au are
elaborately ornamented in the best style of the Renaissance,
whilst the grand staircase, although dating from Margaret's
time, has vaulted arches, sometimes in the Romanesque and at
others in the Gothic style. Entwined on the friezes are the
initials H and M (Henry and Margaret), occasionally
accompanied by the letter R, implying _Rex_ or _Regina_. On
the first floor of the chateau is the bedroom occupied by
Margaret's husband, remarkable for its Renaissance chimney-
piece, and also a grand reception hall, now adorned with
tapestry made for Francis I. in Flanders. It was in this
latter room that the Count of Montgomery--the same who had
thrust out the eye of Henry II. at a tournament, and thereby
caused that monarch's death--acting at the instigation of
Margaret's daughter Jane, assembled the Catholic noblemen of
Beam on August 24, 1569, and, after entertaining them with a
banquet, had them treacherously massacred. Bascle de
Lagreze's _Chateau de Pau_, Paris, 1854.

2 _Le Recueil de l'Antique pre-excellence de Gaule, &c._, by
G. Le Roville, Paris, 1551 (fol. 74).

3 Hilarion de Coste's _Vies et Eloges des Dames illustres,
&c._, vol. ii. p. 272.

Some idea of their appearance may be gained from a couple of the
miniatures adorning a curious manuscript catechism composed for Margaret
and now in the Arsenal Library at Paris.(1)

1 _Manuscrits theologiques francais_, No. 60, _Initiatoire
Instruction en la Religion chretienne, &c_. In one of these
miniatures the Saviour is represented carrying the cross,
followed by Henry of Navarre, his brother Charles d'Albret,
Margaret, and other personages, all of whom bear crosses,
whilst in the background are some pleasure-grounds with a
castle, a little waterfall, and a lake. Another miniature in
the same manuscript shows King Henry of Navarre with a
flower in his hand, which he seems to be offering to the
Queen, who stands in the background among a party of
courtiers. The King wears a surtout of cloth of gold, edged
with ermine, over a blue jerkin, and a red cap with a white
feather. Margaret is also arrayed in cloth of gold, but with
a black cap and wimple. She is standing in a garden enclosed
by a railing, and adorned with a fountain in the form of a
temple which rises among groves and