Though the court of Spain and the Pope in vain endea voured to allay that satisfaction which was generally dif fused over France by the conversion of Henry, yet this event did not immediately produce all the beneficial effects expected from it. The Marquis of Vitri, who, on the death of Henry III. had deserted tl.c king, and had been appointed by the League to the command of Meaux, was the first man of rank who returned to his allegiance. Ho had often solicited the Duke or Mayence in vain to make peace with the king, as the cause of the war was at an end ; and on receiving no satisfactory answer, he resolved to dis charge what he conceived his duty required of him. Ile therefore ordered the garrison to evacuate the town, and, 'delivering the keys to the magistrates, he said, " I scorn to steal an advantage, or to make my fortune at other men's expence. I am going to pay my allegiance to the king, and I leave it in your power to act as you please." This short, but candid and honest speech, was received by shouts from the inhabitants, of " Long life to Henry IV. !" and the example of Meaux was followed by the cities of Orleans, Bourges, Lyons, and Pontoise. When the depu ties front Meaux waited upon Henry, they were so con founded, that they were incapable of speech, and threw themselves at the king's feet. Having regarded them in silence for some moments, Henry burst into tears, and, lift ing them up, said, " Come not, as enemies, to crave for giveness; but come as children to a father, always willing to receive you with open arms." The king determined to take advantage of returning prosperity to celebrate his coronation. As Rheims was still in the possession of the enemy, he was crowned at Chartres. Almost immediately afterwards, the provinces of Orleannois and Berri were delivered up by their re spective governors to the king ; and a singular accident restored the capital to him. The Duke of Mayence hav ing been obliged to leave it, to quell some disturbances in Picardy, had entrusted the command of it to the Count de Brisac. This nobleman seems to have formed the roman tic idea of establishing a republic in France ; but his de signs being received with contempt by the chiefs of the League, he delivered up the capital to Henry. Villars, who had so gallantly defended Rouen, soon afterwards opened the gates of that city, and proclaimed Henry king. The young Duke of Guise also made his peace ; and, on the reduction of Laon by the king in person, Amiens, and a great part of Picardy, submitted to him.
In the midst of his successes, his enemies resolved to assail his life. On his return from Picardy to Paris, John Chaste], a scholar of the college of the Jesuits, struck him on the mouth with a knife, as, in the apartments of the Louvre, he stooped to embrace a nobleman that was pre sented to him. The blow was intended for his throat, but his stooping prevented it touching that dangerous part. Chaste] was instantly seized, and delivered over to condign punishment. On his examination, he confessed that he had been prompted to this deed by hearing his preceptors assert, that the murder of kings was lawful, and that as Henry had not yet been absolved by the Pope, he ought still to be regarded and treated as a heretic : hence lie in ferred that it would be a met it to put him to death. Father Guiscard, on whom were found some writings, which inculcated the same doctrine, was also executed, and all the Jesuits were banished by a decree of the parliament of Paris.
In 1595, Henry entered the city of Dijon in Burgundy, convinced that his life would be safest while he was in the midst of his troops, and engaged in military affairs. Scarce ly, however, had he made himself master of Troyes, be fore he learnt that the Duke of Mayence, in conjunction with the Spaniards, had crossed the Saone. He immedi ately resolved to attack them ; and conducted himself on this occasion with so much boldness and impetuosity, that, with only 1300 troops, he routed an army of 14,000 men. In Picardy, however, his cause was not so fortunate; the Spanish army invading that province, and reducing seve ral cities of importance, which Henry himself, in compli ance with the ambition of his mistress, the fair Gabrielle D'Estrees, who wanted a principality for her son, was em ployed in a fruitless expedition into Franche Comptit. In the subsequent year 1596, the Duke of Guise surprised Marseilles. When Henry was informed of this event, he was so much transported, that he exclaimed, " Then I am at last a king !" The Duke of Mayence, suspecting the sincerity of the Spaniards, from their inactivity and want of zeal, determined to separate himself from them ; but he had formed a resolution never to acknowledge II-nry, till that monarch had been absolved by the Pope. Henry, be ing made acquainted with his scruples, secretly suggested to him to retire to Chalons, till his Holiness granted his absolution ; and the Duke had scarcely reached that place, when the Roman Pontiff, fully convinced that Henry was firmly established on the throne, absolved him in form. The Duke immediately threw himself at the feet of the sovereign, and vowed a fidelity which he proved to be con scientious, by his future conduct.
Soon after these events, the Archduke Albert, who was now governor of the Netherlands, sent an army to besiege Calais, which was obliged to surrender, before the king could come to its assistance. This calamity was soon fol lowed by another still more grievous, for Amiens was tak en by surprise by the Spaniards. Nor were the demands on the king's firmness and mental resources yet exhausted ; he was harassed by the complaints of the Protestants, who expected that he would have granted them additional pro tection and privileges; and the Dukes of Savoy and Mor ceur, still refused to acknowledge his authority, unless on conditions with which he did not deem it proper to comply. The king, at this time labouring under a severe indisposi tion, felt these misfortunes more keenly ; and his difficul ties were greatly increased 14 the exhausted state of his finances. Ile was therefore under the necessity of assem bling his nobles, and making them acquainted with the real state of his affairs ; " I have not called you together," said he, " as my predecessors used to do, to oblige you to adopt my measures, or implicitly obey my will : I have assem bled you, to take your advice, to which I will listen with attention and candour, and with a firm resolution to follow it, provided it will benefit the country." But the nobility, though disposed to give their advice, were not in a condi tion to assist their sovereign in carrying into effect the mea sures which they recommended ; they were exhausted and dispirited. " Give me an army," cried he, " and I will cheerfully sacrifice my life for the state." Troops they could supply him with ; but, as he complained, bread for these troops could not be procured.