corpse with holy water, according to the national custom in Normandy.
The coronation of Louis XIII. followed close upon his father's assassination; but in consequence of his extreme youth his mother was appointed queen-regent, and civil war never ceased to rage in France while she continued in power.
The royal children were kept at Fontainebleau, safe from the disturbances that were going on in Paris. It was the beautiful daughter of Madame de Monglat who superintended the toilet and daily life of little Henrietta, and the child loved her so dearly that she called her Mamanga, an Italian pet name, meaning mamma, and learned from the lips of Marie de Medicis, who was a native of Italy.
The religious education of the little princess was guided by a Carmelite nun, whom she visited at stated intervals during her childhood. She and her little brother, Duke Gaston, who studied together, were taught music, painting, and some of the lighter branches, but were never put to any solid work; and later in life Henrietta often lamented her slight knowledge of history, saying that all her lessons of human character were learned from her own sad experience. She was a beautiful child, very much spoiled and flattered, and frequently summoned from the nursery to appear at public entertainments. When she was but six years old her mother took her to Bordeaux to witness the departure of her eldest sister, Elizabeth, to become the wife of the King of Spain, and the arrival of Anne of Austria, the Spanish bride of Louis XIII.
About six years after her husband's death, France had become so desolated by the civil wars brought on by unwise government, that the queen-regent was imprisoned at the Castle of Blois, and the boy king of France assumed the power. Princess Henrietta shared her mother's imprisonment for three years. At the expiration of that time she was present at the marriage of her sister Christine to the Duke of Savoy, and this event was succeeded by a reconciliation between Marie de Medicis and the young king. This was brought about by her almoner, who afterwards became Cardinal Richelieu, and thenceforward her influence in the government of France was greater than ever.
A.D. 1625. When the Princess Henrietta was sixteen years old James I. sent Lord Kensington to France on a secret mission to find out whether her hand could be obtained for his son Charles, who had by that time become the most elegant and accomplished prince in Europe.
The queen-mother was delighted with the prospects of such a match for her daughter, but would give no decided answer until the girl herself had been consulted.
It was not long before every one at the French court knew the object of Kensington's visit, and the ladies crowded around the handsome Englishman to question him about the Prince of Wales, and to examine the miniature of the royal gentleman, which the ambassador wore suspended from a ribbon around his neck.
Etiquette forbade the princess even to mention her royal suitor, much less to look at the picture she was dying to behold. But, remembering that the lady at whose house the ambassador sojourned had been in her service, Henrietta went to her and begged her to borrow the miniature, that she might feast her eyes on it as long as she pleased. This was done, and the young lady blushingly gazed upon the face of her future husband, and expressed her entire satisfaction with his appearance.
Kensington lost no time in reporting her little stratagem; it was his intention to promote the alliance between Prince Charles and Princess Henrietta, so he expatiated on the