him to the throne, July 17th, 1429, and vanishes with the crown of martyrdom on her brow.
"Is this kingdom to fall? Is this glorious land, the fairest the sun shines on, to be kept in bondage? Are we never again to have a King of our own, a Sovereign sprung from the soil? Shall our country no more possess a King that never dies!" (Schiller: The Maiden of Orlean.) At this period the law was powerless, all classes, divided against each other, no longer acknowledged a legitimate Government. In the midst of the general confusion and anarchy violence alone could make itself heard.
However, after many lapses, the French rally once more, rise from their degradation, are ashamed of their fetters: all the supporters and sympathizers of the Monarchy draw together again; and their union was made closer and stronger, thanks to the national energy. The re-establishment of Charles VII. on the throne of his ancestors was the work of the nation. In this violent crisis. Royalty, as it were, recruited itself from its own substance, as do those robust constitutions which throw off of themselves unhealthy humours and regain all the vigour of their natural strength. On the death of Henry III., stabbed to the heart with a dagger by the friar James Clement, at Saint Cloud, the League organizes and countenances rebellion, to prevent the accession of Henry IV., the Heir Apparent to the Throne of France. The Leaguers, headed by Mayenne, spare nothing to perpetuate their usurpation—secret meetings, a sworn covenant, civil war, murder, barricades, foreign aid, perpetual abeyance of the Royal Family. Could anything more be done?
The storm disperses, Henry IV. re-enters Paris, after the battles of Arques and Ivry, a conqueror and peacemaker. On the battlefield of Ivry were uttered by the King these beautiful and famous words, speaking with so irresistible a force to the minds and hearts of Frenchmen: "Enfants, si vous perdez vos enseignes, ralliez-vous à mon panache blanc; vous le trouverez toujours au chemin de l'honneur et de la gloire!"—
The Fronde, with its retinue of conspirators, meets with no better success than did the League: princes, nobles, citizens murderous and witty, great in riots and sonnets, carry on a war of musketeers and alguazils. A paltry revolution without cause, without means,
