(formerly the Duke of Alençon), who, though an intriguer, insincere in his friendships and ambitious in his views, was at least vigorous and enterprising. But the life of this prince was not much prolonged. It will be recollected that in 1575 he joined the Huguenots, for the promotion of his own ends; six years later, he collected a French army in support of the Flemish patriots. The project was favoured by Henry III.—not, assuredly, out of any love for the Low Country Protestants, but in order to rid himself of a troublesome brother and a number of heretic subjects. The Duke of Anjou, who had recently been invested with sovereign power over Flanders and Brabant, crossed the frontier in August, 1581, and besieged Cambrai. He was at first received by the Netherlanders with some favour; and as, at that time, there seemed a prospect of the French prince marrying Elizabeth of England, he was regarded as the future head of the Reformation. The nuptials, however, were broken off, and the Duke of Anjou soon afterwards gave deep offence by endeavouring to rule despotically, with the aid of French garrisons in the principal cities, such as Antwerp and Bruges. He was expelled from the Low Countries in June, 1583, and in the course of another year expired in France, the victim of broken hopes, and of a life ill spent.

The death of the King's brother, in 1584, was an event of great importance to the French nation; for it was now pretty certain that Henry III. would have no children, nor had the Duke of Anjou left any issue. The question, therefore, arose who would be the lawful sovereign of France, in the event of Henry's death? Henry of Navarre was in the right line from Louis IX. ; but, as a Protestant, he was distasteful to the majority of the French people. A claim was accordingly put forward on behalf of Henry, on behalf of Henry, Duke of Guise, a descendant of Charles of Lorraine, the last of the Carolingian race which once ruled in France; though, in such a case, the rightful heir would have been the Duke of Lorraine, and not Henry of Guise. The Catholic League supported the claim with great animation, and let slip no opportunity of insisting on the duty which Frenchmen owed to their religion. For the present, however, a puppet was advanced in the person of Cardinal Bourbon, uncle of Henry of Navarre, an old and imbecile ecclesiastic, who might be set aside at any moment. A manifesto was published in the name of this dignitary, and the Leaguers at once took up arms against the King. They had previously entered into a compact with Philip of Spain, by which the contracting

Philip

parties engaged to extirpate heresy both in France and the Netherlands, and to exclude from the French throne any prince who should either profess or tolerate the doctrines of Protestantism. was to grant a monthly subsidy of fifty thousand crowns in aid of the cause; and the designs of the conspirators received the approval of the Pontiff. Thus aided, the Dukes of Guise and Mayenne entered the field in the early part of 1585. A large proportion of Frenchmen enthusiastically endorsed their pretensions; Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany, declared against the King; and all the principal cities of the north, east, and south-east, threw in their lot with the insurgents.

Henry III. was staggered by this sudden and unexpected revolt. Several important cities still preserved their loyalty, and he might, by a display of courage and resolution, have re-established his power. But the prospect of an immediate advance on Paris scared him into a policy of conciliation, to which he might otherwise have been little inclined. By a treaty concluded at Nemours, he promised to revoke all edicts in favour of the Protestants, and to enforce the universal profession of orthodoxy. At this period of her history, France required a firm and just ruler, capable of repressing faction, whether in the one direction or the other. Unhappily, the last sovereign of the House of Valois was a man of feeble will and corrupt nature, who yielded to each side in turn, as it happened to be in the ascendant, and who counted nothing higher than his own safety and enjoyment. His convictions were those of a Catholic; yet he intrigued with the Huguenots, in the hope of avoiding danger. He now sacrificed the Protestants, out of no conscientious scruple, however mistaken, but from the mere instinct of self-preservation. Of course the leaders of the reforming party were indignant at the betrayal of their cause, and civil war again broke out. This war has been called that of "the Henries," from the three persons principally engaged-Henry III., Henry of Navarre, and Henry of Guise. It was distinguished by no decisive battles, but kept a large part of the country in a state of permanent devastation, from which every class suffered in a ruinous degree.

Paris was now completely under the dominion of the Duke of Guise and of the League. The latter proceeded to establish a species of working committee, which, from the number of its members, was called the Council of Sixteen. This secret body, to which each of the sixteen wards of the French capital sent a representative, employed itself in organising the popular forces against the Government. When their preparations were com

A.D. 1587.]

plete, the conspirators determined to surprise the chief military posts, blockade the royal palace of the Louvre, execute the principal officers of the court, and force the King to abdicate. A disclosure of the contemplated plot prevented its accomplishment; but Henry felt his insecurity, and saw that his only chance lay in the speedy suppression of the Huguenots. The war was therefore prosecuted with redoubled vigour; and, although Henry of Navarre gained an important victory over the royal forces at Coutras on the 20th of October, 1587, the balance of advantages, as concerned the whole campaign, was on the side of the Catholics. The power of the Duke of Guise, however, remained as formidable as ever. Indeed, the late events had even increased it; for the general voice declared that the successes of the royal army were almost entirely due to the genius of the popular hero. The Sorbonne passed a decree affirming that it was lawful to depose rulers who had betrayed their trust; and Henry, well knowing the source from which that doctrine was derived, and the object of its promulgation, interdicted Guise from entering Paris. This brought matters to an issue, and a struggle ensued between the power of the King and the power of the Duke.

During four months, Guise remained in the provinces, while the Council of Sixteen endeavoured to excite an insurrection in his favour. At the end of that time he returned to Paris, and, on the 8th of May, 1588, was received by the people with every manifestation of rejoicing. He had an ally in Catherine de' Medici, who introduced him into her son's cabinet at the very time when Henry and his ministers were consulting as to whether he should not be put to death. Some consultations followed, in which the Duke assumed a much higher tone of authority than Henry himself. The latter was seeking to gain time, that he might bring reinforcements into Paris. Several additional troops arrived during the night of May 11th; but the managers of the League were not taken by surprise. citizens of Paris were rapidly armed; the chief thoroughfares were blocked by heavy barricadesa species of extemporary fortification often adopted in later days; and the King's troops were quickly overpowered by the forces of the revolution. This was the celebrated " Day of the Barricades," and it ended in the complete supremacy of the Duke of Guise, from whom the King was compelled to implore terms. The conditions which he imposed were so humiliating that Henry fled in despair from his capital, and power passed completely into the hands of Guise. A municipal government, strongly imbued with democratic principles, was at once established;

The

221

the Huguenots were proscribed, together with the so-called Political Catholics, whose object was to effect a liberal compromise; and the provinces were desired to send delegates to Paris, that all might consult upon the general welfare. Renewed negotiations were opened with the King, who had taken refuge at Chartres, and the terms originally proposed at Paris were now accepted, with but slight modifications. A session of the States-General was commenced in September at Blois, to which the King had shifted his quarters; but the tone. of this body was so hostile that the prospect of an accommodation became extremely remote. The great object of the States was to confirm the sentence of exclusion from the throne already pronounced against the Bourbons; but they also demanded a redress of grievances. Henry was so wanting in all real power, so poor, and so unpopular, that he had no choice but to do as he was required; and on these conditions he was granted a small subsidy.

The dictation of the Duke of Guise was fast becoming intolerable. Henry cared nothing for the Huguenots, and could have had no great desire that Henry of Navarre should succeed him on the throne; but he was naturally sensitive on the score of his own dignity, and, as a man of pleasure, did not like the idea of being consigned to a monastery, which he knew to be one of the objects of the conspirators. Had he been a stronger man, he would have arrested the Duke of Guise, and brought him to trial; being weak and irresolute, he determined on a great crime. He persuaded himself that circumstances justified him in striking secretly at the life of his enemy, and he arranged with his intimate advisers the assassination of the Duke of Guise. That powerful leader was accordingly stabbed by a party of nobles on entering the King's chamber in the early morning of December 23rd, and expired at the foot of the royal bed; on the same day, his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, was arrested, and put to death in prison. After the murder of the Duke, Henry entered the apartments of the Queen-Mother, and exclaimed, “Madam, congratulate me! I am once more King of France, for this morning I have put to death the King of Paris." Catherine was at that time lying in a mortal sickness, which seems to have unnerved her usually firm and composed nature. She was greatly agitated by the news, and it is probable that the shock of so grave an event accelerated the termination of her life. She died thirteen days later, on the 5th of January, 1589, when she had nearly attained the age of seventy. Cold, crafty, and remorseless, Catherine de' Medici was a true product of the political school of Macchiavelli, which taught that

The assassination of the effect entirely opposite to

(After the Picture by Delaroche.)

ASSASSINATION OF HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE.

Guises produced an
what the King had
hoped. Paris re-
volted immediately
on learning the
facts,
and the
Sorbonne passed a
decree releasing all
Frenchmen from
their oath of alle
giance a sentence
which was after-
wards confirmed
by the Parliament.
By murdering a
Cardinal, Henry

had brought him-
self under the ban
of the Church, and,
being excommuni-
cated by the Pope,
stood in the posi-
tion of an outlaw,
against whom any
man might act as
he pleased. The
greater part of
France burst into a
flame of insurrec-
tion, and the Duke
of Mayenne, a
brother of the
murdered Guise,

was made supreme
chief of the Ca-
tholic Confederacy.
Henry was terror-
stricken at the op-
position which his
crime had aroused;
but, gathering his
adherents about
him, he retired to
Tours, and pre-
pared to resist the
Leaguers with such
forces as he could
command. Obvi-

ously, however,

there was not the slightest chance of

success unless he could materially augment his army; and, as a last resource, he craved succour of the Huguenots, and of the King of Navarre. alliance was concluded in April, 1589, when

Henry III. established his head-quarters at St. Cloud, and the Huguenots under the King of Navarre encamped at Meudon,

Paris was threatened with capture, and the leaders of the revolution began to tremble for their lives. The Duchess of Montpensier, a sister of the late Duke of Guise, appealed to the fanaticism of the priesthood and the religious orders, and a Dominican monk, named Jacques Clement, was persuaded to undertake the murder of the King. No time was to be lost, for it was known in Paris that an assault would be delivered

presence of Henry, who, not having the slightest suspicion of what was contemplated, ordered his attendants to retire, that he might privately confer with his unknown visitor. The monk put a paper into his hands, and, while he was reading it, drew forth a knife, and stabbed him in the lower part of the stomach. The King's outcries brought in the royal guards, who killed the assassin on the spot by repeated blows of their halberds. Henry lingered until the early hours of the next morning (August 2nd), when he expired in the thirty-eighth year of his age. With him, the dynasty of Valois,

which, in the person of thirteen sovereigns, had occupied the French throne for a period of two hundred and sixty-one years, came to an end, and the House of Bourbon succeeded to a precarious crown. The assassination of Henry III. was approved by Pope Sixtus V. in full consistory, and the citizens of Paris hailed the mother of Clement, when she went there, with cries of extravagant laudation. Nothing is more remarkable, in this bloody contest between Henry III. and the Guise party, than the union of high Catholic with extreme democratic ideas. In the events of those days, we see the beginning of that much larger movement which broke out two centuries later. But by that time the religious element had disappeared, and the proletaire was at deadly feud with the priest.

The affairs of France have diverted our attention from those of the Spanish peninsula, where, however, during the reign of Henry III. at Paris, some events of importance had been proceeding. Chief amongst these was the conquest of Portugal by Spain-an achievement which, only a few years earlier, could hardly have been anticipated. Although a much smaller kingdom than Spain, Portugal had in some respects exhibited greater enterprise and vigour, and a greater aptitude for the difficult work of government. The explora

tions of the Portuguese, and their conquests and settlements in Asia, Africa, and America, showed the possession of certain high and imperial faculties in the nation, which the Spaniards may indeed have shared, but which they manifested in a less conspicuous measure. Under the reign of Manuel I., surnamed the Great, much was accomplished by which Portugal attained the rank and reputation of a first-class Power. John III., who succeeded that monarch, and reigned from 1521 to 1557, still further increased the strength of the kingdom. Unfortunately, however, John was the slave of the Jesuits, whom he invited into the country, and encouraged by the royal countenance. Two very distinguished members of this religious brotherhood, Simon Rodriguez and Francis Xavier, companions of Loyola in his earliest efforts, were for a time established in Portugal. After a while, Xavier was sent to the East Indies and Japan, where he achieved some remarkable results in the conversion of large numbers to Christianity. In Portugal itself, however, the influence of the Jesuits was as injurious as in all other European countries. The tyranny of the Inquisition became, under their guidance, so excessive that Spain itself was less intolerant. Everything was subordinated to the teachings of this priestly body,

and the followers of Loyola were the supreme power in the State when, on the death of John III. in 1557, the Portuguese crown descended to his grandson, a child of three, whose guardian was his grandmother Catherine, a sister of Charles V., and a bigot of the most unmitigated order. The infant King was brought up under the control of the Jesuits, and, on attaining to manhood, was little else than a crowned priest, disposed to martial achievements, but acting solely in the interests of the Church.

To the mind of King Sebastian, nothing seemed more glorious than to conduct a crusade against the Moors; and in 1574 he undertook an expedition to Africa. His operations were not attended by any brilliant success; but the ardour of his religious zeal experienced no abatement, and his thoughts were still bent on planting the banner of the Cross in territories which had long owned the supremacy of the Crescent. A disputed succession to the throne of Morocco filled that dominion with destructive anarchy, and exposed it to the assaults of the foreigner. Muley Mohammed, who had been deprived of the throne in 1575, after a brief and troublous reign, sought assistance from Sebastian of Portugal, who gladly seized the opportunity of again displaying his power in the north of Africa. Heedless of all dissuasions, Sebastian entered Morocco in the summer of 1578, accompanied by a large army, made up of Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans, and Italians. It was decided to attack El Arisch, which Sebastian, in the reckless spirit of knight-errantry, determined to reach by a dangerous and difficult march across the sandy deserts, though the place might have been reached by sea. At Alcassir, the Christian forces were defeated with enormous loss, and Sebastian himself was among the slain. The throne of Portugal was afterwards occupied by Cardinal Henry of Braga, a brother of John III. ; but, as the direct line would manifestly end with him, several candidates for the succession soon Of these, Philip II. of Spain was the most conspicuous. He was the son of an elder sister of John III., and many of the clergy and nobles were inclined to favour his pretensions. King Henry died on the 31st of January, 1580, and Philip II. prepared to support his cause by arms. The great body of the Portuguese people were adherents of Don Antonio, the natural son of Louis, a brother of John III.; and he was declared King, first at Santarem, and afterwards at Lisbon. Philip, however, sent an army into Portugal, under the command of the veteran Alva, who again showed his military genius and his savage disposition. The

arose.