PREFACE.

The name, the character, and the general history of Henry the Fourth of France are so well known to all readers that very few words of introduction may be necessary to the following work. That part of his life, with the details of which the world is I believe, most fully acquainted, is the portion which succeeded to his accession to the throne. Occupying a prominent position in Europe, affecting the interests and even the fate of neighboring states, alternately the object of anxiety, of dread, and of expectation to other rulers, his actions were then observed and recorded, and his failings and virtues were equally open to the censure or admiration of his fellow men. The preceding period is naturally more obscure, from the comparative insignificance ot his position, though the events in which he took an active part convulsed his native land and vibrated through all Europe. Scattered anecdotes of his boyhood and youth, detached scenes of his more mature years, and a weak connecting chain afforded by historians, who have often sacrificed accuracy to theory, and committed several errors in fact by negligence, and many errors in deduction by prepossession are all which we have hitherto obtained re-garding the life of Henry, as Prince and King of Navarre. I have endeavored in the following pa.es to bring more light into this obscure porlion^f his history, and have, I trust, been enabled to effect that object by peculiarly favorable circumstances.

VOT. T

VOL. I.

A

Shortly after this work was written, the French Government, in pursuance of its admirable and magnificent plan of affording, for the first time, the materials of truth to historical research, commenced the publication of the '' Lettres Missives'* of Henry IV. under the superintendance of M. Berger de Xivrey, a gentleman, the accuracy of whose knowledge and the justness of whose views rendered him peculiarly qualified for the important task. I immediately stopped the printing of my own history,* although the work was already in the press, and for nearly four years have continued to compare the statements I had made with the facts as they appear in the Lettres Missives, of which, owing to the great care bestowed upon that publication, the volumes have only issued at long intervals. In pursuing this course I was gratified to find that in very few instances had I been led into error j but I was still more gratified to be enabled to add many fresh facts to those already recorded, and to throw light upon several subjects which I had been previously obliged to leave in some obscurity. In this very laborious undertaking I was aided by M. Berger de Xivrey with a degree of courtesy, kindness, and generous liberality, which was, indeed, to be expected from his high character and reputation, but which must ever command my gratitude and esteem.

* This was done with the ready consent of the publishers, Messrs. Boone, of whose hberal conduct and enHghteued view, in a matter affecting the truth of history, I beg to express my very strong sense.

PREFACE.

The period upon which I have thus endeavored to throw light, comprises events which had most important results, not alone as affecting the state of France at the time, but as working a fundamental change in society and advancing the progress of civilization in Europe. I believe that M. Guizot, in his lectures, has taken little notice of the effects of the terrible struggle which preceded the accession of Henry IV. upon the state of society in the country where it occurred ; and, probably, his space did not permit, and his purpose did not require him to expatiate ; but any one who will compare the habits of the people and the tone of the public mind under the last three French sovereigns of the house of Valois, with the same characteristics, at the end of the reign of Henry IV., will find that France was entering upon a new epoch, and that the wars of the League were the furnace in which old institutions and modes of thought were melted down to receive a new form. The strongholds of chivalry and the feudal system tottered and fell with age and their own weight; the fragments were afterwards battered down by Richelieu, the founda-tions undermined by the Regent Duke of Orleans, and the last vestiges swept away by the revolutionary harrow of the eighteenth century : but under Francis II. began the ruin of the great fabrics of the middle ages.

I cannot close this short Preface without expressing a deep regret that our own Government

has not yet found it possible to attempt something similar to that which has been done by the State in France for the illustration of her history. In our State Paper office, in our various record offices, and in several collections of archives, we possess invaluable treasures concealed from the public eye, or, at all events, accessible but to few. I am well aware that it is a custom—I might, perhaps, call it a principle-in England to leave all great under^ takings to individual enterprise. J am well aware that serious difficulties might lay in the way of that which I propose ; and I am not ignorant that something has been done to give a part of our public records to the world with great expense and very little fruit. But there are circumstances in which individual efforts can do next to nothing, and objects, to attain which, no exertion in the subjection of difficulties would be unadvisable.

The history of England yet remains to be written, and it never will be written with that degree of accuracy, which is necessary to instruction, till at least a judicious selection of the despatches and correspondence of the principal persons who figure in our annals has been published under the super-intendance and authority of Government. Ten years ago I expressed the same opinion, and nothing has since occurred to make me doubt the necessity of the undertaking, or to induce me to suppose that, with due economy in the publication, the public demand for the volumes produced would not exonerate Government from all expense.

THE

LIFE OF HENRY IV.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE.

INTRODUCTION.

It has often been remarked that no wars are so cruel and sanguinary, as those in which religion takes a part. Nor does it appear that the character of the doctrine contended for, has the slightest effect in mitigating the rancour of enmity, or that the professors of the mild and beneficent principles of Christianity are in any degree less fierce, when engaged in religious strife, than the followers of the harsh and relentless Apostle of the scymetar. The Reformation, commencing in Germany, spread forth its principles to almost all surrounding coun^ tries; but every land to which they extended, soon displayed the germs of strife and persecution. This was especially the case in France, where the feudal system, in a state of decay, still left great power and influence to the principal nobles of the land, without enabling them to assert successfully their independence of all secular authority on points

VOL. I. B

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

of religious faith, as had been done by many of the German Princes. Persecution began early in France; and the same land, which had seen the sanguinary horrors of the crusade against the heretics of Albi and Toulouse, beheld, within a few years after the voice of Luther had dissolved for ever the fabric of Papistical supremacy, the cities of Lyons and Paris flaming with the faggots of superstition, and the wise and the devout expiating at the stake the crime of differing in faith from the predominant party. The usual effects of persecution, however, were soon perceptible in the rapid extension of the obnoxious tenets. , Teachers of the new doctrine sprang up in various quarters, and courted that martyrdom which roused the enthusiasm and increased the number of their disciples. The learned and the good received as true, and acknowledged as pure, the lessons of the great Reformers; and, spreading rapidly to the higher classes, the views of Luther and his associates numbered amongst their adherents many of the most powerful and distinguished men of France. Princes of the royal blood avowed openly their attachment to the doctrines declared to be heretical by the Church of Rome; and, as it soon became impossible to deal with the multitude of Protestants by the mere arm of the executioner, armies were employed for the defence of the Roman Catholic faith, and for the suppression of the pretended heresy. Political objects were mingled, as usual, with religious prejudices, and

the flame of ambition gained additional intensity from the zealous fire of fanaticism, till at length the succession to the Crown itself was endangered by the religion of the legitimate heir.

In this chapter I shall attempt to give a brief sketch of the events which occurred in France, between the period of the Reformation and the birth of the Prince who afterwards ascended the throne under the name of Henry IV., without dwelling long upon the details, but endeavoring to present the reader with a distinct view of the several parties which convulsed the State, and to afford him some knowledge of the principal personages who took an early and active part in the troubles of the times.

Scarcely had Luther announced, with the boldness that characterized all his proceedings, the opinions which he entertained regarding the corruptions and usurpations of the Church of Rome, before the purifying doctrines of the Reformation found secret advocates in France. The great questions which agitated the religious world, were of course discussed not only by ecclesiastics, but by all persons of an enlightened and inquiring mind, and manifold evils and vices became apparent in the existing hierarchy, even to the eyes of those who admitted the doctrinal accuracy of the religion in which they had been educated. Many went farther still, and perceived falsehood and superstition in its tenets, tyranny and ambition in its dogmas ; and

others, though they had no just notion of what was

B 2

■* THE LIFE OF HENRr IV.

right, abandoned a faith in which they saw much that was wrong, without closely investigating whether that which they received in exchange was better. Others again discovered some degree of justice in the arguments of the innovators, without adopting their sentiments entirely, and endeavored to shield them from persecution, without taking part in their efforts.

In the last of these classes, probably, we ought to rank Marguerite de Valois, one of the first distinguished protectors of the Protestant teachers in France; for we have no proof that she ever actually adopted the Reformed religion, though she sheltered many of its professors from the vengeful arm of the Church of Rome. That Princess was the daughter of Charles of Orleans, duke of Angouleme, and Louisa of Savoy. She was the sister of Francis I. king of France, and successively the wife of Charles duke of Alencon, and Henry of Albret, king of Navarre. Her rank, her talents, but still more the tender affection which existed between herself and her brother, the King of France, enabled her to exert a kindly and generous influence in mitigating that monarch's zeal in favour of the Romish religion, and in guarding him against the furious counsels of those who sought to make him an instrument for crushing the doctrines of the Reformation in France. Whilst yet Duchess of Alencon, she was suspected of favoring the new sect which had sprung up, and was one of the princi-

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. O

pal protectors of the poet, Clement Marot, who, there can be little doubt, had adopted the views of Luther; and, after her union with the King of Navarre, the little mountainous principality of Beam became a place of refuge for many of the leading Reformers, some of whom, on venturing from its precincts, suffered death in consequence of their tenets, while others, who owed their safety to her protection, became distinguished as the directors of the great religious movement of the times. Among the first of these were the Protestant martyrs, Berquin and Dolet, and amongst the last the famous John Calvin was the most conspicuous.

The Reformed Church, however, possessed another protector in the Royal family of France, and although less influential than Marguerite de Valois, Renee, duchess of Ferrara, daughter oi Louis XIL exerted herself to the utmost of her power, both in Italy and her native country, to screen the Protestants from their intolerant enemies.

The persuasions of Marguerite, however, and the deep tenderness with which the King regarded her, though they often shook his resolution of persecuting the Protestant Church, and sometimes induced him even to listen to the doctrines of the Reformers, were ultimately rendered ineffectual by the power obtained over that monarch's mind by Francis, cardinal de Tournon, a man of great abilities and indefatigable activity ; shrewd, specious, and remorseless, who stood forward as the zealous defender of the Papal

^ THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

power, and the sanguinary persecutor of the French Protestants. Sometimes Marguerite gained a tern-porary ascendancy, and on one occasion, it would seem, induced Francis to send for Melancthon, in order that he might hear him discuss with the French ecclesiastics the question of the disunion of the Church. It is probable that her object was as much to enlighten her own mind and settle her wavering faith, as to serve the Protestants, or open the eyes of her brother. But her purpose was in this instance defeated by the art of the Cardinal, and the summons to Melancthon was recalled! Weakness is generally followed by violence ; and the persecution of the innovators became more fierce and rigid* immediately after this change in the views of the monarch. Multitudes of those denounced as heretics were burned at the stake, religious spies spread themselves over the whole country, light words and private accusations were held as proofs of crime, and the King in person witnessed the agonizing death of his subjects without remorse or shame. So confident of their influence were the enemies of the Protestant faith, that they even ventured to attack the beloved sister of the monarch with private insinuations and public.scorn ;t but

* Maimbourg. t The Professors of the College of Navarre, in 1533, had the indecency to bring her on the stage as a mad woman and heretic, and the vengeance of the King would probably have been severe,' had not Marguerite herself interceded for the offenders.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 7

Francis sternly silenced her secret accusers, and punished those who evinced their animosity towards her in a more public manner.

But though his love and tenderness proved a shield for his sister, in all other instances the King gave himself up to the wildest spirit of intolerance, and closed his reign with one great act of butchery, which horrified all but the most bloodthirsty enthusiasts, and covered his own death-bed with remorse. Amongst the mountains of Dau-phiny a remnant of the old Waldenses had taken refuge, and had been suffered to pursue their course of peace, innocence, and industry, till the period of the general diffusion of the Protestant religion in France, when they hailed the newly-rising Church as a sister, and drew upon themselves the arm of persecution. The Parliament of Aix was directed to take cognizance of their heresy, and after long and reluctant delay on the part of that assembly, who were unwilling, it would appear, to proceed with the fanatical measures of the Court, a decree was pronounced for exterminating them from the land. Their houses were ordered to be destroyed, their fruit trees and orchards to be rooted up, and those who refused to receive the predominant religion were to be given to the sword. "Every thing was horrible and cruel in the sentence pronounced against them," says De Thou, '^ and all was more horrible and more cruel in the execution. Twenty-two towns and villages were burned, or

sacked with a degree of inhumanity almost without example, even in the history of the most barbarous nations." The Count de St. Grignan, at the head of the army which had been employed in Italy, was authorized to conduct the execution ; and the lust . and ferocity of a licentious soldiery was added to the superstitious cruelty of the most blood-thirsty religion that the world has ever known. Cabri^res Merindole, and twenty other towns or villages, became the scene of one universal massacre. Surprised during the night, and pursued from rock to rock by the light of their burning houses, the inhabitants, we are told by the historian, only fled from one snare to fall into another. The cries and lamentations of the women and the children led the butchers to the place of their victims' re-treat, and neither age nor sex was spared, neither virtue, dignity, nor station obtained respect. Voluntary submission itself had no effect in shielding the men from death, and the women from outrage and destruction. At Cabrieres, all the females who could be found were shut up in a barn filled with straw, and burned alive; and eight hundred persons, men and women, were murdered in one of the" churches. New-born infants were slaughtered if the account of Aubigne may be believed, and even the Romanists, of whom there were several amongst the inhabitants of the proscribed towns were not exempted from this indiscriminate butchery! The rest of the sentence was then carried into exe-

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 9

cution,—the houses were rased to the ground,—the gardens and fields destroyed,—the fruit trees, for which the district had become famous, rooted up,— and not a trace of cultivation left in a tract which had previously been one of the most peaceful, prosperous, and fertile in the south of France. We are told that the orders of the King were exceeded ; we know that horror and remorse seized upon him, when he heard the extent of the cruelties which had been committed. On his death-bed he strictly enjoined his son to investigate the facts connected with these horrible atrocities, and to punish the guilty. But the solitary execution of the Advocate-general Guerin, who was probably, in reality, less culpable than many others, served but little to console the Reformers of France, or to afford them any prospect of security and justice.

Thus in 1545 was the military power for the first time employed in France against the Protestants, properly so called,* and although no civil war followed the act at the time, the germs of resistance were sown from that moment, and the teaching of Calvinistic doctrines was pursued with a degree of ardour and zeal which set at noui^ht the abused

* I do not, of course, look upon the hostilities which took place against the Albigenses as having been directed against Protestants; the sectaries of Albi, however cruel and unjust might be their persecution, having undoubtedly imbibed many of the doctrines of the Manichean heresy, and differing in various points from any body of men deserving the name of Christians.

authority of the crown, and introduced dissension into the capital, and the principal Parliament of the kingdom.

^ During the reign of Francis I., the question of liberty of conscience remained merely a religious one, and neither the policy of factions, nor the ambition of individuals, made use of it for their several objects. In the reign of Henry II., however, new elements entered into the dispute, and it becomes necessary, from the period of that monarch's accession, to consider the general state of France, her relations with foreign countries, and the various parties which arose to struggle for power, and ultimately to convulse the whole realm, by violent efforts for their own aggrandisement. The death of the chivalrous, but rash and imprudent rival of Charles v., took place on the 31st of March, 1547, and historians in general have asserted that his successor ascended the throne with brighter prospects than any preceding King of France. That he was young, yet of mature age, accustomed to business, habituated to the conduct of wars and negotiations, surrounded by men of great abilities, possessed of a rich and abundant country, an unembarrassed revenue, and a full treasury, there can be no doubt; but there were many dangerous points in his situation which must also be taken into account.

The first in importance, amongst the perils which environed the son of Francis I., was his own inferiority to many whom it was his task to direct and

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 11

command. Had these men been without ambition, had they been personally devoted to himself, or bound by patriotic feelings to the service of the state, their superior abilities might have proved the stay and support of his feebler character, the safeguards of the crown and the security of France. Such, however, was not the case ; selfish interests were the principal objects of all, or nearly all, and the talents which might have been turned to the advantage of the King, were either directed by his courtiers to obtain their own pre-eminence at his expense, or wasted in factious struggles with jealous and eager competitors. Another menacing point in the situation of Henry, is to be perceived in the religious dissensions which existed in the country, and which already began to assume a serious and alarming aspect, especially complicated as they were with the political relations of the French monarchs with other States. The external policy of France required her to appear as the protector of Protestants, and the friend of toleration ; the maxims of her government in regard to her internal policy demanded the suppression of every religion but that of the State, and the persecution of all innovators. A great and extraordinary man of later times, indeed, contrived, by the power of his own genius, to reconcile these opposing tendencies, and to draw advantages even from the difficulties of a similar position. But Henry was not equal to the task; and, in his struggle for various objects inconsistent with each other, he laid a foundation for

^^ THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

that civil Strife which shook the rule and desolated the kingdom of his children.

Immediately after his accession to the throne, the court of the new monarch divided itself into three parties, while a fourth was gradually springing up during the course of his reign, which became, in the end, as powerful as any of the others. At the head of these three parties appeared the princely house of Guise, the noble family of Montmorenci, and the famous Diana of Poitiers, the mistress, instructor, and chief counsellor of the King. The latter, endowed with a powerful, clear-sighted and comprehensive mind, amiable in manners, beautiful in person, and graceful in demeanor, possessed unbounded power through life over a monarch considerably younger than herself. According to the spirit of chivalrous gallantry which reigned in the court of Francis I., Henry at anearly age had been permitted to devote himself to the fair widow of Louis de Breze, who undertook to soften the rudeness of the Prince's demeanor and instruct him in those courteous arts which in youth he had too much neglected for the practice of arms. Some historians have endeavoured to prove that the connexion between Henry and Diana of Poitiers was restrained within the limits of virtuous though extravagant gallantry, and on one of the medals of the age she is represented as tread^ ing upon a figure of Cupid, with the legend *' Omnium victorem vici;" but, if the high coloured pictures of Brantome, and the satirical verses of Clement

Marot can only be received as shewing the suspicions of the court, the words of Diana herself just before the death of Henry, can leave little doubt upon the mind of any one that the tie between them was of a more tender and less legitimate nature.

Through her influence over the King, the widow of Louis de Breze, who, shortly after his accession, was created Duchess of Valentinois, possessed absolute power at the court; and her favor was naturally sought by both the other parties, though they endeavored at the same time by every means to render themselves necessary to the young monarch, if not independent of his good will. Diana now leaned to the one, now to the other, balancing them with considerable political skill, though passion occasionally seems to have had a share in her dealing with the rival factions, and she apparently never attempted the more wise and patriotic course of weakening them both for the benefit of the state. A multitude of inferior courtiers immediately attached themselves to her in the pleasing hope of posts and emoluments ; but, before the end of Henry's reign, his mistress found it necessary to guard against the future, by allying herself to one of the two powerful houses which appeared as her rivals in the struggle for authority.

Next in favor with the King to the fair Duchess of Valentinois was a nobleman who had fallen into disgrace during the latter part of the reign of Francis L Anne Duke of Montmorenci, Constable of France. The companion of the youth of Francis,

and counsellor of his middle age, Anne de Montmo-renci, had never attained the undesirable eminence of favorite, an office uniformly bestowed by mo-narchs upon men who are unfit for any other station. His hold therefore upon the King rested solely upon long intimacy and great services; but after he had displayed, during many years, all the qualities of a great general, and some of the requisites of a great politician, he was unaccountably dismissed from the court in the year 1541. During the six years that followed, before the death of Francis, the Constable remained at Chantilly, or Ecouen, making no effi^rts to soften his enemies at the court, but keeping up with the Dauphin, who had studied the art of war under his auspices, a correspondence which was anything but pleasing to Francis, whose latter days were clouded by jealous enmity towards his successor. On his death-bed the monarch is said to have cautioned the Dauphin against calling to his councils the man who had so long directed his own; and several causes might combine to prompt an act of seeming ingratitude towards one who had certainly rendered the most important services. With manners rude and harsh, with pride, which even the commanding character of Francis scarcely kept within the bounds of respect, with a sanguinary ferocity which made him hated and dreaded by the people, Montmorenci joined a degree of ambition which, under a weak monarch, or in difficult times, might have become dangerous to the state. His

avidity was also notorious ; and, insatiable of all that could aggrandise his family, he seemed to take as a right that which was granted as a favor, and to conceive that his services were a full equivalent for all that his monarch could bestow.

Impressed with but little confidence in his son's genius, firmness, or intelligence, Francis might well imagine that Montmorenci would prove an unsafe minister to his successor; but his caution was without effect, his dying advice neglected, and the first act of Henry II. was to recall the Constable to his court. It was Anne de Montmorenci who received the new King at St. Germain on his return from Rambouillet, where Francis I. had closed his eyes ; and from that moment he was for many years as powerful in the councils of the monarch, as the Duchess of Valen-tinois was in his court. The favor of Henry, however, and great service rendered to the state did not form the only foundation of the Constable's power, or the sole support of that distinct party of which he was the head. The numerous branches of his illustrious family, their traditionary exploits in defence of the crown, their vast possessions and great abilities, the important offices they held in the state, and the multitude of dependants who looked to them for advancement, gave the faction of Montmorenci strength to sustain itself for many years against the princely house of Guise. Among the persons attached to the Constable by the ties of blood, it may be necessary to mention two of the most distinguished men of their

age, who, though young at the period of Henry's accession, had rendered important services to the crown before the close of his reign, and took a re-markable share in all the transactions which followed. These were Gaspard and Francis de Chatillon, the sons of Gaspard de Coligni, Lord of Chatillon and Marshal of France, by Louisa de Montmorenci, sister of the Constable. The elder of the two brothers is known in history under the name of the Admiral de Coligni, the younger is distinguished by that of D'Andelot, from a small estate which he inherited. A third son of the same family entered the Church, and through the influence, it would seem, of Montmorenci, was raised to the purple at the early age of sixteen.

Coligni and D'Andelot naturally studied the art of war under their celebrated uncle; but, even after the period of his disgrace, they continued to serve, with the greatest distinction in the field, during the rest of the reign of Francis, and rose step by step to various high offices in the army. Nearly of the same age as the Dauphin, his companions in arms, and the nephews of his famous Minister, the accession of Henry was of course favorable to their interests, and attaching themselves to the party of Montmorenci, they became opposed, at a very early period, to the rival faction of Lorraine. The Constable himself had several sons, but it is unnecessary here to dwell upon their character, or to sketch their history in this place, as none of them

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 17

played any very distinguished part previous to the birth of Henry IV. I shall have to notice, hereafter, more than one of Montmorenci's children, and especially the second, who, on the death of his elder brother, succeeded to the dukedom, and also obtained the important post of Constable under Henry IV.

The third party which, at the termination of the reign of Francis I. had already acquired a degree of power, that the dying monarch saw might become dangerous to his successors, was that of the house of Guise, newly planted in France, but distantly allied to the royal family, and distinguished by several important services rendered to the crown. Claude Count of Guise, and Marquis of Mayenne, the fifth son of Rene II., Duke of Lorraine, had presented himself at the court of Louis XII. in company with his elder brother, and by the favour of the French monarch obtained the hand of Antoinette de Bourbon, daughter of Francis Count of Vendome. Handsome in person, prepossessing in manners, full of chivalrous gallantry, distinguished in arms, supple as well as ambitious, and dignified thouirh cour-teous, the Count of Guise easily won the regard of Francis I. and long enjoyed his favour. Honours and distinctions were heaped upon him, and while he courted the good-will of the monarch, he contrived by generosity, flattery, and the display of daring courage to gain the love and admiration of the court and people of France. During the captivity of Francis, he became the chief confidant

f^. r^T^ ^v Or

of the regent, Louisa of Savoy, and the great hope of the nation, and though the shattered state of the French armies prevented him from undertaking any great operations, yet the plan which he is reported to have advised, for ransoming all the prisoners taken at Pavia, and the liberality which he himself shewed in aiding the poorer members of the French nobility who had suffered by that terible defeat, gave a high idea of his judgment, and con. firmed his influence. The destruction of a large body of Lutherans at Saverne, obtained for him religious distinction, and marked him as the enemy of the rising sect. - At the same time it delivered France from a numerous band of enemies who threat-ened to ravage several of her eastern provinces ; and Francis being set at liberty, shewed his gratitude for this and other services, by erecting the county of Guise into a duchy in favour of his friend. At length, however, the monarch's affection for the Duke of Guise declined. The style and demeanour of a sovereign prince w^hich he continued to maintain at the court of France, gave umbrage to Francis, and offended many of the high officers of the crown; but with the great body of the nobility, with the people, and even with the parliament of Paris itself he retained his popularity.

A new war and the various difficulties which it brought upon the King of France, compelled him to call to his councils his most skilful and experienced generals; and amongst these undoubtedly the Duke of Guise bore a principal rank. Mont-

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 19

morenci, who had always shewn himself jealous of the great influence of Guise, and indignant at the pride of his demeanour, received the principal command in Provence, invaded in 1536 by the Emperor in person; but the northern frontier of the kingdom was defended by Guise, and the Duke of Vendome ; and although the successes of the Lorrainese prince were not equal to those of his great rival, they added infinitely more to his favour with the people of the capital. An army under the command of the Count of Nassau, advanced rapidly from the side of Flanders, and laid siege to the town of Peronne. The inhabitants of Paris, seeing neither powerful forces nor strong places between their walls and the enemy, gave themselves up to weak and unnecessary alarm. They saw in imagination the Count of Nassau at their gates, and lamentation and anxiety took the place of activity and exertion. In the midst of this scene, however, the Duke of Guise appeared in person amongst them, reassured them by his presence, encouraged them by his words ; and, leaving his wife and children in the capital as a pledge of his exertions to defend it, he hastened back to the army in order to co-operate vigorously with the Duke of Vendome. His assistance, and the reinforcements which he contrived to throw into the place, by a daring and skilful stratagem, saved the town of Peronne, after a long and fierce siege, during which the assailants several times penetrated within the walls, but were driven back with terrible loss. The Count

c 2

of Nassau, after many fruitless eiForts, abandoned the enterprise, and retreated into Flanders.^ Their deliverance was never forgotten by the people of Paris, and their attachment to the house of Guise was, from that moment, strong and invariable. During the wars, which continued almost to the end of the reign of Francis I., the Duke of Guise was conti-, nually employed, and proved himself one of the most successful and fortunate of the French generals. He attached himself strongly, we are told, to Henry II. while Dauphin, and is supposed to have instigated a secret protest against the treaty of Crepi, which act might have ended in producing civil war, had not the death of the Duke of Orleans and that of Francis I. changed the position of affairs, and rendered the obnoxious part of the treaty of no effect.

The ambition of the family of Guise was well known to Francis I.; and the vast power which the Duke had acquired in his dominions, his popularity with the turbulent people of the capital, his influence with the nobility and the army, the pride which he displayed in putting himself upon a level with the princes of the blood royal, and the title which he affected, of Defender of the Faith and

* Anquetil, in his account of the siege of Peronne, makes not the slightest mention of the Duke of Guise, though the best authority that we have, Martin du Bellai, puts his name before that of the Duke of Vendome, and shews that it was the bold and skilful stratagem of that Prince, coming in aid of the valour and ability of Marshal Fleuranges and the determination and courage of the inhabitants, to which the deliverance of Peroime is to be attributed.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 21

enemy of heretics, rendered the monarch apprehensive that the grasping spirit of Guise and his sons, with difficulty restrained under his own rule, would know no bounds under that of his successor. We are assured, that on his death-bed, he warned the Dauphin of the aspiring character of the family, and besought him not to elevate them rashly.*

Henry, however, in this instance, as in all others, neglected the counsels of his father, and the family of Guise was permitted to divide the court with the party of Montmorenci, and that of Diana of Poitiers. How strong was the Duke's favor with the King is proved by the fact, that notwithstanding the influence of the Constable, the ancient rival of the Lorraine Prince, he was permitted at the coronation of the monarch, to take precedence of the Duke of Montpensier, a member of the royal house. At this time his family comprised six sons, several of whom became remarkable in the course of the two succeeding reigns. The eldest, Francis, Prince of Joinville, and Duke of Aumale, succeeded him as Duke of Guise about three years after the accession of Henry. Charles, of whom we shall have frequent occasion to speak, under the name of the Cardinal of

* The expressions of Francis I. upon this, and other occasions, gave rise to the following verses which were common in the times of the League.

**Le Roy Francois ne faillit point, Quand il predit que ceux de Guise, Mettroient ses enfans en pourpoint Et tons ses sujets in chemise."

^^ THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

Lorraine, as one of the great leaders of the factions of those times, entered early into the church, and at the age of fifteen, was nominated to the archbishopric of Rheims. Louis, the next, also chose the ecclesiastical profession, in which he obtained several rich benefices, the bishopric of Metz, and the cardinal's hat. He is known in history under the title of the Cardinal of Guise, but being of a somewhat indolent and luxurious disposition, he appeared but little upon the political scene, and acquired the inglorious appellation of the '* Bottle Cardinal." Another son, Claude, on the death of his father, succeeded to the estates and title of Aumale, and distinguished himself considerably by his pride, by his fanaticism, and by his courage, though greatly inferior in mind to his two elder brothers. Rene, a younger son of the first Duke of Guise, inherited the Marquisate of Elbeuf, and the sixth became Grand Prior of France. The immense wealth of the house of Guise seemed multiplied, rather than divided, on the death of Claude; the highest ofiSces of the state and the church were in the hands of his children; and the fortune of his brother, the first Cardinal of Lorraine, soon after added other revenues to those which the family already possessed.

Thus, at the accession of Henry II., the three parties, which at once formed themselves in France, were severally headed by Diana of Poitiers, the mistress of the King, to whom both

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 23

the others were obliged to pay court from time to time; by the Constable, Anne de Montmorenci, to whom were attached the great house of Chatillon, and most of the princes of the blood, who feared and hated the race of Lorraine ; and by Claude, Duke of Guise, supported by his own powerful family, by the love of the people, by the approbation of the parliament, and by a crowd of friends and adherents amongst the inferior nobility.

A fourth party has been added by some historians, but it can scarcely be said to have existed at the death of Francis I. Catherine de Medicis, the young, talented, and beautiful wife of Henry, possessed no power in the court, no authority in the state. By her great abilities, by her cunning, by her unscrupulous use of all means, justifiable and unjustifiable, she succeeded at length, not only in drawing around her a numerous body of adherents, but in forcing the most powerful of the rival factions to aid in her schemes, as the price of success in its own. But this ascendancy was not attained till after the death of her husband; and, in the meantime, she was forced alternately to court the house of Montmorenci, which she detested, and to bow before Diana of Poitiers, the chief object of her jealous enmity.

It may seem strange that no efibrt was made by the princes of the blood royal, to check the progress of the various ambitious men, whose struggles for power were likely to convulse the kingdom in which they had so deep an interest. But at that time.

^^ THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

no personages of any very great distinction were found amongst the royal family of France. The most prominent princes of the blood were the Duke of Montpensier, a man of considerable abilities as a soldier, of an amiable disposition, where bigotry did not interfere, and of high principles, though fanatically attached to the Roman Catholic faith; An-toine of Bourbon, Duke of Vendome, who shortly afterwards married Jeanne d'Albret, in whose right he ultimately became King of Navarre, a weak and irresolute prince, equally incapable of leading or following in the difficult strife of party; and Louis I., Prince of Conde, seventh child of Charles, Duke of Vendome, full of high and generous feeling, bold, resolute, and skilful, though somewhat rash and hasty. But at the period of the accession of Henry, Conde had not yet completed his seventeenth year, while his brother Charles, afterwards known as the Cardinal de Bourbon, though considerably older than himself, displayed neither in youth nor in age, any of those talents which qualify men for leading in troublous times.

Thus, in the year 1547, no one was to be found amongst the princes of the blood of sufficient ability and influence, to oppose, successfully, the great parties which were already formed at the court; and the conduct of the royal family was marked with vacillation and uncertainty, though the Montmo-rencis frequently counted its chief members amongst their supporters.

KING OF PRANCE AND NAVARRE. 25

We are told, in the writings of the time, that such was the avidity of the leaders of the three parties at the court of Henry II., that not a post, employment, dignity, or pension escaped them, hut each rivalled the other in seizing every thing as it fell vacant, either for themselves, their families, or their followers. They even kept the physicians of Paris in their pay, in order to obtain the earliest information of the approaching death of any officer of the crown, that they might instantly secure the reversion of his office ; and thus Henry himself had seldom an opportunity of granting a favor to any person independent of the factions that surrounded him.

At first, indeed, the power of Montmorenci and of Diana of Poitiers, was completely triumphant 5 and they disposed of the court and the council as they thought fit. They banished Madame d'Etampes, the mistress of Francis I. All her partisans, whom she had loaded with posts and riches, were disgraced and threatened even with death itself, ransoming their lives by the cession of their estates and the resignation of their offices. Marshal Annebaut, an old rival of the Constable, was driven from the court, and the Cardinal de Tournon, so long all-powerful with Francis, was excluded from a share in the administration.

It was not alone, however, to his personal enemies that Montmorenci displayed the severity of his character. During his long exile, the morose acerbity of his nature seemed only to have become

more bitter and repulsive. Few ventured to approach him except on business, the courtiers fled from his presence and left vacant the ante-chambers of the King on the approach of his harsh Minister; Henry himself experienced an unpleasant restraint in the society of his own servant; and while the army submitted quietly to the wise but somewhat rigorous regulations of the Constable, the parliament of Paris, venturing to remonstrate against some encroachments upon its authority, and some steps dangerous to the just administration of the law, was reproved by Montmorenci with domineering arrogance, and threatened with punishment for asserting the existence of privileges which had never been before denied.

'' Thou art a pleasant calf," said the rude soldier to one of the high ofiicers of the law, who ventured to maintain the dignity and independence of the magistracy. '' The King knows well what you are. You hold all from him, and will be nothing again as soon as he wills it."

It may easily be supposed that a man who could thus speak and act, might find persons to esteem his candor, and admire his abilities, but would disarm few enemies and obtain few friends. Henry felt, however, that the Constable's military and political talents were absolutely necessary to him at the commencement of his reign; and indeed, if we except the Duke of Guise, there was no one at that time to be found in France so capable of conducting the councils and leading the armies of the young monarch.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 2?

The reverses which Francis I. h^d sustained throughout the whole of his life, in the unceasing struggle with his more astute rival Charles V., had compelled him to cede, by various treaties, the title of the crown of France to several important provinces which had long been the objects of French cupidity. Untaught by his father's experience, Henry determined, sooner or later, to re-assert the claims which had been abandoned; and, though at first he proceeded with great caution, his movements from the beginning indicated to the wary Emperor the course he was about to pursue. Whether Montmo-renci himself advised Henry to renew a war which had already proved so disastrous, we do not actually know ; but the steps which were taken to render that war successful, were evidently devised by the same cautious and provident mind which had saved Provence from the power of the enemy. In a long tour through the frontier provinces of the kingdom, Henry visited all the most important fortresses, strengthened their defences, increased their garrisons, and furnished them with ample provisions and munitions of war. Remonstrances also were addressed by the King of France to Charles V. in regard to existing treaties, which were shewn to be confused, vague, and sometimes contradictory. The early death of the Duke of Orleans, the younger brother of the French monarch, to whom had been promised the investiture of the Milanese, had rendered several parts of those treaties absolutely inapplicable; and Henry now

proposed that a revision of all such documents should take place, and that a new act of pacification should be drawn up between the French and Imperial crowns upon a more clear and equitable basis.

The Emperor listened and replied vaguely, pursued his course in Germany, where he had just triumphed over the League of Smalkald at the battle of Muhlberg; and in Italy, with the usual steady march of his ambition, he soon after contrived to render himself master of the city of Pla-centia, on the murder of Peter Louis Farnese, his share in which transaction is not very distinct. An attempt was also made upon Parma, but without success, and the father of the murdered man, who then wore the Roman tiara, loudly demanded thlt the Emperor should punish the assassins, and should restore Placentia to Octavio Farnese, the son of the deceased prince. Charles, however, could not make up his mind to resign the rich prize he had obtained, and the Pope, full of wrath and indig. nation, applied to the King of France to unite with him and the Venetians in an offensive league against the Emperor. But Henry, though evidently determined from the first to strike a blow for the possession of the Milanese, was not yet prepared for war; and another project of great magnitude, as well as some serious internal commotions, combined to delay the commencement of the struggle. He listened to the overtures of the PontiflP, assured him of his good wishes, and it would seem pro-

mised him armed assistance at some future period ; but he refrained from doing any act which might commit him to immediate hostilities.

It had been an invariable part of the policy of the French monarchs to support the crown of Scotland against the superior power of the neighbouring country ; and an opportunity now presenting itself, which had never before occurred, for establishing the rule of France in the northern portion of Great Britain, Henry eagerly hastened to seize upon the favourable moment. His operations were somewhat hurried, indeed, by the proceedings of the court of England, which shewed itself as eager to obtain the important prize of the hand of the infant heiress of the Scottish throne, as France itself.

It may be necessary, however, before I proceed farther, to shew briefly the state of the relations between Scotland and England at the death of Francis I., in order that the reader may see the importance of the object contended for and the difficulties of the struggle for ascendancy in which Henry now engaged. James V. of Scotland, the nephew of Henry VIH. of England, had succeeded early in life to the crown of a rude and disturbed country, and had soon shewn his attachment to French counsels, and his determination to oppose the somewhat domineering spirit of his English kinsman. Visiting the court of Francis I., at Lyons, James demanded the hand of that monarch's dauixhter, Magdalen, and married her in the year 1536, Her death followed shortly, and, after a brief period

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

of widowhood, he formed an alliance with Mary of Lorraine, Dowager Duchess of Longueville, daughter of Claude, first Duke of Guise. War between England and Scotland soon followed, in consequence of the doubts and suspicions which James entertained of his uncle ; and, frustrated in all his views, partly by his own weakness, and partly by the turbulence of his nobles, the King of Scotland died not long after his second marriage, leaving, as successor to the crown, the famous Mary Stuart, then but a few days old.

Henry VIII. immediately attempted to secure the young Queen as a bride for his infant son, and by a treaty concluded in London in 1543, the hand of Mary was promised to Prince Edward, in despite of all the efforts of Cardinal Beatoun, and the Queen Dowager, Mary of Lorraine, Means, however, were employed to prevent the infant sovereign from falling into the power of Henry of England; and, during the rest of that monarch's reign a long series of wars and negotiations took place, which, notwithstanding the English success in arms, removed the object of the King's cupidity farther from his grasp than before. One of his dying commands, however, was to the effect that his policy should be undeviatingly pursued towards Scotland; and the Protector, Duke of Somerset, accordingly marched into the north at the head of a considerable army, and crossed the border on the ^nd of September, 1547. Negotiations were in the meantime actively proceeding between

France and Scotland, and arrangements were made for removing the young Queen from her native country and marrying her to the Dauphin, Francis, the heir of the French throne. Before this could he effected, Somerset met the Scottish army on the banks of the Esk, and notwithstanding their numerical superiority, totally defeated them in the battle of Pinkey. Leith and Edinburgh w^ere immediately taken; but Somerset was obliged, by intrigues at the court of England, to abandon the neighbouring country without reaping the fruits of his victory. Ambassadors were sent to France, by Cardinal Beatoun and Mary of Lorraine, eagerly beseeching Henry II. to send armed succour with as little delay as possible ; and the French monarch, unwilling to abandon the immense advantage of uniting the crown of Scotland to that of France, found it expedient to dissemble his designs against the Emperor, till the contest for the hand of the young Queen was terminated.

While these transactions were taking place, Henry and his court were proceeding with great pomp and display from town to town, throughout the frontier provinces of his dominions, passing by Champagne, Brie, Burgundy, and Provence, and about the middle of the year 1548, entering the territories of Piedmont, and residing a short time at Turin. While reposing at the latter place, couriers arriving from Guienne brought the unpleasant intelli-

THE LIFE GF HENRY IV.

gence that the people of that important but turbulent district, together with those of Angouleme and Saintonge, were in actual revolt in consequence of some edicts for the collection of the gabelle and other revenues. The origin of the grievance dated as far back as the reign of Francis I., and feeling perhaps that the gabelle was> odious in itself, and that the people had great cause to complain, both of the manner in which it was collected, and the objects on which it was employed, Henry shewed, at first, a disposition to treat the insurgents with lenity, contrary to the advice of Montmorenci, who breathed nothing but vengeance and punishment against them.* The mildness of the King, however, as is too frequently the case, only encouraged the inhabitants of the disturbed districts to proceed to fresh acts of violence. The storehouses of the gabelle were forced open and plundered ; the luxurious mansions of the collectors were attacked, and many of those who had taken part in receiving the impost were massacred. The town of Bordeaux itself, was for some time completely in the hands of the rebels, and Moneins, the King's lieutenant was treacherously murdered in cold

* The third book of the Memoirs of Vielleville, assures us that the advice of the Constable was to exterminate the inhabitants of the revolted districts, whom he represented as the most mutinous of the French subjects, and to repeople the country with a new race. A sanguinary proceeding to which Henry would by no means consent.

.:.■¥'}■

blood. It now became necessary to act with vigor if not with severity; and Henry detached a part of the troops which he had collected on the frontier, to reduce the revolted provinces to obedience, dividing the army destined to effect this object into two corps, and placing one under the command of the Constable, while the other was led by Francis of Lorraine, Duke of Aumale, the eldest son of the Duke of Guise. This prince was now rising rapidly in the favor of the King, and his graceful and polished manners did not form a greater contrast with the harsh rudeness of Montmorenci, than his clemency and urbanity with the Constable's sternness and severity. The difference of character between the two men was strongly marked in their execution of the enterprise now entrusted to them. The provinces which were visited by the Duke of Aumale, were reduced to subjection with very little bloodshed, but Mont-morenci carried the sword without the balance of Justice, and the most dreadful enormities were committed with his sanction and by his order. Marchino-upon Bordeaux he was met by a deputation of the inhabitants, amongst whom order had been by this time completely re-established, but he would listen to no remonstrances or petitions, rejected the keys of the town which were offered to him, and causing the soldiers to throw down thirty toises of the wall, he entered through the breach, at the head of his army, with matches lighted, s^^ords drawn, and lances in the rest. The unfortunate citizens read

VOL. I.

D

in this conduct the treatment they were to expect; and giving the form of law to his violent proceedings, hy the aid of Stephen de Neuilly, a Master of Requests, whom he had brought with him, the Constable went on to condemn the whole town as guilty of rebellion, inflicting upon it various punishments, equally extraordinary and severe. He suppressed at once the whole magistracy of the city, he suspended the parliament, he took the bells from the churches, he commanded the town-house to be rased to the ground, and he compelled the judges and principal officers of the place, with a hundred of the most wealthy citizens ta dig up the corpse of the King's lieutenant with their nails, and to carry it themselves to the cathedral of St. Andrew. He likewise condemned to death a hundred of the chief inhabitants, and inflicted severe fines upon others. So cruel and rigorous were his proceedings, indeed, that Henry felt himself called upon to interfere, and greatly to mitigate the sentence which had been pronounced. The sedition, however, in the south of France was effectually crushed, and the very name of the Constable became a terror to the untractable people of Guienne.

In Scotland the policy of the King of France met with complete success. The veteran troops which he sent into that country, under Strozzi, were soon followed by a still larger body, led by Montalembert d'Esse, who brought with him the Rhinegrave at the head of three thousand Germans

in the pay of France, and two thousand French infantry, commanded by Francis de Chatillon, afterwards celebrated under the name of d'Andelot. This succour put the Scotch government in a state to oppose successfully the farther progress of the Protector Somerset; and, while the English troops were held in check, the young Queen embarked for France, and landed in that country, under engagement to give her hand to the eldest son of the French monarch.

The English, however, still possessed several fortresses in Scotland ; and in France itself the town of Boulogne, which had been captured by Henry VIII., remained in the hands of his successor, as a pledge for the payment of a considerable sum of money. To recover the latter place, and to induce the Protector Somerset to withdraw his troops from Scotland, now became the principal desire of Henry II., and for that purpose he prepared to have recourse to arms, in case the negotiations, which had been proceeding for some time, should prove abortive. Steps were taken for putting Boulogne itself into a state of blockade ; d'Andelot was recalled from Scotland to take part in the operations; and Coligni, his brother, displayed his military skill, in raising several new forts and augmenting others, to complete the insulation of the city, and prevent the entrance of supplies during the winter. Somerset, however, embarrassed with domestic factions, listened willingly to pacific

d2

S6 THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

counsels, and openly proposed the surrender of Boulogne. The very idea was received with high indignation in England, and formed one of the chief heads of accusation against the Protector, who ere long was driven from power. The weakness of a minority, however, and the struggle of faction, still continued in this country, and after some warlike operations, which tended little to the honor of the British arms, Boulogne was restored to France by those who had wrested his power from the hands of Somerset. The treaty entered into on this occasion, stipulated that four hundred thousand crowns should be paid to England ; that the fortresses which Edward held in Scotland should be surrendered or dismantled, and that he should virtually resign his claim to the hand of the young Queen, by agreeing not again to make war upon the neighbouring country without fresh cause.

Thus terminated, for a time, the hostilities of France against England; and it was even proposed, as a bond of union between the two crowns, that the Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the French king, should be united to the English monarch, Edward VI. A period of repose succeeded, but we must pause for a moment, to notice some other events which had taken place in France previous to the conclusion of the short and insignificant war with the neighbouring country.

During the progress of the King through the Bour-bonnois^inthe month of October, 1548, was celebrated

the marriage of Anthony of Bourbon, Duke of Ven-dome and first prince of the blood, with Jeanne d'Al-bret, only daughter of Henry, King of Navarre, by Margaret, sister of Francis I., from which union sprang that prince, who subsequently succeeded to the throne under the title of Henry IV.; and not long after, Francis of Lorraine, the eldest son of the Duke of Guise, was united to the daughter of Hercules Duke of Ferrara by the Princess Rene, daughter of Louis XH., from which alliance issued Henry Duke of Guise, whose power and ambition convulsed the kingdom, and shook the throne of France. Scarcely had the Duke of Guise, and Margaret of Navarre, beheld the marriages of their children, ere they quitted the busy scene in which they had played so conspicuous a part; the former dying in the year 1550, and the latter in December, 1549.

Shortly before the death of the Queen of Navarre, the King of France made his solemn entry into Paris, an event accompanied by the display of extraordinary splendor. Pageants and tournaments, and combats on the Seine, marked the rejoicings of the court and the Parisians; but the scene would not have been complete without the exhibition of barbarous superstition and cruel fanaticism. On the 4th of July, Henry ordained a solemn procession to propitiate God for the extirpation of heresy :* the four Mendicant orders, the regular Clergy,

* " Afin qu il pleust a Dieu extirper les heresies," says Deuis Sauvage.

the University, the Almoners, the different Monastic bodies, the Swiss Guards, the Gentlemen of the King's Household, the Abbots, Bishops, and Archbishops, the Cardinals who happened to be in Paris, the King, the Queen, the Court, the body of the Law, together with the coffins of St. Genevieve and St. Marceau, with banners, trumpets, drums, torches and wax tapers, proceeded from the church of St. Paul to the cathedral of Notre Dame, where a solemn mass was celebrated ; and, after the King and Queen had dined at the Archbishop's palace, the royal personages and their attendants returned to their place of dwelling at the Tournelles, pausing by the way to witness the burning of several of the monarch's subjects, who had ventured too openly to avow their attachment to the Reformed religion.

Several other executions for heresy took place in Paris about the same time; and, on one of these occasions, we are told, the unhappy man at the stake fixed his eyes with so stern and reproachful an expression upon the King, who happened to be watching his torments from a neighbouring window, that the monarch was struck with some feehngs of terror and remorse, and, retiring in haste, declared he would never behold such a spectacle again. The persecution of the Reformers, however, continued ; and a severe edict against them preceded Henry's armed interference in favor of the Protestant Princes of Germany, which took place shortly after the conclusion of peace with England.

Previous to entering into any detail of the events which occurred during the war between the Emperor and his German subjects, it will be necessary to speak of the affairs of Italy, and to trace the commencement of hostilities in that country between the French and Imperial troops. We have already seen the vehement indignation which was excited in the breast of the Pope Paul III. by the murder of his son, and the occupation of Placentia by the forces of the Empire. His grandson, Octavio Farnese, the heir to the territories of the murdered man, at first placed implicit trust in the Papal court, and looked with hope and expectation to the negotiations entered into with France. Henry's delay in affording aid, however, drove Paul to seek some device for recovering Placentia from the hands of the Emperor, and his only resource seemed to be to reannex the two duchies to the ecclesiastical territory, believing that respect for the Church might have some effect in altering the Emperor's resolution of retaining Placentia. It was necessary, however, to offer Octavio Farnese something as a compensation for the projected seizure of his dominions ; but in the meantime, using fraud and force previous to argument, Paul called his grandson to Rome, and at the same time despatched Camillo Orsino, general of the Papal troops, to Parma, with orders to make himself master of the town. This was easily accomplished, and the small place of Camirino was then proposed to Octavio as an equivalent for the duchy of Parma. The young Duke, however, treated

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

the offer with contempt; and, being allied to Charles V. by marriage, he determined to cast himself upon the generosity of the Emperor, rather than depend longer upon the intriguing, but feeble old man, who, under the pretext of assisting him, attempted to strip him of his just possession. Withdrawing himself secretly from the Papal court, he hastened to Parma, and endeavoured to regain the citadel But the shrewdness and fidelity of Orsino frustrated all his efforts, and retiring to the castle of Torchiara, he opened a negotiation with Gonzaga, the Imperial governor of Milan, for the purpose of entering into some convention with the Emperor. The news of these transactions threw Paul into a state of agitation, rage, and grief, which rendered him an easy prey to disease. Very shortly after the tidings of his grandson's proceedings had been communicated to him, he was seized with fever, and died on the 10th of November, 1549, at the age of eighty-two.

The day before his death, Paul, touched with the situation of Octavio, and fearing that he would cast himself into the arms of the Emperor, caused a brief to be written to Orsino commanding him to put the young Duke in possession of Parma. But an intentional or accidental delay took place; the Pope died before his commands reached the general, and Orsino continued to hold the duchy for the Church. Believing that ambitious motives insti-gated the Papal officer to retain the duchy of Parma, the Emperor and the King of France endeavoured,'

by every sort of intrigae and inducement, to bind Orsino to their interests. But that commander remained faithful to his trust, and on the 8th of February, the Cardinal John di Monte was elected Pope, by the influence and assistance of Cardinal Farnese. The first emotions of gratitude induced the new Pope, who took the name of Julius III., to restore to Octavio Farnese the town and citadel of Parma, and the young Duke now found himself em-barrassed by his negotiations with Charles, who continued resolutely to hold Placentia, one of the most important places in his dominions.

The year 1550 passed in intrigues on the part of the Emperor to obtain possession of Parma ; and it is even said that he offfered in exchange the town of Sienna, engaging to build a citadel in it for the Duke's security. The dangerous position in which he was placed, compelled Farnese to apply to the Papal court for assistance, but the only reply which he could obtain from Julius III. was, ** that he must help himself as well as he could."* Under these circumstances the young Duke had but one resource, which he instantly adopted, and opening a negotiation with the King of France, he concluded a treaty with that monarch on the 27th of May, 1551. By virtue of this convention, Henry II. took the house of Farnese under his protection, and engaged to maintain, for the defence of Parma, two thousand infantry and a small body of cavalry ; to pay to Octavio an-* Muratori, ad aim. 1551.

nually twelve thousand crowns of gold ; and to give him further relief and assistance in all times of need. No sooner did the Pope become acquainted with this negotiation than he perceived in it great danger to himself, and began to tremble lest the Emperor should visit on his head the offence thus given by Farnese. He left no means in his power untried to break the league between Octavio and Henry ; persuasions, remonstrances, monitories, and Papal censures were directed against the Duke, and, in the end, the fief was declared forfeited, and Octavio deprived of the title of Gonfaloniere of the Church. At the same time the wrath of the Emperor fell heavily upon the house of Farnese, and so menacing was the aspect of affairs that the aid promised by Henry was eagerly sought by the Duke of Parma; nor was France now^ disposed to make any delay. A French garrison, under the famous de Thermes, entered the city at the first call; and the Pope, seeing war about to break forth, became alarmed at the consequences of his own proceedings, desisted from ravaging the district of Castro, into which he had sent a body of troops, and endeavoured by negotiations with France to avert the impending hostilities.*

* Robertson, in his History of Charles V. implies, that the Pope applied at once to the Emperor for armed assistance against Octavio Farnese; but this is shewn by Muratori not to have been the case, and it is proved that Julius endeavoured to prevent the war, although, beyond all doubt, the Imperial general Gonzaga made use of the Pope's name to screen his attack upon Parma.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 43

Gonzaga, governor of Milan, however, committed to interminable enmity with the house of Farnese by the share he had taken in the death of Peter Ludo-vic, urged on hostilities j and, in the month of June, he entered the territory of Parma, and ravaged the country far and wide. The Emperor, indeed, affected to be acting merely as the ally of the Pope, while the King of France appeared as the protector of the house of Farnese. Fresh troops, however, were poured into Italy by the French monarch ; and, while Gonzaga advanced upon the city of Parma, Marshal Strozzi fixed his head-quarters at Mirandola, gathered together what troops he could raise, and kept open a communication with de Thermos, notwithstanding all that the Imperial general could do to effect the blockade of the city. Brissac, Montluc, and several other celebrated French officers, were despatched to Piedmont, and the chivalrous nobility of France hastened in eager multitudes to the scene of war.

Events were preparing, however, which soon called the arms of France to another quarter. The triumph of the Emperor Charles V., over the League of Smalkald, had only been rendered complete by a want of union amongst the Protestant Princes of Germany. The chief of those, whether in reputation, in power, in wisdom, or in cunning, who had remained attached to the Imperial party, under the most trying circumstances, was Maurice, Duke of Saxony, equally conspicuous as a politician and a warrior, and more famous for his prudence than

his good faith. After the battle of Muhlbero-, he had taken a share, not very creditable, in persuading the Landgrave to place himself in the power of his arch-enemy, and he had also, by still more ungenerous conduct, obtained possession of the territories of his cousin, the Elector of Saxony. The height of power, however, to which he had aided to raise Charles V., soon gave him alarm ; and the unscrupulous use which the Emperor proceeded to make of his authority, shewed him that he must lead the way in reducing it within due bounds.

Unequal to contend alone with the large forces which Charles could bring against him, hopeless of support from the great body of the Electoral Princes, distrusted by the Protestants, and looked upon as a heretic by the Catholics, he was obliged to have recourse to all the resources of a cunning, yet bold and decided mind, in order to conceal his purposes from the object of his schemes, and to recover the confidence of the Protestants without shaking his alliance with the Emperor. Difficult as this task was in itself, it was rendered almost hopeless by circumstances which occurred within a few years after the accession of Henry II. of France. . The removal of the General Council of the Church from Trent to Bologna, disappointed the expectations of Charles v., and knowing well that the inspiration under which the prelates assembled in the Italian city would act, was simply that of the Pontiff at the head of the Church, he not only protested against the

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 45

translation, declared the Council to be unlawful and schismatical, and rejected its decrees as invalid, but with a strange mixture of fanaticism and tyranny, resembling the spirit sometimes displayed by Henry VIII. of England, he drew up a Rule of Faith to be observed by the Church of Germany, till such time as a more lawfully constituted Council could be assembled. This Rule of Faith, called the Interim, he required, in a despotic tone, the whole of the Imperial dominions to adopt without delay. The acceptance or rejection of such a mandate was a difficult trial for Maurice of Saxony, and raised up a great obstacle to the plans which he had in view. Fresh embarrassments arose in the Diet of Augsburg, but from some of these he even drew advantages, and others he overcame with unparalleled skill and decision. It is true, an apparent vacillation of conduct alarmed the Protestants more and more, and kept them in suspense regarding his conduct ; but he found means to soothe and reassure them, without confiding his secret purposes to their keeping, and even contrived to win the favour and affection of some towards whom he was forced to use armed coercion. Thus he compelled the people of his own territories to adopt the Interim, contrary to their own religious opinions; and yet he avowed loudly his attachment to the Protestant faith, and convinced many of the sincerity of his professions. On the other hand, he eagerly seconded every petition and remonstrance to the Emperor regarding the liberation of the Landgrave; but still persuaded Charles of

his unshaken attachment. He took the command of the Imperial troops against Magdeburg, the inhabitants of which, not only refused to receive the Interim, but libelled and abused him personally as an apostate from the Protestant faith, the tool of arbi^ trary power, and the betrayer of his friends and his country. He besieged the city for several months, defeated all the efforts of the citizens and their allies, and compelled them to surrender; but nevertheless he contrived to win their regard, even while he seemed to be persecuting them ; and the same people who, before he attacked them, painted his character in the blackest colours, spontaneously elected him their chief magistrate, not long after he had forced them to capitulate. Many of the views of the Emperor he thwarted and opposed, and yet so profound was his dissimulation, that Charles was not aware of his enmity till he was actually in arms against his authority.

Before he ventured upon that decided step, however, all those cautious and quiet preparations had been made, which his prudent character, and political as well as military experience suggested. While apparently obeying the behests of the Emperor in reducing the city of Magdeburg, he was paving the way for attaching to his own interests, and employing for his own purposes, several of its most gallant defenders. The chief of these was Albert Count Mansfeldt, who had commanded in the place and encouraged the inhabitants in the determined resistance they had made. Another

person, whom he had already gained, was Count Heideck, an officer of much experience, but an open enemy of Charles V. George, brother of the Duke of Mecklenburg, also, an active, eager, and not unskilful prince, who, though attached to the doctrines of the Reformation, had aided in the siege of Magdeburg, and had been taken prisoner by the citizens, was completely gained to his interest, and made his own claims upon a portion of the Duke of Mecklenburg's dominions, a pretext for keeping on foot the greater part of a large body of veteran soldiers, which had been collected both for the defence and the siege of the place. Letting it be understood that he was about, by force of arms, to compel his brother to acknowledge his pretended rights, the Prince of Mecklenburg engaged the various bands as they were dismissed by Maurice ; and, while the Saxon troops held themselves prepared in the Duke's own territories to resume their arms at the shortest notice, a powerful army of hardy mercenaries was held together without exciting the slightest suspicion on the part of the Emperor. At the same time Maurice amused Charles with pretended zeal for the reconciliation of the Church; and, while that monarch remained at Inspruck, watching the proceedings of the Council, which had been reassembled at Trent, his adversary carried on secret negotiations with Henry II. of France, who, now freed from the war with England, disembarrassed of the insurrection in his southern provinces, and com-

mitted to actual hostilities against the Emperor, was both able and willing to afford powerful assistance in reducing the exorbitant power of the house of Austria.

The negotiation, however, in the first instance, had nearly been rendered abortive by the resistance of the Constable, who strongly opposed, in the council of the King of France, the acceptance ' of the offers made to him by Maurice. But Marshal Vielleville, taking up the contrary side of the question, pointed out to Henry the honor and advantage which might be gained by placing him-self at the head of the German princes, and succeeded in bringing over the King to his opinion by holding out to him the prospect of obtaining the towns of Thoul, Verdun, Metz, and Strasburg, an inducement which had been suggested by the Count of Nassau, one of the ambassadors sent by the confederates to the court of France.^ When the King had once decided, the terms were speedily arranged, and a treaty was signed between Maurice and the King of France, John of Fiennes, bishop of

* There is some difficulty in arriving at the facts of the negotiation, for it is certain that a treaty was signed by Maurice in Germany, on the fifth of October, 1551, having been negotiated by the Bishop of Bayonne with that Prince in person j and yet the Memoirs of Vielleville, which we have every reason to believe afford authentic information, place the first arrival of the ambassadors from the confederate Princes in the same month of the same year, and represent the King of France as indisposed to accept the office of Protector proposed to him.

Bayonne, acting as Henry's secret ambassador. By this instrument it was agreed that the contracting parties should simultaneously declare war against the Emperor; that the King of France should contribute a large sum of money to aid the confederate Princes, and a monthly subsidy to enable them to carry on the war; that he should create a diversion, by attacking Charles on the side of the Rhine ; and that no peace should be concluded but with the consent of all. Maurice, on his part, agreed to bring into the field a force of seven thousand horse, and a strong body of infantry ; and he stipulated that if it were found necessary to depose Charles V. and elect another Emperor, such a person should be selected as might be agreeable to the King of France. The objects of the contracting parties were stated to be, the preservation of the laws and constitution of the German Empire, and the liberation of the Landgrave; but religious toleration, to ensure which was in reality one of the chief ends of the confederation, was not even mentioned. The document was left open for the signature of such German princes as might afterwards be inclined to join the league ; but great care was taken to conceal its existence from the knowledge of the Emperor and his ministers; and with the most artful devices Maurice contrived to blind the watchful eyes that were upon him, and to make the very spies who were entertained in his court, the means of deceivino-their employers. Thus, during several months

VOL. I. E

'^0 THE LIFE OF HENRY IV,

after the conclusion of the treaty with the King of France, and after the reduction of Magdeburg, Maurice kept his army together in Thuringia, and proceeded calmly to complete all his preparations, without exciting anything but slight and transitory suspicions in the mind of the astute Charles V., or the still more subtle Cardinal Granvelle.

Before he actually took arms, however, he thought lit to make one more application for the liberation of the Landgrave ; an application which he was certain would be refused, but the rejection of which would furnish a strong and plausible motive in the eyes of the world for proceeding to the last extremity. The result was such as he expected. The Emperor evaded his petition, although supported by almost all the German princes ; and Maurice, feigning that he was about to visit Charles at Inspruck, suddenly turned off from the road, joined his army in Thuringia, and at the head of twenty thousand foot and five thousand horse advanced by rapid marches upon Augsburg. At the same time he published a manifesto, explanatory of his motives for levying war against the head of the Empire ; but in this document, which differed greatly in these points from the treaty with Henry, the first cause assigned for his taking arms was that the Protestant religion was threatened with immediate destruction. Two other objects were stated to be held in view by the confederates, the maintenance of the laws of the Empire, and the deliverance of the Landgrave-of Hesse. At

the same time another manifesto was published by Henry of France, in which he took the title of Protector of the liberties of Germany and of its captive Princes; and while Maurice marched on from success to success, amusing the astonished Emperor with negotiations till his forces were almost at the gates of Inspruck, the King of France, at the head of a considerable army, took the field at Joinville. Thoul and Verdun opened their gates at once, and submitted to the French monarch, and Montmo-renci obtained possession of the important town of Metz by a stratagem, of which, it is probable, the Imperial governor was, not unwillingly, the dupe. Strasburg, however, refused to give admission to the King; and the mediation of the neighbouring Princes of Germany afforded to Henry a fair excuse for not besieging, in form, a city which, there is much reason to suppose, he might not have been able to subdue. He caused his horses, however, to be led to the brink of the Rhine, and to drink of its waters ; ^nd then, turning to Haguenau, he induced, by menaces, the inhabitants to give him entrance. But the town of Spires, in which the Imperial Chamber was sitting, declined to admit him, although he sent Marshal Vielleville to request it as an act of courtesy.*

* The Imperial Chamber, indeed, agreed to receive the King himself within their walls, hut would not give the security required, that they would let him go out again ; fearing that the fate of Metz might fall upon them, if the French soldiers got possession of one of their gates, which was evidently the object of the King.

E 2

While in the neighbourhood of that place, messengers reached Henry from Maurice of Saxony, bearing to him manifold protestations of gratitude and affection, but mingling therewith some gentle remonstrances in regard to the surprise of Metz, and announcing that the German princes had concluded a treaty of peace with the Emperor.*

The events which had brought about the result to which the letters of Maurice alluded, must now be noticed. The successful career of the Duke of Saxony received a check, when the person of Charles himself was almost within his grasp, by the mutiny of a body of his mercenaries. The short delay, occasioned by this commotion in his camp, gave time for the Emperor to hear of his advance upon Inspruck, and to fly in haste from that city. Maurice arrived in the place but a few hours after it had been evacuated by the Imperial court; and, finding that his prey had escaped him, the Duke turned towards Passau, to carry on with Ferdinand, King of the Romans, and a number of ambassadors from the Electors and free cities of Germany, the negotiations for a peace which had already been opened. Difficulties and obstacles presented themselves and retarded for some time the final act of pacification; but Maurice, having resumed hostilities, laid siege to Frankfort on the Maine, and made great progress towards the reduction of that city. The Emperor found himself forced to yield, and

* The Memoirs of Vielleville, who was present \Yith Henry, are precise on all these points.

accordingly assented to such terms as the Protestant princes were not unwilling to accept. The treaty was signed at Passau, and is known by the name of " The Peace of Religion," as by it was ensured to the Protestants the unmolested exercise of their own forms of worship, and security against the intolerance of the Roman Church. Notwithstanding the convention between the confederates and the French King, not the slightest attention was paid to Henry's interests in the negotiations for the peace or in the treaty itself. France was thus left exposed, without allies, to the vengeance of the Emperor ; and the first efforts of Charles were directed to the recovery of the towns he had lost.

Already his sister, the Queen of Hungary, was in the field to create a diversion in his favor, by attacking the province of Champagne; and the French monarch, returning towards his own dominions in haste, prepared to oppose her progress. The strong town of Stenay had been taken; and with fifteen thousand infantry, four thousand heavy horse, and two thousand lighter cavalry, her forces were advancing rapidly to the conquest of other places. The approach of the King's army, however, changed the fortune of the campaign ; but the operations of his troops were restricted to the capture of several small towns, and some insignificant skirmishes, driving back the enemy by slow degrees into Luxemburg. The country, however, became more and more difiicult at every step, continual rains

^^' THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

rendered the roads almost impassable for artillery; and at length, towards the end of July, Henry dispersed his army and retired into France, satisfied with having acquired some important advantages and repelled the enemy from his territory.*

No long period of repose was allowed to the King of France. Though burning to revenge the disgrace he had sustained by the loss of so many strong places, Charles saw the treaty of Passau concluded ere he commenced his march towards the banks of the Rhine, with the troops he had collected to oppose Maurice of Saxony ; and in the endeavor to deceive Henry as to his intentions, he succeeded for some time. But it soon became apparent which way his steps were directed ; and a strong garrison was thrown into Metz, under the command of Francis of Lorraine, now Duke of Guise in consequence of the death of his father Claude, in 1550.

In the mean time, the Imperial troops, led by the Duke of Alva, passed the Rhine, and presented themselves before Metz on the 19th of October, 1552 ; and the King of France and the Emperor both turned their eyes towards a large body of licentious soldiery, under the command of Albert of Brandenburg, which hovered near the scene of action, as if undecided on which side to bestow assistance. Both parties eagerly endeavored to gain the adventurous Prince, and vast offers were made to him both by France and Germany. But while

* Vielleville, 1. iv.

Henry daily increased his offers, he stationed a corps of his army on the frontiers of Lorraine, headed by the young Duke of Aumale, the brother of the Duke of Guise, with orders to watch the proceedings of Albert, and oppose his progress if he should decide in favor of the Imperialists.

Charles V., however, it would seem, outbid his competitor ; Albert of Brandenburg suddenly fell upon the Duke of Aumale, defeated and took him prisoner, and, marching on, joined the army of the Emperor under the walls of Metz. The siege was then prosecuted with great vigor, but the defence was not less resolute. The Duke of Guise, supported by a number of the French nobility, displayed all the qualities of a great commander, met and frustrated the efforts of the Imperial army at all points, and kept the besieging force continually on the alert by frequent sallies, till the Emperor, indignant at the slow progress made, appeared in person to conduct the attack. Neither was Henry inactive ; a large body of French troops scoured the neighbouring country, and cut off the supplies of the Imperial camp. Vielleville, and others, surprised several towns between Verdun and Metz; the winter set in with extraordinary severity; an infectious disease broke out in the Emperor's army ; and, after having tried both assault and mine, Charles was obliged to raise the siege, and retire before the inclemency of the season and the unconquerable courage of the enemy.

Distressing as was the disgrace to his arms before

"^^ THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

Metz, the Emperor's mortification was aggravated by several other misfortunes nearly at the same time. In Italy the French army made considerable progress; the inhabitants of the town of Sienna, which had long been under the protection of the Empire, and which had received a body of Imperial troops, irritated by the discovery of a design against their liberty, and by the excesses of the soldiery, rose against Mendoza the governor, levelled the' citadel he was building to the ground, and placed their little republic under the shield of France. Naples also was the scene of distressing events, which need not be farther noticed in this place ; and no sooner had the Imperial army raised the siege of Metz, than Albert of Brandenburg carried his licentious bands into Germany, and proceeded on^ the lawless course in which he had previously gained an evil reputation ; troubling the peace of the country, and laying the weak and the timid under contribution.

Nevertheless, the Emperor exerted himself vigorously to take the field early, and to create a diversion in favor of his generals in Italy. Directing his efforts to the side of Flanders, as soon as he could somewhat refresh his exhausted troops, he laid siege to the city of Terouanne, the French garrison of which had long been a scourge to his territories in the neighbourhood. The command in the town had been entrusted to d'Esse Montalembert, whom we have already mentioned in speaking of the wars of Scotland, and with him was joined Francis

of Montmorenci, the eldest son of the Constable ; but neither the skill of the one, nor the courage of the other could save the city from the large force brought against it by Charles. D'Esse died sword in hand; Montmorenci was taken; and Terouanne, falling into the hands of the Emperor, was not only dismantled but rased to the ground.

Emanuel Philibert of Savoy, now placed in command of the Imperial forces, and animated by personal enmity to the King of France, who retained possession of great part of his hereditary territories, next led the victorious army to the siege of Hesdin, which was also taken; while Henry and Montmorenci, though at the head of a powerful corps, were amused and deceived both by the citizens at Cambray and the Imperial generals. Thus ended the military operations which took place on the side of Flanders during the year 1553. Little more occurred in Italy, that requires to be noticed in this place 'y though the French arms were, upon the whole, successful, and the excellent discipline established by Marshal Brissac gained him greater honor than battles won.

In the meantime, the death of Edward VI. of England, the accession of Mary to the throne of that country, and the intrigues which were successfully carried on for the purpose of uniting the English Queen to the son of the Emperor, gave great preponderance to the power of Charles, and filled the court of France with alarm. As soon in the year 1554 as the season, and the custom of the times,

permitted, Henry brought three armies into the field upon his northern frontier, and attacked the troops and the dominions of Charles on the side of Luxembourg, Artois, and Hainault. The Duke of Nevers, entering the Ardennes with one of these corps, drove the enemy from a district whence they could make an easy inctirsion into Champagne, and then, suddenly turning towards the west, joined the army of the Constable, which had made a demonstration of attacking Avesne. Thus reinforced, Montmorenci advanced rapidly upon Marienbourg, and carried that fortress after a siege of three days.* The army was then joined by Henry in person, several other towns were taken ; and, after founding the city of Rocroi, for the purpose of insuring supplies, the King advanced into Hainault, and ravaged it in the most brutal manner, upon the pretence that the Queen of Hungary, governess of the Low Countries, had committed similar devastations in his territories. Having exhausted the whole resources of the country, and being opposed in front by the Imperial army commanded by the Duke of Savoy, Henry thought fit to retire towards the Boulonnois, and laid siege to the small, but well fortified, town of Renti.

The capture of that place would have completely opened Artois to the French, and so eager was Charles to save it, that, putting himself into a litter, which was the only conveyance he could bear, he assumed the command of his army in person j and,

* Some authors say six days.

taking up an advantageous position in the neighbourhood of the besieged place, he endeavored, with great skill and caution, to frustrate the efforts of the French troops, without risking a general engagement.

Between the houses of Montmorenci and Guise had long existed, as I have shewn, a virulent rivalry at the court of France; and the jealousy of the Constable towards the youngDuke, greatly increased by the renown which his competitor had acquired by the defence of Metz, now displayed itself in a way disastrous to his sovereign's arms. Guise eagerly proposed to take the first opportunity of forcing the enemy to a general engagement; Montmorenci opposed his opinions in the council, and shewed himself unwilling to support his operations in the field. At length an attempt made by Charles to obtain possession of an important post, with a view of throwing succour into the place, gave the Duke of Guise the opportunity he desired, and a fierce struggle took place under the walls of Renti, in which the greater part of both armies were engaged. Every one admits that the skill and conduct shewn by the defender of Metz were worthy of the renown he had acquired ; and the Imperialists were repulsed after a long and sanguinary combat, in the course of which Gaspard de Coligni, who had by this time succeeded to the important charge of Admiral, displayed the most daring gallantry. The total defeat of the Emperor's army would probably have ensued, but Montmorenci, with slow unwillingness, brought

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

up the main body which he commanded ; and Charles, posting himself as strongly as ever, had the satisfaction of forcing the enemy to raise the siege of R-enti, and retire from their fruitless undertaking.

Mortified and disgusted, Henry quitted the headquarters of his army ; and, after dispersing a part of the troops amongst the "principal garrisons on the frontier, he left the rest under the command of Anthony of Bourbon, Duke of Vendome, who, with but small forces, no great military skill, and very limited authority, was able to effect nothing beyond preventing the enemy from passing the Somme. The whole of the French territory, however, on the other side of that river, almost up to the gates of Amiens, was ravaged by the Duke of Savoy, who exacted a barbarous retribution for the equally barbarous acts of the French in Hainault.

In Italy, any small advantages which France had gained in the north were more than compensated by the signal defeat which Marshal Strozzi received at the hands of the Marquis of Marignano, and by the capture of Sienna, which, after a siege of many months, was forced to capitulate, by famine, on the S2nd of April, 1555. Montluc, however, who commanded in the place, and who had shewn a degree of vigor and determination which won him the highest honor, refused to suffer the name of the King of France to appear in the capitulation, and marched out with arms and baggage, drums beating, and ensigns displayed, taking with him all those

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. Gl

who, dreading the vengeance of the Emperor and the Duke of Florence, chose to quit the town of Sienna. The Marquis of Marignano himself met the gallant Frenchman as he issued forth, and embraced him with every demonstration of admiration and regard; and thus, though the city was lost, the reputation of the French arms did not suffer. Exhausted resources, a multitude of brave and noble gentlemen destroyed, fertile provinces ravaged, and wealthy cities rased to the ground, were the bitter fruits that FVance and the Empire reaped from the hostilities in which they had engaged. There has been many a successful war in the world, but seldom —perhaps never—a profitable one when all the costs are counted.

The w^ar in the Low Countries languished, for want of means, after the combat at Renti, confining itself to a series of stratagems on both parts, all of which proved fruitless, except an attack upon Ca-teau-Cambresis, which the French took by escalade. An attempt upon Metz was frustrated by the vigilance and activity of Vielleville, who also vyas sue-cessful in seyeral skirmishes with the Imperial troops. The course of hostilities in Italy, however, continued far less favorable to France. The Duke of Alva, haying taken the command of the Imperial troops, displayed his powerful military genius in opposition to a man as skilful as; himself, but whose forces were greatly inferior in point of number. Brissac was, moreoyer, ill sustained by the court; he had given offence to the powerful family of Guise ;

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV,

he was not loved, though he was admired, by Mont-morenci; the reinforcements w^hich he demanded, and the sums of money necessary to pay his troops, were denied him ; and his sole support with the King was the favor of the Duchess of Valentinois, who was suspected, without much cause, of regarding him with somewhsit more than friendship. In the midst of his embarrassments, on these accounts, he was attacked by a severe illness at Turin, and obliged, for some time, to confide the conduct of the army to others, whose proceedings, less vigorous than his own, might probably have been attended with reverses, had not considerable reinforcements arrived from France, and enabled the French troops in Piedmont to make themselves masters of one or two places of importance.

That which tended, however, more than even lassitude, to cause the war to languish, was the hope of peace afforded by negotiations which were taking place under the mediation of England. At the urgent request of Mary, plenipotentiaries had been sent by Charles V. and the King of France to the small village of Marq, between Gravelines and Calais. Cardinal Pole, and Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, labored indefatigably in person to reconcile the contending parties; and Pope Julius III., though his own acts had no slight share in producing the first hostilities, now sought anxiously to bring them to a termination. All efforts were vain, however ; the pretensions both of the Emperor and the King of France were too extravagant to permit even

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 63

of modification; and, with the death of Julius, new intrigues sprang up in Italy, which tended to inflame rather than to appease the war. That Pontiff expired on the twenty-ninth of March, 1555. He was succeeded in the chair of St. Peter by Cardinal Marcello Cervino, a pious and excellent man, of considerable talent, and of more liberal principles, it would appear, than most of his predecessors. Great expectations were entertained of a reform in the Church under his Pontificate ; but his early death, which took place within a month after his election, placed the tiara upon the brow of John Peter Caraffa, who assumed the name of Paul IV. He too was a pious and learned man, we are told by the papal historians, of irreproachable life and manners 5 but he was severe, bigoted, and superstitious, with an excessive and unreasonable attachment to his nephews, a vice not uncommon to the Pontiffs of Rome. To aggrandize them he was ready to make any sacrifices 5 and to promote their ambitious projects he gave up the character of a Christian pacificator, and added to the existing contentions in Europe. The eyes of his nephews were fixed upon the kingdom of Naples, which was attached to the Imperial dominions by a frail and insecure tenure; and they soon found means so far to irritate their uncle against the Emperor, who had strongly opposed his election, as to induce Paul to open negotiations with the King of France, for the purpose of concluding an offensive and defensive alliance with that monarch j the two principal objects

of which were to conquer the duchy of Tuscany, and to expel the Imperialists from the kingdom of Naples. In the event of success attending the military operations of the contracting parties, the republican form of government was to be restored in Florence, and the Neapolitan territory was to be left to the King of France, as a royal portion for one of his sons, with the exception of a certain part which was to be annexed to the domain of the Church, and a somewhat extensive share with which the nephews of the Pontiff proposed to enrich themselves. Great differences of opinion arose in the councils of Henry II. regarding the proposals of the Pope ; and while Montmorenci, with his usual caution, strongly advised the King not to enter upon such dangerous undertakings, the Duke of Guise, with the spirit of enterprise which characterized all his race, urged the monarch by all means to attempt the conquest of Naples. It is to be remarked, however, that upon that kingdom he himself had some remote claims, which he might, perhaps, expect to render available in the event of a successful war. The idea of such vast operations flattered the vanity and excited the ambition of the French monarch ; the prudent counsels of Montmorenci were rejected; the more rash and daring opinion of the Duke of Guise prevailed, and the Cardinal of Lorraine was sent to Rome to negotiate with the Pope, armed with full powers to conclude the treaty. But Paul IV. had in the meantime been shaken in his resolution by the efforts of the Im-

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 05

perial ambassador ; and it might have been found difficult to bind him to the very proposals he himself had made, had not the manner in which the peace of religion was ratified and carried out by the Diet of Augsburg, exasperated him to the highest degree against the Emperor. His mind was thus inflamed with anger against Charles and the Princes of the Empire, at the moment when the Cardinal of Lorraine arrived at his court, and it was not found difficult to induce him to sign the treaty, though it was agreed that the stipulations should be kept secret till all parties were prepared for carrying the war into the neighboring kingdom. The negotiations, however, and their object, had not been altogether concealed from the Spanish and Imperial court; and the Duke of Alva, now in command at Naples, hastened to assemble large bodies of troops on the frontiers of the Papal dominions, with the apparent intention of striking the first stroke in a war which appeared inevitable.

In the meanwhile, a great and important change had taken place in the distribution of the European states. On the marriage of Philip of Spain with Mary of England, in the preceding year, Charles V. had bestowed upon his son the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Shortly after he had invested him with the duchy of Milan, and he now gave up to him, on the 25th October, 1555, the sovereignty of the Low Countries, and of the duchy of Burgundy, resigning to him, within a month afterwards, the crown of Spain itself.

VOL. I. F

•|5l

It would be out of place in this brief introductory sketch, to investigate the motives which affected the Emperor in the extraordinary act that he now performed. Whether corporeal debility, or satiated ambition, or disappointed expectation, or the growing ascendancy of religious convictions acted upon his mind; certain it is, that in casting from him so great a portion of the vast power which from youth he had sought to extend by every means justifiable and unjustifiable, he endeavored likewise to quench the flame of war, which his own grasping and domineering spirit had aided to kindle. He now shewed himself ready to make great sacrifices for the attainment of a general pacification ; and an opportunity was offered for renewing negotiations, by conferences, for an exchange of prisoners, which were going on between French and Imperial commissioners, at the abbey of Vaucelles, of which opening Charles eagerly took advantage. A proposal was made to conclude a truce for five years, each party retaining possession of that which he had obtained during the course of the war.

Nothing could be more favorable to France; the greater part of Piedmont was already in her hands; Metz, Thoul, and Verdun were in her possession, and no obstacle existed, except the treaty with the Pope, which indeed greatly embarrassed the French monarch. The Cardinal of Lorraine, however, one of the great supporters of Paul at the court of France, was absent at Rome. The counsels of

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 67

Montmorenci on this occasion prevailed over those of the Duke of Guise, and the King, forgetting his engagement with the Pontiff, agreed to the suggestion of the Imperial Commissioners, and concluded the convention. The Admiral de Colimi, who had the honor of having obtained such advantageous terms for his country, was sent to Brussels to witness the signature of the Emperor and his son ; the Count de Lalain on the part of Charles proceeded to Blois, to receive the ratification of the King of France ; and the treaty was duly signed by the latter monarch, with no other stipulation in favor of his allies, than that the name of the Pope should be expressly included in the truce. The Emperor treated the Duke of Savoy with even less consideration ; and that Prince, as well as the PontifF, experienced bitterly how little the interests of in-ferior persons are consulted by great monarchs, either in their wars or their negotiations.

As soon as these events were announced to the Cardinal of Lorraine, he fled from Rome to avoid the indignation of Paul; but that Pontiff, on the present occasion, far from giving way to the natural feelings of anger which possessed him, displayed a degree of diplomatic cunning which no one had expected from his character. Seeing the dangerous position, in regard to Philip of Spain, into which his designs upon Naples had brought him, he dexterously sheltered himself from the storm, by affecting the greatest joy and satisfaction at the conclusion

^S THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

of the truce. He looked upon it, he said, hut as the forerunner of a general and permanent pacification, and he exhorted the monarchs of Christendom, as their common father, to accept of his mediation for the attainment of so desirable an object. With the ostensible purpose of inducing them to comply with this suggestion, he sent his nephew, Cardinal Carrafa, in haste to the court of France, while another Cardinal was directed to proceed with slower steps to Brussels. But the real purpose of Carrafa's mission was very different from its apparent object. He bore with him to Henry a consecrated sword, as the defender of the Church, and secret exhortations to break the truce to which he had lately sworn; he besought him to concentrate all his forces for one grand effort, and, joining his troops to those which the Pontiff had already levied, to carry the kingdom of Naples by one bold and decided attack.

Such is the morality of a religion which entrusts to one frail human being the power of absolving his fellow-men from their most solemn and sacred engagements. Such is the Christian character of a creed which places the temptations of temporal ambition constantly before the spiritual head of the Church.

Henry hesitated, for there were many obstacles before him : his oath, the extreme age of the Pope, the state of preparation of the kingdom of Naples. But Carrafa found means to remove some difficulties,

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 69

and to disguise others. From his oath he absolved the King at once ; of the age of the Pope he made use, to hold out the prospect of the tiara to the Cardinal of Lorraine; and he represented the power of the Papal and the French troops combined as so great that Alva could offer no efficient resistance. Guise and his brother were ready to second him eagerly ; Diana of Poitiers was gained to the same side ; and even the Queen herself, now beginning to obtain some influence in the state, was induced to exercise it in favor of the Pontiff's views. Montmorenci was the only one who remained firm; when events occurred which gave additional cogency to the specious arguments of Carrafa, and removed many of the scruples of the King.

Whether they were intentionally brought about by the crooked policy of the Roman See, or occasioned by the impolitic resentment of the King of Spain, or urged on by the harsh and uncompromising character of Alva, will probably remain for ever in darkness ; but it is clear that it was the interest of Paul to drive Philip into any rash and hasty act which might give the King of France a fair pretext for breaking the truce he had so lately signed. On the one hand it is stated, and with every appearance of truth, that no sooner had the Pontiff heard of the success of his nephew, at the court of France, than he sent messengers to the nuncio, who was on the way to Brussels, commanding him instantly to pause on his journey, and not to carry on the negotiations for apermanent peace, which

he had been at first instructed to prosecute. At the same time, we are told, he imprisoned the Spanish envoy, persecuted the family of Colonna, and called forth whatever troops the Papal dominions could supply, shewing a determination of carrying war into Naples upon the slightest pretence.

On the other hand, neither Philip nor Alva were of a temper to bear irritation ; and it is alleged against them, though upon less certain grounds, that they intrigued with the disaffected barons of Rome, that they received with joy the proscribed subjects of the Pope, and that they instigated resistance to his authority, promising aid to the malcontents in case of need. From violent remonstrances the supreme Pontiff proceeded to excommunicate the offenders at his own court, to cast into severe imprisonment the envoy of Spain, in consequence of some suspicion —real or pretended—that he fomented the troubles of the Roman state ; and in the end Paul went so far as to declare Philip in danger of losing the investiture of Naples in consequence of treason against the Holy See.

On looking at the question calmly, it would appear, that the charges brought by the Pope against the Spanish monarch were grounded upon suspicions only, and that they have never been satisfactorily proved, so that some doubt may reasonably exist as to whether those charges had any substantial foundation, or were merely pretexts for the violent conduct that Paul was prepared to pursue. The accusations of Philip against the Pope, however,

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 71

were based upon acts open and apparent in the eyes of all Europe ;* and it is also clearly shewn, that the Spanish monarch hesitated long, and entertained many superstitious scruples in regard to declaring war against a prince who combined in his own person temporal and spiritual jurisdiction.

The Duke of Alva demanded that the Spanish envoy should be immediately liberated, offered terms, made proposals, and evidently did all that man could do to avoid the necessity of hostilities, which were odious to his sovereign.

The Pope and his nephews, however, confident in the alliance of the French monarch, rejected every overture ; and at length Alva, finding Paul intractable, took the field at the head of ten thousand veteran soldiers, entered the Roman territory, and took city after city, almost without striking a blow. The whole Campagna was overrun in an incredibly short space of time, and the Spanish forces were approaching the gates of Rome, before the intemperate Pontiff was in a state to offer the slightest resistance.

All hesitation had been at an end in France, from the moment that hostilities began on the part of Spain. Philip, as soon as he learned the bad faith of the French King, in his negotiations with

* Muratori says, " Ora fra le molte azioni degne di lode in questo pontefice, non si puo gia contare, ch' egli in tempo clie si trattava seriamente di pace fra i re di Francia e di Spagna, si studiasse di maggiormente aceendere la guerra fra essi; e cio per odj ed enteressi privatij locche gli riusci con tanto danno de* sudditi suoi ed altrui."

THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

Paul, suspended the restoration of the prisoners; and, feeling that the truce was in reality little better than a fraud upon the part of France, his officers committed various acts of vengeance upon the Belgian frontier, in regard to which, Henry's ministers, with the usual policy of the Parisian court, addressed loud reproaches to Philip, aiFecting to be the injured party, when their sovereign was in fact following a most dishonest and disgraceful course towards the Spanish king.

The rapid success of Alva, the long delay of the French succor, the want of funds and of men to defend his territories, speedily drove Paul IV. to apply to the general of Philip's forces, first for a truce of ten days, and then for its renewal for forty more, affecting a desire for peace which he did not feel, while he wearied Henry II. with applications for assistance, and employed the time allowed him in preparing for war.

A large sum of money, and a small body of French troops, soon restored confidence in Rome. The Duke of Guise passed the Alps, obtained some successes in the Milanese, and hurrying on towards the more immediate scene of danger, resigned the nominal command of the army to his. father-in-law the Duke of Ferrara, while he retained all the real authority. After which, marching through the Roman territories, he forced Alva to retire before him, and evacuate the ecclesiastical state. No sooner, however, had the Spanish general re-entered the territories of his master, than he took up a strong

position on the frontier, and watched the proceedings of his adversary, without being tempted to risk a general engagement with inferior forces.

Before he advanced into the kingdom of Naples, the Duke of Guise proceeded to Rome, and spent a month in that city amidst fetes and pageants, publicly urging the Pope to accomplish the promises he had made of bringing a considerable force into the field to act with the French; but negotiating secretly, it is very generally supposed, with the sacred college, in order to insure the tiara to his brother on the death of Paul. Little military assistance did he receive from the Pontiff, or the family of Carrafa; and, obliged to depend upon his own resources, he once more put himself at the head of his troops, and entered the territories of Naples. No glory, however, awaited him in that country. Campli, indeed, was taken, and some horrid excesses were committed, which, instead of striking terror into the Neapolitans, only roused them to more indignant resistance. Civitella was next besieged, and though the force within the walls was small, the strength of the place, the courage and skill of the garrison, and the deter-mination of the inhabitants - the ladies of the city themselves animating the soldiery by their exertions in its defence—rendered the resistance so vigorous, that Guise had the disgrace of seeing himself repulsed from the gates of a third-rate fortress ; while the Duke of Alva resisted every temptation to attack the enemy, and left them to consume their strength in fruitless enterprises.

At the same time an epidemic disorder seized upon the French troops, quarrels broke out between Guise and the family of Carrafa,* and, disgusted and indignant, deceived by the Italians, unsupported by the court of France, and opposed by one of the first generals of the age, the Duke saw nothing before him but defeat and disgrace; when events took place in a different part of Europe which delivered him with honor from the difficult situation in which he was placed.

Enraged at the breach of the treaty by France, and anxious to signalise his accession to power by some great and important effort, Philip determined to prosecute the war in the Low Countries with the utmost energy and activity. Before he was prepared for hostilities, indeed, and previous to any formal announcement of their intentions, the French had treacherously attacked Douai, and failing in the enterprise, turned upon the town of Sens, which was taken and sacked with circumstances of considerable aggravation. But although he thus courted hostilities on his northern frontier, Henry II. was by no means in a state to carry them on with vigor. The great body of his forces, the principal nobility, and the chief resources of his treasury had been diverted to Italy; and, though Montmorenci remained to command, and Coligni and D'Andelot to assist in the campaign in the Low Countries, it commenced, on the part of France, with but

* The Memoirs of Vielleville, lib. vii. accuse the Cardinal Carrafa, in plain terms, of having sold the French to the enemy.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 75

small and insignificant advantages and ended in ruin and disgrace.

Philip II., well aware that Henry had exhausted his means to carry on the enterprise against Naples, gathered together in the neighborhood of Givet and Charlemont, all the troops which could be assembled in Belgium, gained the co-operation of England, by his influence over Mary, and obtained an aid of eight thousand men, under the Earl of Pembroke, from his wife's dominions. The large force thus collected was entrusted by Philip to the command of the Duke of Savoy, who had already so greatly distinguished himself in the last compaigns of Charles V.; and to his skilful and stratagetic mind is attributed the brilliant operations by which the war commenced on the part of Spain. The appointment of the rendezvous at Givet, was in itself a stratagem to deceive the enemy in regard to the intended scene of action; and all the first movements of Emanuel Philibert, —especially his demonstration upon the towns of Ilocroi and Guise, which had the appearance of menacing Champagne,—were calculated to mislead the French commanders, and induce them to withdraw their best troops from the meditated point of attack.

This plan proved completely successful: Mont-morenci was led to withdraw the forces which were necessary for the defence of Picardy from that part of the country, and pour them into Champagne ;

while the Duke of Savoy, watching their movement, and acting upon a smaller circle while they were compelled to describe a larger one, took advantage of their absence, and sending on his cavalry in haste, as soon as he saw that his stratagem was successful, invested the city of St. Quentin. This town had undoubtedly, from the first, been the place which he intended to attack. Its proximity to Paris, the want of any fortified places between it and the capital of France, the decayed state of its defences, and the fact of its being considered, in those times, the key to Picardy, rendered the enterprise, to all appearance, both desirable and easy, A large portion of the garrison had been withdrawn to swell the forces in Champagne ; the governor, an inferior officer of the name of Breuil, a gentleman of spirit and resolution, but of no great military skill, had scarcely soldiers enough at his command to man the walls, and the place must inevitably have fallen in a few days, had it not been saved, for the time, by the gallant determination of the Admiral de Coligni, who, as governor of Picardy, conceived his honor implicated in the defence of the town. He had accompanied his uncle the Constable, and Marshal St. Andre, to Pierrepont, and in a council which was held there, towards the end of July, he had strongly expressed his opinion that the movements of the Duke of Savoy were intended merelv to deceive. As soon as the accuracy of these views was shewn by the attack on St. Quentin, he marched

with a strong body of troops for that town, and passing by la Fere and Ham, approached the besieged city with full information regarding the position of the enemy. The dangers and difficulties of the undertaking alarmed a part of his troops, and caused them to desert him on the road, and others lost their way before they reached Ham; but Coligni persisted in the attempt; and, guided by an officer of the name of Faulperghe, he threw himself into St. Quentin in the middle of the night, though not without considerable loss.

The Admiral found the inhabitants and the ^ar-risen in a state of the greatest consternation, and one of the suburbs already in the hands of the enemy; but his presence restored confidence, and his skill soon enabled the place to assume a more defensible aspect. The suburb was retaken, the stores and ammunition were placed in security, and the distribution thereof was regulated so as to guard against waste ; all those who could be of no use in the defence of the city were sent aw^ay, and the Duke of Savoy found that instead of reducing the place in a few days, a siege of many months was before him.

In the meantime the Constable hastened to sup-port his nephew in the defence of St. Quentin, and advanced with an army as far as la Fere, whence he detached D'Andelot for the purpose of throwing succour into the besieged town. D'Andelot, however, betrayed by his guides and totally defeated, had nearly fallen a prisonerJi^^ tj^ enemy's hands.

A second attempt, for the same purpose, was made soon after, under cover of an attack upon the Spanish camp, conducted by Montmorenci in person. The Duke of Savoy was taken by surprise, and, in the confusion which ensued, D'Andelot, with about five hundred chosen men, forced his way into the city across a marsh.

But this effort for the assistance of Coligni brought on one of the greatest disasters which France had ever sustained. Recovering from the disorder into which the sudden appearance of the Constable and his brisk attack upon the camp had occasioned, the Duke of Savoy instantly perceived the error which his antagonist had committed, and prepared to take advantage of the situation into which he had brought himself. Surrounded by marshes and defiles, the retreat of the French army, before a superior enemy, was scarcely possible without great loss, and could only be accomplished by that union of rapid and decided movements with the most complete order and discipline, which was scarcely to be expected from troops, many of whom were freshly levied. Age, too, had rendered the Constable slow, and the pride of success, as well as his natural disposition, made him obstinate. His advance had been contrary to the opinion of St. Andre and the most skilful ofiicers in the army; the inferior soldiers themselves saw the great danger of the step which had been taken; and an intimation, which was sent by the Prince de Conde, that the enemy's cavalry were forming in his rear, was treated with contempt by

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 79

the headstrong though experienced commander, who wasted the minutes that were necessary for the salvation of his forces in slow and unnecessary operations. At the same time the baggage was mixed up with the line, embarrassing the troops; and a large body of cavalry, under the Duke of Nevers, had such strict orders on no account to engage the enemy, that the only opportunity of fighting to advantage, before the Spanish troops were fully prepared, was lost to the French.

A ford, with some strong defiles beyond it, was guarded by the Rhinegrave, with a body of German cavalry in the pay of France, and it was at this point that the battle began. Count Egmont, commanding the Duke of Savoy's horse, was directed to advance and force that post, while the Duke himself prepared, with the utmost expedition, to bring up the infantry and artillery to support him. When it was too late the Duke of Nevers received orders to hasten to the assistance of the Rhinegrave ; but before he arrived, Count Egmont was in possession of the pass, and Nevers dared not violate the strict orders of the Constable, even for the purpose of recovering the ground lost.

Montmorenci, in the meantime, continued his retreat towards la Fere, at a slow pace and in firm array; but Philip's cavalry was now in force upon his flank; the camp followers, charged by some parties of the enemy, took fright and carried confusion into the Constable's squadrons. The want

'iS>

80 THE LIFE OF HENRY IV.

of confidence in their general, and alarm at the position into which he had led them, produced a panic which spread even to the veteran men at arms, and a vigorous charge made by Egmont at the head of his whole cavalry, put the French horse instantly to flight. The foot, however, w^ith Mont-morenci at their head, marched on unbroken, till at length the advance of the Duke of Savoy, with his infantry and artillery, rendered retreat impracticable; The cannon from a height opened a fierce fire into the heart of the French battalions, and in an instant all was disarray and confusion. Montmorenci, and the French gentlemen who w^ere with him, fought with the courage of despair. The Duke d'Enghein was killed on the spot; and the Constable himself, seeking the same fate, was severely wounded, and only saved from the hands of the Flemish soldiers by some officers to whom he was personally known. With him were taken Marshal St. Andre, the Duke of Montpensler, the Duke of Longueville, and three hundred other distinguished officers and gentlemen. The number of slain is estimated at from four* to eightt thousand; and the baggage, standards, and artillery of the French—with the exception of two pieces of cannon, saved by a gallant officer of the name of Bourdillon—ornamented the triumph of the enemy. Six hundred men of note fell in the fight, and so complete was the dispersion of the Constable's army, so difficult the * Vie de Coligni. f Anquetil.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 81

position of the French monarch, that when Charles V. heard of the victory which had been achieved, his first question was, " Is my son at Paris?"

In those times, however, it rarely, if ever, happened, that the fruits of a victory were fully reaped by the conqueror. The art of taking advantage of success was the branch of military science with which the great commanders of the middle ages were least acquainted ; and in this case, as in others, the opportunity was lost. But a small body of troops would have been necessary to hold in check the feeble garrison of St. Quentin. The army of the Duke of Savoy was numerous, and the battle had been far from dearly gained by the Spaniards, not more than eighty men having fallen on their side. Trouble and consternation reigned in France-confidence and rejoicing spread through the Spanish camp ; and there can be but little doubt, that had Philip's forces marched on in the moment of victory, the French capital would have been at their mercy! The system of warfare of those times, however, required that Emanuel Philibert should reduce' St Quentin before he made any other attempt; and time was given for the French King to rally his troops, to restore order and confidence in his capital, to recall the Duke of Guise from Italy, and to prepare his subjects for resistance to the knife; while Coligni set the example, by the desperate opposition to the enemy which he displayed within the walls of St. Quentin.

VOL. I. ^

The arrival of Philip in his camp, by no means accelerated the proceedings, or gave vigor to the counsels of the Spanish commanders. The opportunity of attacking Paris itself was so tempting that it was strongly urged upon the attention of the King ; but he hesitated till it was too late to profit by the advice he received. In the nieantime the siege of St. Quentin languished, and Coligni was enabled to reassure the garrison and the inhabitants, and to prove to them the absolute necessity of defending the city to the last, in order to give time for new levies to be made, and for the dispersed forces of the Constable to reassemble. Nor were endeavors wanting on the part of the French commanders to throw succor into the place, notwithstanding the disastrous reverse which had attended the last attempt. The Duke of Nevers, posted at la Fere, made a gallant effort to introduce three hundred arquebusiers into St. Quentin, but their approach was discovered by the enemy, and they were nearly all cut to pieces. About a hundred and twenty indeed, forced their way to the town, sword in hand, and proved of some assistance, as the object of the Admiral was solely to protract the defence to the last moment. But it was impossible to hold out long: a continual cannonade was kept up against the walls ; practicable breaches were effected ; and at length, during a general assault, in which one of the towers was carried, Coligni himself was obliged to surrender to a Spanish soldier, named Francisco Diaz, who led him to the Duke of Savoy.

The town was then forced, and a good deal of slaughter took place, but on the Duke's entrance he caused the massacre to cease, and order to be restored, though the pillage still continued for several hours.

St. Quentin fell on the twenty-seventh day of August, 1557, seventeen days after the fatal battle m which Montmorenci was taken.* That short period, however, was enough to preclude Philip from every chance of making himself master of the enemy's capital. Fresh levies took place, as I have said, in France; a body of Swiss was engaged to supply the place of the troops which fell at St. Quentin ; the fugitives from the army, and from the garrison, rallied round the Duke of Nevers, and soon amounted to a formidable force; and, while the French army was hastily recalled from Piedmont, the Duke of Guise began his march from the kingdom of Naples, and the Scots were instigated to attack the English frontier, in order to withdraw the British auxiliaries from the camp of Philip. At the same time, the army of the Spanish monarch daily decreased; frequent desertions took place-large bodies decamped with the plunder they had gamed; and even the spirit of the generals was .damped, and their exertions cooled, by finding that the bigoted prince whom they served, at the very

* I know not on what authority Anquetil fixes the battle of St Quentin ou the eighteenth of the month of August. The "Lifeof Cohgni," and every respectable authority of the times place It on the tenth of that month.

G 2

first overture from the supreme Pontiff, was ready to forget the insults and injuries he had received, and to enter into a disgraceful peace in Italy, leaving the whole power of France to be employed against the Low Countries. The towns of Ham, Noyon, and la Chatelet, were the only fruits of the great successes gained under th6 walls of St. Quentin, and the Palace of the Escurial is all that remains to Spain, as a memorial of the victory which might have raised her to the highest rank amongst the powers of Europe.

In the meanwhile, in Italy, Paul IV., abandoned by France, surrounded by enemies, and frustrated in his attempts upon the kingdom of Naples, treated in the tone of a conqueror with the Duke of Alva, and assumed, with the rest of the world, the air of a pacificator, as soon as the war which he had wantonlv kindled, became inconvenient to himself. Nor does it seem, that his pretences were exposed, or his claims resisted, even by the princes, whose best interest it was to shew his conduct in its true light, and to make him bear the consequences of his own acts. The Duke of Alva, on the part of Philip, met the Cardinals of Santafiora and Vitelli at Cavi, and amongst other extraordinary concessions, agreed to restore all the ^ towns he had taken in the territories of the Church, to visit Rome as a penitent, and ask pardon and absolution for having dared to invade the ecclesiastical states. Besides these stipulations, it was arranged by treaty, that the claims of the Carrafa

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 85

family to Palliano, and other states belonging to the family of Colonna, should remain in doubt, till decided upon by the Venetians, as arbitrators. The name of the Duke of Ferrara was altogether omitted in the treaty ; but Philip, anxious to detach as many partisans as possible, from the cause of France, restored the town of Placentia and its rich territory, to Octavio Farnese, who had been robbed of it by Charles V. exactly ten years before ; and Cosmo di Medicis, taking advantage of Philip's anxiety to terminate a war, which his bigotry taught him to look upon as sacrilegious, obtained from him the investiture of Sienna, by affecting to negotiate through the Pope, with Henry II. The only concession made by Paul, was the renunciation of his offensive league with France ; and the terms which he obtained, to use the words of Muratori, " were so honorable to his dignity, that many people were stupified therewith."

With feelings, it would appear, both of contempt and surprise, the Duke of Guise left Ptome as soon as this treaty was concluded ; and, refusing to take advantage of an article by which it was stipulated, that a free course was to be given to his army through the Italian states of the Catholic King, he , sent his infantry by sea, to France, and left his cavalry to find their way back by whatever roads were open to them. Thus ended his famous expe-dition to the kingdom of Naples, in urging which upon Henry, he had listened more to the voice of his

own ambition, than to zeal for his sovereign's interests. Disappointed in his hopes, and frustrated in his efforts, he returned to France even in a prouder position than that in which he had left it; for the faults and misfortunes of others had so completely eclipsed his own, that his failure in Italy was no longer remembered, and his triumph at Metz was dwelt upon by the hopes and expectations of all men.

Although Henry had shewn energy and activity in preparing to resist the enemy after the fatal battle of St. Quentin, his conscious weakness and the terrors which he felt, displayed themselves somewhat too openly in the exuberant joy which he exhibited on the arrival of the Duke of Guise, and in the honors and rewards which he bestowed upon a man whose recent actions had in no degree deserved recompense, or merited confidence. The Parliament vied with the King in testifying respect for the Duke and satisfaction at his return ; and the extraordinary step was taken of naming him Lieutenant-General of the armies of the King, at home and abroad. The dignity was conferred on him by letters-patent, verified by all the parliaments in the kingdom; and we are even assured, that the friends and partisans of the house of Lorraine carried their intention of profiting by the consternation of the moment to such a pitch, as to propose that he should be named Viceroy.* Such

'^ Auvigny, tome x.

KING OF FRANCE AND NAVAKHE. 87

a suggestion should have shewn to Henry the madness of his own course, and the ambition of the family which he was raising to such dangerous preeminence ; nor was there, indeed, the slightest motive or excuse for this prodigality of power. The interest, the ambition, the pride of the Duke of Guise, would all have combined to make him exert himself to the very utmost in the defence of the kingdom, without rewards and honors which he had, as yet, not merited; and to bestow upon him the highest station which a king could give, was, in fact, to deprive him of some of those inducements which would naturally lead to fresh efforts to serve his sovereign, and to advance himself. The result of such profusion of bounty will be apparent hereafter, when it is seen that Guise, having attained the utmost height of lawful power, naturally directed his efforts to less legitimate objects.

For the time, indeed, the Duke strove to prove to the people of France, that the authority and the dignity he had obtained were not greater than his merits; and he instantly took advantage of the war with England, to attempt the recovery of a portion of the French territory, which had been lost some centuries before and to wipe out a disgrace which had seemed indelible. Instead of turning his arms to the recapture of St. Quentin, or conducting the French forces to repel the enemy from the quarter in which the greatest danger had appeared to exist, he treated their proximity to Paris as a matter of no consequence to the nation, now that he had come

to defend the country ; and, affecting to lead the troops of France, as the conquerors, rather than the conquered, to new and brilliant enterprises, he commenced his march in the midst of winter, and, after a few well conceived movements to deceive the enemy, planned upon the model of those of the Duke of Savoy, he turned suddenly upon Calais, and invested that city by land, while a great number of French vessels from the coasts of Normandy and Britanny cut off the communication with England by sea, and, for the time, rendered the blockade complete.

There is much reason to suppose, indeed, that the plan of his operations, the idea of attacking Calais in the winter, the information which had been obtained regarding the defences, and every particular necessary for his guidance, had been furnished by papers from the hand of the Admiral de Coligni, who, as governor of Picardy, had long before proposed the enterprise to the King.* Guise, however, gained the whole credit of the undertaking ; and certainly, no light honor was won, after every deduction, by the vigor and skill with which he pressed the siege, from the first of January, 1558, on which he sat down before the walls, to the eighth of the same month, when the place surrendered.

So sudden and unexpected had been the attack,

that the English governor of the town had neither

men nor provisions sufficient for its defence. It

had long been customary to withdraw from Calais

* Auvigny, tome xiv.

during the winter a large part of the garrison, trusting to the inundated state of the neighboring country for protection ; but when England took part with Philip in the war against France, Lord Wentworth, the governor, and the King of Spain himself, represented strongly to Mary and her council, that the important city, of which England had so long retained possession, could offer no adequate defence in case of attack, with a feeble garrison of five hundred men. But the English Queen and her counsellors were deaf to all remonstrances ; and the latter are said to have replied with contempt to the application of Lord Wentworth,—that, if Calais were attacked during the winter, they would defend it with their white rods. The result of this rash confidence was the loss of the place, after it had remained in the possession of England during two hundred and ten years. The town of Guisnes and the fortress of Hames* fell one after another, with scarcely a stroke struck in their defence, and in the course of a few days, the English crown, which, at one time, either by conquest or inheritance, ruled through nearly one half of the French territories, was deprived of the last foot of ground which it possessed on the continent. The next attempt of Guise was upon the town of Thionville, which had long proved itself a dangerous enemy to Metz ; but in this case also the