k the pages of his memory to record the scenes through which
he had passed and the characters which he had known. He has been termed
the "valet de chambre" of history; nevertheless the anecdotes scattered
through his works will ever be treasured by all students and historians
of that age of luxury and magnificence, art and beauty, beneath which
lay the fermentation of great religious and political movements,
culminating in the struggle between the Huguenots and Catholics.

[Illustration: ABBE DE BRANTOME]

Brantome was the third son of the Vicomte de Bourdeille, a Perigord
nobleman, whose family had lived long in Guienne, and whose aristocratic
lineage was lost in myth. Upon the estate stood the Abbey of Brantome,
founded by Charlemagne, and this Henry II. gave to young Pierre de
Bourdeille in recognition of the military deeds of his brother, Jean de
Bourdeille, who lost his life in service. Thereafter the lad was to sign
his name as the Reverend Father in God, Messire Pierre de Bourdeille,
Abbe de Brantome. Born in the old chateau in 1527, he was destined for
the church, but abandoned this career for arms. At an early age he was
sent to court as page to Marguerite, sister of Francis I. and Queen of
Navarre; after her death in 1549, he went to Paris to study at the
University. His title of Abbe being merely honorary, he served in the
army under Francois de Guise, Duke of Lorraine, and became Gentleman of
the Chamber to Charles IX. His career extended through the reigns of
Henry II., Francis II., Charles IX., Henry III., and Henry IV., to that
of Louis XIII. With the exception of diplomatic missions, service on
the battle-field, and voyages for pleasure, he spent his life at court.

About 1594 he retired to his estate, where until his death on July 15th,
1614, he passed his days in contentions with the monks of Brantome, in
lawsuits with his neighbors, and in writing his books: 'Lives of the
Illustrious Men and Great Captains of France'; 'Lives of Illustrious
Ladies'; 'Lives of Women of Gallantry'; 'Memoirs, containing anecdotes
connected with the Court of France'; 'Spanish Rodomontades'; a 'Life' of
his father, Francois de Bourdeille; a 'Funeral Oration' on his sister
in-law; and a dialogue in verse, entitled 'The Tomb of Madame de
Bourdeille.' These were not published until long after his death, first
appearing in Leyden about 1665, at the Hague in 1740, and in Paris in
1787. The best editions are by Fourcault (7 vols