e entirely unmindful of those principles of honor which had
embellished his life, and in revenge invited a Roman Catholic general
to come and take possession of the town.

Henry was informed of this act of treachery while dancing at a very
brilliant entertainment given in his palace. He quietly whispered to
Turenne, Sully, and a few others of his most intimate friends,
requesting them to escape from the room, gather around them such armed
men as they could, and join him at a rendezvous in the country. They
all stole unperceived from the mirthful party, concealed their swords
beneath their cloaks, traveled all night, and arrived, just as the day
began to dawn, before the gates of the city. They found the place, as
they had expected, entirely unprepared for such a sudden attack, and,
rushing in, regained it without difficulty. The Catholic soldiers
retreated to the castle, where they held out a few days, and many of
them perished in the assault by which it was soon taken.

Such was the character of the nominal peace which now existed. A
partisan warfare was still continued throughout France. Catharine and
her maids did every thing in their power to excite dissensions between
the Protestant leaders. In this they succeeded so well that the Prince
of Conde became so exasperated against Turenne as to challenge him to
single combat.

Such a peace as we have above described could not, of course, be
lasting. Both parties were soon again gathering all their forces for
war. There is a tedious monotony in the recital of the horrors of
battle. Cities bombarded, and sacked, and burned; shells exploding in
the cradle of infancy and in the chambers of mothers and maidens;
mutilated bodies trampled beneath the hoofs of horses; the cry of the
maddened onset, the shrieks of the wounded, and the groans of the
dying; the despair of the widow and the orphan; smouldering ruins of
once happy homes; the fruits of the husbandman's toils trodden into
the mire; starvation, misery, and death--these are ever the fruits of
war.

During the short interval of peace, many attempts had been made to
assassinate Henry of Navarre by the partisans of the Duke of Guise.
Henry was, one fine morning, setting out with a few friends for a ride
of pleasure. Just as the party were leaving the court-yard, he was
informed that an assassin, very powerfully mounted, was prepared to
meet him on the way and to take his life. Henry apparently paid no
heed to the warn