he provincial cities at first held with the Bourbons,
for the sake of civil and religious freedom; though the Guise family
succeeded to the popularity of the Burgundian dukes in Paris. Still
Catherine persuaded Antony of Bourbon to return to court just as his
wife, Queen Jeanne of Navarre, had become a staunch Calvinist, and while
dreaming of exchanging his claim on Navarre for the kingdom of Sardinia,
he was killed on the Catholic side while besieging Rouen. At the first
outbreak the Huguenots seemed to have by far the greatest influence. An
endeavour was made to seize the king's person, and this led to a battle
at Dreux. While it was doubtful Catherine actually declared, "We shall
have to say our prayers in French." Guise, however, retrieved the day,
and though Montmorency was made prisoner on the one side, Conde was
taken on the other. Orleans was the Huguenot rallying-place, and while
besieging it Guise himself was assassinated. His death was believed by
his family to be due to the Admiral de Coligny. The city of Rochelle,
fortified by Jeanne of Navarre, became the stronghold of the Huguenots.
Leader after leader fell--Montmorency, on the one hand, was killed at
Montcontour; Conde, on the other, was shot in cold blood after the fight
of Jarnac. A truce followed, but was soon broken again, and in 1571
Coligny was the only man of age and standing at the head of the Huguenot
party; while the Catholics had as leaders Henry, Duke of Anjou, the
king's brother, and Henry, Duke of Guise, both young men of little more
than twenty. The Huguenots had been beaten at all points, but were still
strong enough to have wrung from their enemies permission to hold
meetings for public worship within unwalled towns and on the estates of
such nobles as held with them.

6. Catherine's Policy.--Catherine made use of the suspension of arms
to try to detach the Huguenot leaders, by entangling them in the
pleasures of the court and lowering their sense of duty. The court was
studiously brilliant. Catherine surrounded herself with a bevy of
ladies, called the Queen-Mother's Squadron, whose amusements were found
for the whole day. The ladies sat at their tapestry frames, while
Italian poetry and romance was read or love-songs sung by the gentlemen;
they had garden games and hunting-parties, with every opening for the
ladies to act as sirens to any whom the queen wished to detach from the
principles of honour and virtue, and bind to her service