FRANCE. 355 



successful expeditions against Spain, but suffered his mother, of 

 whom he was very fond, to abuse his power : by which he disobliged 

 the constable of Bourbon, the greatest of his subjects, who joined in 

 _a confederacy against him with the emperor and Henry VIII, of Eng- 

 land. In his adventurous expedition into Italy, he was taken prison- 

 er at the battle of Pavia, in the year 1524, and obliged to agree to 

 dishonourable terms, which he never meant to perform, to regain his 

 liberty. His non-performance of those conditions was afterwards 

 the source of many wars between him and the emperor ; and he died 

 in 1547". 



France, at the time of his death, notwithstanding the variety of dis- 

 agreeable events during the late reign, was in a flourishing condition. 

 Francis I, was succeeded by his son Henry II, who, upon the whole, 

 was an excellent and fortunate prince. He continued the war with 

 the emperor of Germany to great advantage for his own dominions ; 

 and was so well served by the duke of Guise, that, though he lost 

 the battle of St. Quentin against the Spaniards and the English, he 

 retook Calais from the latter, who never since had any, footing in. 

 France. He married his son the dauphin to Mary queen of Scots, in 

 hopes of uniting that kingdom to his crown ; but in this scheme, he, 

 or rather his country, was unfortunate, as may be seen in the history 

 of Scotland. He was killed in the year 1559, at an unhappy tilting- 

 match, by the count of Montgomery. 



He was succeeded by his son, Francis II, a weak, sickly, inactive 

 prince, and only thirteen years of age, whose power was entirely- 

 engrossed by a prince of the house of Guise, uncle to his wife, the 

 beautiful queen of Scotland. This engrossment of power encourag- 

 ed the Bourbon, the Montmorenci, and other great families, to form, 

 a strong opposition against the government. Antony, king of Na- 

 varre, was at the head of the Bourbon family ; but the queen-mother, 

 the famous Catharine of Medicis, being obliged to take part with the 

 Guises, the confederacy, which had adopted the cause of Huguenot- 

 ism, was broken in pieces, when the sudden death of Francis hap- 

 pened, in the year 1560. 



This event took place while the prince of Conde, brother to the 

 king of Navarre, was under sentence of death for a conspiracy 

 against the court; but the queen-mother saved him, to balance the 

 interest of the Guises ; so that the sole direction of affairs fell into 

 her hands, during the minority of her second son, Charles IX. Her 

 regency was a continued series of dissimulation, treachery, and mur- 

 der. The duke of Guise, who was the scourge of the protestants, 

 was assassinated by one Poltrot, at the siege of Orleans ; and the 

 murderer was unjustly thought to have been instigated by the famous 



the mareschal de Fleuranges, who was present, and which appears singular in 

 the present ag-e, is commonly omitted. " After the tournament," says he, " the 

 French and English wrestlers made their appearance, and wrestled in presence 

 of the kings and the ladies ; and as there were many stout wrestlers there, it af- 

 forded excellent pastime ; but as the king of France had neglected to bring any 

 wrestlers out of Bretagne, the English gained the prize. After this the kings of 

 France and England retired to a tent, where they drank together ; and the king 

 of England seizing the king of France by the collar, said, " My brother, I must 

 wrestle with you," and endeavoured, once or twice, to trip up his heels ; but the 

 king of France, who was a dexterous wrestler, twisted him round, and threw 

 him on the earth with prodigious violence. The king of England wanted to ref 

 new the combat, but was prevented." Memoirs de Fleuranges, 12mo. Paris, 

 1753, p. 329. 



