nother. This last reason decided her, and while the
servants were supping, she had brought into her ante-room, first of all,
all her robes, and took the inventory from her wardrobe attendant, and
began to write in the margin beside each item the name of the person it
was to be given to. Directly, and as fast as she did it, that person to
whom it was given took it and put it aside. As for the things which were
too personal to her to be thus bestowed, she ordered that they should
be sold, and that the purchase-money should be used for her servants'
travelling expenses, when they returned to their own countries,
well knowing how great the cost would be and that no one would have
sufficient means. This memorandum finished, she signed it, and gave it
as a discharge to her wardrobe attendant.

Then, that done, she went into her room, where had been brought her
rings, her jewels, and her most valuable belongings; inspected them all,
one after the other, down to the very least; and distributed them as she
had done her robes, so that, present or absent, everyone had something.
Then she furthermore gave, to her most faithful people, the jewels she
intended for the king and queen of France, for the king her son, for the
queen-mother, for Messieurs de Guise and de Lorraine, without forgetting
in this distribution any prince or princess among her relatives. She
desired, besides, that each should keep the things then in his care,
giving her linen to the young lady who looked after it, her silk
embroideries to her who took charge of them, her silver plate to her
butler, and so on with the rest.

Then, as they were asking her for a discharge, "It is useless," said
she; "you owe an account to me only, and to-morrow, therefore, you will
no longer owe it to anyone"; but, as they pointed out that the king her
son could claim from them, "You are right," said she; and she gave them
what they asked.

That done, and having no hope left of being visited by her confessor,
she wrote him this letter:

"I have been tormented all this day on account of my religion, and
urged to receive the consolations of a heretic: you will learn, through
Bourgoin and the others, that everything they could say on this matter
has been useless, that I have faithfully made protestation of the
faith in which I wish to die. I requested that you should be allowed
to receive my confession and to give me the sacrament, which has been
cruelly refused, as well as the rem