assionless
woman, self-seeking but not revengeful, and adopted a certain degree of
tolerance, no doubt, from her patriotic counsellor, L'Hopital, who
resembled the Prince of Orange in his character.

The Edict of January in 1562 gave countenance to Huguenot meetings
throughout France, and was, therefore, detested by the Catholic party.
The Duke of Guise went to dine one Sunday in the little town of Vassy,
near his residence of Joinville. A band of armed retainers accompanied
him and pushed their way into a barn where the Huguenots were holding
service. A riot ensued, in which the Duke was struck, and his
followers killed no less than sixty of the worshippers.

This outrage led to civil war, for the Protestants remembered bitterly
that Guise had sworn never to take life in the cause of religion. They
demanded the punishment of the offenders, and then took the field most
valiantly. Gentlemen served at their own expense, but they were, in
general, "better armed with courage than with corselets." They were
overpowered by the numbers of the Catholic League, which had all the
wealth of Church and State at its back, and also had control of the
King and capital. One by one the heroic leaders fell. Louis de
Bourbon was taken prisoner at Dreux, and Anthony of Bourbon died before
the town of Rouen.

The Queen of Navarre was very anxious for the safety of her son, for
she heard that he was accompanying {104} Catherine and Charles IX on a
long progress through the kingdom. She herself was the object of
Catholic animosity, and the King of Spain destined her for a grand
_Auto-da-fe_, longing to make an example of so proud a heretic. She
believed that her son had received the root of piety in his heart while
he was under her care, but she doubted whether that goodly root would
grow in the corrupt atmosphere which surrounded the youthful Valois
princes. Henry of Navarre disliked learning, and was fond of active
exercise. His education was varied after he came to court, and he
learnt to read men well. In later life he was able to enjoy the most
frivolous pastimes and yet could endure the privations of camp life
without experiencing discomfort.

Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, was killed at the battle of Jarnac,
and Henry de Bourbon became the recognized head of the Huguenot party.
He took an oath never to abandon the cause, and was hailed by the
soldiers in camp as their future leader. The Queen of Navarre clad him
i