if his rival remained. Catharine found means to detain
Constable Montmorency, who had intended to leave court in company with
Navarre, and the latter was compelled to suppress his disgust. But the
deliberations of the Particular Estates of Paris, held soon after, had
more weight in securing for Navarre a portion of the consideration to
which he was entitled. Disregarding the prohibition to touch upon
political matters, they boldly discussed the necessity of an account of
the vast sums of money that had passed through the hands of the Guises,
and of the restitution of the inordinate gifts which the cardinal and
his brother, Diana of Poitiers, the Marshal of St. Andre, and even the
constable, had obtained from the weakness of preceding monarchs. This
boldness disturbed Catharine. She employed the constable to mediate for
her with Antoine; and soon a new compact was framed, securing to the
latter more explicit recognition as lieutenant-general, and a more
positive influence in the affairs of state.[1012]
[Sidenote: His assurances to the Ambassador of Denmark.]
That influence he occasionally seemed anxious to exert in behalf of the
reformed faith. He assured Gluck, the Danish ambassador, that, before
the expiration of the year, he would cause the Gospel to be preached
throughout the entire kingdom. And he displayed some magnanimity when he
answered Gluck, who had expressed anxiety that Lutheranism should be
substituted for Calvinism in France, that "inasmuch as the two
Protestant communions agreed in thirty-eight of the forty articles in
which both differed from the Pope, all Protestants ought to make common
cause against the oppression of the Roman See; it would afterward be an
easy task to arrange their minor differences, and restore the Church to
its pristine purity and splendor."[1013]
[Sidenote: Intrigue of Artus Desire.]
[Sidenote: Curiosity to hear Huguenot preaching and singing.]
So wonderful an awakening as that which was now witnessed in almost
every part of France could not long continue without arousing violent
resistance. The very signs that seemed to indicate the speedy triumph of
the Reformation were, indeed, the occasion of the institution of an
organized opposition of the most formidable character. Hints of the
propriety of calling in foreign assistance had even before this time
been audibly whispered. The theologians of the Sorbonne, alarmed at the
apparent favor displayed for the reformed teache
|