less
they involved fighting and romantic catastrophes. "_Billets doux_ were
written in blood and ferocity reigned even in pleasure."

In the midst of this turmoil, Louise busied herself with charity,
appearing among the poor and distributing all the funds which her
father gave her for pocket money; the evils of her surroundings threw
her virtues, by contrast, into so much the brighter light. Though she
held herself aloof from intrigues and rivalries, favoring no one and
encouraging no slander, she was, strange to say, respected, admired
and honored by Protestants and Catholics alike.

Calumny and all the agitations about her did not disturb Louise in her
prayers. "The waves of the angry ocean broke at the foot of the
altar as the queen knelt; but Huguenots and Catholics, leaguers and
royalists, united to pay her homage. They were amazed to see such
purity in an atmosphere so corrupt, such gentleness in a society so
violent. Their eyes rested with satisfaction on a countenance whose
holy tranquillity was undisturbed by pride and hatred. The famous
women of the century, wretched in spite of all their amusements and
their feverish pursuit of pleasure, made salutary reflections as they
contemplated a woman still more highly honored for her virtues than
for her crown." That she was not a mother was, with her, an enduring
sorrow; even that, however, did not alter her calmness and benign
resignation.

Louise de Vaudemont was indeed a bright star in a heaven of
darkness--one of the best queens of whom French history can boast;
she is an example of goodness and gentleness, of purity, charity, and
fidelity in a world of corruption, cruelty, hatred, and debauch--where
sympathy was rare and chastity was ridiculed. Although a highly
educated woman, the faithful performance of her duties as queen and
as a devout Catholic left her little time for literature and art; she
remains the type of piety and purity--an ideal queen and woman.

A heroine in the fullest sense of that word was Jeanne d'Albret, the
great champion of Protestantism; she was the mother of Henry IV. and
the wife of the Duke of Bourbon, Count of Vendome, a direct descendant
of Saint Louis. This despotic, combative, and war-loving queen reigned
as absolute monarch, and was as autocratic and severe as Calvin
himself, confiscating church property, destroying pictures and
altars--even going so far as to forbid the presence of her subjects
at mass or in religious proces