684 
SULLY. 
SULLIVAN MOUNTAINS, mountains of the United 
States, in New Hampshire, extending from Cockbume to the 
White mountains; about 2000 feet high. 
SULLIVAN, POINT, a cape on the west coast of an 
island in Chatham’s strait, on the west coast of North Ame¬ 
rica. Lat. 56. 38. N. long. 225. 51|. E. 
To SU'LLY, v. a. [souil/er, Fr.] To soil; to tarnish ; 
to dirt; to spot. 
He’s dead, whose love had sully'd all your reign, 
And made you empress of the w’orld in vain. Dry den. 
Lab’ring years shall weep their destin’d race, 
Charg’d with ill omens, sully'd with disgrace. Prior. 
SU'LLY, 6-. Soil; tarnish; spot.—A noble and triumph¬ 
ant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his repu¬ 
tation. Addison. 
SULLY (Maximilian de Bethune), Duke of, marshal of 
France, and prime minister under Henry IV., was born at 
Rosni in 1559, and educated by his father, who had sprung 
from an illustrious family of the ancient counts of Flanders, 
in the reformed religion, to which he steadily adhered, even 
in some trying circumstances, through life. At the age of 
eleven he was presented to the Queen of Navarre, and her 
son Henry, whom he followed to Paris, where he pursued 
his studies. Here he lay concealed for three days, during 
the horrible massacre of St. Bartholomew’s, in 1572, and 
thus, by favour of the principal of the college of Burgundy, 
he escaped the fate to which all the Hugonots were destined. 
At this time Sully entered into the service of the King of 
Navarre; taking lessons in history and mathematics from 
the young king’s preceptor, and habituating himself to mili¬ 
tary exercises. After the death of Charles IX., Henry of 
Navarre quitted the court, and placed himself at the head of 
the Hugonot party ; and on this occasion Sully entered into 
the infantry as a. volunteer. In his youth he manifested 
more valour than military skill; but he possessed another 
very important and useful quality, which was economy, and 
which enabled him to maintain at his own expense a com¬ 
pany of cavaliers; and it was by the exhibition of this 
quality that he gained the friendship and confidence of 
Henry. In 1580, the king conferred upon him the office 
of counsellor of Navarre, and that of his own chamberlain. 
During the time which he spent in the service of the Duke 
of Anjou, brother to Henry 1IL, and into which he entered 
for the purpose of regaining some property that belonged to 
his family, he attended that prince in his visit to the English 
court; but when he found that the bigotry of the duke led 
him to treat his Protestant followers with coldness and indif¬ 
ference, he abandoned his service, and returned to that of 
the King of Navarre. Henry wishing at this time for a con¬ 
fidential person, whom he could employ at the court of 
France to watch and penetrate the designs of the League, 
sent Rosni thither for this purpose in 1583. During his 
residence there he married, at the beginning of 1584, Anne 
de Courtenay, descended from an illustrious family of that 
name. In the following year he was summoned by Henry 
to assist in the approaching war with the League ; and 
having joined him without hesitation, he presented him with 
a sum of money which he had amassed, and was honourably 
employed in various sieges and battles. In 1586 he con¬ 
cluded a treaty with the deputies of Switzerland, by which 
they stipulated to furnish 20,000 men for the royal cause. 
In the battles of Coutras and Ivry he acquitted himself so 
well, that his fidelity and bravery Were signally distinguished 
by the approbation and applause of Henry. Having lost 
his wife, he married again in 1592, and for some time lived 
in retirement. But being neglected by Henry, who was now 
lawful King of France, his zeal in his service was somewhat 
abated ; however, when his presence and assistance became 
necessary, his affection for his master induced him to forget 
any apparent or real slight with which he had been treated, 
and to aid him again with his counsel. Henry, being a Pro¬ 
testant, found it difficult to maintain, without very hazardous 
struggles, his tenure of the throne; and began seriously to 
think of reconciling himself to the Catholic faith. But one 
of his chief objections was an apprehension that he should 
thus offend his former faithful friends^ and reduce himself to 
the necessity of fighting against them. Rosni, more con¬ 
sonantly perhaps to principles of policy than to those of 
truth and integrity, persuaded him to adopt the measure, to 
which his interest more than the conviction of his judgment 
led him to incline. His arguments prevailed; and Sully 
himself was employed to negociate with the Catholic chiefs 
on the ground of Henry’s abjuration of Protestantism; 
Sully, however, never sacrificed his own principles or pro¬ 
fession ; but he acted in this instance with a persuasion, that 
religion was a matter of little importance to Henry himself, 
and that the question, whether he was to be denominated 
Calvinist or Catholic, was of trivial consideration compared 
to that, whether there were to be peace or war in France. 
Such temporizing measures, however, did not immedi¬ 
ately produce the effect which might have been expected. 
The League, supported by Spain, continued to oppose 
Henry’s tranquil possession of his crown; and for this pur¬ 
pose the talents of Sully, both in the cabinet and the field, 
were found to be very important and useful. Accordingly 
they were called forth into vigorous exertion; and in the 
progress of his promotions, he was made secretary of state in 
1594, member of the council of finance in 1596, and super- 
iiltendant of the finances in 1598; and, moreover, he was 
employed in many interesting negociations, one of which 
was for that of the king’s second marriage to Mary de Me- 
dicis. Another of Sully’s diplomatic missions was that 
which produced a confidential interview, in 1601, with 
Queen Elizabeth at Dover. The accession of James I. to 
the throne of England, in 1603, afforded occasion to ano¬ 
ther mission of Sully to this island, where, by his reputation 
and dexterity of management, he succeeded in renewing the 
treaties subsisting between the courts France and Great 
Britain. As a finance minister, Sully contrived to improve 
the royal revenues, and to lighten the burdens of the people. 
The spirit of his administration was that of order, regularity, 
and-economy, joined with that sobriety of manners which 
lie derived from the reformed religion. 
The picture of Sully’s own Liffe is thus exhibited by one 
of his biographers, and it is curious and interesting. “ He 
rose everyday at four in (he morning, and employed his two 
first hours in reading and dispatching the memorials which 
lay upon his desk. At seven he went to the council; and 
he passed the rest of the morning with the king, who gave 
him orders relative to the different offices which he held. He 
dined at noon, and afterwards gave a regular audience, to 
which persons of all ranks were admitted. When this was 
concluded, he usually resumed his labours till supper-time, 
when he caused his doors to be shut, and laying aside all 
business, indulged himself in society with a few friends. 
He commonly went to rest at ten; but if any thing extraor¬ 
dinary had deranged the operation of the day, he borrowed 
some hours of the night. His table was simple and frugal; 
and when he was reproached with its plainness, he would 
reply with Socrates, “ that if his guests were wise, they 
would be satisfied; if not, he did not Wish their company.” 
Sully was firmly attached to his religion, nor was any temp¬ 
tation that could be presented sufficient to pervert his mind, 
and seduce him from it. The Pope even addressed hint with 
a letter of eulogy on his administration, and closed it by ex¬ 
pressing a wish, that he would enter into the right faith. Tn 
his reply he said, that “ on his part he would not cease to 
pray God for his holiness’ conversion.” The faithful ser¬ 
vices of this excellent minister were further rewarded by the 
posts of governor of Poitou, and grand-master of the ports 
and havens in France; and also, in 1606, by the dignity of 
a duke and peer, on which occasion he chose to take his 
title from his estate of Sully-sur-Loire. He continued at the 
head of affairs till the assassination of Henry, in 1610. He 
was then dismissed from court, with a gratuity of 100,000 
crowns, and afterwards lived chiefly in retirement. He died 
in 1641, at the age of 82 years. A statue was erected to this 
great man by Louis XVI., and his eulogy was made a prize- 
subject by the French Academy. The “ Memoires de 
Sully,” 
