B E T H U N E. 
from political motives he advifed his-mailer to abjure it, 
as the only method of putting an end to the murmurs and 
divifions among the people concerning the Huguenots. Soon 
after Sully had palled his twelfth year, he went to Paris 
to apply himfelf to his dudies, and lived with a governor 
and valet in the vicinity of the colleges, until the (hocking 
maifacre of St. Bartholomew’s-day, when he had a very 
narrow efcape. “ I was in bed,” fays he, “ and awaked 
from deep three hours after midnight by the found of all 
the bells and the confufed cries of the populace. My go¬ 
vernor, St. Julian, with my valet de chambre, went haf- 
tily out to know the caufe ; and I never afterwards heard 
more of thefe men, who, without doubt, were among the 
fird that were facrificed to the-public fury. I continued 
alone in my chamber drefling myfelf, when in a few mo¬ 
ments I faw my landlord enter, pale, and in the utmoft 
conflernation. He was of the reformed religion; and, 
having learned what the matter was, had confented to go 
to mafs, to preferve his life, and his houfe from being 
pillaged. He came to perfuade me to do the fame, and 
to take me with him : I did not think proper to follow 
him, but refolved to try if I could gain the college of Bur¬ 
gundy, where I had fludied ; though the didance between 
the houfe where I then was, and the college, made the 
attempt very dangerous. Having difguifed myfelf in a 
fcholar’s gown, 1 put a large prayer-book under my arm, 
and went into the Ifreet. I was feized with horror inex- 
prellible at the light of the furious murders ; who, run¬ 
ning from all parts, forced open the houfes, and cried 
aloud Kill! kill! majjacrc the Huguenots! The blood which 
I faw fhed before my eyes, redoubled my terror. I fell 
into the midft of a body of guards ; they Hopped me, 
quedioned me, and were beginning to ufe me ill, when, 
happily for me, the book that I carried was perceived, 
and ferved me for a paffport. Twice after this I fell into 
?lie fame danger, from which I extricated myfelf with the 
fame good fortune. At lad 1 arrived at the college of 
Burgundy, where a danger dill greater than any I had yet 
met with awaited me. The porter having twice refilled 
me entrance, I continued Handing in the midd of the dreet, 
at the mercy of the furious murderers, whofe numbers in- 
creafed every moment, and who were evidently feeking 
for their prey ; when it came into my mind to afk for la 
Faye, the principal of this college, a good man, by whom 
I was tenderly beloved. The porter, prevailed upon by 
fame fmall pieces of money which I put into his hand, 
admitted me ; and my friend carried me to his apartment, 
where two inhuman prieds,. whom I heard mention Sici¬ 
lian vefpers, wanted to force me from him, that they might 
cut me in pieces; faying, the order was, not to fpare even 
infants at the bread. All the good man could do w-as to 
conduct me privately to a didant chamber, where he lock¬ 
ed me up ; and here I was confined three days, uncertain 
of my deHiny, feeing no one but a fervant of my friend, 
who came from time to time to bring me provifion.” See 
the article Bartholo-mew’s-day. 
After Henry had gained poffelTiom of the crown of 
France, nothing could edrange him from the councils of 
his favourite Sully, who performed all the duties of a 
great and good minider, while his mader exerciled all the 
offices of a great and good .king. He had been at the 
battles of Contras, Arques, and Ivry; at the fiegea of 
Paris, Noyon, Rouen, and Laon ; and fignalized himfelf 
on every important occafion. In 1597 he was made chief 
overfeer of the highways of France; and the following 
year was railed to the pod of fuperintend-ant of the finances. 
Though he was then but forty years of age, and had 1 hi¬ 
therto fignalized himfelf only ip the army, he put the 
king’s finances in fuch order, that he paid his debts, which 
amounted to two hundred millions of livres, and laid up 
great dims in the royal treafury. Rut in fpite of the fu- 
periority of his talents, and the purity of his intentions, 
this great minifter was ever harraded by calumnies and 
mifreprefentations. Many of them were ftudioully relat¬ 
ed to Henry, who occafionally mentioned them to him, 
and heard in what manner he defended himfelf. Once, 
after a converfation of three hours on fubjefts like thefe, 
lie embraced Sully at coming out of his antichamber be¬ 
fore all his court, and faid, “ I edeem you as the bed and 
the mod innocent man that ever was, as well as the mod 
loyal and the mod lifeful fervant I ever poffeded.” Then 
turning round to fome of Solly’s enemies who were prefent, 
he added, “ I wifh earnedly to let you all know, that 1 
love Sully better than ever, and that death alone can dif- 
folve my edeem for him.” 
Sully, in conformity with the principles of commerce 
that obtained in his time, wifiied his fovereign.to ilfue an 
edict to prohibit the ufe of dlk; looking upon it as a luxury 
imported from a foreign country, that would take away 
money out of the kingdom of France. Henry replied to 
him, “Why, my good Rofny, I had rather fight the king 
of Spain in three pitched battles, than engage with all 
thofe gentry of police, of finance, of the cudoms, and ef- 
pecially with their wives and daughters, that you will fet 
upon me by your whimlical regulation.” At another time, 
madame d’Entragues, Henry’s favourite midrefs, was ex¬ 
tremely angry with Sully, becaufe he did not immediately 
pay to her brother fome gratuity which that monarch had 
ordered him. “The king,” laid fhe to him, “would ait 
very Angularly indeed, if he were to difpleafe perfons of 
quality merely to give into your notions. And pray, fir, 
to whom fliould a king be kind, if not to bis relations, 
his courtiers, and his midreffes 1” “That might be very- 
well, madam,” replied Sully, “if the king took the mo¬ 
ney out of his own purfe ; but in general he takes it out 
of thofe of Ihop-keepers, artizans, labourers, and far¬ 
mers. Thefe perfons enable him to live. One mader is 
enough for us, and we have no occalion for fuch a num¬ 
ber of courtiers, of princes, and of king’s midreffes.” 
Sully was one of the mod laborious miniders that ever 
exided. He role at four o’clock in the morning. The 
fil'd two hours after he got up were employed in reading 
and in expediting the papers that lay upon'his.table ; this 
he called nettoyer le tapis. At feven o’clock he attended 
council, and the red of the morning was fpent with his 
fovereign in tranfadling the different bulinels with which 
he was entruded. At twelve o’clock he dined with fome 
feledt gueds. After dinner he gave an audience, where 
every body was admitted : fird the ecclefiadics, both Ca¬ 
tholics and Huguenots : then the farmers, and the per¬ 
fons of meaner rank; and perfons of quality fucceeded 
to them. After his audience, he returned to Iris clofet, 
where he read and wrote till flipper-time, when he order¬ 
ed his doors to be dvut, and gave himfelf up to the plea- 
fures of fociety with a few friends; and at ten o’clock he 
went to bed. 
In 1601 he was made grand-mader of the artillery, the 
next year governor of the Badile, and afterwards fuperin- 
tendant of-the fortifications. He was then fent into Eng¬ 
land as ambaffador extraordinary ; and had, at his return, 
the government of-Poiclou. At lad Henry IV. in 1606,. 
erefted in his favour the territory of Sully on the Loire 
into a duchy and peerage, and made him grand-mader 
of the ports and havens. But after the horrid aifailinadon 
of Henry IV. he withdrew himfelf from public affairs, 
and lived in retirement thirty years at his palace of Vi 1 le - 
bon, feldom or never coming to court. Louis XIII. how¬ 
ever, widiing to have his opinion upon fome matters of 
confequence, fent for him to Paris, when the good old 
man obeyed his fummons, but pot witli the greated ala¬ 
crity. The gay courtiers, on feeing a man dred lb unlike 
theinfelves, and of grave and ferious manners totally dif¬ 
ferent from their own, turned Sully into ridicule, and 
took him off to his face. Sully, perceiving 1 this, faid 
cooliy to the king, “ Sire, when your father, of glorious 
memory, did me the honour to confult me on any matter 
of importance, he fird fent away all the buffoons of his 
court.” 
Sully kept up always at bis table at Villebon the frugality 
to which he had been accudom.ed in early life in the at'my. 
1 fits. 
