The Constable Montmorency and his family were op posed to the family of the Guises, not more in views and imerest, than in character. The constable himself was of a haughty and inflexible disposition, and would not con qe3ccnd like the Duke of Guise, to gain that influence, by the affability of his manners, which he thought ought to be the unsolicited reward, or rather consequence, of his high birth, gre'at services, and undoubted talents. Nor was he in other respects better calculated for succeeding in the intrigues of a court : his notions of what was his duty, both in his public and private station, were strict, and utterly at variance, with the loose and accommodating morality of the age and nation. In every respect he most conscientiously perfOrmed what his conscience dictated ; and strict and severe to his own failings, lie had no moderation or excuse for those of others.. It may well be conceived that, with Such a character, and with such high ideas of his own dig nity, merits and deserts, his temper could not be flexible, nor' hisaddress insinuating. Though he regarded the highest offices of the state as his due, yet his pride would not permit him to solicit them;, and he was still further excluded from them, by his open and warm attachment to the established religion. ' the princes of the blood who.next claim our attention, .Antony de Bourbon, king of Navarre, was of a disposition Mild, humane, and easily wrought upon. His talents were by'no means of'the first order ; nor had he compensated. for deficiency of talents, by the acquirements of culture, or by tabits of appliCation tcOusiness. ,Indecisive and timid, he fluctuated between the reformed and Catholic religion ; fond of pleasure, he forgot his political rights, duties, and engagements, in the arms of his mistresses. Such a man was ill 'calculated to take the lead at the court of France ; while, on the other hand, he was admirably calculated to become the instrument of intrigue and ambition, with men more highly endowed than himself. His brother, Louis, Prince of Conde, laboured under the disadvantage of an ungraceful and diminutive ; yet such were the at tractions of his manners and character, that he received from the ladies of the court of France the most flattering proofs of their affection. His courage was undoubted; and though his income was narrow, yet his magnificence and liberality were great. His talents, though not perhaps of the first order, were by no means despicable ; but what distinguished him particularly, was an attachment to the reformed religion, not merely ardent and zealous, but pure and enlightened. In vain were the allurements of plea sure, and the higher and more splendid rewards of ambi tion, employed to entice him from his religious principles and professions : he was firm and unbending ;, and when they called upon him for action or sacrifice, he was always ready. To the Duke of Guise he was an open and fo• midable rival, not more from the similarity of their cha racter and objects in some respects, than from the oppo site 'religious sentiments which they respectively em braced.
The Admiral Coligny was brave, generous, and sincere. His first and most darling wish was, to secure liberty of conscience for himself and his brethren of the reformed religion. Could he have secured this, he would willingly have withdrawn himself from public life ;. but while this was Unattained, he regarded it as his paramount duty to stand' forward, as the undisguised and enthusiastic cham pion of what he was convinced was the truth.
The deputies of parliament waited on Francis, soon af ter his ascending the throne, to expreSs their duty and al legiance to his person : on this Occasion he informed them, that he bad thought proper to assign to the Duke of Guise the supreme administration of the military department, and to the Cardinal of Lorraine the supreme administra tion of the finances ; at the same time the Constable Mont morenty was dismissed from his office of master of the , household to his seat at Chantilly; and the King of varre, with his brother the Prince of Conde, were received at coot in a cold and disrespectful manner. The former
was soon afterwards persuaded by Catherine de Medicis to leave Paris, and to take up his abode in Berne, under the vain hope that he might recover his former dominions by negotiation.
As soon as the King of Navarre had left Paris, the measures and plans of the Guises and Catherine began to unfold themselves. An edict was published, forbidding any person to carry fire-arms, or to wear any dress favour able to the concealment of such weapons. Another.regu lation was adopted, which declared that no person should hold two situations at the same time. The object of this was undoubtedly the Admiral Coligny, who immediately resigned the government of Picardy, which was given to the Marshal lirisac, notwithstanding the Prince of Conde endeavoured to obtain it. The Duke of Guise, at the same time, was appointed Master of the Household.
As all these measures were preparatory to the persecu tion of the Protestants, it may be proper to take a retro spective view of the origin and progress of the reformed religion in France under Francis I. As has been already noticed, the new doctrine had spread greatly at court, as well as in the capital and provinces. The Christian Insti tutes of Calvin were dedicated to that king. His sister, the, Queen of Navarre, protected Isis disciples, while they were persecuted by the clergy and the parliament. The spirit of the new religion was increased and invigorated, and the numbers who professed it were greatly augmented, by the massacre of Cahrieres and Merindol, and by the executions which were imprudently multiplied by Henry II. Thus, at the accession of Francis II. Calvinism had gained a firm and wide footing, and could count among its professors several men of great talents and influence. Admiral Coligny, and his brother D'Andelot, and Cardinal Chatillon, were firm friends to a reformation ; and the Prince of Conde inclined to the same side. The court, on the contrary, seemed resolved to crush the Calvinists, by the most open and violent measures. Instead of cor recting the errors, which had given offence, even to con scientious Catholics, new observances, still more supersti tious, were enjoined. Images of the Virgin, and of the saints, were placed at the corners of the streets, with ta pers lighted up before them; round these, the populace assembled, singing hymns, and compelling the passengers to put money into little boxes, for the cxpence of the illu mination. If a man did not how to these images, and stop with marks of reverence, while the people were paying this worsnip, he was either knocked down, dragged to prison, or insulted. These, however, were trifling evils, to which the Protestants were exposed. Courts of ecclesias tical judicature, invested with inquisitorial powers, were erected, denominated Chambres ?rdentes, from the se verity of their punishments. To these the cognizance of heresy was entrusted. The strictest search was-made to discover offenders ; and as the Protestants, in order to conceal themselves, were obliged to meet by night, they were charged with committing in these assemblies the most dreadful crimes. Thus goaded on to resistance, they only waited for a fit opportunity and season to protect themselveS by force of arms; and this was soon supplied them, by the mixture of folly and wickedness which the court displayed. In consequence of the peace, great num bers of troops had been disbanded, without receiving what they conceived clue for their services. They therefore came up to Paris, and applied to the Cardinal of Lorraine, as Minister of the Finances. He treated them with insult, unwilling or unable to satisfy their demands; and when they- again importuned,hiM, he•coMmanded them to retire, on pain of being instantly hung upon a gallows, which he had ordered to be erected for that purpose. fly this foolish and harsh behaviour, these soldiers were totally alienated from the house of Guise, to which the military- talents and success, as well as the popular character of the Duke, had hitherto attached them ; and they united themselves with the Protestants.