Conde being thus deceived in his hope of seizing the king, proceeded to St Denis, which he occupied, and thus cut off the supplies of the capital. Upon this, the con stable, notwithstanding lie was anxious cautiously to avoid a battle, yet being urged by the tumultuous importunities of the Parisians to free them from the inconveniences of a siege, marched forth at the head of nearly 20,000 men. The Protestants, though their numbers did not exceed 3000, by no means declined a battle. For upwards of three hours, they resisted most courageously such superior num bers, till at length they were compelled to give way ; but this victory was dearly bought by the Catholics, at the expellee of the death of Montmorency, who, even after he was wounded, and at the advanced age of 75, fought with all the ardour of a young man.
Conde was not dismayed by this defeat ; but ha% ing col lected his dispersed troops, and having received a strong reinforcement of German Protestants, he appeared again in the field, at the head of a formidable army. He even again blocked up the capital, and attempted to possess himself of the suburbs ; but being foiled in this, he tra versed the greatest part of the kingdom, and at last laid siege to Chartres, a place of much importance. While he was before this city, terms of accommodation were propos ed by the court, and accepted by Conde. They were similar to those formerly granted, and produced rather a suspen sion of hostilities than a renewal of peace.
The character of Charles now began to unfold itself ; and it was such as might have been anticipated from the principles in which he had been brought up,—the maxims which his mother had inculcated,—the example which she had set before them,—and the circumstances of the king dom, both political and religious, in which he had passed his youth. He was a thorough adept in the art of dissimula tion, which indeed he carried to such an extent, that though his bigotry and hatred of the Protestants was extreme, he could conceal even those feelings, when it was necessary so to do, for the accomplishment of his wishes or pur poses. He was eager after glory ; but even this eagerness bore the stamp of his bigotry ; for, instead of looking beyond his own kingdom for the acquisition of it, he contented himself with that glory which could be derived from over whelming the Protestants : and, unlike a man whose love of glory excludes every thing that is mean or dishonoura ble, he often preferred the gratification of his bigotted and persecuting spirit, to a fair and open competition with the Protestants in the field of battle. On the death of Mont morency, being importuned to bestow the office of consta ble on his brother Henry, he replied, " I want no person to carry my sword ; I will carry it myself :" by these words not only displaying his own character, but intima ting that he thought the office of constable conferred too much power on the person who bore it. The treaty which
had been concluded, was not likely to be of long duration : in fact, neither party were sincere. The Prince of Conde had acceded to it, because he was unable to satisfy the de mands of his German auxiliaries ; and the court party, be cause they always preferred intrigue and dissimulation to open hostility. In less than six months after it was con cluded, Catherine laid a plot for seizing the Prince of Conde and Admiral Coligny. They received intelligence of their danger, fled to Rochelle, and summoned their partisans to their assistance. To this place the Protestants resorted in great numbers ; among the rest, Jane, Queen of Navarre, with her infant son, afterwards Henry IV. In vain did the Chancellor De I'Hospital endeavour to avert a civil war ; his advice and remonstrances were neglected ; lie was dismissed from his office ; and the seals were given to the Bishop of Orleans, a most bigotted Catholic. The Duke of Anjou, brother to the king, though little more than 16 years of age, was appointed lieutenant-general of the kingdom ; and along with him was sent to the army the Marshal Tavannes, a man of great military experience and reputation. In the mean time, the Prince of Conde was not idle. having received money and ammunition, he marched to Soissons, in order to meet the reinforcements which he expected from Germany.
As it was of the utmost consequence that the prince should be attacked before he was reinforced, the Catholic army rapidly advanced for this purpose, and succeeded in overtaking them on the banks of the Charenti, at Jarnac, a small village in the province of Angoumois. The Pro testants were surprised, and they were inferior in num bers; yet, for upwards of seven hours, they fought with the utmost steadiness and bravery. The Prince of Con de's arm was in a scarf, in consequence of a wound receiv ed in a former action; and just as the battle was beginning, his leg was accidentally broken by the horse of his brother in-law : notwithstanding all this, he betrayed no symptoms of pain or uneasiness, but, retaining his wonted dignity and presence of mind, he thus addressed those who immediate ly surrounded him : " Nobility of France,—know that the Prince of Conde, with an arm in a scarf, and a leg broken, fears not to give battle, since you attend him." At last, after the Prince himself, Coligny, D'Andelot, Montgo mery and Rochefoucault, had vied with each other in dis plays of skill and valour, the Protestants were compelled to yield. The Prince alone, incapable of flight, covered with wounds, and exhausted with fatigue, was surrounded and taken prisoner, and afterwards killed in cold blood by a captain of the Duke of Anjou's guard.