sions. "Her natural eloquence, the
lightning flashes from her eyes, her reputation as a Spartan matron
and an intractable Calvinist, all contributed to give her great
influence with her party. The military leaders--Coligny, La
Rochefoucauld, Rohan, La Noue--submitted their plans of campaign to
her."

Though Jeanne was, perhaps, as fanatical, intolerant, and cruel as her
adversaries, she was driven to this by the hostility shown her by
the Catholic party--a party in which she felt she could place no
confidence. Her retreat was amid rocks and inaccessible peaks, whence
she defied both the pope and Philip II. She brought up her son--the
future Henry IV.--among the children of the people, exercising toward
him the severest discipline, and inuring him to the cold of the winter
and the heat of the summer; she taught him to be judicious, sincere,
and compassionate--qualities which she possessed to a remarkable
degree. Chaste and pure herself, she considered the court of France
a hotbed of voluptuousness and debauchery, and at every opportunity
strengthened herself against its possible influence.

The political and religious troubles of Jeanne d'Albret began when
Pope Paul IV. invested Philip II. of Spain with the sovereignty of
Navarre--her territory; she resisted, and, following the impulses of
her own nature, formally embraced Calvinism, while her weak husband
acceded to the commands of the Church, and, applying to the pope for
the annulment of his marriage, was prepared, as lieutenant-general of
the kingdom, a position he accepted from the pontiff, to deprive
his wife of her possessions. His death before the realization of his
project made it possible for Jeanne to retain her sovereignty; alone,
an absolute monarch, she declared Calvinism the established religion
of Navarre. After the assassination of Conde she remained the champion
of the Huguenots, defying her enemies and scorning the court of
France.

So great were her power and influence over the soldiery that Catherine
de' Medici, her bitter enemy, desiring to bring her into her power,
or, at least, to conciliate her, planned a marriage between Jeanne's
son and Marguerite of Valois--sister of Charles IX. When the
suggestion that the marriage should take place came from the king of
France, Jeanne d'Albret suspected an ambush; with the determination
to supervise personally all arrangements for the nuptials, she set
out for the French court. Venerated by the Protestan