life, history will manifest the overruling influence of His wisdom, whose kingdom comprehends both heaven and earth, in lines which he who runs may read. In the desire to promote such results has this HISTORY OF FRANCE been written. While care has been taken to avoid mere party and political sentiments, the reader will here find a history which demonstrates that even infidel France-a country in which the people, in one of its most remarkable eras, endeavoured to blot out the name of the Most High from their remembrance, and to exalt Reason to the throne of Omnipotence-was nevertheless under the control of Him whom they thus blindly and impiously repudiated. In this history, also, many important lessons are taught by the multifarions events which happened, and the remarkable characters which flourished in France during the long period which it has existed as a nation; for history should ever be made the medium of imparting instruction, as well as of conveying information. The history commences at the earliest period; and it is not merely a civil and military history of the government of France, but of the people. Another feature of this history is, that it comprehends a view of the religion of France, noting events which are not usually made a prominent feature in the histories of that land. But no history can be complete without them; and in the history of France it will be found that they were most influential and important, leading, through painful details, to the awful results presented in the later portion of her annals. THE HISTORY OF FRANCE. GAUL, FROM THE CHAPTER I. EARLIER AGES TO THE REIGN OF CLOVIS, THE FOUNDER OF THE MEROVINGIAN DYNASTY. THE CELTS. GAUL was the general term by which the Romans denominated the country now called France. Little was known of it, till the days of Cæsar, who, when he invaded it, found three races of people there the Aquitani, Celts, and Belgæ— with an intermixture of Germans, Ligurians, and Greeks. Of these races, the Belgæ occupied the north, and north-east; the Celts, the western, central, and south; and the Aquitani, the southwestern part. The Celts formed the basis of the population of Gaul, and these people are said to have been descended from Gomer, the eldest son of Japheth, whose descendants spreading from the regions north of Armenia and Bactriana, extended themselves westward over nearly the whole continent of Europe, retaining, with some slight variation, B their paternal denomination. The time and manner of the settlement of the Celts, and their history in general, till they were conquered by the Romans, are involved in obscurity. They must, however, have settled there at an early period, as the wants of an increasing population led them in the reign of the elder Tarquin of Rome, about B.C. 600, to send out two vast emigrating bodies in quest of settlements. One of these bodies invaded Italy, the northern part of which was subdued and peopled by them; the other turned toward the north-east, into Germany and Hungary. Two great countries of Germany, Bohemia and Bavaria, derive their names from one of the tribes-the Boians-engaged in this emigration. Other colonies appear to have been settled by the Celts. Lucan, speaking of Cæsar's conquests in Spain, where, unlike most of the conquests in those barbarous ages, says "No purple deluge left a guilty stain " of the people who inhabited Arragon :— "Nor wanted then the Celtiberians bold, Who draw their long descent from Celtic Gauls of old.” In the earlier ages the Celts were a very powerful people. Wherever they went, as colonies to settle, or as armies to support and defend their settlements, they were dreaded. Rome itself, at one time, trembled at their name. In one of their expeditions in Italy, indeed, provoked by the Romans, they turned their arms against them, and took and burned their venerable city. So much were they dreaded, at this time, by the Romans, (about B.C. 364,) that freedom from |