to prison, where he was assassinated.
+Henry III. soon after repaired to the bedside of Catharine his mother,
+who was lying sick in one of the chambers of the castle. Nothing can
+show more clearly the character of the times and of the personages
+than the following laconic dialogue which ensued:
+
+"How do you do, mother, this morning?" inquired the king.
+
+"I am better than I have been," she replied.
+
+"So am I," Henry rejoined, gayly, "for I have made myself this morning
+King of France by putting to death the King of Paris."
+
+"Take care," this hardened woman exclaimed, "that you do not soon find
+yourself _king of nothing_. Diligence and resolution are now
+absolutely necessary for you."
+
+She then turned upon her pillow without the slightest apparent
+emotion. In twelve days from this time, this wretched queen, deformed
+by every vice, without one single redeeming virtue, breathed her last,
+seventy years of age. She was despised by the Catholics, and hated by
+the Protestants.
+
+These acts of violence and crime roused the League to the most intense
+energy. The murder of the Duke of Guise, and especially the murder of
+his brother, a cardinal in the Church, were acts of impiety which no
+atonement could expiate. Though Henry was a Catholic, and all his
+agents in these atrocious murders were Catholics, the death of the
+Duke of Guise increased vastly the probability that Protestant
+influences might become dominant at court. The Pope issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry
+III. The Sorbonne published a decree declaring that the king had
+forfeited all right to the obedience of his subjects, and justifying
+them in taking up arms against him. The clergy, from the pulpit,
+refused communion, absolution, and burial in holy ground to every one
+who yielded obedience to "the perfidious apostate and tyrant; Henry of
+Valois."
+
+The League immediately chose the Duke of Mayenne, a surviving brother
+of the Duke of Guise, as its head. The Pope issued his anathemas
+against Henry III., and Spain sent her armies to unite with the
+League. Henry now found it necessary to court the assistance of the
+Protestants. He dreaded to take this step, for he was superstitious in
+the extreme, and he could not endure the thought of any alliance with
+heretics. He had still quite a formidable force which adhered to him,
+for many of the highest nobles were disgusted with the arrogance of
+the Guises, and were well aware that the enthronement of the house of
+Guise would secure their own banishment from court.
+
+The triumph of the League would be total discomfiture to the
+Protestants. No freedom of worship or of conscience whatever would be
+allowed them. It was therefore for the interest of the Protestants to
+sustain the more moderate party hostile to the League. It was
+estimated that about one sixth of the inhabitants of France were at
+that time Protestants.
+
+Wretched, war-scathed France was now distracted by three parties.
+First, there were the Protestants, contending only in self-defense
+against persecution, and yet earnestly praying that, upon the death of
+the king, Henry of Navarre, the legitimate successor, might ascend the
+throne. Next came those Catholics who were friendly to the claims of
+Henry from their respect for the ancient law of succession. Then
+came, combined in the League, the bigoted partisans of the Church,
+resolved to exterminate from Europe, with fire and sword, the detested
+heresy of Protestantism.
+
+Henry III. was now at the castle of Blois. Paris was hostile to him.
+The Duke of Mayenne, younger brother of the Duke of Guise, at the head
+of five thousand soldiers of the League, marched to the metropolis,
+where he was received by the Parisians with unbounded joy. He was
+urged by the populace and the Parliament in Paris to proclaim himself
+king. But he was not yet prepared for so decisive a step.
+
+No tongue can tell the misery which now pervaded ill-fated France.
+Some cities were Protestant, some were Catholic; division, and war,
+and blood were every where. Armed bands swept to and fro, and
+conflagration and slaughter deluged the kingdom.
+
+The king immediately sent to Henry of Navarre, promising to confer
+many political privileges upon the Protestants, and to maintain
+Henry's right to the throne, if he would aid him in the conflict
+against the League. The terms of reconciliation were soon effected.
+Henry of Navarre, then leaving his army to advance by rapid marches,
+rode forward with his retinue to meet his brother-in-law, Henry of
+Valois. He found him at one of the ancient palaces of France, Plessis
+les Tours. The two monarchs had been friends in childhood, but they
+had not met for many years. The King of Navarre was urged by his
+friends not to trust himself in the power of Henry III. "For," said
+they, "the King of France desires nothing so much as to obtain
+reconciliation with the Pope, and no offering can be so acceptable to
+the Pope as the death of a heretic prince."
+
+Henry hesitated a moment when he arrived upon an eminence which
+commanded a distant view of the palace. Then exclaiming, "God guides
+me, and He will go with me," he plunged his spurs into his horse's
+side, and galloped forward.
+
+The two monarchs met, each surrounded with a gorgeous retinue, in one
+of the magnificent avenues which conducted to the castle. Forgetting
+the animosities of years, and remembering only the friendships of
+childhood, they cast themselves cordially into each other's arms. The
+multitude around rent the air with their acclamations.
+
+Henry of Navarre now addressed a manifesto to all the inhabitants of
+France in behalf of their woe-stricken country. "I conjure you all,"
+said he, "Catholics as well as Protestants, to have pity on the state
+and on yourselves. We have all done and suffered evil enough. We have
+been four years intoxicate, insensate, and furious. Is not this
+sufficient? Has not God smitten us all enough to allay our fury, and
+to make us wise at last?"
+
+But passion was too much aroused to allow such appeals to be heeded.
+Battle after battle, with ever-varying success, ensued between the
+combined forces of the king and Henry of Navarre on one side, and of
+the League, aided by many of the princes of Catholic Europe, on the
+other. The storms of winter swept over the freezing armies and the
+smouldering towns, and the wail of the victims of horrid war blended
+with the moanings of the gale. Spring came, but it brought no joy to
+desolate, distracted, wretched France. Summer came, and the bright sun
+looked down upon barren fields, and upon a bleeding, starving,
+fighting nation. Henry of Navarre, in command of the royal forces, at
+the head of thirty thousand troops, was besieging Paris, which was
+held by the Duke of Mayenne, and boldly and skillfully was conducting
+his approaches to a successful termination. The cause of the League
+began to wane. Henry III. had taken possession of the castle of St.
+Cloud, and from its elevated windows looked out with joy upon the bold
+assaults and the advancing works.
+
+[Illustration: THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY III.]
+
+The leaders of the League now resolved to resort again to the old
+weapon of assassination. Henry III. was to be killed. But no man could
+kill him unless he was also willing to sacrifice his own life. The
+Duchess of Montpensier, sister of the Duke of Guise, for the
+accomplishment of this purpose, won the love, by caressings and
+endearments, of Jaques Clement, an ardent, enthusiastic monk of wild
+and romantic imaginings, and of the most intense fanaticism. The
+beautiful duchess surrendered herself without any reserve whatever to
+the paramour she had enticed to her arms, that she might obtain the
+entire supremacy over his mind. Clement concealed a dagger in his
+bosom, and then went out from the gates of the city accompanied by two
+soldiers and with a flag of truce, ostensibly to take a message to the
+king. He refused to communicate his message to any one but the monarch
+himself. Henry III., supposing it to be a communication of importance,
+perhaps a proposition to surrender, ordered him to be admitted
+immediately to his cabinet. Two persons only were present with the
+king. The monk entered, and, kneeling, drew a letter from the sleeve
+of his gown, presented it to the king, and instantly drawing a large
+knife from its concealment, plunged it into the entrails of his
+victim. The king uttered a piercing cry, caught the knife from his
+body and struck at the head of his murderer, wounding him above the
+eye. The two gentlemen who were present instantly thrust their swords
+through the body of the assassin, and he fell dead.
+
+The king, groaning with anguish, was undressed and borne to his bed.
+The tidings spread rapidly, and soon reached the ears of the King of
+Navarre, who was a few miles distant at Meudon. He galloped to St.
+Cloud, and knelt with gushing tears at the couch of the dying monarch.
+Henry III. embraced him with apparently the most tender affection. In
+broken accents, interrupted with groans of anguish, he said,
+
+"If my wound proves mortal, I leave my crown to you as my legitimate
+successor. If my will can have any effect, the crown will remain as
+firmly upon your brow as it was upon that of Charlemagne."
+
+He then assembled his principal officers around him, and enjoined them
+to unite for the preservation of the monarchy, and to sustain the
+claims of the King of Navarre as the indisputable heir to the throne
+of France.
+
+A day of great anxiety passed slowly away, and as the shades of
+evening settled down over the palace, it became manifest to all that
+the wound was mortal. The wounded monarch writhed upon his bed in
+fearful agony. At midnight, Henry of Navarre, who was busily engaged
+superintending some of the works of the siege, was sent for, as the
+King of France was dying. Accompanied by a retinue of thirty
+gentlemen, he proceeded at full speed to the gates of the castle where
+the monarch was struggling in the grasp of the King of Terrors.
+
+It is difficult to imagine the emotions which must have agitated the
+soul of Henry of Navarre during this dark and gloomy ride. The day had
+not yet dawned when he arrived at the gates of the castle. The first
+tidings he received were, _The king is dead_. It was the 2d of August,
+1589.
+
+Henry of Navarre was now Henry IV., King of France. But never did
+monarch ascend the throne under circumstances of greater perplexity
+and peril. Never was a more distracted kingdom placed in the hands of
+a new monarch. Henry was now thirty-four years of age. The whole
+kingdom was convulsed by warring factions. For years France had been
+desolated by all the most virulent elements of religious and political
+animosity. All hearts were demoralized by familiarity with the dagger
+of the assassin and the carnage of the battle-field. Almost universal
+depravity had banished all respect for morality and law. The whole
+fabric of society was utterly disorganized.
+
+Under these circumstances, Henry developed that energy and sagacity
+which have given him a high position among the most renowned of
+earthly monarchs. He immediately assembled around him that portion of
+the royal army in whose fidelity he could confide. Without the delay
+of an hour, he commenced dictating letters to all the monarchies of
+Europe, announcing his accession to the throne, and soliciting their
+aid to confirm him in his legitimate rights.
+
+As the new sovereign entered the chamber of the deceased king, he
+found the corpse surrounded by many of the Catholic nobility of
+France. They were ostentatiously solemnizing the obsequies of the
+departed monarch. He heard many low mutterings from these zealous
+partisans of Rome, that they would rather die a thousand deaths than
+allow a Protestant king to ascend the throne. Angry eyes glared upon
+him from the tumultuous and mutinous crowd, and, had not Henry retired
+to consult for his own safety, he also might have fallen the victim of
+assassination. In the intense excitement of these hours, the leading
+Catholics held a meeting, and appointed a committee to wait upon
+Henry, and inform him that he must immediately abjure Protestantism
+and adopt the Catholic faith, or forfeit their support to the crown.
+
+"Would you have me," Henry replied, "profess conversion with the
+dagger at my throat? And could you, in the day of battle, follow one
+with confidence who had thus proved that he was an apostate and
+without a God? I can only promise carefully to examine the subject
+that I may be guided to the truth."
+
+Henry was a Protestant from the force of circumstances rather than
+from conviction. He was not a theologian either in mind or heart, and
+he regarded the Catholics and Protestants merely as two political
+parties, the one or the other of which he would join, according as, in
+his view, it might promote his personal interests and the welfare of
+France. In his childhood he was a Catholic. In boyhood, under the
+tuition of his mother, Protestant influences were thrown around him,
+and he was nominally a Protestant. He saved his life at St.
+Bartholomew by avowing the Catholic faith. When he escaped from the
+Catholic court and returned to his mother's Protestant court in
+Navarre, he espoused with new vigor the cause of his Protestant
+friends. These changes were of course more or less mortifying, and
+they certainly indicated a total want of religious conviction. He now
+promised carefully to look at the arguments on both sides of the
+question, and to choose deliberately that which should seem to him
+right. This arrangement, however, did not suit the more zealous of the
+Catholics, and, in great numbers, they abandoned his camp and passed
+over to the League.
+
+The news of the death of Henry III. was received with unbounded
+exultation in the besieged city. The Duchess of Montpensier threw her
+arms around the neck of the messenger who brought her the welcome
+tidings, exclaiming,
+
+"Ah! my friend, is it true? Is the monster really dead? What a
+gratification! I am only grieved to think that he did not know that it
+was I who directed the blow."
+
+She rode out immediately, that she might have the pleasure herself of
+communicating the intelligence. She drove through the streets,
+shouting from her carriage, "Good news! good news! the tyrant is
+dead." The joy of the priests rose to the highest pitch of fanatical
+fervor. The assassin was even canonized. The Pope himself condescended
+to pronounce a eulogium upon the "_martyr_," and a statue was erected
+to his memory, with the inscription, "St. Jaques Clement, pray for
+us."
+
+The League now proclaimed as king the old Cardinal of Bourbon, under
+the title of Charles X., and nearly all of Catholic Europe rallied
+around this pretender to the crown. No one denied the validity of the
+title, according to the principles of legitimacy, of Henry IV. His
+rights, however, the Catholics deemed forfeited by his Protestant
+tendencies. Though Henry immediately issued a decree promising every
+surety and support to the Catholic religion as the established
+religion of France, still, as he did not also promise to devote all
+his energies to the extirpation of the heresy of Protestantism, the
+great majority of the Catholics were dissatisfied.
+
+Epernon, one of the most conspicuous of the Catholic leaders, at the
+head of many thousand Catholic soldiers, waited upon the king
+immediately after the death of Henry III., and informed him that they
+could not maintain a Protestant on the throne. With flying banners and
+resounding bugles they then marched from the camp and joined the
+League. So extensive was this disaffection, that in one day Henry
+found himself deserted by all his army except six thousand, most of
+whom were Protestants. Nearly thirty thousand men had abandoned him,
+some to retire to their homes, and others to join the enemy.
+
+The army of the League within the capital was now twenty thousand
+strong. They prepared for a rush upon the scattered and broken ranks
+of Henry IV. Firmly, fearlessly, and with well matured plans, he
+ordered a prompt retreat. Catholic Europe aroused itself in behalf of
+the League. Henry appealed to Protestant Europe to come to his aid.
+Elizabeth of England responded promptly to his appeal, and promised to
+send a fleet and troops to the harbor of Dieppe, about one hundred
+miles northwest of Paris, upon the shores of the English Channel.
+Firmly, and with concentrated ranks, the little army of Protestants
+crossed the Seine. Twenty thousand Leaguers eagerly pursued them,
+watching in vain for a chance to strike a deadly blow. Henry ate not,
+slept not, rested not. Night and day, day and night, he was every
+where present, guiding, encouraging, protecting this valiant band.
+Planting a rear guard upon the western banks of the Seine, the chafing
+foe was held in check until the Royalist army had retired beyond the
+Oise. Upon the farther banks of this stream Henry again reared his
+defenses, thwarting every endeavor of his enemies, exasperated by such
+unexpected discomfiture.
+
+As Henry slowly retreated toward the sea, all the Protestants of the
+region through which he passed, and many of the moderate Catholics who
+were in favor of the royal cause and hostile to the house of Guise,
+flocked to his standard. He soon found himself, with seven thousand
+very determined men, strongly posted behind the ramparts of Dieppe.
+
+But the Duke of Mayenne had also received large accessions. The spears
+and banners of his proud host, now numbering thirty-five thousand,
+gleamed from all the hills and valleys which surrounded the fortified
+city. For nearly a month there was almost an incessant conflict. Every
+morning, with anxious eyes, the Royalists scanned the watery horizon,
+hoping to see the fleet of England coming to their aid. Cheered by
+hope, they successfully beat back their assailants. The toils of the
+king were immense. With exalted military genius he guided every
+movement, at the same time sharing the toil of the humblest soldier.
+"It is a marvel," he wrote, "how I live with the labor I undergo. God
+have pity upon me, and show me mercy."
+
+Some of Henry's friends, appalled by the strength of the army pursuing
+them, urged him to embark and seek refuge in England.
+
+"Here we are," Henry replied, "in France, and here let us be buried.
+If we fly now, all our hopes will vanish with the wind which bears
+us."
+
+In a skirmish, one day, one of the Catholic chieftains, the Count de
+Belin, was taken captive. He was led to the head-quarters of the king.
+Henry greeted him with perfect cordiality, and, noticing the
+astonishment of the count in seeing but a few scattered soldiers where
+he had expected to see a numerous army, he said, playfully, yet with
+a confident air,
+
+"You do not perceive all that I have with me, M. de Belin, for you do
+not reckon God and the right on my side."
+
+The indomitable energy of Henry, accompanied by a countenance ever
+serene and cheerful under circumstances apparently so desperate,
+inspired the soldiers with the same intrepidity which glowed in the
+bosom of their chief.
+
+But at last the valiant little band, so bravely repelling overwhelming
+numbers, saw, to their inexpressible joy, the distant ocean whitened
+with the sails of the approaching English fleet. Shouts of exultation
+rolled along their exhausted lines, carrying dismay into the camp of
+the Leaguers. A favorable wind pressed the fleet rapidly forward, and
+in a few hours, with streaming banners, and exultant music, and
+resounding salutes, echoed and re-echoed from English ships and French
+batteries, the fleet of Elizabeth, loaded to its utmost capacity with
+money, military supplies, and men, cast anchor in the little harbor of
+Dieppe.
+
+Nearly six thousand men, Scotch and English, were speedily
+disembarked. The Duke of Mayenne, though his army was still double
+that of Henry IV., did not dare to await the onset of his foes thus
+recruited. Hastily breaking up his encampment, he retreated to Paris.
+Henry IV., in gratitude to God for the succor which he had thus
+received from the Protestant Queen of England, directed that
+thanksgivings should be offered in his own quarters according to the
+religious rites of the Protestant Church. This so exasperated the
+Catholics, even in his own camp, that a mutiny was excited, and
+several of the Protestant soldiers were wounded in the fray. So
+extreme was the fanaticism at this time that, several Protestants,
+after a sanguinary fight, having been buried on the battle-field
+promiscuously in a pit with some Catholics who had fallen by their
+side, the priests, even of Henry's army, ordered the Protestant bodies
+to be dug up and thrown out as food for dogs.
+
+While these scenes were transpiring in the vicinity of Dieppe, almost
+every part of France was scathed and cursed by hateful war. Every
+province, city, village, had its partisans for the League or for the
+king. Beautiful France was as a volcano in the world of woe, in whose
+seething crater flames, and blood, and slaughter, the yell of conflict
+and the shriek of agony, blended in horrors which no imagination can
+compass. There was an end to every earthly joy. Cities were bombarded,
+fields of grain trampled in the mire, villages burned. Famine rioted
+over its ghastly victims. Hospitals were filled with miserable
+multitudes, mutilated and with festering wounds, longing for death.
+Not a ray of light pierced the gloom of this dark, black night of
+crime and woe. And yet, undeniably, the responsibility before God must
+rest with the League. Henry IV. was the lawful king of France. The
+Catholics had risen in arms to resist his rights, because they feared
+that he would grant liberty of faith and worship to the Protestants.
+
+The League adopted the most dishonorable and criminal means to
+alienate from Henry the affections of the people. They forged letters,
+in which the king atrociously expressed joy at the murder of Henry
+III., and declared his determination by dissimulation and fraud to
+root out Catholicism entirely from France. No efforts of artifice were
+wanting to render the monarch odious to the Catholic populace. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne occasionally referred to the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon as the king whom he acknowledged, he, with the characteristic
+haughtiness of the family of Guise, assumed himself the air and the
+language of a sovereign. It was very evident that he intended to place
+himself upon the throne.
+
+Henry IV., with the money furnished by Elizabeth, was now able to pay
+his soldiers their arrears. His army steadily increased, and he soon
+marched with twenty-three thousand troops and fourteen pieces of
+artillery to lay siege to Paris. His army had unbounded confidence in
+his military skill. With enthusiastic acclamations they pursued the
+retreating insurgents. Henry was now on the offensive, and his troops
+were posted for the siege of Paris, having driven the foe within its
+walls. After one sanguinary assault, the king became convinced that he
+had not with him sufficient force to carry the city. The Duke of
+Mayenne stood firmly behind the intrenchments of the capital, with an
+army much strengthened by re-enforcements of Spanish and Italian
+troops. Henry accordingly raised the siege, and marched rapidly to
+Etampes, some forty miles south of Paris, where a large part of his
+foes had established themselves. He suddenly attacked the town and
+carried it by assault. The unhappy inhabitants of this city had, in
+the course of four months, experienced the horrors of three assaults.
+The city, in that short period, had been taken and retaken three
+times.
+
+While at Etampes, Henry received a letter from the beautiful but
+disconsolate Louisa of Lorraine, the widow of Henry III., imploring
+him to avenge the murder of her husband. The letter was so affecting
+that, when it was read in the king's council, it moved all the members
+to tears.
+
+Many of the citizens of Paris, weary of the miseries of civil war,
+were now disposed to rally around their lawful monarch as the only
+mode of averting the horrible calamities which overwhelmed France. The
+Duke of Mayenne rigorously arrested all who were suspected of such
+designs, and four of the most prominent of the citizens were condemned
+to death. Henry immediately sent a message to the duke, that if the
+sentence were carried into effect, he would retaliate by putting to
+death some of the Catholic nobles whom he had in his power. Mayenne
+defiantly executed two Royalists. Henry immediately suspended upon a
+gibbet two unfortunate Leaguers who were his captives. This decisive
+reprisal accomplished its purpose, and compelled Mayenne to be more
+merciful.
+
+With great energy, Henry now advanced to Tours, about one hundred and
+twenty miles south of Paris, on the banks of the Loire, taking every
+town by the way, and sweeping all opposition before him. He seldom
+slept more than three hours at a time, and seized his meals where he
+could.
+
+"It takes Mayenne," said Henry, proudly, "more time to put on his
+boots than it does me to win a battle."
+
+"Henry," remarked Pope Sextus V., sadly, "will surely, in the end,
+gain the day, for he spends less hours in bed than Mayenne spends at
+the table."
+
+Though the armies of the League were still superior to the Royalist
+army, victory every where followed the banner of the king. Every day
+there was more and more of union and harmony in his ranks, and more
+and more of discord in the armies of the League. There were various
+aspirants for the throne in case Henry IV. could be driven from the
+kingdom, and all these aspirants had their partisans. The more
+reasonable portion of the Catholic party soon saw that there could be
+no end to civil war unless the rights of Henry IV. were maintained.
+Each day consequently witnessed accessions of powerful nobles to his
+side. The great mass of the people also, notwithstanding their hatred
+of Protestantism and devotion to the Catholic Church, found it
+difficult to break away from their homage to the ancient law of
+succession.
+
+It was now manifest to all, that if Henry would but proclaim himself a
+Catholic, the war would almost instantly terminate, and the people,
+with almost entire unanimity, would rally around him. Henry IV. was a
+lawful monarch endeavoring to put down insurrection. Mayenne was a
+rebel contending against his king. The Pope was so unwilling to see a
+Protestant sovereign enthroned in France, that he issued a bull of
+excommunication against all who should advocate the cause of Henry IV.
+Many of the Royalist Catholics, however, instead of yielding to these
+thunders of the Vatican, sent a humble apology to the Pope for their
+adherence to the king, and still sustained his cause.
+
+Henry now moved on with the strides of a conqueror, and city after
+city fell into his hands. Wherever he entered a city, the ever
+vacillating multitude welcomed him with acclamations. Regardless of
+the storms of winter, Henry dragged his heavy artillery through the
+mire and over the frozen ruts, and before the close of the year 1589
+his banner waved over fifteen fortified cities and over very many
+minor towns. The forces of the League were entirely swept from three
+of the provinces of France.
+
+Still Paris was in the hands of the Duke of Mayenne, and a large part
+of the kingdom was yet held in subjection by the forces of the League.
+
+At one time, in the face of a fierce cannonade, Henry mounted the
+tower of a church at Meulun to ascertain the position of the enemy. As
+he was ascending, cannon ball passed between his legs. In returning,
+the stairs were found so shot away that he was compelled to let
+himself down by a rope. All the winter long, the storm of battle raged
+in every part of France, and among all the millions of the ill-fated
+realm, there could not then, perhaps, have been found one single
+prosperous and happy home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+WAR AND WOE.
+
+1590-1591
+
+Ferocity of the combatants.--Liberality of Henry.--Preparations for
+a battle.--Striking phenomenon.--The omen.--Manoeuvres.--Night before
+the battle.--Morning of the battle.--Henry's address to his army.--The
+prayer of Henry.--Anecdote.--Magnanimity of Henry.--The battle of
+Ivry.--Heroism of Henry.--The Leaguers vanquished.--Flight of the
+Leaguers.--Detestable conduct of Mayenne.--Lines on the battle of
+Ivry.--Paris in consternation.--Inexplicable delay.--Magnanimity to
+the Swiss Catholics.--Paris blockaded.--Death of the Cardinal of
+Bourbon.--Horrors of famine.--Kindness of Henry.--Murmurs in
+Paris.--The assault.--The suburbs taken.--The Duchess of
+Montpensier.--Great clemency of Henry.--Murmurs in the camp.--Desultory
+warfare.--Awful condition of France.--Attempts to conciliate the
+Catholics.--Curious challenge.--A new dynasty contemplated.--Trouble
+in the camp of Henry.--Motives for abjuring Protestantism.
+
+
+Civil war seems peculiarly to arouse the ferocity of man. Family
+quarrels are notoriously implacable. Throughout the whole kingdom of
+France the war raged with intense violence, brother against brother,
+and father against child. Farm-houses, cities, villages, were burned
+mercilessly. Old men, women, and children were tortured and slain with
+insults and derision. Maiden modesty was cruelly violated, and every
+species of inhumanity was practiced by the infuriated antagonists. The
+Catholic priests were in general conspicuous for their brutality. They
+resolved that the Protestant heresy should be drowned in blood and
+terror.
+
+Henry IV. was peculiarly a humane man. He cherished kind feelings for
+all his subjects, and was perfectly willing that the Catholic religion
+should retain its unquestioned supremacy. His pride, however, revolted
+from yielding to compulsory conversion, and he also refused to become
+the persecutor of his former friends. Indeed, it seems probable that
+he was strongly inclined toward the Catholic faith as, on the whole,
+the safest and the best. He consequently did every thing in his power
+to mitigate the mercilessness of the strife, and to win his Catholic
+subjects by the most signal clemency. But no efforts of his could
+restrain his partisans in different parts of the kingdom from severe
+retaliation.
+
+Through the long months of a cold and dreary winter the awful carnage
+continued, with success so equally balanced that there was no prospect
+of any termination to this most awful of national calamities. Early in
+March, 1590, the armies of Henry IV. and of the Duke of Mayenne began
+to congregate in the vicinity of Ivry, about fifty miles west of
+Paris, for a decisive battle. The snows of winter had nearly
+disappeared, and the cold rains of spring deluged the roads. The
+Sabbath of the eleventh of March was wet and tempestuous. As night
+darkened over the bleak and soaked plains of Ivry, innumerable
+battalions of armed men, with spears, and banners, and heavy pieces of
+artillery, dragged axle-deep through the mire, were dimly discerned
+taking positions for an approaching battle. As the blackness of
+midnight enveloped them, the storm increased to fearful fury. The gale
+fiercely swept the plain, in its loud wailings and its roar drowning
+every human sound. The rain, all the night long, poured down in
+torrents. But through the darkness and the storm, and breasting the
+gale, the contending hosts, without even a watch-fire to cheer the
+gloom, waited anxiously for the morning.
+
+In the blackest hour of the night, a phenomenon, quite unusual at that
+season of the year, presented itself. The lightning gleamed in
+dazzling brilliance from cloud to cloud, and the thunder rolled over
+their heads as if an aerial army were meeting and charging in the
+sanguinary fight. It was an age of superstition, and the shivering
+soldiers thought that they could distinctly discern the banners of the
+battling hosts. Eagerly and with awe they watched the surgings of the
+strife as spirit squadrons swept to and fro with streaming banners of
+fire, and hurling upon each other the thunderbolts of the skies. At
+length the storm of battle seemed to lull, or, rather, to pass away in
+the distance. There was the retreat of the vanquished, the pursuit of
+the victors. The flash of the guns became more faint, and the roar of
+the artillery diminished as farther and still farther the embattled
+hosts vanished among the clouds. Again there was the silence of
+midnight, and no sounds were heard but the plashing of the rain.
+
+The Royalists and the insurgents, each party inflamed more or less by
+religious fanaticism, were each disposed to regard the ethereal battle
+as waged between the spirits of light and the spirits of darkness,
+angels against fiends. Each party, of course, imagined itself as
+represented by the angel bands, which doubtless conquered. The
+phenomenon was thus, to both, the omen of success, and inspired both
+with new energies.
+
+The morning dawned gloomily. Both armies were exhausted and nearly
+frozen by the chill storm of the night. Neither of the parties were
+eager to commence the fight, as each was anxious to wait for
+re-enforcements, which were hurrying forward, from distant posts, with
+the utmost possible speed. The two next days were passed in various
+manoeuvres to gain posts of advantage. The night of the 13th came.
+Henry took but two hours of repose upon a mattress, and then, every
+thing being arranged according to his wishes, spent nearly all the
+rest of the night in prayer. He urged the Catholics and the
+Protestants in his army to do the same, each according to the rites
+of his own Church. The Catholic priests and the Protestant clergy led
+the devotions of their respective bands, and there can be no doubt
+whatever that they implored the aid of God with as perfect a
+conviction of the righteousness of their cause as the human heart can
+feel.
+
+And how was it in the army of the Duke of Mayenne? They also looked to
+God for support. The Pope, Christ's vicar upon earth, had blessed
+their banners. He had called upon all of the faithful to advocate
+their cause. He had anathematized their foes as the enemies of God and
+man, justly doomed to utter extermination. Can it be doubted that the
+ecclesiastics and the soldiers who surrounded the Duke of Mayenne,
+ready to lay down their lives for the Church, were also, many of them,
+sincere in their supplications? Such is bewildered, benighted man.
+When will he imbibe the spirit of a noble toleration--of a kind
+brotherhood?
+
+The morning of the 14th of March arrived. The stars shone brilliantly
+in the clear, cold sky. The vast plain of Ivry and its surrounding
+hills gleamed with the camp-fires of the two armies, now face to face.
+It is impossible to estimate with precision the two forces. It is
+generally stated that Henry IV. had from ten to twelve thousand men,
+and the Duke of Mayenne from sixteen to twenty thousand.
+
+Before the first glimmer of day, Henry mounted his horse, a powerful
+bay charger, and riding slowly along his lines, addressed to every
+company words of encouragement and hope. His spirit was subdued and
+his voice was softened by the influence of prayer. He attempted no
+lofty harangue; he gave utterance to no clarion notes of enthusiasm;
+but mildly, gently, with a trembling voice and often with a moistened
+eye, implored them to be true to God, to France, and to themselves.
+
+"Your future fame and your personal safety," said he, "depend upon
+your heroism this day. The crown of France awaits the decision of your
+swords. If we are defeated to-day, we are defeated hopelessly, for we
+have no reserves upon which we can fall back."
+
+Then assembling nearly all his little band in a square around him, he
+placed himself upon an eminence where he could be seen by all, and
+where nearly all could hear him, and then, with clasped hands and eyes
+raised to Heaven, offered the following prayer--a truly extraordinary
+prayer, so humble and so Christian in its spirit of resignation:
+
+"O God, I pray thee, who alone knowest the intentions of man's heart,
+to do thy will upon me as thou shalt judge necessary for the weal of
+Christendom. And wilt thou preserve me as long as thou seest it to be
+needful for the happiness and the repose of France, and no longer. If
+thou dost see that I should be one of those kings on whom thou dost
+lay thy wrath, take my life with my crown, and let my blood be the
+last poured out in this quarrel."
+
+Then turning to his troops, he said,
+
+"Companions, God is with us. You are to meet His enemies and ours. If,
+in the turmoil of the battle, you lose sight of your banner, follow
+the white plume upon my casque. You will find it in the road to
+victory and honor."
+
+But a few hours before this, General Schomberg, who was in command of
+the auxiliaries furnished to Henry by Germany, urged by the
+importunity of his troops, ventured to ask for their pay, which was in
+arrears. Henry, irritated, replied,
+
+"A man of courage would not ask for money on the eve of a battle."
+
+The words had no sooner escaped his lips than he regretted them. Henry
+now rode to the quarters of this veteran officer, and thus
+magnanimously addressed him:
+
+"General Schomberg, I have insulted you. As this day may be the last
+of my life, I would not carry away the honor of a gentleman and be
+unable to restore it. I know your valor, and I ask your pardon. I
+beseech you to forgive me and embrace me."
+
+This was true magnanimity. General Schomberg nobly replied,
+
+"Sire, you did, indeed, wound me yesterday, but to-day you kill me.
+The honor you have done me will lead me to lay down my life in your
+service."
+
+A terrible battle immediately ensued. All fought bravely, ferociously,
+infernally. Love and peace are the elements of heaven. Hatred and war
+are the elements of hell. Man, upon the battle-field, even in a good
+cause, must call to his aid the energies of the world of woe. Rushing
+squadrons swept the field, crushing beneath iron hoofs the dying and
+the dead. Grapeshot mowed down the crowded ranks, splintering bones,
+and lacerating nerves, and extorting shrieks of agony which even the
+thunders of the battle could not drown. Henry plunged into the
+thickest of the fight, every where exposing himself to peril like the
+humblest soldier. The conflict was too desperate to be lasting. In
+less than an hour the field of battle was crimson with blood and
+covered with mangled corpses.
+
+The Leaguers began to waver. They broke and fled in awful confusion.
+The miserable fugitives were pursued and cut down by the keen swords
+of the cavalry, while from every eminence the cannon of the victors
+plowed their retreating ranks with balls. Henry himself headed the
+cavalry in the impetuous pursuit, that the day might be the more
+decisive. When he returned, covered with blood, he was greeted from
+his triumphant ranks with the shout, _Vive le roi!_
+
+Marshal Biron, with a powerful reserve, had remained watching the
+progress of the fight, ready to avail himself of any opportunity which
+might present to promote or to increase the discomfiture of the foe.
+He now joined the monarch, saying,
+
+"This day, sire, you have performed the part of Marshal Biron, and
+Marshal Biron that of the king."
+
+"Let us praise God, marshal," answered Henry, "for the victory is
+his."
+
+The routed army fled with the utmost precipitation in two directions,
+one division toward Chartres and the other toward Ivry. The whole
+Royalist army hung upon their rear, assailing them with every
+available missile of destruction. The Duke of Mayenne fled across the
+Eure. Thousands of his broken bands were crowding the shore, striving
+to force their way across the thronged bridge, when the Royalist
+cavalry, led by the monarch himself, was seen in the distance spurring
+furiously over the hills. Mayenne himself having passed, in order to
+secure his own safety, cruelly gave the command to destroy the bridge,
+leaving the unhappy men who had not yet crossed at the mercy of the
+victors. The bridge was immediately blown up. Many of those thus
+abandoned, in their terror cast themselves into the flooded stream,
+where multitudes were drowned. Others shot their horses and built a
+rampart of their bodies. Behind this revolting breastwork they
+defended themselves, until, one after another, they all fell beneath
+the sabres and the bullets of the Protestants. In this dreadful
+retreat more than two thousand were put to the sword, large numbers
+were drowned, and many were taken captive.
+
+In this day, so glorious to the Royalist cause, more than one half of
+the army of the Leaguers were either slain or taken prisoners. Though
+the Duke of Mayenne escaped, many of his best generals perished upon
+the field of battle or were captured. It is reported that Henry
+shouted to his victorious troops as they were cutting down the
+fugitives, "Spare the French; they are our brethren."
+
+This celebrated battle has often been the theme of the poet. But no
+one has done the subject better justice than Mr. Macaulay in the
+following spirited lines. They are intended to express the feelings of
+a Huguenot soldier.
+
+                         THE BATTLE OF IVRY.
+
+ "The king has come to marshal us, all in his armor dressed.
+ And he has bound a snow-white plume upon his gallant crest.
+ He looked upon his people, and a tear was in his eye;
+ He looked upon the traitors, and his glance was stern and high.
+ Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing,
+ Down all our line, a deafening shout, 'God save our lord the king!'
+ 'And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may,
+ For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray,
+ Press where ye see my white plume shine, amid the ranks of war,
+ And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre.'
+
+ "'Hurrah! the foes are coming! Hark to the mingled din
+ Of fife and steed, and trump and drum, and roaring culverin!
+ The fiery duke is pricking fast across St. Andre's plain,
+ With all the hireling chivalry of Guelders and Almagne.
+ Now, by the lips of those we love, fair gentlemen of France,
+ Charge for the golden lilies now--upon them with the lance!'
+ A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears in rest,
+ A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest.
+ And on they burst, and on they rushed, while, like a guiding star,
+ Amid the thickest carnage blazed the helmet of Navarre.
+
+ "Now, God be praised, the day is ours! Mayenne hath turned his rein,
+ D'Aumale hath cried for quarter, the Flemish count is slain;
+ Their ranks are breaking like thin clouds before a Biscay gale;
+ The field is heaped with bleeding steeds, and flags, and cloven mail.
+ And then we thought on vengeance, and all along our van,
+ 'Remember St. Bartholomew,' was passed from man to man;
+ But out spake gentle Henry, 'No Frenchman is my foe;
+ Down--down with every foreigner! but let your brethren go.'
+ Oh, was there ever such a knight, in friendship or in war,
+ As our sovereign lord King Henry, the soldier of Navarre?"
+
+This decisive battle established Henry on the throne. Mayenne still
+held Paris, and many other important fortresses in other parts of
+France; but his main army was defeated and dispersed, and he could no
+longer venture to encounter Henry in the open field. Having thrown
+some additional forces into Paris, which city he knew that Henry would
+immediately besiege, he fled to Flanders to obtain re-enforcements.
+
+Paris was in consternation. Not a town in its vicinity could resist
+the conqueror. Henry was but two days' march from his rebellious
+capital. The Leaguers could hope for no aid for many weeks. The
+Royalist cause had many friends among the Parisians, eager for an
+opportunity to raise within their walls the banner of their lawful
+sovereign.
+
+Henry had now the entire command of the Seine from Rouen to Paris. Had
+he immediately marched upon the capital, there can be no doubt that it
+would have been compelled to surrender; but, for some reason which has
+never been satisfactorily explained, he remained for a fortnight
+within one day's march of the field of Ivry. Various causes have been
+surmised for this unaccountable delay, but there is no authentic
+statement to be found in any letters written by Henry, or in any
+contemporaneous records. The time, however, thus lost, whatever might
+have been the cause, proved to him a terrible calamity. The partisans
+of the League in the city had time to recover from their panic, to
+strengthen their defenses, and to collect supplies.
+
+One act of magnanimity which Henry performed during this interval is
+worthy of record. Two regiments of Swiss Catholics, who had been sent
+to fight beneath the banners of Mayenne, had surrendered to the royal
+forces. They were for a few days intensely anxious respecting their
+fate. Henry restored to them their ensigns, furnished them with money,
+supplied them with provisions, and sent them back to their native
+country. He gave them a letter to the Swiss cantons, with dignity
+reproaching them for their violation of the friendly treaty existing
+between Switzerland and the crown of France.
+
+It was not until the 28th of March that Henry appeared before the
+walls of Paris. By this time the Leaguers had made preparations to
+resist him. Provisions and military stores had been accumulated.
+Troops had been hurried into the city, and arrangements were made to
+hold out till Mayenne could bring them succor. Now a siege was
+necessary, with all its accompaniments of blood and woe. There were
+now fifty thousand fighting men in the city when Henry commenced the
+siege with but twelve thousand foot and three thousand horse.
+
+In this emergence the energy of Henry returned. He took possession of
+the river above and below the city. Batteries were reared upon the
+heights of Montmartre and Montfaucon, and cannon balls, portentous of
+the rising storm, began to fall in the thronged streets of the
+metropolis. In the midst of this state of things the old Cardinal of
+Bourbon died. The Leaguers had pronounced him king under the title of
+Charles X. The insurgents, discomfited in battle, and with many rival
+candidates ambitious of the crown, were not in a condition to attempt
+to elect another monarch. They thought it more prudent to combine and
+fight for victory, postponing until some future day their choice of a
+king. The Catholic priests were almost universally on their side, and
+urged them, by all the most sacred importunities of religion, rather
+to die than to allow a heretic to ascend the throne of France.
+
+Day after day the siege continued. There were bombardments, and
+conflagrations, and sallies, and midnight assaults, and all the
+tumult, and carnage, and woe of horrid war. Three hundred thousand
+men, women, and children were in the beleaguered city. All supplies
+were cut off. Famine commenced its ravages. The wheat became
+exhausted, and they ate bran. The bran was all consumed, and the
+haggard citizens devoured the dogs and the cats. Starvation came. On
+parlor floors and on the hard pavement emaciate forms were stretched
+in the convulsions of death. The shrieks of women and children in
+their dying agonies fell in tones horrible to hear upon the ears of
+the besiegers.
+
+The tender heart of Henry was so moved by the sufferings which he was
+unwillingly instrumental in inflicting, that he allowed some
+provisions to be carried into the city, though he thus protracted the
+siege. He hoped that this humanity would prove to his foes that he did
+not seek revenge. The Duke of Nemours, who conducted the defense,
+encouraged by this unmilitary humanity, that he might relieve himself
+from the encumbrance of useless mouths, drove several thousands out of
+the city. Henry, with extraordinary clemency, allowed three thousand
+to pass through the ranks of his army. He nobly said, "I can not bear
+to think of their sufferings. I had rather conquer my foes by kindness
+than by arms." But the number still increasing, and the inevitable
+effect being only to enable the combatants to hold out more
+stubbornly, Henry reluctantly ordered the soldiers to allow no more to
+pass.
+
+The misery which now desolated the city was awful. Famine bred
+pestilence. Woe and death were every where. The Duke of Nemours,
+younger brother of the Duke of Mayenne, hoping that Mayenne might yet
+bring relief, still continued the defense. The citizens, tortured by
+the unearthly woes which pressed them on every side, began to murmur.
+Nemours erected scaffolds, and ordered every murmurer to be promptly
+hung as a partisan of Henry. Even this harsh remedy could not entirely
+silence fathers whose wives and children were dying of starvation
+before their eyes.
+
+The Duke of Mayenne was preparing to march to the relief of the city
+with an army of Spaniards. Henry resolved to make an attempt to take
+the city by assault before their arrival. The hour was fixed at
+midnight, on the 24th of July. Henry watched the sublime and terrific
+spectacle from an observatory reared on the heights of Montmartre. In
+ten massive columns the Royalists made the fierce onset. The besieged
+were ready for them, with artillery loaded to the muzzle and with
+lighted torches. An eye-witness thus describes the spectacle:
+
+    "The immense city seemed instantly to blaze with
+    conflagrations, or rather by an infinity of mines sprung in
+    its heart. Thick whirlwinds of smoke, pierced at intervals by
+    flashes and long lines of flame, covered the doomed city. The
+    blackness of darkness at one moment enveloped it. Again it
+    blazed forth as if it were a sea of fire. The roar of cannon,
+    the clash of arms, and the shouts of the combatants added to
+    the horrors of the night."
+
+By this attack all of the suburbs were taken, and the condition of the
+besieged rendered more hopeless and miserable. There is no siege upon
+record more replete with horrors. The flesh of the dead was eaten. The
+dry bones of the cemetery were ground up for bread. Starving mothers
+ate their children. It is reported that the Duchess of Montpensier was
+offered three thousand crowns for her dog. She declined the offer,
+saying that she should keep it to eat herself as her last resource.
+
+The compassion of Henry triumphed again and again over his military
+firmness. He allowed the women and children to leave the city, then
+the ecclesiastics, then the starving poor, then the starving rich.
+Each of these acts of generosity added to the strength of his foes.
+The famished Leaguers were now in a condition to make but a feeble
+resistance. Henry was urged to take the city by storm. He could easily
+do this, but fearful slaughter would be the inevitable result. For
+this reason Henry refused, saying,
+
+"I am their father and their king. I can not hear the recital of their
+woes without the deepest sympathy. I would gladly relieve them. I can
+not prevent those who are possessed with the fury of the League from
+perishing, but to those who seek my clemency I must open my arms."
+
+Early in August, more than thirty thousand within the walls of the
+city had perished by famine. Mayenne now marched to the relief of
+Paris. Henry, unwisely, military critics say, raised the siege and
+advanced to meet him, hoping to compel him to a decisive battle.
+Mayenne skillfully avoided a battle, and still more skillfully threw
+abundant supplies into the city.
+
+And now loud murmurs began to arise in the camp of Henry. Many of the
+most influential of the Catholics who adhered to his cause,
+disheartened by this result and by the indications of an endless war,
+declared that it was in vain to hope that any Protestant could be
+accepted as King of France. The soldiers could not conceal their
+discouragement, and the cause of the king was involved anew in gloom.
+
+Still Henry firmly kept the field, and a long series of conflicts
+ensued between detachments of the Royalist army and portions of the
+Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Mayenne and the Duke
+of Parma. The energy of the king was roused to the utmost. Victory
+accompanied his marches, and his foes were driven before him.
+
+The winter of 1591 had now arrived, and still unhappy France was one
+wide and wasted battle-field. Confusion, anarchy, and misery every
+where reigned. Every village had its hostile partisans. Catholic
+cities were besieged by Protestants, and Protestant towns by
+Catholics. In the midst of these terrible scenes, Henry had caught a
+glimpse, at the chateau of Coeuvres, of the beautiful face of
+Gabrielle d'Estrees. Ignobly yielding to a guilty passion, he again
+forgot the great affairs of state and the woes of his distracted
+country in the pursuit of this new amour. The history of this period
+contains but a monotonous record of the siege of innumerable towns,
+with all the melancholy accompaniments of famine and blood. Summer
+came and went, and hardly a sound of joy was heard amid all the hills
+and valleys of beautiful but war-scathed France.
+
+There was great division existing among the partisans of the League,
+there being several candidates for the throne. There was but one cause
+of division in the ranks of Henry. That he was the legitimate
+sovereign all admitted. It was evident to all that, would Henry but
+abjure Protestantism and embrace the Catholic faith, nearly all
+opposition to him would instantly cease. Many pamphlets were issued by
+the priests urging the iniquity of sustaining a _heretic_ upon the
+throne. The Pope had not only anathematized the heretical sovereign,
+but had condemned to eternal flames all who should maintain his cause.
+
+Henry had no objection to Catholicism. It was the religion of five
+sixths of his subjects. He was now anxious to give his adherence to
+that faith, could he contrive some way to do it with decency. He
+issued many decrees to conciliate the Romanists. He proclaimed that he
+had never yet had time to examine the subject of religious faith; that
+he was anxious for instruction; that he was ready to submit to the
+decision of a council; and that under no circumstances would he suffer
+any change in France detrimental to the Catholic religion. At the same
+time, with energy which reflects credit upon his name, he declared the
+bull fulminated against him by Gregory XIV. as abusive, seditious, and
+damnable, and ordered it to be burned by the public hangman.
+
+By the middle of November, 1591, Henry, with an army of thirty-five
+thousand men, surrounded the city of Rouen. Queen Elizabeth had again
+sent him aid. The Earl of Essex joined the royal army with a retinue
+whose splendor amazed the impoverished nobles of France. His own
+gorgeous dress, and the caparisons of his steed, were estimated to be
+worth sixty thousand crowns of gold. The garrison of Rouen was under
+the command of Governor Villars. Essex sent a curious challenge to
+Villars, that if he would meet him on horseback or on foot, in armor
+or doublet, he would maintain against him man to man, twenty to
+twenty, or sixty to sixty. To this defiance the earl added, "I am thus
+ready to prove that the cause of the king is better than that of the
+League, that Essex is a braver man than Villars, and that my mistress
+is more beautiful than yours." Villars declined the challenge,
+declaring, however, that the three assertions were false, but that he
+did not trouble himself much about the respective beauty of their
+mistresses.
+
+The weary siege continued many weeks, varied with fierce sallies and
+bloody skirmishes. Henry labored in the trenches like a common
+soldier, and shared every peril. He was not wise in so doing, for his
+life was of far too much value to France to be thus needlessly
+periled.
+
+The influential Leaguers in Paris now formed the plan to found a new
+dynasty in France by uniting in marriage the young Duke of Guise--son
+of Henry of Guise who had been assassinated--with Isabella, the
+daughter of Philip II., King of Spain. This secured for their cause
+all the energies of the Spanish monarchy. This plan immediately
+introduced serious discord between Mayenne and his Spanish allies, as
+Mayenne hoped for the crown for himself. About the same time Pope
+Gregory XIV. died, still more depressing the prospects of Mayenne;
+but, with indomitable vigor of intrigue and of battle, he still
+continued to guide the movements of the League, and to watch for
+opportunities to secure for himself the crown of France.
+
+The politics of the nation were now in an inextricable labyrinth of
+confusion. Henry IV. was still sustained by the Protestants, though
+they were ever complaining that he favored too much the Catholics. He
+was also sustained by a portion of the moderate Catholics. They were,
+however, quite lukewarm in their zeal, and were importunately
+demanding that he should renounce the Protestant faith and avow
+himself a Catholic, or they would entirely abandon him. The Swiss and
+Germans in his ranks were filling the camp with murmurs, demanding
+their arrears of pay. The English troops furnished him by Elizabeth
+refused to march from the coast to penetrate the interior.
+
+The League was split into innumerable factions, some in favor of
+Mayenne, others supporting the young Cardinal of Bourbon, and others
+still advocating the claims of the young Duke of Guise and the Infanta
+of Spain. They were all, however, united by a common detestation of
+Protestantism and an undying devotion to the Church of Rome.
+
+In the mean time, though the siege of Rouen was pressed with great
+vigor, all efforts to take the place were unavailing. Henry was
+repeatedly baffled and discomfited, and it became daily more evident
+that, as a Protestant, he never could occupy a peaceful throne in
+Catholic France. Even many of the Protestant leaders, who were
+politicians rather than theologians, urged Henry to become a Catholic,
+as the only possible means of putting an end to this cruel civil war.
+They urged that while his adoption of the Catholic faith would
+reconcile the Catholics, the Protestants, confiding in the freedom of
+faith and worship which his just judgment would secure to them, would
+prefer him for their sovereign to any other whom they could hope to
+obtain. Thus peace would be restored to distracted France. Henry
+listened with a willing mind to these suggestions. To give assurance
+to the Catholics of his sincerity, he sent embassadors to Rome to
+treat with the Pope in regard to his reconciliation with the Church.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE CONVERSION OF THE KING.
+
+1593-1595
+
+Advice of the Duke of Sully.--Perplexity of Henry.--Theological
+argument of Sully.--Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis.--Inflexible
+integrity of Mornay.--Mornay's reply to Henry III.--Attempt to bribe
+Mornay.--His address to the courtiers.--Indecision of Henry.--Process
+of conversion.--Testimony of Sully.--Gabrielle d'Estrees.--Influence
+of Gabrielle.--Abjuration of Protestantism.--Public adoption of the
+Catholic faith.--Ceremony in the Church of St. Denis.--Alleged
+sincerity of the king.--Other motives assigned.--Political effects
+of Henry's conversion.--Satisfaction of the people.--Ferocity of
+the Pope.--Coronation of the king.--Paris secretly surrendered.--The
+entry to Paris.--Noble conduct.--Justice of Henry IV.--Joy in
+Paris.--Reconciliation with the Pope.--Henry chastised by proxy.--The
+farce.--Cause of the war.--The Protestants still persecuted.--Scene
+of massacre.--Dissatisfaction of both Catholics and
+Protestants.--Complaints of the Reformed Churches of France.
+
+
+This bloody war of the succession had now desolated France for four
+years. The Duke of Sully, one of the most conspicuous of the political
+Calvinists, was at last induced to give his influence to lead the king
+to accept the Catholic faith. Sully had been Henry's companion from
+childhood. Though not a man of deep religious convictions, he was one
+of the most illustrious of men in ability, courage, and integrity.
+Conversing with Henry upon the distracted affairs of state, he said,
+one day,
+
+"That you should wait for me, being a Protestant, to counsel you to go
+to mass, is a thing you should not do, although I will boldly declare
+to you that it is the prompt and easy way of destroying all malign
+projects. You will thus meet no more enemies, sorrows, nor
+difficulties _in this world_. As to the _other world_," he continued,
+smiling, "I can not answer for that."
+
+The king continued in great perplexity. He felt that it was degrading
+to change his religion upon apparent compulsion, or for the
+accomplishment of any selfish purpose. He knew that he must expose
+himself to the charge of apostasy and of hypocrisy in affirming a
+change of belief, even to accomplish so meritorious a purpose as to
+rescue a whole nation from misery. These embarrassments to a
+vacillating mind were terrible.
+
+Early one morning, before rising, he sent for Sully. The duke found
+the king sitting up in his bed, "scratching his head in great
+perplexity." The political considerations in favor of the change urged
+by the duke could not satisfy fully the mind of the king. He had still
+some conscientious scruples, imbibed from the teachings of a pious and
+sainted mother. The illustrious warrior, financier, and diplomatist
+now essayed the availability of theological considerations, and urged
+the following argument of Jesuitical shrewdness:
+
+"I hold it certain," argued the duke, "that whatever be the exterior
+form of the religion which men profess, if they live in the
+observation of the Decalogue, believe in the Creed of the apostles,
+love God with all their heart, have charity toward their neighbor,
+hope in the mercy of God, and to obtain salvation by the death,
+merits, and justice of Jesus Christ, they can not fail to be saved."
+
+Henry caught eagerly at this plausible argument. The Catholics say
+that no Protestant can be saved, but the Protestants admit that a
+Catholic may be, if in heart honest, just, and true. The sophistry of
+the plea in behalf of an _insincere_ renunciation of faith is too
+palpable to influence any mind but one eager to be convinced. The king
+was counseled to obey the Decalogue, which _forbids false witness_,
+while at the same time he was to be guilty of an act of fraud and
+hypocrisy.
+
+But Henry had another counselor. Philip of Mornay, Lord of Plessis,
+had imbibed from his mother's lips a knowledge of the religion of
+Jesus Christ. His soul was endowed by nature with the most noble
+lineaments, and he was, if man can judge, a devoted and exalted
+Christian. There was no one, in those stormy times, more illustrious
+as a warrior, statesman, theologian, and orator. "We can not," says a
+French writer, "indicate a species of merit in which he did not excel,
+except that he did not advance his own fortune." When but twelve years
+of age, a priest exhorted him to beware of the opinions of the
+Protestants.
+
+"I am resolved," Philip replied, firmly, "to remain steadfast in what
+I have learned of the service of God. When I doubt any point, I will
+diligently examine the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles."
+
+His uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims, advised him to read the fathers
+of the Church, and promised him the revenues of a rich abbey and the
+prospect of still higher advancement if he would adhere to the
+Catholic religion. Philip read the fathers and declined the bribe,
+saying,
+
+"I must trust to God for what I need."
+
+Almost by a miracle he had escaped the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and
+fled to England. The Duke of Anjou, who had become King of Poland,
+wishing to conciliate the Protestants, wrote to Mornay in his poverty
+and exile, proposing to him a place in his ministry. The noble man
+replied,
+
+"I will never enter the service of those who have shed the blood of my
+brethren."
+
+He soon joined the feeble court of the King of Navarre, and adhered
+conscientiously, through all vicissitudes, to the Protestant cause.
+Henry IV. was abundantly capable of appreciating such a character, and
+he revered and loved Mornay. His services were invaluable to Henry,
+for he seemed to be equally skillful in nearly all departments of
+knowledge and of business. He could with equal facility guide an army,
+construct a fortress, and write a theological treatise. Many of the
+most important state papers of Henry IV. he hurriedly wrote upon the
+field of battle or beneath his wind-shaken tent. Henry III., on one
+occasion, had said to him,
+
+"How can a man of your intelligence and ability be a Protestant? Have
+you never read the Catholic doctors?"
+
+"Not only have I read the Catholic doctors," Mornay replied, "but I
+have read them with eagerness; for I am flesh and blood like other
+men, and I was not born without ambition. I should have been very glad
+to find something to flatter my conscience that I might participate in
+the favors and honors you distribute, and from which my religion
+excludes me; but, above all, I find something which fortifies my
+faith, and the world must yield to conscience."
+
+The firm Christian principles of Philip of Mornay were now almost the
+only barrier which stood in the way of the conversion of Henry. The
+Catholic lords offered Mornay twenty thousand crowns of gold if he
+would no more awaken the scruples of the king. Nobly he replied,
+
+"The conscience of my master is not for sale, neither is mine."
+
+Great efforts were then made to alienate Henry from his faithful
+minister. Mornay by chance one day entered the cabinet of the king,
+where his enemies were busy in their cabals. In the boldness of an
+integrity which never gave him cause to blush, he thus addressed them
+in the presence of the sovereign:
+
+"It is hard, gentlemen, to prevent the king my master from speaking to
+his faithful servant. The proposals which I offer the king are such
+that I can pronounce them distinctly before you all. I propose to him
+to serve God with a good conscience; to keep Him in view in every
+action; to quiet the schism which is in his state by a holy
+reformation of the Church, and to be an example for all Christendom
+during all time to come. Are these things to be spoken in a corner? Do
+you wish me to counsel him to go to mass? With what conscience shall I
+advise if I do not first go myself? And what is religion, if it can be
+laid aside like a shirt?"
+
+The Catholic nobles felt the power of this moral courage and
+integrity, and one of them, Marshal d'Aumont, yielding to a generous
+impulse, exclaimed,
+
+"You are better than we are, Monsieur Mornay; and if I said, two days
+ago, that it was necessary to give you a pistol-shot in the head, I
+say to-day entirely the contrary, and that you should have a statue."
+
+Henry, however, was a politician, not a Christian; and nothing is more
+amazing than the deaf ear which even apparently good men can turn to
+the pleadings of conscience when they are involved in the mazes of
+political ambition. The process of conversion was, for decency's sake,
+protracted and ostentatious. As Henry probably had no fixed religious
+principles, he could with perhaps as much truth say that he was a
+Catholic as that he was a Protestant.
+
+On the 23d of July the king listened to a public argument, five hours
+in length, from the Archbishop of Bourges, upon the points of
+essential difference between the two antagonistic creeds. Henry found
+the reasoning of the archbishop most comfortably persuasive, and,
+having separated himself for a time from Mornay, he professed to be
+solemnly convinced that the Roman Catholic faith was the true
+religion. Those who knew Henry the best declare that he was sincere in
+the change, and his subsequent life seems certainly to indicate that
+he was so. The Duke of Sully, who refused to follow Henry into the
+Catholic Church, records,
+
+    "As uprightness and sincerity formed the depth of his heart,
+    as they did of his words, I am persuaded that nothing would
+    have been capable of making him embrace a religion which he
+    internally despised, or of which he even doubted."
+
+In view of this long interview with the Archbishop of Bourges, Henry
+wrote to the frail but beautiful Gabrielle d'Estrees,
+
+"I began this morning to speak to the bishops. On Sunday I shall take
+the perilous leap." The king's connection with Gabrielle presented
+another strong motive to influence his conversion. Henry, when a mere
+boy, had been constrained by political considerations to marry the
+worthless and hateful sister of Charles IX. For the wife thus coldly
+received he never felt an emotion of affection. She was an unblushing
+profligate. The king, in one of his campaigns, met the beautiful
+maiden Gabrielle in the chateau of her father. They both immediately
+loved each other, and a relation prohibited by the divine law soon
+existed between them. Never, perhaps, was there a better excuse for
+unlawful love. But guilt ever brings woe. Neither party were happy.
+Gabrielle felt condemned and degraded, and urged the king to obtain a
+divorce from the notoriously profligate Marguerite of Valois, that
+their union might be sanctioned by the rites of religion. Henry loved
+Gabrielle tenderly. Her society was his chiefest joy, and it is said
+that he ever remained faithful to her. He was anxious for a divorce
+from Marguerite, and for marriage with Gabrielle. But this divorce
+could only be obtained through the Pope. Hence Gabrielle exerted all
+her influence to lead the king into the Church, that this most desired
+end might be attained.
+
+The king now openly proclaimed his readiness to renounce Protestantism
+and to accept the Papal Creed. The Catholic bishops prepared an act of
+abjuration, rejecting, very decisively, one after another, every
+distinguishing article of the Protestant faith. The king glanced his
+eye over it, and instinctively recoiled from an act which he seemed to
+deem humiliating. He would only consent to sign a very brief
+declaration, in six lines, of his return to the Church of Rome. The
+paper, however, which he had rejected, containing the emphatic
+recantation of every article of the Protestant faith, was sent to the
+Pope with the forged signature of the king.
+
+The final act of renunciation was public, and was attended with much
+dramatic pomp, in the great church of St. Denis. It was Sunday, the
+twenty-fifth of July, 1593. The immense cathedral was richly
+decorated. Flowers were scattered upon the pavements, and garlands and
+banners festooned the streets and the dwellings.
+
+At eight o'clock in the morning Henry presented himself before the
+massive portals of the Cathedral. He was dressed in white satin, with
+a black mantle and chapeau. The white plume, which both pen and pencil
+have rendered illustrious, waved from his hat. He was surrounded by a
+gorgeous retinue of nobles and officers of the crown. Several
+regiments of soldiers, in the richest uniform, preceded and followed
+him as he advanced toward the church. Though a decree had been issued
+strictly prohibiting the populace from being present at the ceremony,
+an immense concourse thronged the streets, greeting the monarch with
+enthusiastic cries of "_Vive le roi!_"
+
+[Illustration: THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM.]
+
+The Archbishop of Bourges was seated at the entrance of the church in
+a chair draped with white damask. The Cardinal of Bourbon, and several
+bishops glittering in pontifical robes, composed his brilliant
+retinue. The monks of St. Denis were also in attendance, clad in their
+sombre attire, bearing the cross, the Gospels, and the holy water.
+Thus the train of the exalted dignitary of the Church even eclipsed in
+splendor the suite of the king.
+
+As Henry approached the door of the church, the archbishop, as if to
+repel intrusion, imperiously inquired,
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"I am the king," Henry modestly replied.
+
+"What do you desire?" demanded the archbishop.
+
+"I ask," answered the king, "to be received into the bosom of the
+Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion."
+
+"Do you desire this _sincerely_?" rejoined the archbishop.
+
+"I do," the king replied. Then kneeling at the feet of the prelate, he
+pronounced the following oath:
+
+    "I protest and swear, in the presence of Almighty God, to
+    live and die in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion;
+    to protect and defend it against all its enemies at the
+    hazard of my blood and life, renouncing all heresies contrary
+    to it."
+
+The king then placed a copy of this oath in writing in the hands of
+the archbishop, and kissed the consecrated ring upon his holy finger.
+Then entering the Cathedral, he received the absolution of his sins
+and the benediction of the Church. A _Te Deum_ was then sung, high
+mass was solemnized, and thus the imposing ceremony was terminated.
+
+It is easy to treat this whole affair as a farce. The elements of
+ridicule are abundant. But it was by no means a farce in the vast
+influences which it evolved. Catholic historians have almost
+invariably assumed that the king acted in perfect good faith, being
+fully convinced by the arguments of the Church. Even Henry's
+Protestant friend, the Duke of Sully, remarks,
+
+    "I should betray the cause of truth if I suffered it even to
+    be suspected that policy, the threats of the Catholics, the
+    fatigue of labor, the desire of rest, and of freeing himself
+    from the tyranny of foreigners, or even the good of the
+    people, had entirely influenced the king's resolution. As far
+    as I am able to judge of the heart of this prince, which I
+    believe I know better than any other person, it was, indeed,
+    these considerations which first hinted to him the necessity
+    of his conversion; but, in the end, he became convinced in
+    his own mind that the Catholic religion was the safest."
+
+Others have affirmed that it was a shameful act of apostasy, in which
+the king, stimulated by ambition and unlawful love, stooped to
+hypocrisy, and feigned a conversion which in heart he despised. He is
+represented as saying, with levity,
+
+"Paris is well worth a mass."
+
+Others still assert that Henry was humanely anxious to arrest the
+horrors of civil war; to introduce peace to distracted France, and to
+secure the Protestants from oppression. His acceptance of the Catholic
+faith was the only apparent way of accomplishing these results. Being
+a humane man, but not a man of established Christian principle, he
+deemed it his duty to pursue the course which would accomplish such
+results. The facts, so far as known, are before the reader, and each
+one can form his own judgment.
+
+The announcement throughout the kingdom that Henry had become a
+Catholic almost immediately put an end to the civil war. Incited by
+the royal example, many of the leading Protestants, nobles and
+gentlemen, also renounced Protestantism, and conformed to the religion
+of the state. The chiefs of the League, many of whom were ambitious
+political partisans rather than zealous theologians, and who were
+clamorous for Catholicism only as the means of obtaining power, at
+once relinquished all hope of victory. For a time, however, they still
+assumed a hostile attitude, and heaped unmeasured ridicule upon what
+they styled the feigned conversion of the king. They wished to compel
+the monarch to purchase their adhesion at as dear a price as possible.
+
+Many important cities surrendered to the royal cause under the
+stipulation that the preaching of the Protestants should be utterly
+prohibited in their precincts and suburbs. Even the Pope, Clement
+VIII., a weak and bigoted man, for a time refused to ratify the act of
+the Archbishop of Bourges in absolving Henry from the pains and
+penalties of excommunication. He forbade the envoy of Henry to
+approach the Vatican. The Duke of Nevers, who was the appointed envoy,
+notwithstanding this prohibition, persisted in his endeavors to obtain
+an audience; but the Pope was anxious to have the crown of France in
+the possession of one whose Catholic zeal could not be questioned. He
+would much have preferred to see the fanatic Duke of Mayenne upon the
+throne, or to have promoted the Spanish succession. He therefore
+treated the Duke of Nevers with great indignity, and finally gave him
+an abrupt dismission.
+
+But the mass of the French people, longing for repose, gladly accepted
+the conversion of the king. One after another the leaders of the
+League gave in their adhesion to the royal cause. The Duke of Mayenne,
+however, held out, Paris being still in his possession, and several
+other important cities and fortresses being garrisoned by his troops.
+The Pope, at length, having vainly done every thing in his power to
+rouse France and Catholic Europe to resist Henry, condescended to
+negotiate. His spirit may be seen in the atrocious conditions which he
+proposed. As the price of his absolution, he required that Henry
+should abrogate every edict of toleration, that he should exclude
+Protestants from all public offices, and that he should exterminate
+them from the kingdom as soon as possible.
+
+To these demands Henry promptly replied, "I should be justly accused
+of shamelessness and ingratitude if, after having received such signal
+services from the Protestants, I should thus persecute them."
+
+Henry was fully aware of the influence of forms upon the imaginations
+of the people. He accordingly made preparations for his coronation.
+The event was celebrated with great pomp, in the city of Chartres, on
+the 27th of February, 1594. The Leaguers were now quite disheartened.
+Every day their ranks were diminishing. The Duke of Mayenne,
+apprehensive that his own partisans might surrender Paris to the king,
+and that thus he might be taken prisoner, on the 6th of March, with
+his wife and children, left the city, under the pretense of being
+called away by important business.
+
+Three hours after midnight of the 21st of the month the gates were
+secretly thrown open, and a body of the king's troops entered the
+metropolis. They marched rapidly along the silent streets, hardly
+encountering the slightest opposition. Before the morning dawned they
+had taken possession of the bridges, the squares, and the ramparts,
+and their cannon were planted so as to sweep all the important streets
+and avenues.
+
+The citizens, aroused by the tramp of infantry and of cavalry, and by
+the rumbling of the heavy artillery over the pavements, rose from
+their beds, and crowded the windows, and thronged the streets. In the
+early dawn, the king, accompanied by the officers of his staff,
+entered the capital. He was dressed in the garb of a civilian, and was
+entirely unarmed. All were ready to receive him. Shouts of "Peace!
+peace! Long live the king!" reverberated in tones of almost delirious
+joy through the thoroughfares of the metropolis. Henry thus advanced
+through the ranks of the rejoicing people to the great cathedral of
+Notre Dame, where mass was performed. He then proceeded to the royal
+palace of the Louvre, which his officers had already prepared for his
+reception. All the bells of the city rung their merriest chimes, bands
+of music pealed forth their most exultant strains, and the air was
+rent with acclamations as the king, after all these long and bloody
+wars, thus peacefully took possession of the capital of his kingdom.
+
+In this hour of triumph Henry manifested the most noble clemency. He
+issued a decree declaring that no citizen who had been in rebellion
+against him should be molested. Even the Spanish troops who were in
+the city to fight against him were permitted to depart with their arms
+in their hands. As they defiled through the gate of St. Denis, the
+king stood by a window, and, lifting his hat, respectfully saluted
+the officers. They immediately approached the magnanimous monarch,
+and, bending the knee, thanked him feelingly for his great clemency.
+The king courteously replied,
+
+"Adieu, gentlemen, adieu! Commend me to your master, and go in peace,
+but do not come back again."
+
+La Noue, one of Henry's chief supporters, as he was entering the city,
+had his baggage attached for an old debt. Indignantly he hastened to
+the king to complain of the outrage. The just monarch promptly but
+pleasantly replied,
+
+"We must pay our debts, La Noue. I pay mine." Then drawing his
+faithful servant aside, he gave him his jewels to pledge for the
+deliverance of his baggage. The king was so impoverished that he had
+not money sufficient to pay the debt.
+
+These principles of justice and magnanimity, which were instinctive
+with the king, and which were daily manifested in multiplied ways,
+soon won to him nearly all hearts. All France had writhed in anguish
+through years of war and misery. Peace, the greatest of all earthly
+blessings, was now beginning to diffuse its joys. The happiness of the
+Parisians amounted almost to transport. It was difficult for the king
+to pass through the streets, the crowd so thronged him with their
+acclamations. Many other important towns soon surrendered. But the
+haughty Duke of Mayenne refused to accept the proffered clemency, and,
+strengthened by the tremendous spiritual power of the head of the
+Church, still endeavored to arouse the energies of Papal fanaticism in
+Flanders and in Spain.
+
+Soon, however, the Pope became convinced that all further resistance
+would be in vain. It was but compromising his dignity to be
+vanquished, and he accordingly decided to accept reconciliation. In
+yielding to this, the Pope stooped to the following silly farce, quite
+characteristic of those days of darkness and delusion. It was deemed
+necessary that the king should do penance for his sins before he could
+be received to the bosom of holy mother Church. It was proper that the
+severe mother should chastise her wayward child. "Whom the Lord loveth
+he chasteneth."
+
+It was the sixteenth of September, 1595. The two embassadors of Henry
+IV. kneeled upon the vestibule of one of the churches in Rome as
+unworthy to enter. In strains of affected penitence, they chanted the
+_Miserere_--"Have mercy, Lord." At the close of every verse they
+received, in the name of their master, the blows of a little switch on
+their shoulders. The king, having thus made expiation for his sins,
+through the reception of this chastisement by proxy, and having thus
+emphatically acknowledged the authority of the sacred mother, received
+the absolution of the vicar of Christ, and was declared to be worthy
+of the loyalty of the faithful.
+
+We have called this a _farce_. And yet can it be justly called so? The
+proud spirit of the king must indeed have been humiliated ere he could
+have consented to such a degradation. The spirit ennobled can bid
+defiance to any amount of corporeal pain. It is ignominy alone which
+can punish the soul. The Pope triumphed; the monarch was flogged. It
+is but just to remark that the friends of Henry deny that he was
+accessory to this act of humiliation.
+
+The atrocious civil war, thus virtually, for a time, terminated, was
+caused by the Leaguers, who had bound themselves together in a _secret
+society_ for the persecution of the Protestants. Their demand was
+inexorable that the Protestants throughout France should be proscribed
+and exterminated. The Protestants were compelled to unite in
+self-defense. They only asked for liberty to worship God according to
+their understanding of the teachings of the Bible. Henry, to
+conciliate the Catholics, was now compelled to yield to many of their
+claims which were exceedingly intolerant. He did this very
+unwillingly, for it was his desire to do every thing in his power to
+meliorate the condition of his Protestant friends. But,
+notwithstanding all the kind wishes of the king, the condition of the
+Protestants was still very deplorable. Public opinion was vehemently
+against them. The magistrates were every where their foes, and the
+courts of justice were closed against all their appeals. Petty
+persecution and tumultuary violence in a thousand forms annoyed them.
+During the year of Henry's coronation, a Protestant congregation in
+Chalaigneraie was assailed by a Catholic mob instigated by the
+Leaguers, and two hundred men, women, and children were massacred. A
+little boy eight years old, in the simplicity of his heart, offered
+eight coppers which he had in his pocket to ransom his life; but the
+merciless fanatics struck him down. Most of these outrages were
+committed with entire impunity. The king had even felt himself forced
+to take the oath, "I will endeavor with all my power, in good faith,
+to drive from my jurisdiction and estates all the heretics denounced
+by the Church."
+
+The Protestants, finding themselves thus denounced as enemies, and
+being cut off from all ordinary privileges and from all common
+justice, decided, for mutual protection, vigorously to maintain their
+political organization. The king, though he feigned to be displeased,
+still encouraged them to do so. Though the Protestants were few in
+numbers, they were powerful in intelligence, rank, and energy; and in
+their emergencies, the strong arm of England was ever generously
+extended for their aid. The king was glad to avail himself of their
+strength to moderate the intolerant demands of the Leaguers. Many of
+the Protestants complained bitterly that the king had abandoned them.
+On the other hand, the haughty leaders of the League clamored loudly
+that the king was not a true son of the Church, and, in multiform
+conspiracies, they sought his death by assassination.
+
+The Protestants held several large assemblies in which they discussed
+their affairs. They drew up an important document--an address to the
+king, entitled, "Complaints of the Reformed Churches of France." Many
+pages were filled with a narrative of the intolerable grievances they
+endured. This paper contained, in conclusion, the following noble
+words:
+
+     "And yet, sire, we have among us no Jacobins or Jesuits who
+     wish for your life, or Leaguers who aspire to your crown. We
+     have never presented, instead of petitions, the points of
+     our swords. We are rewarded with _considerations of state_.
+     It is not yet time, they say, to grant us an edict. And yet,
+     after thirty-five years of persecution, ten years of
+     banishment by the edicts of the League, eight years of the
+     king's reign, four years of proscription, we are still under
+     the necessity of imploring from your majesty an edict which
+     shall allow us to enjoy what is common to all your subjects.
+     The sole glory of God, the liberty of our consciences, the
+     repose of the state, the security of our property and our
+     lives--this is the summit of our wishes, and the end of our
+     requests."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+REIGN AND DEATH OF HENRY IV.
+
+1596-1610
+
+Mayenne professes reconciliation.--Terms exacted by the
+duke.--Interview between Henry and the duke.--Henry's
+revenge.--Hostility of Spain and Flanders.--Calais taken by
+the Leaguers.--Movement of the nobles.--Energetic reply of
+the king.--Dark days.--Singular accident.--Deplorable state
+of France.--Poverty of the king.--Depression of the king.--The
+Duke of Sully.--Siege of Amiens.--Its capitulation.--The
+Edict of Nantes.--Provisions of the edict.--Clamors of the
+Catholics.--Toleration slowly learned.--Dissatisfaction of both
+parties.--Progress of affairs.--Prosperity in the kingdom.--Henry's
+illness.--Devotion of his subjects.--Hostility of the nobles.--The
+Marchioness of Verneuil.--Integrity of Sully.--The slave of love.--The
+king's greatness.--Financial skill of Sully.--Co-operation of
+Henry.--Solicitations of Gabrielle.--Her death.--Grief of the
+king.--The divorce.--Henrietta d'Entragues.--Bold fidelity of
+Sully.--Marriage to Maria of Medici.--Anecdote.--Grand political
+scheme.--Mode of preventing religious quarrels.--Assassination of
+the king.--Character of Henry IV.--The truth to be enforced.--Free
+speech.--Free press.--Free men.--Practical application of the moral.
+
+
+The reconciliation of the king with the Pope presented a favorable
+opportunity for the Duke of Mayenne, consistently with his pride, to
+abandon the hopeless conflict. He declared that, as the Pope had
+accepted the conversion of the king, all his scruples were removed,
+and that he could now conscientiously accept him as the sovereign of
+France. But the power of the haughty duke may be seen in the terms he
+exacted.
+
+The king was compelled to declare, though he knew to the contrary,
+that, all things considered, it was evident that neither the princes
+nor the princesses of the League were at all implicated in the
+assassination of Henry III., and to stop all proceedings in Parliament
+in reference to that atrocious murder. Three fortified cities were
+surrendered to the duke, to be held by him and his partisans for six
+years, in pledge for the faithful observance of the terms of the
+capitulation. The king also assumed all the debts which Mayenne had
+contracted during the war, and granted a term of six weeks to all the
+Leaguers who were still in arms to give in their adhesion and to
+accept his clemency.
+
+The king was at this time at Monceaux. The Duke of Mayenne hastened to
+meet him. He found Henry riding on horseback in the beautiful park of
+that place with the fair Gabrielle, and accompanied by the Duke of
+Sully. Mayenne, in compliance with the obsequious etiquette of those
+days, kneeled humbly before the king, embraced his knees, and,
+assuring him of his entire devotion for the future, thanked the
+monarch for having delivered him "from the arrogance of the Spaniards
+and from the cunning of the Italians."
+
+Henry, who had a vein of waggery about him, immediately raised the
+duke, embraced him with the utmost cordiality, and, taking his arm,
+without any allusion whatever to their past difficulties, led him
+through the park, pointing out to him, with great volubility and
+cheerfulness, the improvements he was contemplating.
+
+Henry was a well-built, vigorous man, and walked with great rapidity.
+Mayenne was excessively corpulent, and lame with the gout. With the
+utmost difficulty he kept up with the king, panting, limping, and his
+face blazing with the heat. Henry, with sly malice, for some time
+appeared not to notice the sufferings of his victim; then, with a
+concealed smile, he whispered to Sully,
+
+"If I walk this great fat body much longer, I shall avenge myself
+without any further trouble." Then turning to Mayenne, he added, "Tell
+me the truth, cousin, do I not walk a little too fast for you?"
+
+"Sire," exclaimed the puffing duke, "I am almost dead with fatigue."
+
+"There's my hand," exclaimed the kind-hearted king, again cordially
+embracing the duke. "Take it, for, on my life, this is all the
+vengeance I shall ever seek."
+
+[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION WITH MAYENNE.]
+
+There were still parts of the kingdom which held out against Henry,
+and Spain and Flanders freely supplied men and ammunition to the
+fragments of the League. Calais was in the hands of the enemy. Queen
+Elizabeth of England had ceased to take much interest in the conflict
+since the king had gone over to the Catholics. When Calais was
+besieged by the foe, before its surrender she offered to send her
+fleet for its protection if Henry would give the city to her. Henry
+tartly replied, "I had rather be plundered by my enemies than by my
+friends."
+
+The queen was offended, sent no succor, and Calais passed into the
+hands of the Leaguers. The king was exceedingly distressed at the loss
+of this important town. It indicated new and rising energy on the part
+of his foes. The more fanatical Catholics all over the kingdom, who
+had never been more than half reconciled to Henry, were encouraged to
+think that, after all their defeats, resistance might still be
+successful. The heroic energies of the king were, however, not
+depressed by this great disaster. When its surrender was announced,
+turning to the gentlemen of his court, he calmly said,
+
+"My friends, there is no remedy. Calais is taken, but we must not lose
+our courage. It is in the midst of disasters that bold men grow
+bolder. Our enemies have had their turn. With God's blessing, who has
+never abandoned me when I have prayed to him with my whole heart, we
+shall yet have ours. At any event, I am greatly comforted by the
+conviction that I have omitted nothing that was possible to save the
+city. All of its defenders have acquitted themselves loyally and
+nobly. Let us not reproach them. On the contrary, let us do honor to
+their generous defense. And now let us rouse our energies to retake
+the city, that it may remain in the hands of the Spaniards not so many
+days as our ancestors left it years in the hands of the English."
+
+A large body of the nobles now combined to extort from the king some
+of the despotic feudal privileges which existed in the twelfth
+century. They thought that in this hour of reverse Henry would be glad
+to purchase their powerful support by surrendering many of the
+prerogatives of the crown. After holding a meeting, they appointed the
+Duke of Montpensier, who was very young and self-sufficient, to
+present their demands to the king. Their plan was this, that the king
+should consent to the division of France into several large
+departments, over each of which, as a vassal prince, some
+distinguished nobleman should reign, collecting his own revenues and
+maintaining his own army. Each of these vassal nobles was to be bound,
+when required, to furnish a military contingent to their liege lord
+the king.
+
+Montpensier entered the presence of the monarch, and in a long
+discourse urged the insulting proposal. The king listened calmly, and
+without interrupting him, to the end. Then, in tones unimpassioned,
+but firm and deliberate, he replied,
+
+"My cousin, you must be insane. Such language coming from _you_, and
+addressed to _me_, leads me to think that I am in a dream. Views so
+full of insult to the sovereign, and ruin to the state, can not have
+originated in your benevolent and upright mind. Think you that the
+people, having stripped me of the august prerogatives of royalty,
+would respect in you the rights of a prince of the blood? Did I
+believe that you, in heart, desired to see me thus humiliated, I would
+teach you that such an offense is not to be committed with impunity.
+My cousin, abandon these follies. Reveal not your accomplices, but
+reply to them that you yourself have such a horror of these
+propositions that you will hold him as a deadly enemy who shall ever
+speak to you of them again."
+
+This firmness crushed the conspiracy; but still darkness and gloom
+seemed to rest upon unhappy France. The year 1596 was one of famine
+and of pestilence. "We had," says a writer of the times, "summer in
+April, autumn in May, and winter in June." In the city and in the
+country, thousands perished of starvation. Famishing multitudes
+crowded to the gates of the city in search of food, but in the city
+the plague had broken forth. The authorities drove the mendicants back
+into the country. They carried with them the awful pestilence in every
+direction. At the same time, several attempts were made to assassinate
+the king. Though he escaped the knife of the assassin, he came near
+losing his life by a singular accident.
+
+The Princess of Navarre, sister of the king, had accompanied him, with
+the rest of the court, into Picardy. She was taken suddenly ill. The
+king called to see her, carrying in his arms his infant son, the
+idolized child of the fair Gabrielle. While standing by the bedside of
+his sister, from some unexplained cause, the flooring gave way beneath
+them. Henry instinctively sprang upon the bed with his child.
+Providentially, that portion of the floor remained firm, while all the
+rest was precipitated with a crash into the rooms below. Neither
+Henry, his sister, or his child sustained any injury.
+
+The financial condition of the empire was in a state of utter ruin--a
+ruin so hopeless that the almost inconceivable story is told that the
+king actually suffered both for food and raiment. He at times made
+himself merry with his own ragged appearance. At one time he said
+gayly, when the Parliament sent the president, Seguier, to
+remonstrate against a fiscal edict,
+
+"I only ask to be treated as they treat the monks, with food and
+clothing. Now, Mr. President, I often have not enough to eat. As for
+my habiliments, look and see how I am accoutred," and he pointed to
+his faded and thread-bare doublet.
+
+Le Grain, a contemporary, writes, "I have seen the king with a plain
+doublet of white stuff, all soiled by his cuirass and torn at the
+sleeve, and with well-worn breeches, unsewn on the side of the
+sword-belt."
+
+While the king was thus destitute, the members of the council of
+finance were practicing gross extortion, and living in extravagance.
+The king was naturally light-hearted and gay, but the deplorable
+condition of the kingdom occasionally plunged him into the deepest of
+melancholy. A lady of the court one day remarked to him that he looked
+sad.
+
+"Indeed," he replied, "how can I be otherwise, to see a people so
+ungrateful toward their king? Though I have done and still do all I
+can for them, and though for their welfare I would willingly sacrifice
+a thousand lives had God given me so many, as I have often proved, yet
+they daily attempt my life."
+
+The council insisted that it was not safe for the king to leave so
+many of the Leaguers in the city, and urged their banishment. The king
+refused, saying,
+
+"They are all my subjects, and I wish to love them equally."
+
+The king now resolved, notwithstanding strong opposition from the
+Catholics, to place his illustrious Protestant friend, Sully, at the
+head of the ministry of finance. Sully entered upon his Herculean task
+with shrewdness which no cunning could baffle, and with integrity
+which no threat or bribe could bias. All the energies of calumny,
+malice, and violence were exhausted upon him, but this majestic man
+moved straight on, heedless of the storm, till he caused order to
+emerge from apparently inextricable confusion, and, by just and
+healthy measures, replenished the bankrupt treasury of the state.
+
+The king was now pushing the siege of Amiens, which had for some time
+been in the hands of his enemies. During this time he wrote to his
+devoted friend and faithful minister of finance,
+
+    "I am very near the enemy, yet I have scarcely a horse upon
+    which I can fight, or a suit of armor to put on. My doublet
+    is in holes at the elbows. My kettle is often empty. For
+    these two last days I have dined with one and another as I
+    could. My purveyors inform me that they have no longer the
+    means of supplying my table."
+
+On the twenty-fifth of June, 1597, Amiens capitulated.
+
+One of the kings of England is said to have remarked to his son, who
+was eager to ascend the throne, "Thou little knowest, my child, what a
+heap of cares and sorrows thou graspest at." History does, indeed,
+prove that "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." New perplexities
+now burst upon the king. The Protestants, many of them irritated by
+his conversion, and by the tardy and insufficient concessions they
+received, violently demanded entire equality with the Catholics. This
+demand led to the famous Edict of Nantes. This ordinance, which
+receives its name from the place where it was published, was issued in
+the month of April, 1598. It granted to the Protestants full private
+liberty of conscience. It also permitted them to enjoy public worship
+in all places where the right was already established. Protestant
+lords of the highest rank could celebrate divine service in their
+castles with any number of their retainers. Nobles of the second rank
+might maintain private worship in their mansions, to which thirty
+persons could be admitted. Protestants were pronounced to be eligible
+to public office. Their children were to be admitted to the schools,
+their sick to the hospitals, and their poor to a share of the public
+charities. In a few specified places they were permitted to print
+books. Such, in the main, was the celebrated "Edict of Nantes."
+
+The Catholics considered this an enormous and atrocious concession to
+deadly heresy. New clamors blazed forth against Henry, as in heart
+false to the Church. The Catholic clergy, in one combined voice,
+protested against it, and Pope Clement VIII. declared the Edict of
+Nantes, which permitted _liberty of conscience to every one, the most
+execrable that was ever made_.
+
+It has required centuries of blood and woe to teach even a few
+individuals the true principles of religious liberty. Even in
+Protestant lands, the masses of the people have not yet fully learned
+that lesson. All over Catholic Europe, and all through the realms of
+paganism, intolerance still sways her cruel and bloody sceptre. These
+miserable religious wars in France, the birth of ignorance,
+fanaticism, and depravity, for seventy years polluted the state with
+gory scaffolds and blazing stakes. Three thousand millions of dollars
+were expended in the senseless strife, and two millions of lives were
+thrown away. At the close of the war, one half of the towns and the
+majestic castles of beautiful France were but heaps of smouldering
+ruins. All industry was paralyzed. The fields were abandoned to weeds
+and barrenness. The heart and the mind of the whole nation was
+thoroughly demoralized. Poverty, emaciation, and a semi-barbarism
+deformed the whole kingdom.
+
+Neither the Catholics nor Protestants were satisfied with the Edict of
+Nantes. The Parliament of Paris, composed almost entirely of
+Catholics, for a long time refused its ratification. Henry called the
+courts before him, and insisted with kindness, but with firmness, that
+the edict should be verified.
+
+"Gentlemen," said he, in the long speech which he made upon the
+occasion, "there must be no more distinction between Catholics and
+Protestants. All must be good Frenchmen. Let the Catholics convert the
+Protestants by the example of a good life. I am a shepherd-king, who
+will not shed the blood of his sheep, but who will seek to bring them
+all with kindness into the same fold."
+
+The Catholic Parliament, thus constrained, finally adopted the edict.
+The Protestants also, perceiving clearly that this was the best that
+the king could do for them, after long discussion in their Consistory,
+which was, in reality, their Parliament, finally gave in their
+adhesion. The adjoining hostile powers, having no longer a party in
+France to join them, were thus disarmed. They sent embassadors to
+promote peace. Friendly treaties were speedily formed, and Henry was
+the undisputed monarch of a kingdom in repose.
+
+Henry now commenced, with great energy, the promotion of the
+prosperity of his exhausted kingdom. To check the warlike spirit which
+had so long been dominant, he forbade any of his subjects, except his
+guards, to carry arms. The army was immediately greatly reduced, and
+public expenditures so diminished as materially to lighten the weight
+of taxation. Many of the nobles claimed exemption from the tax, but
+Henry was inflexible that the public burden should be borne equally by
+all. The people, enjoying the long unknown blessings of peace, became
+enthusiastically grateful to their illustrious benefactor.
+
+In the month of October, 1598, the king was taken dangerously ill. The
+whole nation was in a panic. The touching demonstrations which Henry
+then received of the universal love and homage of his subjects
+affected him deeply. But few men find enough happiness in this world
+to lead them to cling very tenaciously to life when apparently on a
+dying bed. Henry at this time said to his attendants,
+
+"I have no fear of death. I do not shrink at all from the great
+journey to the spirit land. But I greatly regret being removed from my
+beloved country before I have restored it to complete prosperity."
+
+Happily, the fever was subdued, and he again, with indefatigable
+diligence, resumed his labors. To discourage the extravagance of the
+nobles, he set the example of extreme economy in all his personal
+expenses. He indulged in no gaudy equipage, his table was very
+frugally served, and his dress was simple in the extreme. No man in
+the kingdom devoted more hours to labor. He met his council daily, and
+in all their conferences exhibited a degree of information,
+shrewdness, and of comprehensive statesmanship which astonished the
+most experienced politicians who surrounded him.
+
+It was a fierce battle which the king and his minister were compelled
+to fight for many years against the haughty nobles, who had ever
+regarded the mass of the people but as beasts of burden, made to
+contribute to their pleasure. The demands of these proud aristocrats
+were incessant and inexorable. It is a singular fact that, among them
+all, there was not a more thorough-going aristocrat than Sully
+himself. He had a perfect contempt for the people as to any power of
+self-government. They were, in his view, but sheep, to be carefully
+protected by a kind shepherd. It was as absurd, he thought, to consult
+them, as it would be for a shepherd to ask the advice of his flock.
+But Sully wished to take good care of the people, to shield them from
+all unequal burdens, from all aristocratic usurpations, and to protect
+them with inflexible justice in person and in property. His government
+was absolute in the extreme.
+
+The Marchioness of Verneuil, in a towering rage, bitterly reproached
+the duke for preventing her from receiving a monopoly from the king,
+which would have secured to her an income of some five hundred
+thousand dollars a year.
+
+"Truly the king will be a great fool," exclaimed the enraged
+marchioness, "if he continues to follow your advice, and thus
+alienates so many distinguished families. On whom, pray, should the
+king confer favors, if not on his relatives and his influential
+friends?"
+
+"What you say," replied the unbending minister, "would be reasonable
+enough if his majesty took the money all out of his own purse. But to
+assess a new tax upon the merchants, artisans, laborers, and country
+people will never do. It is by them that the king and all of us are
+supported, and it is enough that they provide for a master, without
+having to maintain his cousins and friends."
+
+For twelve years Henry, with his illustrious minister, labored with
+unintermitted zeal for the good of France. His love of France was an
+ever-glowing and growing passion for which every thing was to be
+surrendered. Henry was great in all respects but one. He was a slave
+to the passion of love. "And no one," says Napoleon, "can surrender
+himself to the passion of love without forfeiting some palms of
+glory." This great frailty has left a stain upon his reputation which
+truth must not conceal, which the genius of history with sorrow
+regards, and which can never be effaced. He was a great statesman. His
+heart was warm and generous. His philanthropy was noble and
+all-embracing, and his devotion to the best welfare of France was
+sincere and intense. Witness the following memorable prayer as he was
+just entering upon a great battle:
+
+"O Lord, if thou meanest this day to punish me for my sins, I bow my
+head to the stroke of thy justice. Spare not the guilty. But, Lord, by
+thy holy mercy, have pity on this poor realm, and strike not the flock
+for the fault of the shepherd."
+
+"If God," said he at another time, "shall grant me the ordinary term
+of human life, I hope to see France in such a condition that every
+peasant shall be able to have a fowl in the pot on Sunday."
+
+This memorable saying shows both the benevolence of the king and the
+exceeding poverty, at that time, of the peasantry of France. Sully, in
+speaking of the corruption which had prevailed and of the measures of
+reform introduced, says,
+
+    "The revenue annually paid into the royal treasury was thirty
+    millions. It could not be, I thought, that such a sum could
+    reduce the kingdom of France so low. I resolved to enter upon
+    the immense investigation. To my horror, I found that for
+    these thirty millions given to his majesty there were
+    extorted from the purses of his subjects, I almost blush to
+    say, one hundred and fifty millions. After this I was no
+    longer ignorant whence the misery of the people proceeded. I
+    applied my cares to the authors of this oppression, who were
+    the governors and other officers of the army, who all, even
+    to the meanest, abused, in an enormous manner, their
+    authority over the people. I immediately caused a decree to
+    be issued, by which they were prohibited, under great
+    penalties, to exact any thing from the people, under any
+    title whatever, without a warrant in form."
+
+The king co-operated cordially with his minister in these rigorous
+acts of reform, and shielded him with all the power of the monarchy
+from the storm of obloquy which these measures drew down upon him. The
+proud Duke of Epernon, exasperated beyond control, grossly insulted
+Sully. Henry immediately wrote to his minister, "If Epernon challenges
+you, I will be your second."
+
+The amiable, but sinning and consequently wretched Gabrielle was now
+importunate for the divorce, that she might be lawfully married to the
+king. But the children already born could not be legitimated, and
+Sully so clearly unfolded to the king the confusion which would thus
+be introduced, and the certainty that, in consequence of it, a
+disputed succession would deluge France in blood, that the king,
+ardently as he loved Gabrielle, was compelled to abandon the plan.
+Gabrielle was inconsolable, and inveighed bitterly against Sully. The
+king for a moment forgot himself, and cruelly retorted,
+
+"Know, woman, that a minister like Sully must be dearer to me than
+even such a friend as you."
+
+This harshness broke the heart of the unhappy Gabrielle. She
+immediately left Fontainebleau, where she was at that time with the
+king, and retired to Paris, saying, as she bade Henry adieu, "We shall
+never meet again." Her words proved true. On reaching Paris she was
+seized with convulsions, gave birth to a lifeless child, and died.
+Poor Gabrielle! Let compassion drop a tear over her grave! She was by
+nature one of the most lovely and noble of women. She lived in a day
+of darkness and of almost universal corruption. Yielding to the
+temptation of a heroic monarch's love, she fell, and a subsequent life
+of sorrow was terminated by an awful death, probably caused by poison.
+
+Henry, as soon as informed of her sickness, mounted his horse to
+gallop to Paris. He had proceeded but half way when he was met by a
+courier who informed him that Gabrielle was dead. The dreadful blow
+staggered the king, and he would have fallen from his horse had he not
+been supported by his attendants. He retired to Fontainebleau, shut
+himself up from all society, and surrendered himself to the most
+bitter grief. Sully in vain endeavored to console him. It was long
+before he could turn his mind to any business. But there is no pain
+whose anguish time will not diminish. New cares and new loves at
+length engrossed the heart where Gabrielle had for a few brief years
+so supremely reigned.
+
+The utterly profligate Marguerite, now that Gabrielle was dead, whom
+she of course hated, was perfectly willing to assent to a divorce.
+While arrangements were making to accomplish this end, the king
+chanced to meet a fascinating, yet pert and heartless coquette,
+Henriette d'Entragues, daughter of Francis Balzac, Lord of Entragues.
+Though exceedingly beautiful, she was a calculating, soulless girl,
+who was glad of a chance to sell herself for rank and money. She thus
+readily bartered her beauty to the king, exacting, with the most cool
+financiering, as the price, a written promise that he would marry her
+as soon as he should obtain a divorce from Marguerite of Valois, upon
+condition that she, within the year, should bear him a son.
+
+The king, having written the promise, placed it in the hands of Sully.
+The bold minister read it, then tore it into fragments. The king,
+amazed at such boldness, exclaimed in a passion, "Sir, I believe that
+you are mad."
+
+"True, sire, I am," replied Sully; "but would to God that I were the
+only madman in France."
+
+But Henry, notwithstanding his anger, could not part from a minister
+whose services were so invaluable. He immediately drew up another
+promise, which he placed in the hands of the despicable beauty. This
+rash and guilty pledge was subsequently the cause of great trouble to
+the king.
+
+Henry having obtained a divorce, the nation demanded that he should
+form a connection which should produce a suitable heir to inherit the
+throne. Thus urged, and as Henrietta did not give birth to the
+wished-for son, Henry reluctantly married, in the year 1600, Maria of
+Medici, niece of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
+
+Maria was a domineering, crafty, ambitious woman, who embittered the
+life of the king. She was very jealous, and with reason enough, of the
+continued influence of Henrietta; and the palace was the scene of
+disgraceful domestic broils. Henry, in one of his letters to Sully,
+describes the queen as "terribly robust and healthy." But when she
+gave birth to a son who was undeniably heir to the throne, thus
+allaying the fears of a disputed succession, the whole nation
+rejoiced, and Henry became somewhat reconciled to his unattractive
+spouse. The king was exceedingly fond of this child. One day the
+Spanish embassador, a dignified Castilian, was rather suddenly ushered
+into the royal presence at Fontainebleau. The monarch was on all fours
+on the floor, running about the room with the little dauphin on his
+back. Raising his eyes, he said to the embassador,
+
+"Are you a father?"
+
+"Yes, sire," was the reply.
+
+"Then I may finish my play," said Henry, and he took another trot
+around the room.
+
+Henrietta and her relatives were greatly exasperated that the king did
+not fulfill his promise of marriage. The father and daughter, joined
+by the Count d'Auvergne, plotted against the king's life. They were
+arrested and condemned to death. The king, however, transmuted their
+punishment to exile.
+
+One of the grandest schemes of Henry deserves particular mention.
+Reflecting deeply upon the wars with which Europe had ever been
+desolated, and seeing the occasion for this in the innumerable states
+and nations into which Europe was divided, of various degrees of
+power, and each struggling for its own selfish interest, he proposed
+to unite all the states of Europe in one vast Christian Republic. The
+whole continent was to be divided into fifteen states, as uniform in
+size and power as possible. These states were to be, according to
+their choice, monarchical or republican. They were to be associated on
+a plan somewhat resembling that of the United States of America.
+
+Nothing can more conclusively show the entire absence of correct
+notions of religious toleration prevailing at that day than the plan
+proposed to prevent religious quarrels. Wherever any one form of
+faith predominated, that was to be maintained as the national faith.
+In Catholic states, there were to be no Protestants; in Protestant
+states, no Catholics. The minority, however, were not to be
+exterminated; they were only to be compelled to emigrate to the
+countries where their own form of faith prevailed. All pagans and
+Mohammedans were to be driven out of Europe into Asia. To enforce this
+change, an army of two hundred and seventy thousand infantry, fifty
+thousand cavalry, two hundred cannon, and one hundred and twenty ships
+of war, was deemed amply sufficient.
+
+The first step was to secure the co-operation of two or three of the
+most powerful kings of Europe. This would render success almost
+certain. Sully examined the plan with the utmost care in all its
+details. Henry wished first to secure the approval of England, Sweden,
+and Denmark.
+
+But, in the midst of these schemes of grandeur, Henry was struck down
+by the hand of an assassin. On the fourteenth of May, 1610, the king
+left the Louvre at four o'clock in the afternoon to visit Sully, who
+was sick. Preparations were making for the public entry of the queen,
+who, after a long delay, had just been crowned. The city was thronged;
+the day was fine, and the curtains of the coach were drawn up. Several
+nobles were in the spacious carriage with the king. As the coach was
+turning out of the street Honore into the narrow street Ferronnerie,
+it was stopped by two carts which blocked up the way. Just at that
+instant a man from the crowd sprang upon a spoke of the wheel, and
+struck a dagger into the king just above the heart. Instantly
+repeating the blow, the heart was pierced. Blood gushed from the wound
+and from the mouth of the king, and, without uttering a word, he sank
+dead in the arms of his friends.
+
+The wretched assassin, a fanatic monk, was immediately seized by the
+guard. With difficulty they protected him from being torn to pieces by
+the infuriated people. His name was Francis Ravaillac. According to
+the savage custom of the times, he was subsequently put to death with
+the most frightful tortures.
+
+The lifeless body of the king was immediately taken to the Tuileries
+and placed upon a bed. Surgeons and physicians hurried to the room
+only to gaze upon his corpse. No language can depict the grief and
+despair of France at his death. He had won the love of the whole
+nation, and, to the present day, no one hears the name of Henry the
+Fourth mentioned in France but with affection. He was truly the father
+of his people. All conditions, employments, and professions were
+embraced in his comprehensive regard. He spared no toil to make France
+a happy land. He was a man of genius and of instinctive magnanimity.
+In conversation he had no rival. His profound and witty sayings which
+have been transmitted to us are sufficient to form a volume. His one
+great and almost only fault sadly tarnishes his otherwise fair and
+honorable fame.
+
+In Henry commenced the reign of the house of Bourbon. For nearly two
+hundred years the family retained the crown. It is now expelled, and
+the members are wandering in exile through foreign lands.
+
+There is one great truth which this narrative enforces: it is the
+doctrine of _freedom of conscience_. It was the denial of this simple
+truth which deluged France in blood and woe. The recognition of this
+one sentiment would have saved for France hundreds of thousands of
+lives, and millions of treasure. Let us take warning. We need it.
+
+Let us emblazon upon our banner the noble words, "_Toleration--perfect
+civil and religious toleration_." But Toleration is not a slave. It is
+a spirit of light and of liberty. It has much to give, but it has just
+as much to demand. It bears the olive-branch in one hand, and the
+gleaming sword in the other. I grant _to you_, it says, perfect
+liberty of opinion and of expression, and I demand _of you_ the same.
+
+Let us then inscribe upon the arch which spans our glorious Union,
+making us one in its celestial embrace, "_Freedom of speech, freedom
+of the press, and free men_."
+
+Then shall that arch beam upon us like God's bow of promise in the
+cloud, proclaiming that this land shall never be deluged by the surges
+of civil war--that it never shall be inundated by flames and blood.
+
+The human mind is now so roused that it will have this liberty; and if
+there are any institutions of religion or of civil law which can not
+stand this scrutiny, they are doomed to die. The human mind will move
+with untrammeled sweep through the whole range of religious doctrine,
+and around the whole circumference and into the very centre of all
+political assumptions.
+
+If the Catholic bishop have a word to say, let him say it. If some
+one, rising in the spirit and power of Martin Luther, has a reply to
+make, let him make it. Those who wish to listen to the one or the
+other, let them do so. Those who wish to close their ears, let them
+have their way.
+
+Our country is one. Our liberty is national. Let us then grant
+toleration every where throughout our wide domain, in Maine and in
+Georgia, amid the forests of the Aroostook and upon the plains of
+Kansas.
+
+                         THE END.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
+
+1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to
+ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise,
+every effort has been made to remain true to the original book.
+
+2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published as
+banners in the page headers, and have been moved to beginning of the
+chapter for the reader's convenience.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Henry IV, Makers of History, by John S. C. Abbott
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