able administration. But,
without disregarding the influence of these circumstances in brightening
the halo which still surrounds the memory of Henry IV., the sober voice of
distant and subsequent history must pronounce him one of the greatest
princes who have adorned modern history, and certainly the greatest, after
Charlemagne and Napoleon, who ever sat on the throne of France.

But it is time to put a period to this general disquisition, to give some
extracts from the work of our author, in justice both to its own merits
and the character of the hero which it is intended to portray.

Mr James gives the following interesting particulars concerning the birth
and early years of Henry:--

"The Duchess of Vendome was at this time with her husband in Picardy,
but at her father's summons she set out for the south of France in
the wintry month of November; and, displaying that hardy and vigorous
constitution which she transmitted to her son, she traversed the wide
extent of country which lay between the extreme frontier of France
and her father's territories in the short space of eighteen days,
arriving at Pau not quite a fortnight before the birth of her third
child. There is reason to believe that various motives, besides that
attachment to her parent which she had always displayed, induced
Jeanne d'Albret to undertake so long and fatiguing a journey at so
critical a period. Information had reached her, we find, that the
King of Navarre had fallen under the influence of a lady of Bearn,
who had employed her power over his mind, as is usual in such
connexions, to enrich herself; and also that the Prince, with
weakness not uncommon even in great men, had made a will in favour of
his mistress, which was likely to deprive his daughter and her
husband of a considerable portion of their expected inheritance. The
natural anxiety of Jeanne d'Albret to see this will was communicated
by some of the court to the old King, and he in reply assured her
that he would place it in her hands as soon as he beheld the child
she was about to bear, upon the condition that she should sing him a
song in the pains of labour: 'In order,' he said, 'that thou mayest
not give me a crying and a puny child.'

"The Duchess promised to perform the task, and at the moment of the
birth of her son, as soon as she heard her father's f