History. territories; t 
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aT. 
FRANCE. 589 
the court of Austria pet have en- 
tertained suspicions of the real object of so great an 
We eth Geinewse tions, yet, as the 
rchduke was not for resistance, he answered in 
terms of respectfu Ri ibpauaacee Nothing now retard- 
ed his departure, but the coronation of the queen. Sully 
i as, the thoughts of this ceremony disquieted 
him greatly, and that he felt an inward, unaccountable, 
and obscure dread of some approaching misfortune. It 
is probable that the greatness of the object which he 
had in view, might have impressed his manners and 
countenance with unusual gravity ; and that this after- 
wards was attributed to a timent of his fate. At 
the same time, it must be admitted. that the recollec- 
tion of the narrow escapes which he had often made, 
and of the opportunity which a crowd afforded of at- 
ing his life, could hardly fail to arise in his mind ; 
and if it did occur, must have rendered him unquiet 
and mélancholy. Besides, he had often been displeased 
with the attention and indulgence which the queen dis- 
Baverfo Ber Italian favourites ; and he mig ta - 
d that, during his absence, they would conduct 
themselves with more than their usual audacity, and 
excite the Paras of the people. Notwithstanding 
tat ap ions, however, wg me ful e which he 
uni - expressed, and_ sincere a pageantry 
Sed odeaiiten te sae that the coronation should 
ificence, The next Sunday 
was fixed for the public entry of the queen, and on 
the Wednesday following, oH had resolved to quit 
Paris, and to put himself at the of his army. 
Isassassina- But the termination of the life of this really great 
ted. 
A.D. 1610. Jed from 
_ Epernon and Montbazon, the 
king was near at hand. Francis Ravilliac had travel- 
, his native province, to Paris, in 
order to procure a livelihood ; but being di inted, 
and reduced to extreme poverty and ess, he 
conceived the design of arming his hand against the 
King of France. after he arrived in capital, 
he conducted himself in such a manner as plainly proved 
him to be a wild and frantic visi ; and this frame 
of mind must have been rendered still more lomina- 
Sing Fy ea Sierewe SnCe Be Be - Being a 
bigoted i regard: , as he was going to 
assist the sits, an all a BereRiC i thems. Phone are & 
dened by enthusiasm, distress, and bi , he watched 
ty of striking the fatal blow. Henry had 
_ an opportuni 
proposed to visit the arsenal on the morning of the day 
after the coronation ; but he postponed his intention, in 
consequence of the indisposition of Sully, till the after- 
noon, when, finding himself disquieted and restless, he 
ordered his coach ; and, accompanied by the Dukes of 
ahr arshals Lavardin and 
Du Plessis, Liancourt, his master of the harse, he 
determined to proceed to the arsenal. The captain of 
the guards was ordered to 
a 
back and the royal footmen. ' e king might have 
a full and unobstructed view of the various ornaments 
and devices which the citizens had prepared on the oc- 
to a narrow street, where the was by the 
accidental meeting of two carts. Most part of the at- 
tendants, on this, took a nearer way, and only two 
footmen were left, one of whom went forward to clear 
the , and the other .was accidentally detained History, 
behind. Ravilliac, who had been watching a fit oppor- 
tunity to execute his p , instantly stept forward, 
mounted the wheel of the carriage, and, as the king 
turned to read a letter to the Duke of Epernon, he 
stabbed him over the Duke’s shoulder, Henry had 
scarcely time to exclaim, “ I am wounded!” before a 
second blow, more fatally directed, pierced his heart ; 
and, breathing only a deep sigh, he sunk down lifeless. 
The assassin did not attempt to escape, but remain, 
supporting himself on the wheel of the coach, with the 
bloody knife in his hand, till he was seized. He would 
immediately have been torn in pieces by the king’s at- 
tendants, had not the Duke of Epernon interfered. 
The same nobleman quieted the apprehensions of the 
multitude, by assuring them that the king was merely 
wounded, and that they were carrying him to the 
Louvre, in order to have his wounds » eae The 
crowd instantly gave way ; and the body being convey- 
ed to the palace, was laid upon a bed ; but it is said, 
that it was soon deserted by most of those who so late- 
ly had courted the protection and favour of their sove- 
reign. 
The most dreadful tortures were inflicted on Ra- 
villiae: his bones were broken by the arms of the exe- 
cutioner: his flesh was torn by hot pincers: into the 
wounds thus made, scalding lead and oil were poured ; 
and his mangled body, still quivering with life, was de- 
livered to be torn to pieces by four horses. Even after 
all these excruciating torments, the vital principle was 
not destroyed, when the multitude, mad with rage, 
rushed through the guards, and in an instant the last 
spark of life was extinguished. In the midst of all his 
torments, he isted, that it was entirely his own act, 
and that he had no accomplice ; declaring, that, “ im- 
pressed with the idea that the armaments of Henry 
were destined against the Catholic church, he alone had 
planned, and was payy to the deed, but that he was 
now convinced of his guilt, and trusted that his suffer- 
ings in this world would atone for it.” 
Of the character of Henry. we have already sketch- 443, charac- 
ed the leading features, as well as pointed out the be- ter. oT 
nefits which, during his reign, he bestowed on his sub- 
jects ; but the extreme rarity of such an assemblage of 
excellent qualities in a sovereign, will authorise us to 
recur to the subject. His master virtue undoub 
was his love for his country ; not a cold, abstract, or 
unenlightened love, but that feeling which constitutes 
the rarest and pages. order of patriotism, which leads 
him, in whose breast it dwells, to be zealous of his 
country’s rights, to be anxious for its happiness, and 
most keen and penetrating in examining into the means 
that will best promote it: while such a person is by no 
means blind to the imperfections or vices which m 
prevail in it, but, on the contrary, convinced that they 
are the enemies of his country’s happiness, his patriotism 
induces him to acknowledge their existence, and to us 
his utmost efforts to extirpate them. Under the di- 
rection of this warm and exalted patriotism, all the ta- 
lents of Henry’s powerful and well cultivated mind, 
were brought into exercise. His chief weakness was 
undoubtedly his inordinate passion for women, which 
eee inf many irregularities A but this was a blemish 
ra in his private character, for he never permitted 
his mistresses to direct his councils, ees influence 
him in the choice of his servants. It must be con- 
fessed, however, that the ers of the nation, at 
least of the court, were rendered loose and prota 
is loose- 
by the example of his libertine conduct: and 
