resy. The prior of his convent applauded his resolution: the enthusiast repaired to St. Cloud; obtained an audience of the King, and immolated, on the shrine of bigotry, the last miserable descendant of the miserable House of Valois.

Henry of Navarre, immortalized in the annals of France by the name of "Henri Quatre," succeeded to the throne. The command of the royal forces devolved upon him, but his heretical opinions occasioned numerous desertions, as well among the nobility as among the private soldiers. Henry was compelled to raise the siege of Paris, and retired towards Dieppe. Mayenne pursued him: the triumph of the Catholics appeared certain but the good fortune or genius of Henry prevailed, and the victory of Argues, immediately followed by a reinforcement of four thousand English, despatched by Elizabeth, enabled the King to march again to the capital. The battle of Ivri, gained by the royal forces, completely destroyed the hopes of the Leaguers, who, forgetful of national honour, solicited the aid of Philip the Second, King of Spain; who, either from bigotry, or from the expectation of perpetuating the civil war, and rendering the exhausted country an easier conquest, despatched the famous Farnese, Prince of

Parma, by whose assistance the siege of Paris was raised. Though the Parisians had suffered all the horrors of famine, the influence of the priests was so complete, that on the departure of the Spanish troops, Henry found it impossible to prevail on his fanatical subjects to accept a Hugonot king. He accordingly renounced his heresy, and at the Church of St. Dennis, embraced Catholicism, and received the crown.

Henry had scarcely assumed the government, when his life was attempted by Jean Chatel, the son of a Parisian tradesman. Fortunately, the King sustained no further injury than an incision in the upper lip, and the loss of a tooth. The examination of this fanatic proved the dangerous power of the clergy, and particularly of the Jesuits. From the facts elicited, it appeared that the holy fathers had introduced Chatel into an apartment, called the chamber of meditation; the walls of which, by the aid of chemical preparation, were covered with the most terrifying representations of the infernal regions. When his fears of eternal punishment were excited to the utmost, he was told, that the surest method of averting the divine anger, was the extirpation of heresy, and exhorted to render himself acceptable to his Maker, by imbruing his hands

in the blood of his sovereign. In consequence of this disclosure, the Jesuits were banished the kingdom; the Parliament, in its decree, calling them "the corruptors of youth, the disturbers of public tranquillity, and enemies of the King and the State."*

The most remarkable event which happened in the reign of Henry the Fourth, was the protection afforded to the Catholics, by the celebrated edict of Nantz. This charter of toleration was drawn up by four of the ablest men in France; Stromberg, De Thou, the historian, Jeannin, and Calignon, who were occupied two years in framing its articles. The speech which the King delivered to the Parliament on this occasion, deserves to be recorded and studied, for its good sense and conciliating spirit. He commenced by stating his anxiety to put an end to domestic factions, and to disseminate peace and fraternal feeling throughout the empire. "Let us," said Henry, in the true spirit of a Christian, "let us destroy the invidious distinctions of Catholic and Hugonot; let us all unite to promote the glory and happiness of France; and, like the members of one great family, vie with each other

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Anquetil Hist. de France, vol. 6, p. 255. They were restored A.D. 1603.

in acts of virtue and philanthropy. Conscious of the frailty of our nature, let us practise universal toleration, and let the Catholics, renouncing the cruel aid of persecution, endeavour to convert the Protestants by the purity of their morals, and the integrity of their lives."* By the edict of Nantes, the Protestants enjoyed the public exercise of their worship in specified places, but they were bound to obey the jurisdiction of the Court of Rome, to abstain from labour on festivals, and to pay tithes. It was also enacted, that the poor and sick should be permitted to enter the hospitals on the same terms as the Catholics; that the Hugonots should be eligible to all the employments of the State; and that in the Parliaments, the Chamber of Justice should be composed of an equal number of Judges of the two persuasions. Several towns were given up to the Protestants, as places of security, which they were allowed to retain for eight years.

Had Henry attained to an advanced period of life, the excellence of his heart, and the lively interest he took in the public welfare, would have raised France to the height of prosperity.

*The Speech of the King is given at length in Anquetil, vol. 6, p. 174.

Unlike the herd of kings who have disgraced humanity, Henry did not forget in his palace those devoted friends who had supported him in adversity. When firmly seated on the throne, he did not violate the promises he had made to the Protestant soldiers, who had secured to him his birthright; he did not pretend "that the convenient time was not arrived;" but with a virtuous magnanimity, which his descendants are fonder of praising than imitating, preserved his honor, his word, and his gratitude, even at the expence of his life. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the best of princes fell by the hand of Ravaillac, and thus added one more victim to the infuriated vengeance of orthodoxy.

In 1614, four years after the assassination of Henry, a meeting of the States General was convened, and the debate which followed, abundantly proved that the spirit of bigotry had regained its power. It was proposed by the Tiers Etat," that a resolution should be entered into, declaring that no spiritual or temporal power had a right of altering the succession to the crown, or absolving the subject from the oath of allegiance. This was rejected by the clergy, as an audacious and blasphemous innovation. In 1629, Richlieu captured Rochelle; and thus destroyed all the benefits

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