Plate VIII.
Photo Giraudon.
FRANÇOIS II. KING OF FRANCE.
Francois Clouet.
Bibl. Nar. Paris.
To face page 20.
The intriguing Catherine, after much wavering, then declared herself upon the Catholic side, and compelled Michel de l’Hôpital, who had tried to reconcile the two parties, to resign. The consequence of this decision was the bloody battle of Jarnac, where Condé died the death of a hero. No one could deny that he loved and honoured France, and that he was a great warrior. Even the Guises, his implacable enemies, endeavoured to conciliate him, and tried to arrange, after his wife’s death, a marriage between him and Mary Stuart. How different, if this alliance had been accomplished, would have been the destinies of that ill-fated Queen![3]