those who are either the Authours or Accomplices of the Crime THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOKS The first Book THe General model of the League its Origine its design and the Success it had quite contrary to the end which was propos'd by it In what it resembled the League of Calvinism The condition in which France was at the return of Henry the third from Poland The ill Counsell which he follow'd at the beginning of his Reign in renuing the War The Commendation and Character of that Prince The surprising change which was found in his Carriage and in his Manners The conjunction of the Politicks or Malecontents with the Huguenots Their powâ—rfull Army Commanded by the Duke of Alanson The Peace which was made â—y the interposition of the Queen Mother â—hich produc'd the Edict of May very favourable to the Huguenots This Edict is the occasion of the Birth of the League The League was first devis'd by the Cardinal of Lorrain at the Council of Trent He leaves the design behind him to his Nephew the Duke of Guise The Conference and secret Treaty betwixt that Duke and Don John of Austria By what means Philip the Second discover'd it and made use of it to engage the Duke to take up Arms. The Commendation of the Duke of Guise and his Character How that Duke made use of the Lord of Humieres to begin the League The Project of Humieres his Articles and his Progress The Lord Lewis de la Trimouille declares himself Head of it in Poitou The first Estates of Blois wherein the King to weaken that party declares himself Head of it by advice of the Sieur de Morvillier The Commendation and Character of that Great man What kind of man the Advocate David was His extravagant memoires The Iustification of Pope Gregory the 13th against the slander of the Huguenots who wou'd make him the Authour of it The Edict of May revok'd in the Estates The War against the Huguenots suddenly follow'd by a Peace and by the Edict of Poitiers in their favour which enrages the Leaguers The Restauration of the Order of the Holy Ghost by Henry the third to make himself a new Militia against the League The Duke of Alanson in Flanders where he is declar'd Duke of Brabant This occasions Philip the second to Press the Duke of Guise to declare himself He does it a little after the Death of the Duke of Alanson The Conferences of the Duke of Espernon with the King of Navarre furnishes him with an occasion He makes use of the old Cardinal of Bourbon and sets him up for a Stale The great weakness of that Cardinal The History of the beginning the Progress the Arts and the Designs of the League of the 16 of Paris The Treaty of the Duke of Guise with the Deputies of the King of Spain He begins the War by surprising many Towns The general hatred to the Favourites and especially to the Duke of Espernon causes many great Lords to enter into his Party That first War of the League hinders the Re-union of the Low Countries to the Crown and also the Ruin of the Huguenots Marseilles and Bourdeaux secur'd from the Attempts of the League The generous Declaration of the King of Navarre against the Leaguers and the too mild Declaration of the King The Conference and Treaty of Nemours and the Edict of July in favour of the Leaguers against the Huguenots The Vnion of the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde with the Marshal of Damville The death of Gregory the 13th and Creation of Sixtus Quintus The thundring Bull of that Pope against the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde Discourses and Writings against that Bull. Protestation of the King of Navarre posted up at Rome The War in Poitou with the small success of the Duke of Mayenne The Marshalls Matignon and Biron break his measures under-hand The History of the unfortunate expedition of the Prince of Conde at Angiers The Dissolution of his Army The Ordinances of the King against the Huguenots The form which they were made to sign at their Conversion The Embassy of the Protestant Princes of Germany who demand of the King the Revocation of his Edicts The firm and generous Answer of the King the Conference of St. Brix the Impostures of the Leaguers the beginning of the Brotherhood of Penitentiaries The King establishes one in Paris wherein he enrolls himself The Insolence of the Preachers of the League The scandalous Emblem which was made against the King The Impudence of Dr. Poncet and his Punishment The King uses his endeavours to no purpose for a Peace and at last resolves upon a War The Contents of the Second Book THe Duke of Guise complains to the King of the Infringments which he pretends were made to the Treaty of Nemours The Answer to those Complaints which were found unreasonable The Design of the King in the War which he is forc'd to make The Fortune and Rise of the Duke of Joyeuse his good and ill qualities He commands the Royal Army against the King of Navarre His Exploits in Poitou with those of the King of Navarre the Battel of Courtras The Difference of the two Armies how they were drawn up The first shock advantageous to the Duke the general Defeat of his Army the complete Victory of the King of Navarre his Heroick Valour in the Battel and his admirable Clemency after the Victory He knows not how to use it or will not and for what reason The Review of the Army of the Reyters in the Plain of Strasbourgh The Birth and the Quality of the Baron of Dona. The Duke of Guise undertakes with small Forces to ruin that great Army The Spoils which it committed in Lorrain The Reasons why the Duke of Lorrain wou'd not have the passage of that Army oppos'd The Description of the admirable Retreat of the Duke of Guise at Pont St. Vincent The Entry of the Reyters into France The Duke of Guise perpetually harrasses them The Army Royal at Gien The King goes to command it in Person and vigorously opposes the passage of the Reyters Their consternation finding quite the contrary of what the French Huguenots had promis'd them to appease them They are led into La Beauce The Duke of Guise follows them The description of the Attacque and Fight of Vimory where he surprises and defeats a Party of Reyters A gallant Action of the Duke of Mayenne The Retreat at Mont Argis The Sedition in the Foreign Army after that Victory The Arrival of the Prince of Conty Lieutenant General to the King of Navarre restores them to Ioy and Obedience The Duke of Guise having reserv'd to himself but 5000 men fears not to follow the Reyters as far as Auneau The Situation of that Borough The Baron of Dona Quarters there with the Reyters The Duke of Guise disposes himself to attacque them there He gains the Captain of the Castle to have entrance by it into the Borough
The disposal of his Army the order of the Attacque the Fight the entire defeat of the Reyters without any loss on his side The Treaty of the Duke of Espernon with the remainders of those Germans their lamentable return The Duke of Guise pursues them to the Frontiers of Germany he permits the County of Mont Beliard to be plunder'd The insolence of the Leaguers after that Victory The too great goodness of the King of which the seditious make advantage The horrible flying out of Prevost Curate of St. Severin and of Boucher Curate of St. Bennet The day of St. Severin The scandalous Decree of the faction of Doctours in the Sorbonne who were for the Sixteen The Duke of Guise is refus'd the Office of Admiral which he demands for Brissac and it is given to the Duke of Espernon his Enemy The Character and Pourtraict of that Duke The Haâ—e which is born him the Indignation of the Duke of Guise for his refusal and for the advancement of his Enemy makes him resolve to push his Fortune to the utmost The Contents of the Third Book MAny Prodigies which presag'd the evils to come The Conference at Nancy of all the Princes of the House of Lorrain The Articles of the Request which they present to the King against the Royal Authority The Dissimulation of the King finding himself prest to answer it precisely The Death of the Prince of Condè the Encomium of that Prince the King at length takes up a resolution to punish the Sixteen His preparations for it the allarm of it taken by the Parisians they implore the Assistance of the Duke of Guise who promises to give it Monsieur de Bellievre carries him the King's Orders to Soissons which are that he shou'd not come to Paris The Answer which he made to Bellievre notwithstanding that Order He comes to Paris The description of his Entry with acclamations and extraordinary transports of joy of the Parisians The irresolution of the King when he saw him at the Louvre That which past at their interview and in the Queens Garden The King commands all Strangers to depart from Paris The Leaguers oppose it the description of the day of the Barricades The Count of Brisâ—ac begins them they are carried on within 50 paces of the Louvre the Duke of Guise stops the Citizens and causes the King's Souldiers to be Disarm'd and then reconducted into the Louvre The true design of the Duke on the day of the Barricades his excessive demands The King fearing to be incompast departs out of Paris in a pityfull Equipage The Queen Mother negotiates an accommodation The Duke of Guise cunningly Reingages her in his interest the request which he caus'd to be presented to the King containing Articles very prejudicial to his Authority the dissimulation of the King the Banishment of the Duke of Espernon the new Treaty of the King with the Lords of the League the Edict of Reunion against the Huguenots in favour of the League the signs of the King's indignation which brake out from him and which he wou'd have hidden the Estates of Blois the King's Speech at which the Leaguers are offended The Duke of Guise is Master there and causes resolutions to be taken against the Authority of the King and against the King of Navarre whom the Estates declare incapable of succeeding to the Crown to which the King will not consent He at length takes a resolution to rid himself of the Duke of Guise the secret Counsell which is held concerning it The Advertisement which the Duke receives of it The Counsell which is given him and which he will not follow The History of his Tragical Death the Imprisonment of the principal Leaguers Davila manifestly convinc'd of falsehood in the relation which he makes of the conference betwixt the King and the Legat. The Note of the King to Cardinal Morosini The Conference which he had with that Cardinal concerning the death of the Guises the resentment of Pope Sixtus for the same the strong remonstrances which were made him by the Cardinal of Joyeuse The opinion of that Pope against the League and against the Guises He suspends the expedition of all Bulls till the King shall send to demand absolution What the Cardinal of Joyeuse remonstrates to him thereupon the unprofitable declarations which the King makes to justifie his action instead of preparing for War The Duke of Mayenne flies from Lyons into Burgundy where he is absolutely Master The insurrection of Paris on the news of the death of the Guises The furious Sermons of the Preachers of the League the horrible impudence of Guincesâ—re Curate of St. Gervais who Preaching at St. Barâ—holomew Commands his Auditours to lift up their hands and also the first President The horrible flying out of the Curate Pigenat in the Funeral Oration which he made for the Duke of Guise The scandalous Decree of the Sorbonne in which it is declar'd that the French are releas'd from their Oath of Allegiance made to the King The furious excess of rage in the Leaguers in pursuit of that decree against the King They commit all sorts of Outrages against him The death of Queen Catharine of Medicis her Commendation and Pourtraict The King sends the Dutchess of Nemours to Paris to appease the Troubles there The extravagance of the petty Feuillant Bussy le Clerc carries the Parliament Prisoners to the Bastille the commendations of the first President Achilles de Harley the names of the Presidents and of the Counsellours who follow'd him The President Brisson at the Head of the new Parliament of the League which makes a solemn Oath to revenge the death of the Guises The Leaguers use enchantments against the King at the same time that Guincesâ—re accuses him of magick art in a full Congregation The arrival of the Duke of Mayenne his Encomium and his Pourtraict The King makes him great offers in vain His fortunate beginnings the great number of Towns which throw themselves into his party His Entry into Paris He weakens the Counsell of Sixteen by encreasing their number He causes himself to be declar'd Lieutenant General of the State and Crown of France The King takes though too late the ways of force and rigour The Reasons which oblige him to unite himself with the King of Navarre the treaty of that Vnion the advantageous offers which the King makes to the Lorrain Princes who refuse them the fruitless Conference of Cardinal Morosini with the Duke of Mayenne The performance of the treaty of the two Kings their declarations their interview at Tours The Exploits of the Duke of Mayenne He assaults and carries the Suburbs of Tours His return without having perform'd ought beside The Siege and Battel of Senlis where the Parisians are defeated the defeat of the Troups of the Sieur de Saveuse by Chastillon The Exploits of the King his March towards Paris at Estampes he receives the news of the thundering Monitory of Pope Sixtus against
pay him an entire Obedience and that he propos'd nothing to himself but that provision shou'd be made for the safety of Religion and of good Catholiques which were design'd to be oppress'd through the pernicious Counsells of such as held intelligence with Heretiques and projected nothing but the ruine of Religion and the State These Letters together with those which the Parisians wrote to the other Towns exhorting all men to combine with them for their common preservation in the Catholique Faith and those of the King which on the contrary were written in too soft a style and where there appear'd more of fear and of excuse than of resentment and just complaint for so sacrilegious an attempt had this effect that the greatest part of the people far from being scandalis'd at the Barricades approv'd them loudly praising the conduct of the Duke of Guise whom they believ'd to be full of Zeal for the Catholique Faith for the good of the Kingdom and for the Service of the King And as he desir'd nothing so much as to confirm them in that opinion he was willing that the body of the City shou'd send their Deputies to the King humbly to beseech his Majesty that he wou'd forget what was pass'd and return to his good Town of Paris where his most Loyal Subjects were ready to give him all the highest demonstrations of their Obedience and devotion to his Service He permitted that even processions shou'd be made in the Habit of Penitents to desire of God that he wou'd please to mollify the King's Heart and this was perform'd with so much ardour that there was one which went from Paris as far as Chartres in a most extraodinary Equipage under the conduct of the famous Fryar Ange. This honest Father was Henry de Ioyeuse Count of Bouchage and Brother to the late Duke He had given up himself to be a Capuchin about a year before this time having such strong impressions made upon him by the death and good example of his Wife Catharine de Nogaret Sister to the Duke of Espernon that he was inflam'd with a desire of repentance insomuch that neither the tears of his Brother nor the intreaties and favours of the King who lov'd him exceedingly nor the ardent solicitations of all the Court were able to remove him from the resolution he had taken of leading so austere a Life This noble Fryar having put a Crown of Thorns upon his head and carrying an overgrown Cross upon his Shoulders follow'd by his Fraternity and by a great number of Penitents and others who represented in their Habits the several persons of the Passion led on that procession singing Psalms and Litanies The march of these Penitents was so well manag'd that they enter'd the great Church of Chartres just as the King was there at Vespers As they enter'd they began to sing the Miserere in a very dolefull tone And at the same time two swindging Fryars arm'd with Disciplines laid on lustily poor Fryar Ange whose back was naked The application was not hard to make nor very advantageous to the Parisians for the charitable creature seem'd evidently to desire the King that he wou'd please to pardon them as Iesus Christ was willing to forgive the Iews for those horrible outrages which they had committed against him A Spectacle so surprising produc'd different effects in the minds of the standers by according to the variety of their tempers some of them were melted into compassion others were mov'd to Laughter and some even to indignation And more than all the rest the Marshal de Biron who having no manner of relish for this sort of devotion and fearing besides that some dangerous Leaguers might have crowded in amongst them with intention to Preach the people into a Mutiny counsell'd the King to clap them up in Prison every Mothers Son But that good Prince who notwithstanding all his faults had a stock of Piety at the bottom and much respect for all things that related to Religion rejected wholly this advice He listen'd to them much more favourably than he had heard all the Harangues of the former Deputies and promis'd to grant them the pardon they desir'd for the Town which he had so much favour'd on condition they wou'd return to their Obedience And truly 't is exceeding probable that he had so done from that very time if they had not afterwards given him fresh provocations by proposing the terms on which they insisted for the Peace which they desir'd For the Duke of Guise to whom all these fair appearances were very serviceable and cou'd be no ways prejudicial and who always pursu'd his designs in a direct line knew so well to manage the disposition of the Queen Mother who had seem'd at first to be much startled at his demands that he recall'd her with much dexterity into his interests by working on those two passions which were rooted in her Soul She desir'd to raise to the Throne after the death of the King her Son her Grandson Henry de Lorrain Marquis du Pont and believ'd that the Duke of Guise wou'd contribute to it all that was in his power But as cunning as she was she saw not into the bottom of that Prince who fed her onely with vain hopes of that Succession for another to which he personally aspir'd She infinitely hated the Duke of Espernon and believing he was the man who having possess'd himself of the King's Soul had render'd her suspected to him long'd to turn him out of Court promising her self by that means to be re-establish'd in the management of affairs from which the Favourites had remov'd her And the Duke of Guise who had as little kindness as her self for the Duke of Espernon concurr'd in the same design with at least as much earnestness but for a much different end for he desir'd to be absolute himself In this manner this subtle Prince always dissembling and artifically hiding the true motives by which he acted drew the Queen at last to consent to all that he desir'd and above all to give her allowance that a request shou'd be presented to the King in the name of the Cardinals the Princes the Peers of France the Lords the Deputies of Paris and the other Towns and of all the Catholiques united for the defence of the Catholique Apostolique and Roman Religion This reqest which in the manner of its expressions was couch'd in most respectfull terms contain'd notwithstanding in the bottom of it certain Propositions at least as hard as the Artâ—cles of Nancy and even as those which not long before were propos'd to the Queen by the Duke of Guise For after a protestation in the beginning of it that in whatsoever had pass'd till that present time there had been nothing done but by a pure zeal for God's honour and for the preservation of his Church they demand of the King That he wou'd make War with the Huguenots and that he wou'd conclude no Peace till
word she might have pass'd for a Heroine if so many illustrious qualities had not been blasted by great vices which appear'd so openly in all her conduct that History neither ought nor is able to dissemble them For it was but too apparent for her honour what prodigality what luxury what shamefull dissoluteness she permitted in her Court and which she her self made use of for gaining such whom she desir'd to engage in her interests Add to this her want of sincerity and faith in her promises the too much credit she gave to Astrologers and Fortune-tellers whom she consulted in reference to the future and above all her immoderate and vast ambition on the account of which and out of her insatiable desire of being always absolute she made no scruple to sacrifice the interests of the State and of Religion both which she had almost ruin'd by wavering betwixt the Huguenots and Catholiques sometimes seeming to be on one side sometimes on the other according as this or that Religion appear'd most conducing to her designs In fine to conclude her character by what relates to the essential part of this History the hatred which she bore to the King of Navarre her Son-in-law and the love which she had to her Grand-son of Lorrain caus'd her underhand to favour the League of which nevertheless she was the gull and was cousen'd by those whom she intended to deceive For she had this misfortune which commonly happens to those who wou'd manage two contrary Factions and poize themselves Trimmer-like betwixt them that she was in a manner equally hated both by the Catholiques and Protestants Such was this Princess whose good and ill qualities were in extremes Yet happy both in relation to God and man For she di'd at a time when the World believ'd her life wou'd be profitable and indeed necessary for the King to draw him out of that Labyrinth of confusions wherein he was entangl'd and also because she di'd with all the serenity of a good Christian having first receiv'd the Sacraments with much devotion though the Huguenot Historians who naturally hated her have written to the contrary And because she was not less abhorr'd by the Leaguers of Paris who believ'd she had a share in the death of the Guises as others also have thought therein following the relation which was written by Miron the Physician they said publiquely that if her Body shou'd be brought to Paris to be laid in the magnificent Tomb which she had built at St. Denis for her self and King Henry the Second her Husband they wou'd certainly throw it into the Seine In the mean time the King who was still of opinion that they might be reduc'd to their obedience by the ways of clemency and mildness sent thither the Dutchess of Nemours mother of the Guises and of the young Duke of Nemours their Brother by the Mothers side who had made his escape not long after he had been imprison'd by the King That Princes◠who was very prudent preferring the benefits of Peace before the unprofitable revenge of her Childrens death had begun to treat by Letter with the Dukes of Nemours and Mayenne her two remaining Sons endeavouring to reduce them by gentle means and offering them all the advantages and all the security which they possibly cou'd wish which gave the King occasion to believe that in the end she might conquer their resentments and appease the commotions in Paris He was willing also that she shou'd be accompani'd by the Sheriffs Compan and Cotteblanche who promis'd him to use their best endeavours to that effect or to return to Prison in Blois if they succeeded not in their negotiation and at the same time sent his express order to the Parliament to inroll the Declaration which he had publish'd immediately after the execution at Blois The Dutchess was receiv'd at Paris with great honour and incredible joy of the people who paid their veneration to her as to the Mother of two Holy Martyrs And the Petit Feuillant Preaching one day before her flew out into so high a transport that turning himself towards her he made an Apostrophé to the late Duke of Guise in these words O Holy and Glorious Martyr of God blessed is the Womb that bore thee and the Breasts that gave thee suck But after all she succeeded not in her negotiation The two Sheriffs forswore themselves and joyn'd with the Factious according to their former practice And upon the request the original of which is kept in the Library of Monsieur Colbert and which I have seen sign'd by forty eight of the principal Citizens a prohibition was made them to return to Blois and the Oath which they had taken was declar'd Null by an order of the New Parliament which the Leaguers set up after they had broken the old one by one of the most Horrible Encroachments which was ever made upon the Royal Authority For the Duke of Aumale and the Council of Sixteen having that August Body in suspicion the Principal Members of which were Loyally devoted to the King's service resolv'd to take them into custody and all the other Officers whom they distrusted Iean Le Clerc otherwise call'd Bussy heretofore a Procureur in Parliament one of the most heady and impudent fellows that ever breath'd and whom the Duke of Guise well knowing him to be a desperate Leaguer had made Governour of the Bastille demanded and obtain'd that Commission which he executed on the sixteenth of Ianuary For in the Morning possessing himself of the Palace-Gates he enter'd arm'd Cap a pie into the great Chamber at eight of the Clock where the Parliament was assembled and told them that the good Catholiques of Paris had given him in charge to present them a Request Afterwards having put it into the hands of one of the Members he retir'd to the Parquet des Huissiers where his men waited for him The Request was this in substance That it wou'd please that Court to unite it self with the Prevost of Merchants the Sheriffs and the good Citizens of Paris for the defence of Religion and of the Town That in conformity to the Decree of the Sorbonne it wou'd declare that the French were discharg'd from their Oath of Allegiance and Obedience to the King and that they wou'd use his name no more in their Orders This was the way which that Villain took to lay hold of an occasion which he knew wou'd be specious and popular under the shadow of which he might use the Parliament as afterwards he did for he knew full well that they wou'd never confirm a Decree so impious as was that of the Sorbonne This is a passage which all of our Historians have omitted and which I learn'd from the Manuscript Journal which the famous M. Anthony Loysel an Advocate in Parliament who was then at Paris left to his Children for their instruction It was nobly communicated to me by Monsieur Ioly his Grandson Chanter of the Church of Nostre
whom he had commanded to stand at a distance that he might hear what the Traytour had to say to him in private it follows necessarily that either the one or the other of these two committed this detestable action if it were not Iaques Clement and the former of these two suppositions is what can never enter into the imagination of any reasonable man For which reason without losing my time either to destroy or leave doubtfull a truth so known and so generally agreed on by all the Writers of those times and confirm'd besides by so many authentique Witnesses I believe it safer to rest satisfi'd with the universal opinion of Mankind without the least daubing of the matter in regard of his profession which can reflect no manner of dishonour on the Iacobins For there is no dispute but all crimes are personal and there is no man of good sense who can think it reasonable to upbraid a whole Order with the guilt of one particular person in it and principally that of Saint Dominic which is always stor'd with excellent men renown'd for their Vertue their Learning and their Pious conversation Now though the wound was great and had pierc'd very deep yet the Chirurgeons at the first dressing were of opinion that the Knife had slipp'd betwixt the Bowels without entring into them and that therefore the King was not hurt to death of this they all assur'd him and thereupon he sent advice to the Princes his Allies that in ten days he shou'd be able to get on horseback But whether it were that the wound was not search'd to the bottom or that the knife was empoyson'd it was known not long after that the hurt was mortal Never Prince was less surpris'd than he at the certainty of death nor receiv'd it more calmly more Christianly or more devoutly He confess'd himself three several times to the Sieur de Boulogne the Chaplain of his Closet and being advertis'd by him that there was a Monitory out against him and exhorted to satisfie the Church in what was demanded of him before he cou'd have absolution given him I am answer'd he without the least hesitation the Eldest Son of the Roman Catholick Church and will die such I promise in the presence of God and before you all that I have no other desire than to content his Holiness in all he can require from me Upon which the Confessour being fully satisfi'd gave him Absolution All the remainder of the day he pass'd in his Devotions and in Contemplation of Holy things till the King of Navarre being arriv'd from his Quarters at Meudon it being now well onward in the night and throwing himself on his knees before him with his eyes full of tears and without being able to pronounce one word he rais'd himself up a little and leaning gently on his head declar'd him his lawfull Successour commanding all the Nobility who fill'd the Chamber to acknowledge and obey him as their King at the same time telling him that if he wou'd Reign peaceably it was necessary for him to return into the Church and to profess the Religion of all the most Christian Kings his Predecessours When he felt the approaches of death about two of the Clock in the Morning he confess'd himself once more after which he call'd for the holy Sacrament which Viaticum he receiv'd with incredible devotion After which he continu'd in all the most fervent actions of Faith Hope and Charity relying wholly on the infinite merits of the Passion of our Saviour Iesus Christ pardoning all his Enemies from the bottom of his heart and particularly those who had procur'd his death and thereupon he desir'd for the third time to receive Absolution beseeching God to forgive him all his Sins even as he forgave all the injuries which had been done him After this he began to say the Miserere which he was not able to finish having lost his Speech at these words And restore to me the joy of thy Salvation and having twice sign'd himself with the sign of the Cross he quietly gave up his breath about four of the clock in the morning on the second day of August and in the thirty ninth year of his Age. Thus died Henry the third King of France and Poland making it appear at his death that during his Life he had in his Soul a true foundation of Piety and that those extraordinary and odd actions which he did from time to time though they were not altogether regular nor becoming his Quality yet proceeded not from that unworthy principle of Hypocrisie with which the Leaguers have so ignominiously branded him As to the rest he was a Prince who being endu'd with all the Noble Qualities which I have describ'd in his Character in the beginning of this History had been one of the most excellent Kings who ever Reign'd if he cou'd have shewn them to the World after his assumption to the Crown with the same lustre in which they appear'd before it The Huguenots and Leaguers who agree'd in nothing but their common hatred to this Prince rejoyc'd equally at his Death and spoke of it as a kind of Miracle and as a stroke proceeding from the hand of God The Protestants have written that he was wounded and died afterwards in the same Chamber where he had procur'd the Massacre of St. Bartholomew to be resolv'd Notwithstanding which it is most certain that the House wherein the King was hurt to Death was not Built by the Sieur Ierome de Gondy till the year 1577 which was five years after the forefaid Massacre For which reason that imposture being manifest the Parliament upon the complaint which the Attorney General made concerning it ordain'd that this passage shou'd be rac'd out from the addition which was made by Monliard to the Inventaire of the History of France But the Zealots of Geneva have not been wanting to restore it entirely as it was before in the Impression which they made of that Book As for the Leaguers they proclaim'd their Joy so loudly and in so scandalous a manner that their Books cannot be read without an extreme abhorrence to the Writers They publish'd in their Narratives Printed at Paris and at Lyons that an Angel had declar'd to Iaques Clement that a Crown of Martyrdom was prepar'd for him when he had deliver'd France from Henry de Valois and that having communicated his Vision to a knowing man in Orders he had approv'd it assuring him that by giving this Stroke he shou'd make himself as well pleasing to God as Iudith was by killing Holophernes And because his Prior who was called Father Edm. Bourgoing was accus'd to be the man amongst all the Preachers of the League who was the most transported in the praises of this abominable Parricide his Subject Apostrophising to him in the Pulpit and calling him the blessed Child of his Patriarch and the Holy Martyr of Iesus Christ and also comparing him to Iudith It was not doubted but that
Prelates of the Kingdom that he shou'd restore the Exercise of the Catholique Religion in all places from whence it had been banish'd and remit the Ecclesiastiques into the full and entire Possession of all their Goods that he shou'd bestow no Governments on Hugonots and that this Assembly might have leave to depute some persons to the Pope to render him an account of their Proceedings This Accommodation was sign'd by all the Lords excepting only the Duke of Espernon and the Sieur de Vitry who absolutely refus'd their Consent to it Vitry went immediately into Paris and there put himself into the Service of the League which he believ'd at that time to be the cause of Religion As for the Duke of Espernon he had no inclination to go over to the League which had so often solicited his Banishment from Court But whether it were that being no longer supported since his Masters Death he fear'd the Hatred and Resentment of the greatest Persons about the King and even of the King himself whom he had very much offended during the time of his Favour in which it was his only business to enrich himself or were it that he was afraid he shou'd be requir'd to lend some part of that great Wealth which he had scrap'd together he very unseasonably and more unhandsomly began to raise Scruples and seem'd to be troubled with Pangs of Conscience which never had been thought any great grievance to him formerly so that he took his leave of the King and retir'd to his Government with 2 or 3000 Foot and 500 Horse which he had brought to the Service of his late Master This pernicious Example was follow'd by many others who under pretence of ordering their Domestick Affairs ask'd leave to be gone which the King dar'd not to refuse them or suffer'd themselves to be seduc'd by the Proffers and Solicitations of the League so that the King not being in a condition any longer to besiege Paris was forc'd to divide his remaining Troops comprehending in that number those which Sancy still preserv'd for his Use and Service Of the whole he form'd three little Bodies one for Picardy under the Command of the Duke of Longuevillâ— another for Champaigne under the Marshal d' Aumont and himself led the third into Normandy where he was to receive Supplies from England and where with that small Remainder of his Forces he gave the first Shock to the Army of the League which at that time was become more powerful than ever it had been formerly or than ever it was afterwards In effect those who after the Barricades had their eyes so far open'd as to discover that the League in which they were ingag'd was no other than a manifest Rebellion against their King seeing him now dead believ'd there was no other Interest remaining on their side but that of Religion and therefore reunited themselves with the rest to keep out a Heretick Prince from the Possession of the Crown And truly this pretence became at that time so very plausible that an infinite number of Catholiques of all Ranks and Qualities dazled with so specious an appearance made no doubt but that it was better for them to perish than to endure that he whom they believ'd obstinate in his Heresie shou'd ascend the Throne of St. Lewis and were desirous that some other King might be elected Nay farther there were some of them who took this occasion once more to press the Duke of Mayenne that he wou'd assume that Regal Office which it wou'd be easie for him to maintain with all the Forces of the united Catholiques of which he already was the Head but that Prince who was a prudent man fearing the dangerous consequences of so bold an Undertaking lik'd better at the first to retain for himself all the Essentials of Kingship and to leave the Title of it to the old Cardinal of Bourbon who was a Prisoner and whom he declar'd King under the Name of Charles the Tenth by the Council of the Union At this time it was that there were scatter'd through all the Kingdom a vast number of scandalous Pamphlets and other Writings in which the Authors of them pretended to prove that Henry of Bourbon stood lawfully excluded from the Crown those who were the most eminent of them were the two Advocates general for the League in the Parliament of Paris Lewis d'Orlâ—ans and Anthony Hotman The first was Author of that very seditious Libel call'd The English Catholique And the second wrote a Treatise call'd The Right of the Vncle against the Nephew in the Succession of the Crown But there happen'd a pleasant Accident concerning this Francis Hotman a Civilian and Brother to the Advocate seeing this Book which pass'd from hand to hand in Germany where he then was maintain'd with solid Arguments and great Learning The Right of the Nephew against the Vncle and made manifest in an excellent Book which he publish'd on this Subject the Weakness and false Reasoning of his Adversaries Treatise without knowing that it was written by his Brother who had not put his Name to it The League having a King to whom the Crown of right belong'd after Henry the Fourth his Nephew in case he had surviv'd him by this Pretence increas'd in Power because the King of Spain and the Duke of Lorrain and Savoy who during the Life of the late King their Ally durst not declare openly against him for his Rebellious Subjects now after his Death acknowledging this Charles the Tenth for King made no difficulty to send Supplies to the Duke of Mayenne insomuch that he after having publish'd through all France a Declaration made in August by which he exhorts all French Catholicks to reunite themselves with those who would not suffer an Heretique to be King had rais'd at the beginning of September an Army of 25000 Foot and 8000 Horse With these Forces he pass'd the Seine at Vernon marching directly towards the King who after he had been receiv'd into Pont del ' Arch and Diepe which Captain Rolâ—t and the Commander de Chates had surrendred to him made a show of besieging Rouen not having about him above 7 or 8000 Men. This so potent an Army of the Leaguers compos'd of French and Gâ—rmans Lorrainers and Walloons which he had not imagin'd cou'd have been so soon assembled and which was now coming on to overwhelm him constrain'd him to retire speedily towards Diepe where he was in danger to have been incompass'd round without any possibility of Escape but only by Sea into England if the Duke of Mayenne had taken up the resolution as he ought to have done from the first moment when he took the Field to pursue him eagerly and without the least delay But while he proceeding with his natural slowness which was his way of being wise trifled out his time in long deliberations when he shou'd have come to Action he gave leisure to the King to fortifie his Camp at Arques a League
Arques 748 c. at the attacquing the Suburbs of Paris 752. at the Battel of Ivry 775. at the Siege of Roan 845. he is kill'd before Espernay 862. counsels the King to put Fryer Ange and his Penitents in Prison Pag. 369 367 The Baron of Biron at the Battel of Ivry 775. at the Battel of Fontan Francoise 946 947 The Sieur de Bois-Dauphin enters into the League 105 John Boucher Curate of St. Benets a grand Leaguer and his Character 95. his Chamber is call'd the Cradle of the League 99. causes the Alarm-Bell to be rung in his Parish Church at the Sergeants and Archers that would seize the Seditious 304. preaches against the King 431 432. retires into Flanders with the Spaniards after the reducing of Paris 943 The Duke of Bouillon la Mark General of the German Army 231 233 Charles Cardinal de Bouâ—bon put by the Duke of Guise as a Ghost at the Head of the League 92. his weakness and ridiculous pretension 93 102 114. his Manifesto or that of the League under his name 114. the King declares him to be the nearest of Blood and gives him the Prerogatives of the Presumptive Heir of the Crown 382. He presides over the Clergy at the Estates of Blois 388. is seiz'd Prisoner 403. is declar'd King by the Council of the Union 739. and proclaim'd by the Name of Charles X. 764 765. his death in Prison Pag. 821 Charles de Bourbon Count de Soissons joins with the King of Navarre at Monforeau 198. his Valour at the Battel of Coutras 221 222. at the attacquing the Suburbs of Paris 753 Henry de Bourbon Prince de Conde brings an Army of Germans into France 10. is excommunicated by Pope Sixtus Quintus 132. drives the Duke of Mercoeur from Poitou 146. the History of his unhappy Expedition upon Anger 's 145 146. espouses Charlotte Catharine de la Trimoille 147. quits the Siege of Brouage where he leaves his Infantry and marches with his Cavalry to relieve Anger 's where his Army is scatter'd and how 150. his firmness at the Conference of St. Brix 162 163. his Valour at the Battel of Coutras 207 c. his Death and Elogy 329 330 c. Henry XI de Bourbon Prince de Conde a grand Enemy to the Heresie of the Calvinists notwithstanding that he was born of a Calvinistical Father and Mother 148. his Elogy ib. c. Lovis de Bourbon Duke of Monpensier manages the Conference at St. Brix 162. joins with the Troops of the King's Army at Gien 260. his Valour at the Combat of Arques 748. at the Battel of Ivry 774. Andrew Brancas de Villars maintains the Siege of Roan with great honour 845. puts all the Camp in disorder 850 851. is made Admiral of the League Pag. 872 Anthony de Brichanteau Beauvais Nangis enters into the League and why 106 107 c. re-enters into the King's favour who gives him the Signet of Admiral of France 393 394 The President Brisson head of the Parliament of the League 450. secretly protests before Notari of the violence that he suffers ib. the Sixteen cause him to be hang'd 837 Peter Brulart sent to the King of Navarre to convert him 140 141 c. his Elogy and that of his House ib. his Banishment from Court 384 William Duke of Brunswick at the Battel of Ivry where he is slain 789 Bussy le Clerc a furious Leaguer 98. takes Arms to hinder de Prevost Curate of St. Severnes from being apprehended who had preach'd seditiously against the King 303 304. is made Governour of the Bastille after the Barricades 365. leads the Parliament to the Bastille how and under what pretext 444 445. is constrain'd to surrender the Bastille to the Duke of Mayenne 838. saves himself in Flanders where he dies miserable 839 840 C. CArdinal Cajetan sent Legat into France by Sixtus Quintus 758. hinders an Accommodation being made with the King though he should be converted 766. runs the risque of being kill'd at the Shew of the Ecclesiastics and Monks during the Siege of Paris Pag. 808 Queen Catharine de Medicis engages the King in the War against the Hugonots 7. concludes a Peace at the Court of the Religion 11 12 13. she hinders the King from opposing the League at first 60. she maintains it under-hand 80. she would exclude the King of Navarre from the Succession that the Prince of Lorrain her Grandson might reign 85. she holds a Correspondence with the Duke of Guise and hinders the King from arming himself against him 117. her Conference with the King of Navarre at St. Brix's 161. she carries the Duke of Guise to the Louvre and mollifies the King's anger 344. counsels the King to go out of Paris 362. she suffers her self to be amus'd by the Duke of Guise who enters very dextrously into her Interests 371 372. her surprize at the death of the Guises 403. her Death 437. 438. her Elogy and Portrait 438 439 c. Claude de la Chastre Bailiff of Beny 105. Mareschal of the Camp in the Duke â—f Guise's Army against the Râ—yters 246 250 266. marches the first to Montargis to surprize the Reyters at Vimory 266 267 268. his advance to Dourdan to surround them in Aunâ—au 279. what part he had in the defeat of the Reyters at Auneau 268. he preserves Berry and Orleans for the League 493. is made Mareschal of the League 872. he makes his Peace and re-enters into Obedience Pag. Pag. 936 The Count de Chastillon Son of the Admiral brings assistance to the Army of the Reyters 233 258. his brave reâ—reat in the middle of an infinite number of Enemies 298. repulses the Troops of the Duke of Mayenne before Tours 482. defeats the Troops of Sieur de Saveuse 491. his Valour at the Combat of Arques 742 748. he misses taking Paris by storm 812. he 's the principal cause of the happy success at the Siege at Chartres 817 818. his Death and Elogy ib. 819 Clement VIII Pope would not receive the Catholick Deputies of the Royal Party 861. nor the Duke of Nevers that went to render him Obâ—diâ—nce 933. after having a long time refus'd to give the King Absolution he gives it at last 934 The Combat and Retrâ—at at Pont St. Vincent 246 c. The Combat at Vimoroy 267 c. The Combat at Auneau where the Reyters were defeated Pag. 277 c. Combat at Fontain Francoise 947 The Conference of the Duke of Espernon with the King of Navarre about his Conversion 87 c. Conference at d'Espernay and de Meaux 121 The Conference of Sieur Lennoncour and President Brulart with the King of Navarre for his Conversion 140 141 c. The Conference at St. Brix between the Queen-mother and the King of Navarre the Prince of Conde and the Vicount de Turenne 161 162 c. The Conference at Nancy between the Princes of the House of Lorrain 184 c. The Conference of Henry III. with Cardinal
most infamous of mankind onely for renouncing Calvinism By how many Forgeries and Calumnies have they endeavour'd to ruine the repute of all such Catholiques as have the most vigorously oppos'd their Heresie History will furnish us with abundant proofs and we have but too many in the Fragments which Monsieur Le Laboreur has given us of their insolent Satyrs where they spare not the most inviolable and Sacred things on Earth not even their anointed Soveraigns For which Reason that Writer in a certain Chapter of his Book wherein he mentions but a small parcel of those Libels after he has said that the most venomous Satyrists and the greatest Libertines were those of the Huguenot party adds these memorable words I should have been asham'd to have read all those Libels for the Blasphemies and Impieties with which they are fill'd if that very consideration had not been ayding to confirm me in the belief that there was more wickedness than either errour or blindness in their Doctrine and that their Morals were even more corrupt than their opinions He assures us in another place that these new Evangelists have made entire Volumes of railing of which he has seen above forty Manuscripts and that there needed no other arguments to decide the difference betwixt the two Religions and to elude the fair pretences of these reforming Innovatours So that all they have scribbled with so much I will not say violence but madness against the Sieur Cayet immediately upon his Conversion cannot doe him the least manner of prejudice no more than their ridiculous prediction wherein they foretold that it wou'd not be long before he wou'd be neither Huguenot nor Catholique but that he wou'd set up a third party betwixt the two Religions For he ever continu'd to live so well amongst the Catholiques that after he had given on all occasions large proofs both of his Virtue and of his Faith he was thought worthy to receive the order of Priesthood and the Degree of Doctor in Divinity and was Reader and Professour Royal of the Oriental Tongues Now seeing in the year 1605 ten years after his Conversion he had publish'd his Septenary Chronology of the Peace which was made at Vervins in the year 1598. Some of the greatest Lords at Court who understood his Merit and had seen him with the King by whom he had the honour to be well known and much esteem'd oblig'd him to add to the History of the Peace that of the War which that great Prince made during Nine years after his coming to the Crown till the Peace of Vervins which he perform'd in the three Tomes of his Nine years Chronology Prinâ—ed at Paris in the year 1608 in which before he proceeds to the Reign of Henry the Fourth he makes an abridgment of the most considerable passages in the League to the death of Henry the third And 't is partly from this Authour and partly from such others as were Eye-witnesses of what they wrote whether in Printed Books or particular Memoires that I have drawn those things which are related by me in this History I am not therefore my self the witness nor as an Historian do I take upon me to decide the Merit of these actions whether they are blameable or praise-worthy I am onely the Relater of them and since in that quality I pretend not to be believ'd on my own bare word and that I quote my Authours who are my Warrantees as I have done in all my Histories I believe my self to stand exempted from any just reproaches which can be fasten'd on me for my writing On which Subject I think it may be truly said that if instead of examining matters of Fact and enquiring whether they are truly or falsely represented that consideration be laid aside and the question taken up whether such or such actions were good or bad and matter of right pleaded whether they deserv'd to be condemn'd or prais'd it wou'd be but loss of time in unprofitable discourses in which an Historian is no way concern'd For in conclusion he is onely answerable for such things as he reports on the credit of those from whom he had them taking from each of them some particulars of which the rest are silent and compiling out of all of them a new body of History which is of a quite different Mould and fashion from any of the Authours who have written before him And 't is this in which consists a great part of the delicacy and beauty of these kinds of Works and which produces this effect that keeping always in the most exact limits of truth yet an Authour may lawfully pretend to the glory of the invention having the satisfaction of setting forth a new History though Writing onely the passages of a former Age he can relate almost nothing but what has been written formerly either in printed Books or Manuscripts which though kept up in private and little known are notwithstanding not the Work of him who writes the History As to what remains none ought to wonder that I make but one single Volume on this Subject though the matter of it is of vast extent I take not upon me to tell all that has been done on occasion of the League in all the Provinces nor to describe all the Sieges the taking and surprising of so many places which were sometimes for the King and at other times for the League or all those petty Skirmishes which have drawn if I may have liberty so to express my self such deluges of Bloud from the veins of France All these particulars ought to be the ingredients of the General History of this Nation under the Reigns of the two last Henries which may be read in many famous Historians and principally in the last Tome of the late Monsieur de Mezeray who has surpass'd himself in that part of his great work I confine my undertaking within the compass of what is most essential in the particular History of the League and have onely appli'd my self to the discovery of its true Origine to unriddle its intrigues and artifices and find out the most secret motives by which the Heads of that Conspiracy have acted to which the magnificent Title of the Holy Vnion has been given with so much injustice and in consequence of this to make an exact description of the principal actions and the greatest and most signal events which decided the fortune of the League and this in short is the Model of my Work As for the end which I propos'd to my self in conceiving it I may boldly say that it was to give a plain understanding to all such as shall read this History that all sorts of Associations which are form'd against lawfull Soveraigns particularly when the Conspiratours endeavour to disguise them under the specious pretence of Religion and Piety as did the Huguenots and Leaguers are at all times most criminal in the sight of God and most commonly of unhappy and fatal Consequence to
is all the 〈◊〉 I will ever take on you for all the 〈◊〉 you have done me when you were 〈◊〉 of the League Thus the Duke being charm'd with so much Generosity and Goodness which won upon his Nature devoted himself wholly to his service and serv'd him afterwards to his great advantage especially against the Spaniards in the retaking of La Fere and Amiens Now after this Agreement there remain'd no more towards the total extinguishment of that great Fire which had spread it self through all the Kingdom than the reduction of the Dukes of Mercaeur and of Ioyeuse who yet held for the League the one in Bretagne and the other in Languedoc For as to the Town of Marseilles which the Duke of Guise to whom the King had given that Government of Provence had retaken from the Rebels it being then under the dominion of two petty Tyrants who acknowledg'd neither the King nor the Duke of Mayenne and who wou'd have given it up to the Spaniards the History of its Deliverance belongs not to that of the League for the Duke of Ioyeuse three years were already past when after the death of his Brother who was drown'd in the Tarn when he had been forc'd in his Retrenchments at the Siege of Villemur he was return'd from Father Aâ—ge the Capuchin to be Duke of Ioyeuse and General of the League in Languedoc This change of his was made at the earnest Solicitations of the Faculty of Divines in Tholouse the Doctors who were consulted on this Case of Conscience and especially his Brother the Cardinal who after the death of the late King was enter'd into the Party of the League having declar'd to him that he was oblig'd under pain of mortal Sin to accept of that Employment for the good of Religion Yet he wou'd not take it without a Dispensation from the Pope who transferr'd him from the Order of St. Francis to that of St. Iohn of Ierusalem He had maintain'd till that time the Party of the Vnion in that Province as well as he was able but when he saw that the greatest part of the Towns made their voluntary submission after the Conversion of the King and that those few Officers of Parliament who were remaining at Tholouse were resolv'd in case he wou'd not accommodate himself to them that they wou'd joyn with the Members of their Company who during the Troubles were retir'd to Castle Sarazin and Besiers He made his Treaty and in Ianuary obtain'd from the â—inâ— in the same manner as the Duke of 〈◊〉 had done an Edict in favour of him by which he was made Marshal of France and Lieutenant of the King in Languedoc and Tholoâ—se and the other Towns of that Province which yet held for the League He liv'd for three years afterwards in the midst of the Pomps Pleasures and Vanities of the World But it caus'd a wonderful Surprize when after he had solemniz'd with great Magnificence the Marriage of his only Daughter Hâ—nrieâ—â—e Charâ—otte only Heir of that rich and illustrious House of Ioyeusâ— with Henry Duke of Montpâ—nsiâ—r it was told on the second Tuesday of Lent by the Capuchin who preach'd at St. Germain de l' Auxerrois that having for the second time renounc'd the World he was return'd the last night into the Cloister from whence he had departed eight or nine years before for the service of Religion as he believ'd but at the last his Mind having been enlighten'd by God's holy Spirit and being strongly wrought upon by the Impuâ—ses of his Grace he had resolv'd to do Justice on himself considering in the presence of God that the Motive on which the Pope had given him the Dispensation no longer subsisting it was his duty dealing sincerely with God who is not to be deceiv'd no longer to make use of it when the Causes which supported it were no more in being For which Reasons he piously resolv'd to resume his ancient Habit of Penitence in which after he had edified all Paris by his rare Vertues and his fervent Sermons he dy'd in our days a most religious Death All that now remain'd was to reduce the Duke of Mâ—rcaeur which was indeed to give the fatal Blow to the League and to cut off the last Head of that monstrous Hydra That Prince who was Son to the Count of Vaâ—demont and Brother of Queen Louise Wife to the late King being carried away with the furious Torrent of the League after the death of the Guises following the example of the other Princes of his Family had caus'd almost a general Revolt in his Government of Bretagne where he made War for almost ten years with Fortune not unlike that of the Duke of Mayenne but with much greater Obstinacy For not withstanding that in the declination of the League he had lost the greatest part of his Towns which were either taken from him or of their own accord forsook his Party yet he still fed his Imagination with flattering Hopes that this fair Dutchy to which he had some Pretensions in right of his Wife might at last remain in his possession by some favourable revolution of Fortune in case the War continued But when he saw the King approaching Bretagne with such Forces as there was no appearance of resisting he made his Applications to the Dutchess of Beaufort to whom he offer'd the Princess his only Daughter for the young Duke of Vandome her Son And it was in consideration of that Marriage that she obtain'd from the King an Edict yet more honourable and at least as advantagious as that which she had obtain'd for the Duke of Mayenne whom she desir'd to have in her Interests designing to make her self powerful Friends by whose assistance she might compass her high Pretensions which all vanish'd by her sudden Death in the year ensuing Thus ended the League by the reduction of the Duke of Mercaeur who had this advantage above all the Princes of that Party that his Accommodation was follow'd by an Employment wherein he obtain'd all the Glory that a Christian Hero cou'd desire and which has recommended his Name to late Posterity For the Emperor Rodolphus dissatisfy'd with his German Generals who had serv'd him ill against the Turks and being inform'd of the rare Merit of this Prince having entertain'd him with leave from the King and given him the Command of his Forces in Hungary he extended his Reputation through all Christendom by his wonderful Exploits in War particularly in the famous Retreat of Canisia with 1500 men before an Army of 60000 Turks at the taking of Alba Regalis and at the Battel wherein he defeated the Infidels who came to the relief of their men besiegâ—d in that City And being upon his return to France after so many heroick Actions it pleas'd God to reward him with another Crown of Glory infinitely surpassing that on Earth and to receive him into Heaven by means of a contagious Disease which took him from the World at