, she 
: ight not be 
‘History. ever, that her orthodoxy might n ee 
to the establishment of a college 
country, and not in any 
kingdom. 
were insulted, and they 
turn insulted the Protestants. At this critical juncture, 
it happened that the Duke of Guise, on his j to 
ing that the law was on thei side, 
ants with stones. The Duke, as soon as he learnt what 
was goi on, hastened to the spot, and, in his attemp 
dispute, he was wounded in the face. 
servants, enraged at this, drew their swords, and killed 
* and wounded above 250 of the Protestants. As soon 
as the tumult was over, the Duke of Guise severely re- 
primanded hrc te of the place, for 
the assemblies of obetsiae tebe hala domes and 
tisfaction from the court. Catherine was puzzled how 
she resolved to promise him the 
uired, well knowing that her promise 
would be futile by the remonstrances and op- 
position of the King of Navarre and the Triumvirate. 
So it happened ; they openly refused to obey her com- 
mands ; and they were strengthened in their refusal, by 
the arrival of the Duke of Guise at Paris with 1200 ca- 
valry. Catherine now became seriously alarmed for 
her own safety, and for the continuance of her power 
over the King. She therefore made a forcible appeal to 
rege fi poryis : aferding bins the pees 
ign from captivity, i i 
Secies Wa ated Ser bo ors his ammovinton, The Triam- 
Tint cing oth cn, thy wie 
ino’s Tescue him from vinists, sei is , and 
secon = conducted him, and his indignant mother, who vainly 
seized. lamented the of her own machinations, 
first to Melun, and ards to the capital. 
inning Such was the beginning of the civil wars, that deso- 
of the civil lated and wi France for so long a period of time. 
wars, 
The Prince of Condé having consulted with the admi- 
t himself at the head of 2000 cavalry, pushed for- 
ward, and made himself master-of Orleans, 
ing established his head-quarters, it became 
for him to his cause by every means in his 
er. His first object was to quiet the icions of 
rie Catholics in France as much as possible. With this 
view, he declared that he had taken up arms, to relieve 
the and his mother from captivity. He next dis- 
ved messengers into Germany, to solicit the aid of 
Protestant brethren ; and he gave up Havre to Eli- 
zabeth, Queen of England, in order to obtain her as- 
FRANCE. 
575 
sistance. The chancellor De l’Hospital made an attempt History. 
to prevent the dreadful evils of eae war ; ee iat, Gases 
failing, both parties prepared for hostilities. e Ca- 
tholie army was first in a condition to take the field; 
and after plundering Blois, Tours, and Bourges, it sat 
down before Rouen. This place was occupied by a gar- 
rison under the command of that Montgomery, who had 
been the innocent cause of the death pe | Il. In 
eonsequence of his having been pursued by the impla- 
cable resentment of Catherine, he had taken refuge in 
England, where he had embraced the reformed religion, 
from which country he had returned as soon as the 
civil war commenced. His courage naturally great, 
and his talents and experience by no means of an ordi- ° 
description, were called into full action on this oc- 
casion ; and the inhabitants, encouraged by his exam- 
ple, refused all offers of capitulation. At last, after a 
most obstinate defence, the city was taken by assault. 
Mon escaped with a few companions in a boat, 
but the inhabitants suffered every species of outrage 
which an enraged soldiery could inflict. In the course 
of the siege, the King of Navarre received a wound, 
which soon afterwards caused his death. 
The Prince of Condé hitherto had not been able to 
act offensively ; but having now been joined by 12,000 
men from Germany, he attempted to surprise Paris ; 
but not succeeding, he retired into Normandy. In his 
retreat, he was pursued by the Catholic army, which 
came up to him at Draix. Here, in 1563, the first civil Battle of 
battle took place, and it was fought with the rancorous Draix, 
Pesci Renae always fatally distinguishes civil wars. A.D. 1563. 
In the beginning of the engagement, nothing could 
withstand the impetuous charge of the Protestants ; and 
the Constable Montmorency having been wounded, was 
taken prisoner. But the Duke of Guise, by his calm 
and cireumspect courage, more than compensated for 
these disasters. The Protestants, in their of 
pursuit, had weakened their line: on it the Duke fell 
suddenly, and with great force. The Prince of Condé, 
being dismounted and surrounded, was obliged to sur- 
render to the second son of the constable. The com- 
mand now devolved on Coligny, and it required all his 
talents, and the animating example of his courage, to 
rally his , and conduct them, before a superior 
force, oe preg eere 4 
Althoug mother, in consequence of this 
victory, was fully sensible that the ‘talus of the 
Princes of Lorraine was become much more formidable 
than it had ever been before, yet the military talents 
of the Duke had been so conspicuously displayed in at- 
chieving it, that she found herself under the necessity 
of ing on him the chief command of the army, 
with which, indeed, he had been already invested by 
the tumultuous acclamations of the soldiers. The 
ture of Orleans was the next object at which the Duke 
aimed. Coligny, having i into Normandy in order 
to receive the supplies which he expected cL, ae 
land, had left in city his brother D’Andelot wit 
2000 of his troops, with instructions to defend it to the 
last extremity. These orders, the Duke, from the tried 
valour of D’Andelot, had every reason to conclude 
would be obeyed in their fullest sense ; but he was ra- 
ther urged on than intimidated by this consideration. 
In lessthan a month, he had made himself master of 
the bridge across the Loire, and of the suburbs ; and 
the fate of Orleans seemed at hand, when the duke was Assassina- 
assassinated by a gentleman ofthe name of Poltrot. In tion of the 
his last moments, he exhorted Catherine to extinguish Duke of 
the civil war, which was just begun: he lamented the SU 
