s no wonder
that when such was known to be the king's disposition, his edicts
attracted but small attention. A calculation was made by M. de Lomenie, in
the year 1607, that since the accession of Henry, in 1589, no less than
four thousand French gentlemen had lost their lives in these conflicts;
which, for the eighteen years, would have been at the rate of four or five
in a week, or eighteen per month! Sully, who reports this fact in his
Memoirs, does not throw the slightest doubt upon its exactness; and adds,
that it was chiefly owing to the facility and ill-advised good-nature of
his royal master that the bad example had so empoisoned the court, the
city, and the whole country. This wise minister devoted much of his time
and attention to the subject; for the rage, he says, was such as to cause
him a thousand pangs, and the king also. There was hardly a man moving in
what was called good society, who had not been engaged in a duel either as
principal or second; and if there were such a man, his chief desire was to
free himself from the imputation of non-duelling, by picking a quarrel
with somebody. Sully constantly wrote letters to the king, in which he
prayed him to renew the edicts against this barbarous custom, to aggravate
the punishment against offenders, and never, in any instance, to grant a
pardon, even to a person who had wounded another in a duel, much less to
any one who had taken away life. He also advised, that some sort of
tribunal, or court of honour, should be established, to take cognisance of
injurious and slanderous language, and of all such matters as usually led
to duels; and that the justice to be administered by this court should be
sufficiently prompt and severe to appease the complainant, and make the
offender repent of his aggression.

[Illustration: GALLERY AT FONTAINEBLEAU.]

Henry, being so warmly pressed by his friend and minister, called together
an extraordinary council in the gallery of the palace of Fontainebleau, to
take the matter into consideration. When all the members were assembled,
his majesty requested that some person conversant with the subject would
make a report to him on the origin, progress, and different forms of the
duel. Sully complacently remarks, that none of the councillors gave the
king any great reason to felicitate them on their erudition. In fact, they
all remained silent. Sully held his peace with the rest; but he looked so
knowing, that the king turned towards