hest rank were allowed
to take a part in them. Whenever one was to be held, invitations were
sent to all the courts of Europe, and kings, queens, and sovereign
princes came to witness the spectacle.

The horsemen who contended on these occasions carried long lances,
blunt, indeed, at the end, so that they could not penetrate the armor
of the antagonist at which they were aimed, but yet of such weight
that the momentum of the blow was sometimes sufficient to unhorse
him. The great object of every combatant was, accordingly, to
protect himself from this danger. He must turn his horse suddenly,
and avoid the lance of his antagonist; or he must strike it with his
own, and thus parry the blow; or if he must encounter it, he was to
brace himself firmly in his saddle, and resist its impulse with all
the strength that he could command. It required, therefore, great
strength and great dexterity to excel in a tournament. In fact, the
rapidity of the evolutions which it required gave origin to the name,
the word tournament being formed from a French word[C] which
signifies to turn.

[Footnote C: Tourner.]

The princes and noblemen who were present at the wedding all joined
in the tournament except the poor bridegroom, who was too weak and
feeble in body, and too timid in mind, for any such rough and warlike
exercises. Francis was very plain and unprepossessing in countenance,
and shy and awkward in his manners. His health had always been very
infirm, and though his rank was very high, as he was the heir
apparent to what was then the greatest throne in Europe, every body
thought that in all other respects he was unfit to be the husband of
such a beautiful and accomplished princess as Mary. He was timid,
shy, and anxious and unhappy in disposition. He knew that the gay and
warlike spirits around him could not look upon him with respect, and
he felt a painful sense of his inferiority.

Mary, however, loved him. It was a love, perhaps, mingled with pity.
She did not assume an air of superiority over him, but endeavored to
encourage him, to lead him forward, to inspire him with confidence
and hope, and to make him feel his own strength and value. She was
herself of a sedate and thoughtful character, and with all her
intellectual superiority, she was characterized by that feminine
gentleness of spirit, that disposition to follow and to yield rather
than to govern, that desire to be led and to be loved rather than to
lead and be ad