mm 'l$i o ( THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES '-0- HISTORICAL ESSAYS UPON PARIS. Tranflated from the FRENCH O F MR. DE S AINTFOIX. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: Printed for G. BURNETT, at -Bifhop Burnett's H^ad, near Sc. Clement's Church, in the Strand. HISTORICAL ESSATS UPON PARIS. TH E trade of the Parifians by water was very flourifhing. Their City feems, from time immemorial, to have had a Ship for its Symbol. Jfu prefided over Navi- gation, and was adored even amongft the Suevi under the figure of a Ship *. Thefe reafons are more than fufficient for Etymologists to perfuade themfelves that Parifii was derived from 7r*p *I<rS v o5, near to lfn- t the Greek and Celtic langua? ges being originally the fame, and written in fimilar characters. I do not take upon me to de- fend this Etymology. Moreau de Mautour how- ever * Laffant, Apul, Tafit, de moribus Germ. C, IX. VOL. I. B 2 Hijlorical EJJays ever is certainly * miftaken when he maintains, that this Goddefs was not adored in Gaul after its being fubjeded to the Romans **. Her Pricfts had their College at Ifli ; and the Church of St. Vincent, fince called St. Germain des Prez, was built upon the ancient ruins of her *** Temple. It is well known where that of Mars f was fituated. Mercury or Pluto (for they were the fame Deity amongft the Gauls) had a Temple upo^ Mount Leucotitlus ; ff and the reader will fwjrd under the article la rut Coquillitre^ that Cy~ j&le had devotion paid to her near the fpot where #jme Church of St. Etiftatius is now fituated. It Ihould be obferved, that thefe places were an- ciently * D. Martin (in hit Religion of the Gauls, Vol. II. p. 131.) proves it by Monuments, which that Academician fliould not hive been ignorant of. The City of Melun being confecrated to tlie worfhip of Jfis, changed its ancient name (Mtlodunum) to that of Ifeos oiJfia, Vide Jaccbut Magni. Abbo Carmen HI. L. I. Vid. Hift. of the Academy of Infections, Vol. III. > 296. * This celebrated Temple of I/it (fays Sauval) which gave name to all the Country, was attended by a College of Priefb, who lived, as is thought, at Ifli in a Caftle, the ruini ,f which were to be feen the beginning of this Century. j Vid. McHtntarte. ft Th e Carmelites of la tut Si. Jacqua. upon Paris. 3 ciently nothing more than fmall woods, or foli- tary retreats, confecrated to thofe Divinities ; for the Gauls did not begin to build Temples, till they were under the dominion of the Romans. Ccsfar is the firft Author who fpeaks of the Parifians. They were one of thofe fixty or fixty- four States, who compofed the Republic of Gaul, and who formed only a fingle Nation, though in- dependent of one another. Each of thefe people had their particular Laws, Chiefs, and Magi- ftrates; and appointed every year Deputies for the general affemblies, which were ufually held in the principal College of the Druids, in the middle of a foreft in the Country of Chartram. The adminiftration of civil and political affairs had for a confiderable time been entrufted to a Senate of Women, elected by the different Cantons. They deliberated upon peace and war, and decided the differences which arofe amongft the Vergobreti *, or took place be- twixt one City and another. Plutarch fays, that by one of the articles of the treaty be- tween Hannibal and the Gauls, it was flipulated, that f " If any Gaul has reafon to complain of a " Carthaginian, he muft appear before the Se- B 2 " natc * Sovereign Magiftratei. + De Claris Mulicrib. 4 Hijlorical E/ays " nate of Carthage eflablifhed in Spain. If any " Carthaginian finds himfdf injured by a Gaul, " the affair muft be judged by the fupreme Coun- " cil of Gallic Women. " Tht Druids, dif- contented with fome decrees of this Tribunal, fo artfully employed the influence which Religion gave them over the minds of men, that they caufed it to be aholifhed, and erected one of their own in its ft.aJ, u-hofe power foon increaf.d <r> fuch a pitch, that they became abfolute mailers in all the public deliberations. They retained the fame pre-eminence as the women, and they avaikd themfelves of it to appear the firft body of the State, and indeed to crufh every other authority by the Defpotifm of Superflition. It is obferved, that the Gaul?, under the government of the women, had taken Rome, and kept Italy in a conftant tremor; that under that of the Pricfts they were themfelves fubdued by the Romans, and that C&far owed his conquefts to the jealou- fies and divifions, which a Druid, the peifidious Divitiacus, inceflantly fowed amongft the prin- cipal Cities. The Parifians fought for their li- berty with a courage that bordered upon defpair. Dreading to be forced into their Ifland, they fal- lied forth, after having fet fire to it j and went in trcnt of the Enemy, who deceived them by a faife upon Paris. 5 falfe march. The battle was fought below Meudon, and was very bloody *. They loft it, and the brave Camulogenus> whom though in a very advanced age ** they had chofen for their Commander, was killed. Corrczd maintains, that it was C&far who caufed the great and little Chatelet to be built. Malingre and the Commiflary de la Marre fay, that " Lutetia which he furrounded with walls, " and which he embellifhed with new edifices, " was called the City of C<sfar." This paflage is not found in Bottlus, whom both of them quote, but in a book fuppofed to be written by Scot 9 and which can be of no authority. From the time ofCeefar till that of Julian fcarce any men- tion is made in hiftoryof Lutetia -K "Julian was proclaimed Auguftus there in 360. ValentlnlanJ. and Gratian alfo refided there for fome time. Clovis in 510 declared it the Capital of his con- quefts. As he refided at the Palace des Termei ff, B 3 and De Bello Galileo. L. VII. * * Prope conftflus atati, f Jt is faid that in the Celtic language, Lub fignifies a ri- ver, Tos-ex in the middle, and y an habitation, and in this manner Lutitia is derived from Lubuuezy, an habitation in the middle of a river, becaufe this City was really built upon an Jfland in the midole of the Seine. Vid. Mtm. /> the Celtic.. language. ft Wkhout the City. 6 Hijlorical E/ays and as it appears that all the Kings of the firft Race fixed their refidcnce here, moft Authors will not allow that they had any in the City. In the Sequel I fhall talk of this Palace des Termts. With refpedt to that which was in the City, I fhall only quote this paflage of Gregory of Tour i *. *' Cbildebert fent a perfon in whom he could " confide, to Clotarius, King of Soiflbns, toen- " gage him to come and meet him, in order to " deliberate whether they fhould put their Ne- " phews to death, or whether they fhould con- " tent themfelves with degrading ** them by " cutting off their hair. . . Clotarlus haftened " to Paris. . . They caufed it to be reported, ** that the refult of their interview was to pro- " claim Greg. Tur. Hift. Lib. III. Cap. XVIII. * Incifa Cafaric vt rtliqua plelt babeantur. The French cut their hair all round their heads, preferving them in their full length only from the top, where they were knotted and tied. None but Princes of the Royal Family were allowed to have their hair flowiag upon their flioulders, and without being cut round the head. The hair of thofe people, who were conquered by the Gauls, was not to reach below the neck : fo that a head of hair being a diftinguifliing mark between the French and the fubjugated people, it was not orly degrading a Prince or a Frenchman, and difmembering him from hit fa- mily, to cut his hair ; but it was disqualifying him from being a Frenchman, upon Paris. 7 < claim the Tons of Clodomir Kings, and fent a *' meffage to demand them of Clotilda (who then ' refided in the City *) to raife them upon the " fliield. The good Queen tranfported with joy, " fent for the young ** Princes into her apart- < ment,, and after having paid attention to their <c taking fome refrefhment, faid to them as (he '* embraced them, Go, my children, go and meet *' your Uncles; if I can fee you upon your fa- " ther's throne, I fhall forget that I loft that dear " child. ClotaritiS) after having aflaffinated them " with his own hand, coolly mounted his horfe " to return to Soiflbns : Childebert retired into *' the Suburbs : In Suburbans concej/it." Towards the end of the fccond Race, Paris flill furrounded by the two branches of the river, was not more extenfive than in 'the time of Ccffar. The Cathedral in the eaft, the great and li tie Chatelet upon the north and fouth, and the King's palace, or the palace of the Counts on the weft, compofed its four ex- tremities. " Lutetia, ( fays Cafar ) fituated B 4 * upon * S^ua tune in iffa urbe tncrabafur. There muft then have keen a Palace in the City where flic refided, and brought up the young Princes. * The c'deH was only ten years old. 8 Hijlorical Effays " upon an Ifland of the Seine, is the City of the " Parifians." "I pafTed the winter, fays Julian, " who reigned four hundred years after this con- * c queror of the Gauls, in my dear Lutetia: it " forms a little Ifland in the Seine, and there are " two bridges for communication." " Paris, *' fays Mbon^ who wrote nine hundred years " after Ctefar, is joined to the main land by two " bridges : at the foot of each of thefe bridges, < there is a Caftle * without the City." If to thefe authorities we add a few reflec- tions upon the devaftation of Gaul by the Bar- barians; upon the bloody wars by which Clovis. continued to form his eftablifhment j upon the partition of his conquefts after his death into four Kingdoms, whereby Orleans and Soiflbns became Capitals ; upon the annihilation of trade ; and upon the contempt with which the French looked upon thofe who refided in Cities, and upon every other profeflion, except that of arms ; we fhall eafily be perfuaded, that Paris under the firft Race could not be aggrandized. Under the fecond we fee it almoft deferted. Ptpin, Charle- main, Lewis the Debonair, Charles the Bald, and Lewis the Stammerer fojourned there only occa- fionally. The * The great and little Chatclet. upon Paris. 9 The Emperor Julian feems to call to mind with pleafure, the time he patted in his dear Lu- tetia ; he expatiates upon its climate, its foil, its vineyards, and the methodjhe inhabitants ufed to cultivate fig-trees. Is it likely, that after having faid it was confined to a fmall ifland, he would not have added, that its Suburbs were confiderable, if in fact they had been fo ? So far from men- tioning them, the manner in which he exprefles himfelf, clearly points out that there were none. " As the Parifians, fays he, inhabit an Ifland, " they can have no other water than that of " the Seine." The obfervation which I make * upon thefe words, and which has accidentally efcaped all the Difiertators, appears to me the more decifive, as the Cbmmiflary de la Marre, who has in another place ** tranflated the paflage at length, feems to have affected forgetting them, becaufe they did not correfpond with his ideas. His Treatife upon the Police is a good per- formancej but a reader fliould be upon his guard, where he lofes fight of his object. A chain of walls which is mentioned in a charter in the time of the two laft Kings of the fecond Race, ]eads him to place oppofite to the City, upon the B 5 banks * Julian, imper. Mifepog. Treatife upon the PoiicCj p. 87. Vol. I. I o Hijiorical Effays banks of the Seine towards the north, a fmall town, which he prefumes was built by the Ro- mans *. After having obferved that this chain began near St. Gervais, and that forming a femi-circle behind the Greve, and on the fide of St. Merri, it terminated on the bank of the river, beyond the great Chatelet, " Grtgory ** of Tours (he adds) enumerates with much " precifion all the confiderable buildings and " foundations which were made by our Kings; " the fires, inundations, and all the other events *' which were capable of changing the face of this * Capital from the beginning of the Monarchy. *< Would he have forgot to have mentioned its " increafe and new inclofure ? There is not * c the leaft probability in fuch a fuppofition. " FredegariuS) Aimoin^ Sipebert, ** and feveral " other Hiftorians have clofely followed him un- " der the firft and fecond Race : they have imitated " his precifion in all that concerns Paris : they *' have all remained filent with refpeft to this " inclofure. This doubtlefs induces us to believe *' that this was dill a work of the Romans." We lhall fee by the extracl I am going to make from * See his fe:ond Plan. * The CommifT-ry La Marrt quote* Sigtbert airongft the Hiftorians who wrote under the fecund Race : this Hitlorian lived under the Reign of Pbilip I. and Levit the Fat. upon Paris. 1 1 from Abborfs * Poem, that this wall, far from being a work of the Romans, was not begun till towards the end of the ninth century. " Sigefroy '* enraged at not obtaining a paflage through the ' City, came haftily ** and attacked the large " Tower fof the great bridge. Eudes Count of Paris, " Robert his brother, the Counts Raguenaire and " Sibange, the Bifhop Ge/Kn, and Eble Abbot *' of St. Germain, defended it till night with fo " much bravery, that the Normans, notwith- " (landing the confiderable breaches that they " had made, were obliged to retire with the lofs <c of four or five hundred men. The next day " they returned with equal fury. The attack con- * c tinued till night. Finding they were always re- *' pulfed, they thought proper at laft to entrench " themfelves, and fortify a camp with ftones " and earth in the J borough of St. Germain of ' Auxerrois." B 6 This He was in Paris whilft Sigifroy laid fiege to it in 886. * Nempe ruunt omnes ratibus, turri properantcs, QtJam feriunt fnndis acriter, complentque fagittis. t The great Chate'.et. J This quarter was ftill called a Borough under the Reign of Philip Augujtut, three hundred years after this fiege j and the learned Menage is at great pains to inftrudl us upon this head, that the Borough is always feparated from the City, whereas the Subuibs join to it, 12 Hijlorical Effays This quotation evinces, that the wall or inclo- fure in queftion did not exift in the year 886 : Albw would have fpoken of it : Sigcfroy would have been obliged firft to have attacked and car- ried it, whereas we find he arrived immediately, and without any obftacle, at the bank of the ditch of the Tower of the great Chatelet. Thefe are my conjectures upon this wall. D. Feiiblen^ and all thofe who have particularly applied them- felves to the hiftory of Paris, aflert that the ground whereon the town * now ftands, was a foreft. The oftagon Tower which ftill remains at the corner of the church-yard des Inno- cens, ferved, it is faid, for keeping a guard in this foreft to check the gangs of robbers that in- fefted it, and to annoy the Normans, who might lie there in ambufh in detached troops, rulh into the market-place of the Greve, pillage the port, and carry off flaves. I imagine this wall was creeled to prevent fudden incurfions, and that the Jews who re- appeared in France about that time, obtained leave to build houfes in this inclofure, which compofed thofe nafty ftreets of St. Bon, de la Tacherie, du Pet-au-Diable, and other ad- jacent ones. It is certain they had a Synagogue and Schools there in the beginning of the third Race. On the northern Cde of the river. upon Paris. 13 Race. It was not till the reign of Lewis the young, that the buildings in Champeaux * and in the environs of St. Opportune were begun. Thefe places were formerly called the Hermitage of our Lady in the wood^ being fituated at the en- trance of the foreft. We may fuppofe that the fpace between the bulwark and the northern fide of the river, from the ground whereon the Arfenal is now ere&ed, to the end of the Thuilleries, comprehends the remains of a marftiy wood, fmall fields, f cul- tures, hedges, ditches, and four or five fmall ff Boroughs, more or lefs, feparated from one ano- ther ; fome dirty (Ireets about the great Chatelet and the Greve j a great bridge, (the Change- bridge) to pafs over into a fmall Ifland, (the City) which was only inhabited by Pricfls, and a few tradef- * The Quarter del Haltts. f The ftreets called St. Catberine'i Culture, and St. GtrvaiSt Culture (which were then pronounced Coulture) derive their names from foots wh.ch were proper to be cultivated. j-f- Thibouft Borough, Abbe and Beau-bourg Boroughs, and the old and new Boroughs of "t. Germain of the Auxerrois : they were partly fu rounded by the wall which Philip dugufittt caufed to be built, and which was finished in 1121. The ftreets of thofe Boroughs have always retained their names. The Commifiary d; la Marre aflerts, that they were feparated from Paris and its Subu< bs by fields, marfhes, and plowed lands j from thence we may judge of the fmali extent of the Suburbs. 14 Hijlorical Efays tradefmen and workmen j another bridge, (the little bridge) to pafs over on the fouthern fide, and beyond this bridge and the little Chatelet, three or four hundred houfes, fcattered here and there upon the banks of the river, and in the vine- yards which covered the environs of the moun- tain of St. Genevieve. Such was Paris under our firft Kings of the third Race, and I believe, if we reflect upon the manners of thofe times, and upon the caufes of its increafe afterwards, we fhall agree it could neither be greater, nor more con- fiderable. All thofe different tribunals which we now fee, and whofe appurtenances are fo nu- merous, did not yet exift : the King, the Count, or the Vifcount heard the parties, made a fum- mary judgment, or ordered a battle, in cafe the affair was too intricate. Neither were there any Colleges ; the Bifhop and the Canons fupported fome Schools near the Cathedral, for the education of thofe dcfigned for ecclefiaftics.The nobles piqued themfelves upon their ignorance, and often were not able to fign their names : they lived upon their eftates, and if they were obliged to pafs three or four days in town, they affe&ed to ap- pear always booted, that they might not be taken for vi/'ains. Ten men were fufficient to collect the imports ; there were only two gates, and un- der Lewis the Fat, the taxes of the northern gate amount- upon Paris. 15 amounted only to twelve * livres Tournois a year. The mod ufeful arts did not even flrike the imagination, and one may judge of the di- verfions and public places by the indelicacy of the manners : in a word, there was nothing in Paris to attract a ftranger, to induce the in- duftrious man to fettle there, or rich and lazy people to make it the place of their refidence. Philip Augujlus was fond of letters ** ; he enter- tained The numerical Liv^e of France owes its inftitution to Ciar- lemaia. It was he who caufed twenty pieces to be cut out of a pound of filver, which were called fols, and out of thefe foil twelve pieces, which were called deniers : fo that the livre of that time, as well as now, was compofed of two hundred and forty deniers. 1 he fols and deniers confifted of fine filver, till th- Reign of Philip I. Father of Lewis the Fat ; in 1103, they were mixed with a third of brafs ; ten years afterwards, it was increafed to half; to two thirds under Philip the Fair, and to tiiree fourths under Philip of Valois. This diminution of value has been carried to fuch a ^ight, that twenty fols, which be- fore the Reign of Philip L compofed a pound of teal filver, do not at this day contain the third part of an ounce. It is pre- tended that Cbarlcmain was as rich with one Million, as Leivis XV. with fixty-fix. Twenty-foui pounds of white bread coft a denier (or farthing) under t -e Reign of Cbarlemain : this de- nier was mde of fine filvei without allay j by the value which it would bear at prefent, rr.ay be computed whether bread and other necefiaries were cheaper or dearer at that time, than now. Twelve liv es in the time of Lcwtt the Fat made, I imagine, about twelve times thirty-four of our p efent livres. * They feemed to revive under the Reign of Cbarlt tntitt j during the ravages of the Normans tl ey were entirely neglefled, till the Reign of Ltwis the Young, Pii/if ^ugufluii Father, 1 6 Hijloncal EJJays tained and patronized the Learned ; the Schools of Paris became famous, the youth of the Provinces and foreignCountries crowded to them ; the quarter, fince called the Univerfity-quarter, was peopled, and in the I3th and 1410 Centuries, was covered with Colleges and Convents. Philip the Fair fixed the feat of Parliament ; he alfo prohibited duelling in civil matters, and one might plead, without being obliged to fight. I know not whether law-fuits were undertaken with more courage ; but it is certain, that the chicanery which was introduced at the fame time into France, by our commerce with the Court of Rome un- der Clement V. increafed miraculoufly, and that every thing connected with it augmented in lefs than half a century the number of the inhabi- tants of Paris at leaft a thirtieth part. Queen Ann of Britanny, great and majeftic in every thing, would have a Court. The women, who till then were born in one Caftle to marry and die in ano- ther, came to Paris, and would not return, and the men followed them. The religious wars un- der Charles IX. and Henry III. rendered gold and filver a little more common, by the profanations of the Calvinifts, who pillaged the Churches, and converted the facred veflels, fhrines, and flatues of Saints into fpecie. The millions which the Court of Spain flung away in Paris to fupport upon Paris. 17 fupport the league, had made a great number of {hop-keepers eafy in their circumftances, and it is obferved that Dauphin, Chriftine, and An- jou-ftreets, * which Htnry IV. creeled upon part of the garden of the great Auguftins^ and the ruins of the Hotel of the Abbots of St. Denis, were built in lefs than a year. This was the firft of our Kings, who embelliflied Paris with public fquares decorated with ornaments of archi- tecture. After having finifhed the new bridge be- gun in the Reign of Henry III. the building of which was interrupted during the civil wars, he erected the Royal Square upon the fpot where the Hotel of Tournelle before ftood, and Dau- phin-fquare upon two little Iflands, which he joined together, and with that of the Palace, from whence they were before feparated by a branch of the river, at the place where Harlay-ftreet now {lands. Towards the end of the adminiftration of Cardinal Richelieu, there was only one Mafterj and the little provincial tyrants, who had can- toned themfelves fo long in their Caftles, in oppo- fition to the Royal Authority, came to intrigue for the moft pitiful apartment at Court with all the abje&nefs of courtiers, at the fame time building in the City with all the pomp of great men. At length * So called from the Deuflin, the Duke of Anjou, and M< dame Cbrijlixa their Sifter. l8 Hijlorical Eflays length LtwisXIV. afcended the throne, and Paris was no longer inclofed : the gates were turned into triumphal arches, the ditches filled up, planted with trees, and converted into public walks. When we confider this Monarch, the noife he made in the world, his forty years victories, his grandeur, magnificence, and dignity in pleafures, the re- fources he drew from his very expences, his tafte for the arts which even his thirft of glory in- creafed j when one reflects that his diverfions in time of peace were not only for his Court, for his Capital, for his people, but feftivals which he gave to all Europe : it ihould feem that Paris ought to have been ftill more embellifhed under his Reign. 7ht wall$ ef Paris begun in 1190, undtr tbt Reign of Philip Auguftus, and compleated in 1211. It is neceflary to obferve, that I am obliged to make ufe of names of ftreets, convents, and houfes, which did not yet exift ; and that under St. Lnuij, grand fon of Philip Auguflu^ a third part at lead of the ground which was inclofed within this wall, was wafte, marfhy, or cultivated. It extended from the northern fide of the river, towards the Louvre, * which was without, travcrfed the ftreets St. Honore and, Deux- It was not then half fu cxtcnfive as it i; at prefent. upon Paris. 19 Deux-Ecus, the place whereon is built the Hotel de Soiflbns, Coquilliere, Montmarte, and Mont- orgueil-ftreets, the ground where the Italian play- houfe nowftands, Fran^oife,St.Denis,Bourgl'abbe and St. Martin's-ftreets, continued along Grenier St. Laaarus-ftreet, traverfed Beaubourg-ftreet, St. Avoye- ftreet, at the fpot where is the Hotel de Mefmes, and crofling the Convent of White-man- tles, paflcd between the ftreets Francs- bourgeois and Rofiers,and terminated at the river fide, acrofs the buildings of the houfe of profeffion of the Je- fuits, and the Convent of dve Maria, where the remains of thef walls are yet to be feen. They had eight principal gates jthe firft near the Louvre by the river-fide ; the fecond at the place where is fituated the Convent of the Priefts of the Ora- tory j the third oppofite to St. Euftatius's Church, between the ftreets Platriere and Jour, the fourth . in St. Denis-ftreet, called the Painter's Gate, where there is a blind alley that retains its name; the fifth in St. Martin's ftreet, at the corner of Grenier St. Lazarus- ftreet ; the fixth called Bar- bette * gate, between the Convent of the White- mantles and Francs-bourgeois ftreet j the feventh near the profciTion-houfe of the Jefuits ; and the eighth on the river fide, between Port St. Paul and Marie-Bridge. From * From the name of a family at Paris. 2O Hiftorical EJJays From the river-fide towards the South, the other half of this inclofure, which began at St. Bernard's gate, is nearly marked * out by the ftreets, called St. Bernard's ditches, St. ^i<J7or's ditches, St. Michael's ditches, or St. Hyacinth- ftreet, Monfieur le Prince's ditches, St. Germain's ditches, or the ftreet of the French Play-houfe, and de Nf/Je's ditches, at prefent Mazarine-ftreet. In this circuit there were feven gates ; St. Bernard or la Teurnelle's gate ; St. Vittor **, St. Marcel and St. James's gates ; Gibard^ Enfer or St. Mi- chael's gate, at the top of Harp-ftreet, at the fpot where the fountain ftands - t Bud *** gate, at the top of St. Andre des Arcs- ftreet, over-againft Gounterfcarp-ftreet, and Afyk-gate, where the four Nation's College ftands at prefent. In the Cordeliers-ftreet, where the fountain is erected, there was another gate, called St. Germain's gate ; and when Dauphin- ftreet was built, there was one * I fay nearly marked, anJ it is eafy to imagine the precife line which thii inclofure made, when we confider that thefe ftreets have been built upon the diuhei, and that thefe ditchci were placed before the walls. Taken down in 1684. ** Thus named from Simon de Buci, the firft perfcn wild bore die title of fiift Pre&dcnt, who died in 1369. upon Paris. 21 one f erected oppofite the other end of Counter- fcarp-ftreet, and which was called Dauphin-gate. The Streets of Paris were not begun to be paved till 1 184, under the reign of Philip Augu- Jlus. A Financier (Gerard de Poijji] deferved to have his name tranfmitted to pofterity by the hiftoric page : he generoufly contributed to that expence, and gave eleven thoufand marks of fil- ver. The filver-mark under Philip Augujius was worth three hundred deniers or farthings j its va- lue now is 1 1,952 deniers. The walls under Charles V. begun in 1367, and compkated under Charles VI, in 1383. Charles V. made no alteration to the, wall erect- ed ty Philip Auguftus on the Southern fide ; he only caufed two ditches to be dug round it. This in- clolure was flanked with Towers at certain dif- tances, which were not taken down till the year 1646. I have cbferved that on the Northern fide thefe walls terminated between Port St. Paul and ^/ar/V-bridge, over-againf! la rue de VEtoile : he extended them to the place where the Arfenal is at prefent,and St. Anthony , St. Martin and St. Dwis's gates were placed where we now ice them. From St. Denis's gates thefe walls continued along Bourbon- f They were both taken down in 1672, 22 Hiflorical EJJays Bourbon-ftreet, crofled Petit-carreau and Mont- martre-ftrcets, Vi&ory * Square, the hotel of Touloufe, the garden of the Royal Palace, St. JHonorf-Rrcet near the Convent of the Quinze- Vingts, and terminated at the river-fide at the end of St. Nicaife ftreet. At the four extremi- ties of this inclofure, as well as that of Philip AuguJluS) there were four large Towers ; the Tower of wood near the Louvre 5 the Tower of Nefle where the College of the four Nations is fituated ; the Tower of la Tournelk, part of which ftill fubfifts near St. Bernard's gate, and the Tower of Billi near the Celeftins Convent. They defended on both fides of the river the en- trance to Paris by thick chains fixed from one Tower to another, which crofled the Seine, being fupported by boats placed at proper diftances. The avenue to thelfland of St. Lewis** was de- fended by a Fort. No houfes were begun to be built here till 1614, when it was joined to a fmall Ifland, called la petite Jjlt aux Vacbe^ from which it was till then feparated by a branch of the river, where the Church of St. Lewis is now erefled. Marie and In 7cr>w//c-bridges f were not finifhed till 1635. The Place des Viaeirea. The Idand of Notre Dame is fo called. }- So called from Riant, who undertook them. upon Paris. 23 The ftreets des Petits Champs, and des Bons- Enfans, terminated To late as 1630 at the walls of ihe City, which pafied, as I have faid, upon the fpot where Victory-Square is now creeled. This quarter was fo retired, that robberies were commit- ted in open day, and it was nick-named Empty- fob-quarter, (in French vuide got/JJ'et.} The buildings of the Royal Palace, which Cardinal Richelieu begun in 1629, occafioned a new in- clofure. St. Honore gate, which was then where the fhambles and the market of Quinze- Vingts are at prefent, was continued in 1631, as far as we now fee it; and from that gate to th:;t of St. Denis the new ramparts which were creeled, and which Lewh XIV. caufed to be taken * down, formed the compafs which the bulwarks now trace. This new part of the Town was prefently covered with ftreets, named deri, du Mail, St. dugujlin^ St. dnnt, the new ftreets St. Eujlatius and Petiti- Champsy and others adjacent : there were mills ** however upon St. Rock's hill in 1670. This is a general notion of the different in- creafes of Paris. I (hall now run over this Ca- pital j I fay run over, for my dcfign in writing thefe * He imagined the Capital of a great Kingfliould not have any. ** La rue da R'eulint has retained the name, 24 Hijicrical thefe EfTays, was not to give a general defcrip- tion minutely laid down and expatiated upon. I {hall only mention fuch quarters and ftreets where fome remarkable incident has happened, which is interefting and neceflary to point out what the manners and cuftoms of this Nation have been at different periods. St. Andre des Arcs Jlreet *. During the civil wars under the reign of Charles VI. on the 28th of May 1418, at night, Perrinet le Clerc, fon of an Aide; man of the City, tock from under the bolfter of his father's bed the keys of Bud gate, and opened it to the troops of the Duke of Burgundy. Thefe troops who were joined by the meaneft of the mob, pillaged, killed and imprifoned all thofe who op- pofed the Partifans of this Prince, who were called Armagnacs. On the 12th of June the /laughter was renewed with more fury than ever: the mob repaired to the prifons, and caufed them to be opened ; the moft reputable tradefmen, two Archbifhops, fix Bifhops, fcveral Prefidents, Counfellors and Mafters of Requefts were knocked Rue St. jfndr/det Arcs, fo called becaufe bows and ar- rows were fold there. upon Paris. 25 knocked down, or caft from the top of the Towers of the Conciergerie and great Chattier, and below they fell upon the ends of fpikes or the points of fwords i the environs of the Palace ftreamed with blood; the bodies of theConftable Bernard d? Armognac^ and of the Chancellor Henry dc Marie, after having been dragged through the ftreets, were thrown into the lay- ftalls. The butchers afterwards erected a ftatue of Perrinet le Clerc in St. Michael's Square, the trunk of which is ftill remaining, and ferves as a boundary to the houfe, which forms the corner of St. Andre des Arcs ftreet, and that of the Old Bucklery. Notwithstanding the tradition and opinion of moft Hiftorians *, Moreau de Alautour pretends that this boundary with the head of a man is no- thing but the pure effect of the caprice of fome workman, and that there never was a ftatue of Perrinet le Clerc ; he appears fo well perfuaded of this, that he has neglected to fupport his opi- nion by proofs and good reafons. Gtrmain Brief, who in other refpects is very imperfect in this hiftorical event, fays that fome years fines there were See the Kiftory of the Academy of InfcrJptior.s, Voi, HI. VOL, I. C 25 Hijlorical E/ays were found In the cellar of an adjacent hsufc, frag- ments of this flattie. It is reafonable to believe, it was mutilated when Charles Vll. became Matter of Paris, and out of derifion they placed it as a boundary. It is very vifibly different from the other boundary marks, on account of its length and thicknefs. St. Antdne Jlreet. The Lifts which Henry II. caufed to be made for the Tournaments in which he was wounded, extended from the Palace of Tour- nelles to the Bafttlle. After his death, Catherine de Medlcls looking upon this Palace as fatal, would reftde there no longer, and even perfuaded Charles IX. to pull it down. It was not, how- ever, entirely demolished till the reign of Henry 1Y. who began building the Royal Palace in its flead. It had been nothing but a private Hotel, and belonged to the Chancellor d'Orge- mont in 1390. Leo of Lufignan, King of Ar- menia, refided there; and died in it in 1393. The Duke of Bedford, who was Regent during the Minority of Henry IV. the pretended King of France, lodged there about the year 1422, and enlarged and embellimed it to that degree, that Charles VII. and his Succefibrs gave it the pre- ference upon Paris* 27 Ference for their refidence to the Hotel of St. Paul, which was over againft it. The wall * with the park and gardens extended from the ftreets des Egouts, to the gate of St. Antoine, com- prehending all that ground whereon the ftreet des Tournelles, Jean Beaufire, des Minimcs, du Foin, St. Giles, St.- Pierre, des douze Portes have been fince built, together with part of the ftreet St. Louis, as far as the ftreet of St. Anaf- tafe. It was at the beginning of the ftreet des Tournelles, where one of the fides of the park terminates, facing the Baftille, that t^uelas, Mau- gfron and Livarct fought a duel at five o'Cloclc in the morning, on the 27th of April, 1578, agair.fl: tTEnttagitei, Riberac and Schombcrg. Mauglron and Scbornberg, who were on!y eighteen years of age, were killed upon the fpot ; Riberac died the next morning ; Livarot^ who was wounded in the head, kept his bed fix weeks ; d'Entragun was only flightly wounded ; ghtelus languiflied thirty- three days of nineteen wounds he received, and died in the King's arms, the 2Qth of May, at the Hotel de Boifli, in an apartment, which may be faid to have been fancHfied ever fince, ferving at prefent as the Choir for the Nuns of the Order of the Vifitation of St. Mary. C 2 * The wall of the Palace of TourneJlei. 28 Hijlorical EJJays '* Quelus, fays Brantome, * complained highly, " that Entraguei had a dagger more than he, " who had only a fingle fword ; whence it arofe, *' that in endeavouring to parry and turn off the " flrokes which d'Entragues aimed at him, his " hand was almoft cut to pieces, and when they " began to fight, Qudui told him, Thou haji a * l dagger^ and I have none ; to : which d'Entragucs *' replied, Tbeu lajl been guilty of a great piece of " fol.'y to leave it at home : here we are come to " fighty and not to cavil about anas. Some fay it " was a fort of cheat, to take the advantage of the *' dagger, if it was agreed upon not to bring any ' weapon, except the fword. This is a p >im to be " difputed. D'Entragues faid no mention was nijde 44 of it; others urge, that through a punctilio of *' chivalry he fhould not have ufed the dagger." The queftion then is, whether he fhould or no ? This is no matter of doubt at this time of day, nor fhould it ever have been any. When the news of the death of Guife (killed at Blois, the 2yth of December 1588, by order of litnryllL} reached Paris, the pecple who had been rendered furious by the Monk's fermons, flew to St. Paul's, and deflroyed the tombs that Prince had creeled to the memory of >uelus t Mau- # Memoirs upon Duels, p. 94. upon Paris. 29 Maugiron and St. Megrin^ faying, " that thofe " wicked fellow?, who had expired in denying a " Supreme Being, and were the tyrant's Minions, " were rot deferving of fuch fine monuments in " the church." Upon thofe tombs, which were made of black marble, engraven with Epitaphs on the four fides, were placed the ftatues of thefe three favourites, which greatly refembled them. Here follow fome of the Epitaphs, which I copied from a book printed in 1587. Jacobi de Levi Clarijf. famili* & fumm<* virtutis adol. E P I T A. Quid marmcr, arar, & artes fufpicis ' Dignus fuit hoc honore Q^iaefleus, ingenio praeftans, moribus facilis, af- peclu Gratus: cui artes erant, virtutem colere, Deo, Patrije, Et Principi fervire: non injuriam, fed mortem pat:en:er Tulit : grati animi eft hoc monumentum. Obiit 4 Kal. Juniianno 1578, sta. 24. C 3 * - 30 Hiftorical EJJays Pauli de Cauffade Comi. Samegrini. E P I T A. Nil virtus, nil genus, nil opes, nil vires poflunt, His omnibus, & favore pollens jacet, vi&us fraude, f Et multorum viribus : incautum vis obruit, quem Nee publicua inimicus domuit, nee prlvatus ter- ruit. Abi viator : tace, & pro mortuo ora. Obiit 1 1 Kal. Auguft. anno 1578, aeta. fuse 24: Franc. Maugeronis Clariff. & generoff. adol. E P I T A. Maugeronis in hoc funt ofla repofta Sepulcro, Cui virtus annos contigit ante fuos ; O<to namque decem natus, non pluribus annis, Alter erat Codes, Hannibal alter erat. Teftis erit tantae juvenili IfToria capta Virtuti, teftis pcrditus huic oculus. Obiit anno 1578. quinto Kal. Mai. aeta. 18. E P I- f- St. Megr'm, called the Star, paffed for the minion of the Duchefs of Guife. The Duke of Mayenne, brother-in-Jaw to that Princefs, at the head of twenty or thirty men, caufed him to be aflaflinated in the ftrcet of St. Honote, about II at night, on the zift of J"Jy 1578. 'upon Paris. 31 EPITAPH. The Cyprian Queen, with an aufpicious birth, In this laft age had deign'd to blefs the earth, The offspring of a God, whofe eyes divine With native luftre did fo brightly fhine, That jealous Cupid fought to quench their flame. One * he deftroyed, yet mifs'd his cruel aim. The other beam'd his facred lightenings fo, It wounded more than Cupid's fatal bow. With fighs and tears he to his mother went j The carelefs mother fcorn'd his fond complaint. Then to the fates appeal 'd the flighted boy ; Th'enamour'd fitters heard his fuit with joy. His fuit they heard, and cut his vital thread ; To make him theirs, they join'd him with the dead, So Afaugiron beneath this marb!e lies, To love and death at once a facrifice. If there is any thing furprifing in meeting with the Parcae, Love, and Venus in a Church, it is full as much fo to read that thefe gentlemen were honoured with funeral orations f, pro- nounced with great pomp by a prtlate, Jlrnaud de Sorbin, Bifhop of Nevers. I (hall difmifs C 4 this * At the age of 16, he loft an eye, by a wound be received at the fiege of iffbire, f Printed for Cbaudtertt) at the fign of the Man-Savage, in the ftreet of St. Jacques, 32 Hijtorical E/ays this article by an anecdote which clearly evinces the rage of duelling at that time. >uilus and BuJ/i having quarrelled, they appointed a place of rendcz-vous to decide their difference, and their fathers were to be their feconds ; the King re- conciled them, and prevented the conflict. The Street called UArbre Sec *. ** In 1505 there arofe a kind of infurredion in this ftreet, on account of a female fhop keeper, whom the Curate would not bury, till fuch time as the will fhe had made, was fhewn to the Bifhop f- The Bifhops laid claim to a right of ex- amining wills, and they prohibited ft the inter- ment of fuch perfons as died inteftate, or who had not bequeathed a legacy to the Church ; and their relations were obliged to apply to the Official who appointed a Prieft, or fome other ecclefiaftical peifon, to reclify the error the deceafed had committed, and bequeath the le- gacies in his name. In 1533, when the plague * Thii literally traoflated, is Dry-tret, which name is d rived from an old fign. Lauritri* French gloflary at the void Tefatnentarj exe- tstcr. f The Prefident Lixtt Dunoul:*. ft S e fitvrtfi Treatife upon abufe, Vol. I. p. 371. Arrtt\ of March i, 1401, and March 19, 1409. upon Paris. 33 ravaged in Paris, and there was no time to think of making wills, an infinite number of dead bo- dies remained feveral days unburied, which greatly contaminated the air. N. des Urjins, Vicar- general in the abfenceof the Bifliop, was much inclined to foften the rigour of thcfe fe verities, and permit the burial of the dead without /- fifling upon the consequences. Some Curates went fo far, as to oppofe the admiffion of fuch as were deiirous of taking orders, till fuch time as they had paid their funeral tax, alledging that as they became dead to the world by entering upon a religious profeflion, it was but equitable they fhould diicharge what they would have been in- debted, in cafe they had been interred. The Journal under the reign of Charles VI. and CharlesVll. in theyear 1440, mentions " that " there were no burials, either of young or old, *' for four months in the Innocents Church- " yard, and that no one's name was ftuck up here " to be pray'd for, becaufe Mafter Denis des ' Moulin^ Bifhop of Paris, wanted too large a " fum of money for it." * An excommunication was delivered from the pulpit, and fixed at the deor of the Parifli Church, againft the de- ceafed who had been buried by his relations in C 5 th * Ibid, in the year 1448. 34 Hijloricd EJJays the fields, through inability or unwillingnefs to pay the exorbitant fum the Church required to let him rot in consecrated ground. At length thefe fcandalous proceedings were fupprefled by an arret of the Parliament, dated the 1310 of June 1552. Some Biftiops pretended this was in- croaching upon the ecclefiaftical authority ; but their ordonnances were defpifed, and thofe who oppofed the arret, were profecuted with fo much rigour, that thefe oppreffions were by degrees re- moved, or at Jeaft were exercifed with greater moderation. The ArftnaL There was behind the Convent of Celefiins an Arfenal belonging to the Hotel de Ville (or Town-houfe) which was called tbt City-artil- lery's barns. Francis I. being inclined to caft fome cannon, afked the Provoft of the Merchants and Sheriffs for the ufe of this magazine, which, they lent him with a very bad grace, forefeeing very likely what would happen. Thefe barns were converted into a royal houfe. It took fire in 1562. The new buildings which Charles IX. creeled, were confiderably increafed by Henry III. and HfnrylV. The upon Paris. 35 The Author ofihcMelangts d'HiJloirt et de Lit- terature * fays he has feen two contracts which Lewi: XIII. entered into with Vitido t the firft bearing date the 2gth of January 1636, and the other the 3d of October 1637, for cutting a Canal round Paris, from the baftion of the arfenal to the gate of la Conference. He adds, that after much expence this work was interrupted by Mr. Bulliden y fuperintendant of the Finances, " who " oppofed this undertaking, becaufe it wascoun- *' tenanced by Father Jofeph It QVrr, a Capuchin " Friar, who made himfelf fo remarkable du- ** ring the adminiftration of Cardinal Richlieu"* It is fomewhat extraordinary, that a Superintend- ant of the Finances fhould through pique againft a Capuchin interrupt a work that had coft a con- fidcrable fum, and which was looked upon as the only method that could be devifed to carry off the inundations of the Seine. Aubri le Bouder-ftreet. In 1309 a malefactor who was going to be executed, received his pardon from the Cardinal de St Eufebe. The Cardinals have for a con- fiderable time laid claim to the privilege (which the Roman Veftals enjoyed) of extending their C 6 clc- Vol. II. p. 9, 3 ^ Hifiorical E/ays clemency in this manner to criminals, by al- ledging they met them by chance in their way. Key of the Augujlim. This ground was planted with willows, and was commonly overflowed in winter j in the fum- mer-time it was frequented as a public walk. By Philip the Fair's letters of the gth of June 1312, the Provoft of the Merchants was ordered to pave it with {tones called pierrcs de taille ; and by other letters of the 23d of May the following year, he reprimands him for neglecling to exe- cute his orders. At the end of Gillecoeur-flreet, in the angle which it now forms with Hurepoix-ftreet, Francis I. built a fmall Palace which had communication 'with a Hotel belonging to the Duchefs d'Etam- pes in Hirondelle-ftrett. The painting al frefco, the pictures, the tapeftry, the Salamanders * de- corated wkh emblematical figures, amorous and ingenious devices, all befpoke the God and pafs- timcs to which thefe edifices were confecrated. " Of all thefe devices (kysSauval) which were * not long fince to be feen, I can only recolleft 41 this one, which was a heart in a flame, placed 41 between * The Salamanderi wtre the intention of Francii I. upon Paris, 37 " between an Alpha and an Omega, apparently " to indicate, /'/ would burn for tver." The bathing cloftts of the Duchefs d'E tempts are now converted into the ftable of an Inn, which re- tains the name of Salamander j a hatter ufes Francis I.'s levee-chamber for a kitchen, and a bookfeller's wife lay in his little fa/eon of cc- JlacieSy when 1 went to vifit the remains of this Palace. I have read in an anonymous Author, that this King, whilft he was amufing himfelf with throw- ing fnow- balls with his Courtiers upon twelfth- day in 1521, as he endeavoured to drive the Count de St. Pol from a place which he defended, was dangeroufly wounded in the head by a fire- brand, which Mongommery carelefly threw out of a window. It is not aftonilhing to meet with two villains in a family ; but it is very extraordi- nary that a father and fon, faithful fubjetSrs, and actuated by principles of honour and juftice, fhould be deftmed by the moft (hocking fatality, the one to wound, and the other to kill his King. Stephen Pafquier^ who recites this accident in his letters, (Vol.11, p. 77.) fays that it happened at Blois. The Hotel of Hercules, fo called from the labours of Hercules, which were painted upon if, was 38 Hijlorical EJfays was fituated at the end of this Key, near the great Auguflin^s. Lewis XII. gave it to the ChanceUor/)*/>r<?/. Anthony Duprat, his grandfon, Lord of Nantoiiillet, Provoft of Paris, bragged there was no man in Europe, who had fo many powerful enemies as himfelf. At London, faid he, I fet Queen Elizabeth at nought j every day I flander the miftrefles of the Duke of Anjou, * and the King of Navarre, ** and I have had the plea- fure of breaking my word with the Duke of Guife concerning an efiate. The Duke of An- jou, the King of Navarre, and the Duke of Guife fent him word one day that they would fup with him (at this Hotel of Hercules) and they went, notwithftanding all the excufes he could frame for difpenfing with that honour. After fupper, their Attendants pillaged, or threw out of the windows his money, plate, and furniture. * The next morning (lays Etoile) the firft Pre- " fident waited upon the King (Charlti IX.) and ct told him Paris was in aftoniihment at the robbery "committed the preceding night, and that it was " faid, his Majefty was there in perfon, and did it " out of joke j to which the King having anfwer- c ed, that thofe who faid fo, lied, the firft prefident " replied, Sire, of this then I will acquaint - "No, upon Paris. 39 " No, no, refumed the King, give yourfelf no " trouble about it j only tell Nantouillet, that he " will have too ftrong a party to deal with, if he " wants fatisfaclion." Some time afterwards, Mademoifelle deRieux, the Duke of dnjou's favourite, who was as hand- fome as Venus, and as haughty as a Breton, paf- fing on horfeback upon the Key de I' Ecole, upon a feftival, and feeing Nantoiiilkt approach her on foot, followed by his guards, flew at him like lightening, threw him down, and trampled him under her horfe's feet. " This was fhe (fays " Brantome) who in a manlike manner, with her " own hand, killed Antlnotti the Florentine, " whom (he married for love, and whom {he " found in bed with another woman." Street of the Petits Augujlins. The Abbey of St. Germain des Prez, juft without the walls of Paris, refembled a Citadel : the walls were flanked with Towers, and fur- rounded with ditches; a Canal thirteen or fourteen fathoms wide, which iflued from the river, and which was called the little Seine, flowed by the ground, where at prefent (rands the ftreet of the Petits Auguftins, and run into thofe ditch- 40 Hijlorical Effays ditches, f The field which this Canal divided into two, was called the great and little field aux Clercs, becaufe the fcholars, who were formerly called Clercs, ufed to walk here upon fdlival days. The little field was neareft the City. A part of the army of Henry W. was en- camped in the great field aux Clercs, when he laid fiege to Paris in 1589. " On Wednefday *' the ift of November, being favoured by a fog, ** which feemed miraculoufly to arife, after a * ( prayer faid in the field aux Clerct, the King < took the Suburbs of St. Jacques * and St. ' Germain by furprife, and at feven in the " morning, he had a bed of frefh ftraw made in the halldu petit Bourbon,** in the Fauxbourg <c St. Jacques, where he repofed himfelf about three * hours. The fame day, having a mind to take " a view of Paris in its extent, he went up to the ' belfry of St. Germajn des Prez, whither he f They were filled up in 1640, and upon the ground whiih they occupied was built one fide of the (beets, St. Denoit, St. Marguerite, and du Colombier : the other fide of this laft ftreet was built about the year 1543, with tht ftreet Defrnairais, ,* Some fortifications were raifed, and feme intrenchmcntj rnide round thcfe Fauxbourgs, which were not then near fo extenfive at they are at prefent. Vid. Memoircs pour femr a J' Hiftoire, anno 1589. At prefeot le Val de Grace. upon Paris. 41 " was conduced by a Monk fingly. When he * came down, he told the Marfhal de Biron, ' that he was ftruck with dread at being alone " with a Monk, and calling to mind the knife of '* Fr.iar Clement. . . On Friday the third^of No- " vember, not having received the neceflary Ar- " tillery to attack the Town, he quitted the " Fauxbourgs, and remained in order of battle, " from feven in the morning till eleven, in order " to entice the Duke of Mayenne to come out " of the gates j but no one came forth *. " The Buildings in the great field aux Ckrcs were not begun till the reign of Lewis XIII. and the ftreets des petits Auguftins, Jacob, de 1'Uni- verfite, de Verneuil, de Bourbon and de Saint Pere ** were not yet compleated in the beginning of the reign of Ltwts XIP. Queen Margaret, the firft wife of Henry IF". collected fome bare-footed Auguftines , whom (he furnifhed with a dwelling houfe, gave them fix arpents J of land, and a perpetual annuity of fix thoufand livres, upon condition that they fhould fing Canticles and the praifes of God, Jet to Supplement, Vol. I. p. 6. Not the ftreet of the 55. Ptrti. Petits Peres. t A meafuie of land, containing 100 perches fquare of 18 feet each. 42 Hiftorical E-JJays to fuch tunes as Jbould be compofed by her order, Thefe Fathers certainly did not love mufic ; they obftinately perfifted in iinging nothing but Pfalms : fhe turned them out, and fupplied their place with fhod Auguftins, who have fince pretty well conformed themfelvet, and have given the name to the flreet. Street St. Avoye. The Hotel deMefmes was the place of refidence of Anne de Montmorenci, Conftable of France. He died there, with all the dignity of a chriftian hero, the I2th of November 1567, of the wounds he received in the battle of St. Denis, having only lived two days after that battle was fought. This worthy old man, feventy-four years of age, covered with blood, and his fword broken, gave * Robert Stuart, who bid him furrender, fo violent a blow in the face with the hilt, that he broke two o. f his teeth, and threw him off his horfe. That inftant one of Stuart's foldiers fired a piftol at him, and lodged three balls in his reins. He had fervcd under f five Kings, and had been prefent at near two hundred actions, eight pitched battles, and had been employed in concluding ten Treaties of Peace. Memoirs of Caftelnan. L. VI. J- Brantome. upon Paris. 43 Peace. I obferve that in troublefome times Princes and their capital Chiefs, both catholic and proteftant, have all come to untimely deaths, or have expired in a very extraordinary manner. Henry //. by the fplinter of a lance, which wounded him in the eye ; Charles IX, by vo- miting blood ; Henry III. and Henry IV. were aflaffinated ; Anthony de Bourbon, King of Na- varre, wounded at the fiege of Rouen, by not being able to mafter his paffion for Mademoifelle du Rouet, after the Surgeons had drefied his wound; Francis, Count d' Enghien, by a trunk which fell upon his head, whilft he was diverting himfelf with his favourites in the Caftle of Roche Guyon ; Henry of Bourbon, Marquis de Beau- preau, by the fall of a horfe in hunting; Lewis I. Prince of Conde, aflaffinated by Mon- tefquiou after the battle of Jarnac j Henry /. Prince of Conde, poifoned at Si. Jean d'Angeli ; the Marfhal de St. Andre killed in cold blood by Bobigni, after the battle of Dreux ; Francis of Cleves killed by accident at the fame battle by his beft friend j Francis de Guife aflaffinated by John Poltrot de Mere at the fiege of Orleans; Henry de Guije and the Cardinal de Guij'e at length punifhed and killed at Blois ; the Cardinal de Lor- raine poifoned at Avignon by a Monk, and the Cardinal de Chatillan at Hampton by his Valet de 44 Hijiorical Effays de Chambre; Admiral de Coligni maflacred on St. Bartholomew's day at night; Admiral An- drew de Pillars Branca* taken prifoner by the Spaniards, ftabbed by order of Contreras y their Commiflary general. Anne and Claude, two of the brothers called Joyeufe, were Shamefully put to death by Captains Bordeaux and Dtfcentiers at the battle of Coutras j George was found dead in his bed of an apoplexy the morning after his marriage; Anthony Sclpio drowned himfelf in the river Tarn after the battle of Villemur ; and Henry y Peer and Marflial of France, died a Ca- puchin. Barbette Jlrcet *. Ifabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI. had purchafed the Hotel Barbette : this was her petit ** fejour\ (he ufually retired there during that Prince's illnefs. The Abbot de Choifi quotes an ancient Manufcript, which fays " that as he ** was fometimes outrageous, throwing his arms " about without reftraint, and as it was feared " he might wound the Queen in the night-time, " the * So called from Stefttn Ba'bttte, Piovoft of Paris under Philip the Fair. A name giren to the little Hotel* the Princes had at the gates of Paris. upon Pans. 45 " the daughter of a horfe-dealer, who was very " pretty, and was commonly called in public " the little Queen, was brought to him every " night, and was handfomely recompenfed. He " had by her a daughter (Margaret de Palais) *' who received as a dowry, upon her marriage *' with the S're d'Harpedanne, the Eftate of " Belleville in Poitou." I have read in an ancient chronicle, that in order to induce him to fhift his linnen, and lie in fheet, which he would not do for near five months, it was contrived to offer him that fine girl called OJttte dt Champdivers. This was a more natural expedient than that which was afterwards pra&ifed. Ten or a dozen men, fan- taftically dreft, with their faces fmutted, rufhed into his chamber, and without faying a word, laid hold of him, undreft him, and put him to bed ; he was frightened, and did not dare to make any refinance. One cannot read the hiftory of this Prince, without being moved j he was of a majeftic figure, furprifingly ftrong and alert at all forts of exercifes, liberal, affable, and hu- mane. The outcries of the people, as foon as he was a little recovered, made him acquainted with the tyrannical admininration of his .uncles, and the goodnefs of his heart was the caufs cf his health being Hill more impaired, He could fee 46 Hijlorical EJfays fee that they availed themfelves of his illnef?, to impofe new taxes, and that the Duke of Orleans his brother, and the Queen, appropriated to themfelves the revenues of the Crown, which they diffipated in fuperfluous expences, whillt the Dauphin was in want of neceflaries. One day he fent for the Governefs of his children, who owned to him that they frequently went without food and chalking. I am not better treated, re- plied he with a figh, giving her a golden cup, which he had juft drank out of, to fell. He would have been a great King, if he had not been afflicted with that fatal diforder, which gave rife to all the misfortunes of France, and all the triumphs of the Englifh. Des Barres Jlreet. Lewis de Bourdon, who was handfome and well-made, and had fignalized himfelf upon va- rious occafions, and amongft others at the battle of Azincouft, going one night, as was cuftom- ary *, to vifit the Qyeen, Ifabeau de Baviere, at the Caftle of St. Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI. ) who was returning ; he faluted him, but without either flopping or alighting, his horfe ftill galloping on. The King having re- called See Monftrelet, p. 224* upon Paris. 47 called him to mind, ordered Bangui du Ckatel, Provoft of Paris, to purfue him, and to confine him in prifon. At night the queftion was put to him; he was afterwards tied up in a fack, and caft into the Seine, with this infcription upon the fack, Let the King's jvjllct take plate. His amours with the Queen (who was the next day carried to Tours to be publicly fhewn) were fo notorious, that they deferved this punifhment. An anonymous A "thor, who feems highly divert- ed with relating extraordinary events, which indu- ces me to believe he fometimes fubftitutes fables, fays, that the man who was fent to the houfe * of Lewis de Bourdon, to feize his papers, having opened the drawer of an ancient cheft, ten or a dozen ferpents ifTued for:h ; and that the next day this man was found expiring, with thefe fnakes clinging round his neck, his arms and legs. St. Barthelemy ftreet. Before Robert, fon to Hugh Capet, married his coufin Berthe (his coufin german's iflue) he convened the Bifliops, to know whether it was necefTary for him to have any di.penfations j they were of opinion, that he did not require any, or that in any cafe they could grant them to him. Gre- * At prefent the Hotel in this ftrcet des Barres, 4$ Hijtbrical E/ays Gregory V. being elected to the papal chair, two years after, held a Council at Rome, whofe firft Decree was againft this marriage, and was con- ceived in thefe terms. " That King Robert and '* Bertbt his kinfwoman, who have married con- ' trary to the ecclefiaftical laws, muft feparate, '* and perform a penance of feven years ; and *' that drchambaut) Archbifhop of Tours, who " admtniftered the nuptial bleffing, and the other " Bifliops, who aflifted at this inccftuous mar- tf riage, be fufpended from the communion, till <{ fuch time as they have been at Rome, to make c fatisfa&ion to the Holy See." Robert loved his wife, who was pregnant, and it appeared to him (hocking to dishonour her and the child, to whom fhe was juft going to give exigence. He refufed to obey, was excommunicated, and im- mediately, not only the people, but even the Courtiers, difunited from their King : he had only two domsftics left him ; nay, they went fo far, as to purify the diflies he had eat off, and the veflels he had drank out of, by pafling them through the fire, As he was going one morning, according to cuftom, to pray at the porch of St. Bartholomew's Church, for he did not dare to go in, Abbott) Abbot of Fleuri, followed by two women of the Palace, who carried a great difli of vermillion, covered with a cloth, accofted him, fay- upon Paris. 49 faying that Berthe was juft brought to bed, and fhewing him the difh, faid : See the effetts of your disobedience to the Decrees of the Church ^ and the leal of the anathema upon the fruits of your love. ' Robert looks and perceives a monfter, according to Peter Damien and Romuald, with the head and neck of a duck. Is it to be credited, that by the moft abominable contrivance, in order to oblige this Prince to fubmit, and to increafe the people's terror, which the excommunications in- fpired, this monfter was fubftituted in place of the real child ? It is more reafonable to think that a lump of flefh, of an out of the way fliape, might be formed in the womb of a woman, du- ring her pregnancy, whofe imagination and con- fcience were troubled by the Pope's threats. Berthe was divorced. Robert wedded ConJIantia of Provence, whofe haughty, cruel, and vin- di&ive character, fo frequently exercifed his pa- tience, and occafioned fo many troubles in the State, that it did not feem as if the blefling of heaven was filed upon this fecond marriage. We Ba/liUe. Chrijlian of Pifan, who lived in the reign of Charles V. and who wrote the life of that Prince, relates that he built the Baftille St, Antoine, VOL, I. D though 50 Hiftorical Effays though its works have been continued fince. Hugh Aubriot) Provoft of Paris, laid the fiift (lone the 22d of April, 1370. Le Laboureur fays, its fortifications were compleatecl in 1382. This Caftle, though no Fort, is one of the moft de- fenfible in Europe, concerning which I fhall not give any anecdotes. Des Bernardins Jlrect. Cardinal de Retz, and the Oppofition, endea- vouring to excite a frefti fedition in Paris, thought it neceflary to report that the Court had endeavoured to aflaflinate JoH, one of the Syn- dics for the City-rents, and Counfellor of the Chatelet, a man very well refpecled amongft the people. " His doublet and cloak were fixed upon tc a piece of wood in acertain pofuion. D'EJlain- ' ville fired a piftol with fuch exaclnefs at one <c of the fleeves, which was ftufFed with hay, *' that he fliot it through juft where it was in- " tended j after which it was agreed upon be- " tween him and Joli, that the real piftol " fhould be difcharged the next morning be- " tween feven and eight o'clock in the flreet ** des oernardins. ... It was done accordingly. " D'Eftainville came up to the coach: Jolt bow * ed his head ; the (hot went over it, and was " fo upon Paris. 51 ** fo nicely directed, that it lodged in the proper " part of the coach. ... He was carried to a Sur- <c geon, cppofite to St. Nicolas du Chardonoet, *' when being undrefled, a fort of wound was <c found in his left arm, where the balls fnould " have grazed, which he had made the night ".before with a mufket-flint; fo that the Sur- <c geon made no doubt of its being the effect of " the piftol-fhot, and applied the ufual drefllng, " whilft tiArgenteuil gave out, and did all he " could to infinuate that the Couit muft have " been at the bottom of this affair, as they " wanted to rid themfelves of fuch of the Syn- tc dies as feemed moft fleady and zealous in " promoting the public weal." What would a Savage think upon reading this account, where the Sieur Jali himfelf relates, with an air of fatisfaclion and vanity, that he fuborned falfe witneffes, invented falfe proofs, and took the beft fuggefted and furefr. meafures to have it be- lieved, that the Queen and the Mir.ifter had en- deavoured to have him affailinated ? This Sa- vage would doubtlefs think, that thefe infamous machinations are not dishonorable in France, as it is not natural for a man o take the trouble of writing his own hiflory to render himfelf odious and contemptible. D 2 Betty 52 Hijlorical EJJays Betizy Jlreet *. Admiral CoUgni was aflaffinated in the fecond houfe on the left hand, entering from the ftreet cle la Monnoye, (where there is now a public MefTenger's Office,) upon the evening of the Feaft of St. Bartholomew, in the year 1572. The Mafiacre was not to begin til] about an hour before day-break, upon the ringing of the alarm-bell of the Palace-clock. Towards mid- night, however, Catherine of Medicis thought fhe perceived in the King fome marks of remorfe and irrefolution : fearful therefore, left he fhould change his mind, fhe haflened the fignal, and the bell of St. Germain de 1'Auxerrois was rung. The Duke of Guife, well efcorted, marches off immediately, and knocks at the Admiral's door : Labonne opens it, and is ftabbed : Charles Dia- noivitz t (called le Befme, becaufe he was of Bo- hemia,) Petrucci Sienno'n t CeJJeins and Sarlatcus, go up flairs, and find the Admiral feated upon a fopha, having awoke at the firft noife. Young man, fays he to le Btfme, tkou fiouldjl refpeft tny gray hairs ; but do as thou w /'//, thou canjl only jhorten my life a few da)S. He was ill of a wound So called from Jama Bc'tixy, Advocate of the Parliament, upon Paris. 53 wound he had received not long before *, and the anxieties of the cabinet, joined to the fatigues of war, had brought old age upon him more than his length of years : he was only in his fifty- fifth year. Le Befog and Pftrucci, after having given him feveral ftabs, threw him out of the window into the court, where the Duke de Guife, in order to know him, wiped the blood off his face with his handkerchief, and trampling him under foot, faid to his followers, This is well begun, let's go on with our work. Pierre Mathieu relates that he had heard Henry IV. feveral times aver, that on the night of the Maflacre, fome hours before it was per- petrated, as he played at dice with the Duke de Guife, feveral drops of blood were feen upon the table, and that having had them wiped off, they ftill appeared ; which ftruck him in fuch a manner, that he left off play. Cardinal de Lorraine, as a reward to h Btfme, gave him one of h ! s baftards in marriage. An Italian cut off the Admiral's head, and carried it to Catherine de Medicis : {he embalmed it, and D 3 fent * He was wounded in the right hand and the left arm, with a blunderbufs, which Maureitrt, as he lay concealed in a houfe belonging to the Cloifler of St. Germain de 1'Auxerrois, fired upon him fome days before, as he was returning from the Louvre on foot. 54 Hiftorical Effays fent it to Rorhe. The Pope * ordered a folemn proceflion and thankfgiving, for the happy event that had taken place upon St. Bartholomew's day. Captain Brefaut, a Gentleman of Angevin and a Huguenot, was fo highly provoked at this pro- cefiion, that he fwore he would cajlrate every Monk that fell in his way ; and he was not afhamed to wear a large belt which he had made out of thefe ridiculous mutilations **. Charles IX. had difpatched orders into all the Provinces to extirpate the Huguenots. Whilft the greateft part of the Governors were barbarous or bafe enough to obey, the Vifcount d'Orte, who commanded at Bayonne, wrote the follow- ing to the King : Sirt, I have communicated your Majejiy't Letter to the garrifott and inhabitants cf this City j I b*ve found there nothing but brave faldiers and good citizens, and not one executioner. Des Bons-Enfam Jlreet. *}- The Opera-Houfe, and all the other parts of the Palais Royal on the fide of the Church St. Honore, are built upon the ruins of the Hotel of the Counts d'Armagnac. It was to this Hotel, that the Duke of Burgundy's troops bent their march, Mtxtray. * Memoirs of the State of France, f So named from the Collfge des Bons-Enfans, which does not now fubfift. upon Paris. 55 march, when the treachery of Perinet le Clerc * gave them admiflion into Paris, the night of the 28th of May, 1418. The Conihble Bernard d'Armagnac efcaped in difguife to a mafon's houfe in this ftreet; but being betrayed by this wretch, was feized and confined in a cell of the Conciergerie. On the lath of June, the mob having broke open the prifon-doors, killed him, and threw his body into a lay-ftall, after having ignominioufly dragged him through the ftreet?. Such was the end of one of the defcendants of Clovis by Cbarthrt t brother to Dagol/ert. That of James d" Armagnac^ his grandfon, was flill more fatal : Lewis XL caukd his head to be cut off, and by a refinement of cruelty, would have his children (the eldeft of whom was not above 12 years old) to be put under the fcaffclJ, bare-headed, with their hands joined, and drefled in white, to be fprinkled with their father's blood. Boujiledejuge, who had taken upon himfelf to bring up the eldeft, in confideration of a certain Sum he received, arifing from the confiscation of the Eftates, let him perifh for want in the Caftle of Perpignan. The youngeft (Lewis de D 4 JW- See the Article under the ftreet of St. Andie. I See yaijfittc's Hiftory of Languedoc. See the Geneial Hiftory of France. 56 Hijlorical Effays Nemours] who was the laft of that illuftrious houfe, was killed in the reign of Lewis XII. at the battle of Cerignolles. Des Boucher ies ftreet in the Fauxbourg Sf. Germain. One half of this ftreet, on the fide of the little market, was built upon the ground which com- pofed part of the Abbey- warren. Philip the Good, King of Navarre, and Charles the Bad his fon, had their Hotel upon the fpot, where the Stalls and Shops of the Fair now are. Lewis of France, father to Philip the Good, and fon of Philip the Sold, had ere&ed this Hotel in the -mid ft of fome acres of vineyards, which he had purchafed of Raotil de PreJJes, Advocate of the Parliament, and father of Raoul de Prejles, fo famous for his works in the reign of Charles V. and who, ac- cording to the Abbe Maflieiif took the title of King's Confejfir and Poet Laureat *. Petit-Bourbon ftreet, near tic Church of Sf. Sulpice. The Hotel of the furious Dutchefs dt Mont- ptnfter, fifter to the Guifes, who were killed at Blois, Sec the Hiftory f French Poetry. upon Paris. 5-7 Blois, forms the corner of this ftreet which joins to that of Tournon. If fome Hiftorians are to be credited, (he proftituted herfelf to Bourgoing, Prior of the Jacobin Friars, and concerted with this villain the means of getting into the prefence of Henry III. to aflaflinate him. It is certain, that Jamet Clement's mother, who came * from her village of Sorbonne, near Sens, to Paris, to afk the reward for her fon's execrable attempt, lodged with her for fome days. It was in this HoteJ, that the Preachers perfuaded the people to go and venerate that blejfid mother of a holy Martyr : it was thus (he was qualified in the flefh. She re- ceived a pretty confiderable Sum, and upon her return, a hundred and forty Religious honourably accompanied her a league from Paris, " Bourgoing, being interrogated before his " Judges, (fays Cayet,} anfwered them jocofely. *' He was condemned to be drawn to pieces by '* four horfes. f Being conduded to the place *' of execution in the market-place of Tours, he ** told the people he had been one of the mildeft " of Preachers ; then he prayed to God to have " pity of his foul for his great fins. The Re- * corder told him, he had been Prior, and father, " as it were, of James Clement, who had afTaf- D 5 " finated * Hiftory of Paris, L. XXIII. + Chronicle of Nuvenaire, ann 58 . Hijlorical Effays ' finated our King. You know, fays he, he was " brought up in the Convent, of which you was *' Prior : whilftyou officiated, and after the un- " fortunate parricide he has committed, you have *' told us, he was a Saint in Paradife ; you can- ** not deny this. No one has heard your fer- " mons, without hearing you approve and praife " all that you are accufed and convicted of. You *' obftinately refufe to confefs the fecret of your * c parricide, and to declare your accomplices, and " yet you expect to appear before God, and de- " fire him to forgive you your fins. Bourgoing " anfwered as if in a paflion, JVe have dont <c very well what we could, but not what wt " would. Thefe were his laft words ; for his *' face being again covered with the cloth, he " was drawn, quartered, and afterwards burnt." Du Petit-Bourbon flreet, in the Louvre- Quarter* That old houfe, f which is now called the King's Garde- meuble, near the Louvre upon the Key, at the entrance of this ftreet, belonged to the Conftable dt Bourbon. Being declared guilty of high treafon in 1523, fait was fown here; his f Since the publication of the firft edition of thefe Effays, this houfe has been pulled down. See Brar.amt in -his Lives of illuftiious men. Vol. I, p. 2291 upon Paris. 59 his enfigns were broke to pieces, and the win- dows were marked with that ignominious yellow paint, with which the houfes of traitors are co- loured. This Prince was killed before Rome, the 6th of May, 1527, being the firft to attack the place. Thefe two lines were made upon him : Unum Borbonio votum fuit arma ferenti t Vincert I'd moricr ; donat utrumque Deus. His foldiers, by whom he was adored, after having facked Rome, carried his body to Gaette, and erected a monument to his memory in a Chapel. The Council of Trent || ordered his body to be taken up, apparently becaufe it is not allowed to fight againft the Pope, even when he wages war only as a temporal Prince. This body was thrown near the gate of the Caftle of Gaette. A French Officer of the garrifon put it into a great glazed cheft, in which it was to be feen fo late as 1660, well preferved, upright, booted, leaning upon a truncheon, drefled in a green velvet caflbck, trimmed with large gold frogs. From the windows of this houfe, which had belonged, as I have already obferved, to the Con- " flable of Bourbon, Charles IX. during the.maf- facre of Sr. Bartholomew, fired upon the Hugue- nots with a long blunderbufs, whilft they were D 6 croffing H Vide Brantomt. 60 Hiftorical Ej/ays croffing the water to make their efcape at the Fauxbourg St. Germain. The Pont-neuf (or new bridge) was not then creeled. There is an Orange-tree ftill to be feen, in the Orange-Grove of Verfailles, which exifted fo early as the time of the Conftable de Bourbon, and which is called the Orange-tree of the Con- Jlablt of Bourbon. Des Bourdtnnois flreet*. " Gaultier and Dupre, Mercers at the fign " of the golden crown, aver (fays the Sieur de " Piganiol, in his defcription of Paris) that they " know by tradition, that in 1280, Philip the '* Fair lived in the houfe which they now occupy, " and, he adds, they are not the only people who " are of that opinion." Philip the Fair never lived in this houfe ; it was Philip Duke of Orleans, brother to King John, who purchafed it in 1393 for 2000 Livres . In 1398, it was the Hotel of Preux Gui de la Trimouille. Du Bout-du-MondeJlreet. This ftreet is fo called from a fign on which was painted a Buck, an Owl and a Globe, (in French * So called from the Sieurs Adam and William Bear Jot. $ Which would now amount to about 17000 Livre upon Paris. 61 French un Bouc, un Due, un Monde.} From figns of this fort feveral ftreets derive their names. De la Bucherie jlreet *. The Phyfical School is in this ftreer, where it was founded about the year 1472. In former times, the Profeflbrs in this faculty were C/erct t and bound to celibacy. The Cardinal frEfloute- vil/tj who was appointed in 1452, to reform the Univerfity, was fo ftrongly follicited by them, and they painted to him in fuch lively colours, the temptations to which they were continually expofed, that they obtained leave to marry. In the reign of Francis I. the diffeclion of a human body was accounted facrilege -, Anatomy was confequently a fcience but very fuperficially known, and the Phyficians of thofe and the pre- ceding times, muft have been very far inferior in fkill to the prefent. Quere, Did more people die then ? Such has been the fuperftition of fome men, that they have made their will, only for having dreamed of a Phyfician, believing it to be a pre- fage of death. Dft * So called from the Port aux Buches. 62 Hijtorical Eflays Des Cek/lins Key. The Hotel St. Paul, which Charlts the V. built, and which he intended, according to his Edicl of the month of July 1364, to be the folemn Hotel of great diver/ions, occupied, with the gardens, all the ground between the ftreet St. Antoine and the river, from the City- ditches to the Parifli-church of St. Paul ; fo that the Baftille and the Convent of the Celeftins feemed to be inclofed within its walls. This Hotel, like all other royal houfes of thofe times, had large Towers ; thefe Towers being thought to give an air of domination and majefty to the body of the building. The gardens, inftead of yews and lindens, were planted with apple, pear and cherry-trees, and vines, befides beds of rofemary and lavender, peafeand beans, long arbours, and fine bowers. From an arbour, which compofed the principal beauty of thefe gardens, and a cherry-orchard, the ftrects BeautreUlis, and la Cerifaie, derive their names. The inner courts were lined with pigeon- houfes, and full of poultry, which the farms of the King's lands and def- melnes are obliged to furnifh, and here they are fattened for his table, and thofe of his hou/hold. The beams and joifts in the principal apartments were decorated with tin flowers de luces gilt. All upon Paris. 63 All the windows had iron bars, with a wire lat- tice, to keep the pigeons from coming to do thtir or- dure in the rooms. The glazing was like that of our ancient churches, painted with coats of arms, emblems and faints. The feats were joint- ftools, forms and benches. The King had armed chairs, garnifhed with red leather and filk fringes. The beds were called couches, when ten or twelve feet fquare, and thofe only of fix feet were named couchettes. It was long a cuftom in France, to keep the guefts who were particularly efteemed, to lie all night in the fame bed with the mafter of the houfe. Charles V. ufed to dine about u, fup at 7, and all the Court were ufuaily in bed by 9 in winter, and 10 in fummer. '* The Queen, fays Chrljlian ** de Pi/an? agreeable to an old and reafonable ** cuftom, for preventing any idle talk, or loofe *' thoughts at table, had a grave man, who du- *' ring the whole repaft, related the actions and " manners of fome worthy perion deceafed." In this reign the cuftom firft took place of tm- blazoning apparei. The women wore their huf- band's (hield on the right fide of their gowns, and their own on the left. This fafhion con- tinued near a century. The capital flight of apartments of the Hotel St. Paul, and the principal entry, was on the fide of 64 Hijioricol Efiays of the river, between St. Paul's church and the Celeftins. In 1519, Francis L difpofed of Tome of the edifices, which compofed this Palace, which Charles VII. Lewis XL Charles V11L and Lewis XII. had quitted to refide in the Hotel de TournelJes. It was all fold in 1551, to different perfons, who began to build and open the ftreets, which are now feen upon the vaft ex- tent of ground it occupied. Champfleuri jlreet. Charltmain had endeavoured to banifh en- tirely common women from Paris. He ordered that they fhould be publickly whipt, and that thofe who entertained them, or at whofe houfes they were found, (hould carry them upon their back * to the place where the fentence was to be put in execution. Experience foon evinced, that this order of women was a neceflary evil in a great City, and it was thought proper to tole- rate them. They began to form into a body, to have taxes impofed upon them, and to have their laws and their judges : they were called amorous women, girhfoolijb with their body. Every year * Vclumtti vt afutl' qutmcurtxjut invent f futrint, ab eii fer- tentur ufjue ad mercatum, ubi iff* fageliandae Junt, Capit, reg. fr. Baluz. Vol. I. upon Paris. 6>- year they walked in folemn proceflion, upon Mary Magdalen's day. The ftreets Froimentel, Pa\ee, Glatigny, Tiron, Chapon, Tireboudin, Brifemiche, du Renard, du Heurleur, de la Vi- eilleBouclerie, 1'Abreuvoir, Ma^on, and Champ- fleuri, were allotted them to carry on their trade in. In each of thefe ftreets was a burrow^ where they endeavoured to furpafs one another, in ren- dering it clean, agreeable, and commodious. They were obliged to be there by 10 o'clock in the morning, and to retire as foon as the cttrfew- bell was rung, which was at 6 o'clock at night in winter, and between 8 and 9 in fummer. They were absolutely prohibited exerciflng their functions any where elfe, even at their own homes. Thofe who followed the Court (fays du " Tillet and Pafquier) were engaged, during the " whole month of May, to make the King of " the whoremafters bed." Father Daniel pre- tends that the Poft of King of the whoremaflers was very confiderable, and that his jurifdiclion extended in certain articles of police, to the King's houfhold, and to all the Kingdom. The Convent of Les Filhs-Dieu was founded in the year 1226, as an a fylum for female Jin- tiers, who during their whole life had abufed their bodies^ 66 Hijiorical EJfays bodies, and were reduced to beggary. A Cordelier inftituted the Convent of les Fi/les Penitentet, which was founded ia 1497. Their Laws, which John Simon de Champigny, Bifhop of Paris, would himfdf draw up, muft doubtlefe appear very fin- gular. " No religious [woman] will be received " againft her own will: no one who has for any " time led a diflblute life ; and that thofe who " offer themfelves, may not be deceived in this " refpeft, they are to be vifited in the prefence ' of the Mothers, Deputy-Mothers, and difcreet * women, by Matrons particularly appointed, " who ftiall make oath upon the holy Evange- " lifts to make a juit and faithful report. " In order to prevent Girls proftituting them- " felves with the view of being received, thofe 4< who have been once vifited and refufed, ftiall " be excluded for ever. " Moreover, the Candidates fliall be obliged <{ to fwear by their eternal damnation, before the ** ConfefTor and fix religious women, that they < did not proftitute themfelves in hopes of gain- *' ing admiffion one time or other into that Con- " gregation, and they are cautioned, that if it is " difcovered that they let themfelves be de- ** bauched with that view, they will be no Ion- " ger upon Pan's. 67 * gcr looked upon as Religious of that Monaf- " tery, notwithftanding they have made profef- " fions, and taken the vows. " To prevent women who follow a bad " courfe of life, deferring too long a converfion, " in hopes that the door will be always open for * c them, no one aged above thirty years will be ' received. " This Community was for fome time pretty numerous, and Hiftory makes mention of a holy perfonage who preached on horfeback in the Carrefours, and who had the fatisfa&ion to fee eighty women who led vicious lives, and three publicans, converted by one of his fermons. With refpeft to the public ftews *, after they had been tolerated near four hundred years, they were abo- liftied by the loift article of the Ordonnance of the States convened at Orleans in 1560. The number of women of pleafure did not diminifh, though their profeffion was not confidered as a body ; and in prohibiting their exiftence any where, they were difperfed every where. Du A memorial which was prefented to the Parliament ti prove the neciffity of re-eft ablijbing them, wa attributed to Dr. Cayet, Under- Preceptor of Henry If. Vide Remarks upua the Confefiion of Sanci^ p. 45, 68 Hijlorical E/ajs Du Cbaume Jlreet. Charles de Bleis and the Count de Montfort waged war to obtain the fucceflion to the Dutchy of Britanny. Philip de Palais, Charles's uncle, caufed Sire dt Clijon (byname Oliver III.) to Jofe his head *, and fomc other Lords of Britanny met with the fame fate, upon a flight fufpicion of carrying on a correfpondence with England and the Count de Montfort. The firft ftep Clif- fon's widow ** took, was to fend off her fon fe- cretly to London ; and when her apprehenfions were removed with refpe& to him, fhe fold her jewels, fitted out three fhips, and put to fea, to revenge the death of her hufband upon all the French (he fhould meet. The new Corfaire made feveral defcents upon Normandy, where fhe ftormed Caftles ; and the inhabitants of that Pro- vince were fpedtators more than once, whilft their Villages were all in a blaze, of one of the fineft women in Europe, with a fword in one hand, and a torch in the other, urging the car- nage, and eying with pleafure all the horrors of war. The firft exploits of young CHJfin t as foon as he was able to carry arms, foretold what * At Paris in t!:e Hal'ti, Aug. 2, 1343. * * Jane of BdUvillt. upon Paris. 69 what he would one day appear. The lofs of an eye, occafioned by the thruft of a lance, at the battle of Auray, was not fufficient to make him quit the field, and it was ajioni/hing to fet him fly like lightening with bit hammer in hand, knocking down, and routing every thing that came in his way. This famous vidory, which deter- mined the fate of the Dutchy ofBritanny, in fa- vour of the young Count dc Montfort, was partly owing to his bravery. A mifunderftanding fome time after arofe between him and this Prince, who had given the Caftle of Gavre to the cele- brated John Chandos. " The devil take me, " Mylord (faid CHJfin to him) if an Englifh- " man fhall ever be my neighbour, " and im- mediately went and fet fire to this Caftle, which was entirely confumed. Abftra&ed from his pretenfion to le Gavre, he acknowledged him- felf, that though he had been brought up amongft the Englifh *, he never could get the better of that national antipathy againft them, which is pretty common, not to fay natural, amongft the people of Britanny. King Charles V. did not fail to avail himfelf of his difguft, in order to draw him to his Court. He gave him, Aug. 15. *37 l > tne Sum of 4000 Livres, to purchafe a houfe * He was afterwards (by reafon of his never giving Quaiter) furnamsd the Butcber, ;o Hijlorical Effays houfe at Paris, which was called, according to Sauval, le grand Chantier du Temple *. I ap- prehend it was only ground, whereupon CliJ/bn built his Hotel, which {till fubfifts, and makes part of the Hotel de Soubife, by this ftreet of du Chaume. FroiJ/ard, a cotemporary Hiftorian, relates that Charlts V. fome days before his dtath, fent for the Dukes of Berri, Burgundy and Bourbon, and told them, "Brothers-in-law, by the order ** " of nature, I feel and am fenfible that I cannot " live long. I recommend to you my fort " Charles *** ; behave to him as good Uncles '* fhould do towards their Nephew: crown him <( as foon as you can after my death, and give him faithful counfel in his affairs ; all my con- " fidence is in you. The child is young, and " bis abilities are but flender, and he will ftand ** much in need of being governed. An Aftro- * c nomer told me a good while ago, that in his * c youth he would have many troubles, and '* would efcape great perils and dangers ; where- " upon I had very ferious reflexions, and confi- ** dered with myfelf how this could happen, unlefs * Hence arofe the name of the flreet du grand Cbantitr, Vol. II. p. 89. Clarkt VI. upon Paris. 71 " unlefs it were from the fide of Flanders : for, " thank God, our domeftic concerns are in a " very thriving ftate. The Duke of Britanny " is artful and various, and has always been " more an Englifhman than a Frenchman at ' heart. You mufl therefore keep the Nobles " of Britanny and the great Cities in good tem- *' per ; by this means you may deftroy their ma- * chinations. I cannot help praifing the Bre- " tons, for they have always ferved me with " loyalty, and contributed to defend my King- " dom againft my Enemies. Now appoint the 1 Sire CUJJon Conftable, for every thing confi- " dered, I k.iow of none fo proper as he. " The juftlce th : s great Prince did the Bretons, was really due to them. The Englifh were in pofleffion of Guyenne, Perigord, Xaintonge, Rouargue, Limoufin, Angoumois, Poitou, An- jou, and Maine, when Duguefdln^ Cli/on and de Rieux drove them out of thefe Provinces; and there was not a City or Caftle taken, without a Breton having diftinguifhed himfelf. With re- fpea to their Duke, whom France always op- pofed, and who owed the advantages he gained over Charles of Blois, entirely to the fuccours he received from the King of England, his Father- in-law, it was natural enough for him to be mare an 72 Hifiorical Effays an Englijbman than a Frenchman at heart ; but bis fchemes were dejiroyed, and when, in 1372, he introduced Englifh troops into the Dutchy, all the Nobility immediately rofe, and declared to him that they had fwore obedience and fidelity to him, but that they thought themfelves no lon- ger bound by their oaths, when he united with the Enemies of Fiance, their common Country: they waged war againft him, and he was obliged to take refuge in London. It is true that Char la V. being defirous to avail him felt* of the event, to unite the Dutchy to the Crown, the fame Nobility oppofed him, and remonflrated that Britanny was not originally a Member lopt off of the Monarchy} that therefore ic could not be liable to confiscation j that the Bretons had entered into war againft their Duke only to oblige him to drive out the Englifh; that they never pretended a right to difpoflefs him of his Inheritance,- and that on the contrary they had engaged their faith to preferve it to him, and to fpill the laft drop of their blood to defend the rights of their Country. Aflbciations were en- tered into; fuch proper meafures were taken ; and the infmuations of thofe wretches, who under the mafk of Patriotifm betray their Country, were fw ignominioufly rejected ; and the Invafion was oppofed with fuch courage and refolution, that upon Paris. 73 that Dugutfclin and CHJ/on,. whom the King had ordered to march into Britanny with the French troops under their command, were not able to do any thing of confequence, and returned with only the (hame of having made themfelves the horrour of a Country, which had fo long gloried in having given them birth. By FroiJ/ard's ac- count it appears, that the fteadinefs of the Bre- tons did not lofe them- the favour of Charles V. His laft commands upon his death*b.ed were that peace fliould be made with them, upon condition that their Duke, whom they had recalled, fliould renew his homage to France, and break off his alliance with England j which was accordingly done. I (hall difmifs this article with fome parti- culars relating to the Hotel de Clijfon. This was a houfe, fays Pafquler^ which the Parifians made a prefent of to the Conftable of that name, when he was appointed to punifli them for their fedi- tion in 1383. The two golden M M 's with a crown over them, fignified Mercy, and it bore equally the names of the Hotel de CHJfon, and the Hotel de la Mifericorde. Pafquicr is mifta- ken *j for Charles V. in the year 1371, had given * Hiftoire Gencalogique de France^ Tome VI, VOL. I. E 74 Hijlorical Effays given CliJJon the Sum of 4000 Livres to purchafe that houfe; and if it was afterwards called the Hotel de la Mifericorde^ it was becaufe the Pari- fians repaired thither to folicit mercy, and that CliJJon really interceded for them, and threw him- felf upon his knees before the King in the Pa- lace-court to obtain their pardon, in which all Hiftorians agree. As for the golden MM's fur- mounted with a crown, thefe were military or- naments upon houfes, and fignifiecl a particular fort of cutlafs, which was called Mifericorde t which ancient Knights made ufe of } and prefented to the throats of their enemies, after they had thrown them upon the ground. Francis dc Guife purchafed the Hotel de CHJJon> which then became the Hotel de Guife ; and his fon Henry, furnamed le Balafrty who wanted to fhave Henry III. and was killed atBlois, with his brother the Cardinal, refided here. As he was walking one day in a gallery where Clijfin had caufed the principal A&ions of his life and that of Bertrand Duguefdin to be painted, I always look with pleafure (faid he) upon this Duguefclin ; he had the honour of dejlroy- ing a Tyrant *. This Tyrant was not bis King t haughtily replied the Senefchal^ fon olJoknCarcado the Senifchal, Gentleman of the Chamber, who at the * Don Ptdro, king of upon Paris. 75 the battle of Pavia, perceiving an arquebufier going to fire upon Francis I. threw himfelf before the piece, and was killed. Francis de Rohan- Soubife purchafed the Hotel de Guife in 1697, which he greatly augmented and embellifhed, particularly the periftyle of double columns round the Court. Tbejlreet de la Culture *, or Culture Ste. Catherine. The Duke of Orleans, brother to Cbarhs I' I. was very fond of a Jewefs, whom he privately vifited. Having fome reafon to fufpec"l that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sable and de la Ferte-Bernard, his Chamberlain and Favourite, had joked upon this Intrigue with the Dutchefs of Orleans his wife, he turned him out of his houfe with infamy. Craon imputed his difgrace partly to the Conftable de CUJfon. On the night of the ijth of June, 1391, having waited for him at the corner of t this flreet Coulture Ste. Catherine, and findin* he had but little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a fcore of ruffians. Clijfin, having defended himfelf for fome time, E 2 with- It derives it name from cultivated ground, belonging to the Nuns of Ste, Catherine, 7 6 Hijlorical EJJays without any other weapon than a fmall cutlafs, after receiving three wounds, fell from his horfe, and pitched againft a door, which flew open. The report of this aflaffination reached the King's ears immediately, juft as he was ftepping into bed. He put on a great-coat^ and his /hoes, and repaired to the place, ^where he was informed his Conflable had been killed. He found him in a Baker's (hop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds, which were not dangerous, were examined, Con/table, (faid he to him,) nothing ever was, or ever will be fo highly mulfled. It was given out, that CHJfin made his will the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the Sum of i, 700, oco Livres, which it amounted to. . It fhould be obferved, that during twenty- live years that he was in the fervice of France, he had fought and beat the Englifh every where } that he gained the famous battle of Rofebeque, and chaftifed the Fkmifli ; that he enjoyed for twelve rears the Salary and Appointments of Conftable, and that moreover his landed Eftate, which included many Caftles that he inherited from his Anceftors in Britanny and Poitou, was very confiderable. But in all times it has been considered as a crime Ton a General or a Minifter, whatever fervices he may have done the State, to leave a certain fortune behind him, which is, never- upon Paris. *j*j neverthelefs, almoft always inferior to that of a private perfon, who takes upon himfelf for a fcore of years the collecting of part of the King's Re- venues. The Burying-grwnd of Sf. Jean. Peter de Croon's * Eftate was confifcated, his Hotel dernolifhed, and the place where it flood, was appropriated as a Burying-ground for the Parifli of St. Jean. This Burying-ground has been fince converted into a Market-place. He ob- tained his pardon in 1395, at the interceffion of the King of England, and turned Devotee. It feems that in his flight", aftef the aflaffination he had attempted, he was highly teiri.fied, left- he fhould be taken and die without confeifion, and that he often thought of this circumftance in a very chriftian-like manner, when he returned to Court; for he folicited the King ** very firongly, and at length obtained a Declaration, bearing date the 12th of February 13961 where- by the cuftom of refufmg Confeflbrs to condemji- ed criminals was abolifhed. In the preceding E 3 reign, He was defended' from RaiauJ, Count de Never? anJ'" Auxerre, and from /Idella of France, daughter to King Robert, His family has been extinft for a considerable time, * Ctarln VI. 7 8 Hijiorical Effays reign, Philip de Maizieres, who had as much companion for rogues, as Craon^ had fruitlefsly iblicited a like declaration. " The chief of the Council, fays he in one of his works *, was fo obftinate and headftrong in oppofing it, as well as all the reft of the Council, that it would have been eafier to have turned a mill-wheel backwards, than to have made this perverfe man alter his opi- nion." Doubtlefs the Chancellor, as -well as the reft of the Council, imagined, and not without rea- fon, that this refufal of confeffion was an additional difluafive againft the commiflion of crimes. I obferve that, in thofe ages when Letters had not yet foftened the manners, the execution of criminals was a fpedtacle, exhibited with fome fort of pomp, and frequently upon holy- days. In conducting them where they were to fuffer, (which was ufually at Montfancon) they ufed to ilop at particular places, and amongft others in the court of the Filles-Ditu, where they were re- frefhed with a glafs of wine and three bits of con- fecratcd bread. This collation was called the pa- tient's laji morftl ; if he eat with a keen appetite, it was looked upon as a good omen for his foul. The Duke of Nemours (Jarrus d'drmagnac) \vhom I have already mentioned, and who loft his Le Conge du ticil Pelerin. L. III. C. LXVIII. upon Paris. 79 his head in the place called the Holies, the 4th of Auguft 14/7, was conducted thither from the Baftille, mounted upon a horfe, caparifonned with black cloth. The chambers of the fifh- market, where he was to repofe, were lined with ferge, of a colour betwixt green and blue ; they were fprinkled with vinegar, and juniper was burnt in them to take oft the rimy fmell. Whilft he was at confefllon, his CommifTaries were regaled with 12 pints of wine, white bread y and penn *. He was afterwards J conducted to the fcaffuld, by a gallery creeled on purpofe ; care was taken to fluff" the cufhion upon which he kneeled : the Executioner, after having fever- ed his head from his body, and plunged it into a tub of water, held it up to be viewed by the people. A hundred and fifty Cordeliers, with lighted torches, clofed this Shocking fpe&acle. Before them was carried an open coffin, where- in the head and body of the unfortunate Duke de Nemours were put : they received money to bury him, and returned finging Pfalms. See The Parliamentary Regiflers. See Comptc du Dctmine de Paris, 147 8o Hiflerical Effays Coquetlere^ or Ccquilliere Jlreet. In 1684, Mr. Berrier, in repairing his houfe, which wasfituated hear the end of this ftreet,on the fide of St. Euftatius's church, had occafion to dig in the garden, where he found about two fathom deep, the foundation of an ancient edifice, and in the ruins of an old tower, the head of a bronze antique, fomewhat larger than nature. Was this the head of Ifis or Cybele, or of the Goddefs Lutetia * ? The Learned are not agreed upon this point. The embattled tower of fix fides, with which it was crowned, being the ufual Sym- bol of Cybele, appeared to Moreait de Mautour a convincing proof that it was a head of that God- defs. It is certain that Cyl'ele was held in high veneration amongft the Gauls. When they had any apprehenfions of a bad harveft, they placed her ftatue upon a car drawn by oxen, which made the circuit of the fields and vineyards j it was preceded by the people who fung and dan- ced, and the principal Magiftrates followed bare- footed. A learned Monk obferves, that the worfliip of Cybe/f precluded any from being con- fecrated $ Derived from the name of the f pg-merchants, who kept their Market there; or more likely from Peter Cojuilier, Bar- gefs of Paris, who lived in 1269. * Cities were deified like men, upon Paris. 81 fecrated to her fcrvice, who were not entirely devoted to the prieftly vocation. One's fcx muft even be facrificed to her. " The genius, nature, '* and temperament of the Gauls infpired them " (fays he %) with an invincible diflike to fuch a difhonourable mutilation." Thefe Priefb were brought from Phrygia, in the fame manner as we bring certain fingers with fine: voice? at this day from Italy. 'the Jlreet des Cordeliers. In 1502, Gilles Dauphin^ their General, ja confideration of the favours his Order had receii- ved from the Parliament of Paris, fent to -ths Prefidents, Counfellors and Clerks a permifllon. by which they were entitled to be buried in the habit of a Cordelier. In 1503, he conferred the like indulgence on the Provoft of the Merchants, on the Sheriffs, and the principal Officers of the City. This privilege is not to be confidered as a mere compliment, if it is true that. St. Francis makes annually a regular defce'nt into Purgatory, to relieve fuch fouls as died djeiTed in the habit of his Order *. " E 5 J Relig. des Gaules, Tom. I. p. 236. * See Hiftoire Ecdefiaft, de Choifi, anno 1333, and Relat, dc Frailicr. 82 Hijlorical E/ays 'L'Etoile relates in his Memoirs towards a Hiftory of France, (anno 1577.) " That a ver y ** fine girl drefled in man's cloaths, and who " called herfelf Anthony, was difcovered and 4< taken in the Convent of the Cordelieis. She *' ferved, amongft others, Brother James Berfon, " who was called the Infant of Paris, and the " Cordelier with the pretty hands. Thefe reve- '* rend Fathers all faid, that they took her for a '* real boy : and the thing was left to their con- " fciences. With refpect to the female boy, " fhe was difcharged after being whipt, which t was doing great injury to the chaftity of a vir- *' tuous perfon, who faid fhe was married, and " had ferved thefe worthy Divines for ten or ** twelve years out of pure devotion, and with- ** out having ever fullied her honour." Wo- men fometimes have very fingular devotions ! Perhaps fhe imagined too, by this means, to fhorten her flay in Purgatory. Ste. Croix de la Bretonnerie Jlreet* In the reign of St. Lewis, there were only a few ftraggling houfes in this quarter. Renaud de Brcban, Vifcount de Podoure and de 1'Ifle, occupied one of thefe houfes. In 1225 he mar- ried the daughter of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and upon Paris. 83 and came to Paris to carry on a fecret Negocia- tion againft England. Upon Good-Friday at night, in 1228, five Englifhmen entered his or- chard, infulted him, and put him to defiance. He had only a Chaplain and a fervant with him/ They feconded him fo well, that three of thefe Engliftimen were killed, and the other two run away. The Chaplain died the next day of his wounds. Breban, before his departure from Paris, purchafed this houfe and the orchard, which he gave to his gallant and faithful fer- vant, named Galkran. The name of Champ aux Bretons, which was given to the orchard or garden, on account of this fcuffle, became the name of the whole ftreet ; and it was called at the end of the 1310 century La rue du Champ aux Bretons. iS/ 4 Denis Jlreet and gate. The Kings and Queens made their entry at this gate. All the flreets in their way to Notrt Dame were hung with tapeftry, and covered over- head with filk ftuffs and camblet cloths. Odo- riferous water-works perfumed the air ; wine, hippocrafs, and milk flowed from various foun- tains. The Deputies of the fix bodies of Mer- chants fupportcd the Canopy. The trading corpo- E 6 rations 84 Hiftorical Ejjays rations followed, reprefenting in chara&eriftic drefTes, the Jeven deadly fins ; the fiven virtues, Faith, Hope> Charity, Jujlice, Prudence, Strength and Temperance ; Death, Purgatory, Hell and Pa- radife*, all fuperbly mounted. Stages wereereft- ed at proper diftances, where pantomime A<5lors, intermingled with bands of mufic, reprefentcd the Hiftories of the old and new Teftament : the facrifice of Abraham ; the conflict David had with Goliah J ; the afs of Balaam, [peaking to teacb this Prophet reafon-y flocks in a thicket with their jhep- herds, to whom the Angel for chid the birth of our Lord, and, who Jung the Gloria in Excelfis Deo, &c. FroiJJard fays, that at the entry of Ij'abeau de Baviere, there was exhibited at the gate auxPein~ /m, rue St. Denis, a clouded Jky,- very richly befpangled witbjlars, and a figure of God feated in all his majejly, the Father, the Son and, the Holy- Ghojl j and in this fty were little children of tht thoir, in the form of dngels, finging with infinite fweetnefs ; and when the S>ueen pajfed in her open Litter under the gate of this Paradije, two Angels dffcended from above, holding in their hands a very rich crown ornamented with precious Jlones, which they * See. Monflreltt. J See Jean Cbenu. Situated almoft oppofitc to the flreet du Petit Lion. upon Paris. 85 they placed gently upon the g^ieen's bead, finging tbefe verjes j Dame enclofe entre fleurs de lys, Reine etes-vous de Paradis, De France, & de tout le Pays ? Nous remontons en Paradis. Which may be thus rendered in Englim; Illuflrious Dame, with Lillies crown'd ! Of France art thou the fovereign Queen ? Whofe gay Domains flretch'd all around, Lovely as Paradife are feen. Back to our native heaven we fly, And bear thy praifes to the iky. Jean Juvenal des Urjins relates upon the fub- jel of this entry, that Charles VI, was deiirous of being a fpe&ator, and that he faid to.SavoiJi, his favourite ; " Savoift, I defire thou wouldft c mount my good horfe, and I will get behind ** thee, and we will drefs ourfelves in fuch a " manner as not to be known, and will go and fee my wife's entry. They went accordingly " through different parts of the City, and pufh- " ed on to get to the'Chatelet, by the hour the " Queen was to pafs, where there was a great " concourfe of people, and a number of Ser- " jeants 86 Hiftorical Effays " jeants with large maces, who, to prevent the * people's crowding, dealt their blows on every ' fide with a good deal of feverity. The King " and Savoifi endeavoured all this while to get " near, whilft the Serjeants who neither knew " the King nor &7W//?,ftruck at them with their " maces, and the King received feveral fmart " blows upon his fhoulders. In the evening, " the thing was i elated at Court, in prefence of " the Ladies, which occafioned not a little " raillery, the King himfelf joining heartily in the c laugh at the bangs he had received. Next day the Burgefles of Paris, according to cuftom, waited upon Charles yj. with magnifi- cent prefents, and being upon their knees, thus addrefTed him ; * " Moft dear and noble Sire, u your Burgefles of the City of Paris prefent you " with thefe jewels." (They were golden vafes.) " Great thanks to you, good people, (he re- " plied,) they are fine and valuable." They afterwards waited upon the Queen, who received flill richer prefents from them by a Bear and an Unicorn. In thofe times, nothing appeared fq ingenious as thefe kinds of Masquerades ; and this is not the firfl nor laft ceremonial occaiion, upon Vide FrotfarJ. Ceremonial F Parts. 87 upon which Cities have chofen beafts for their Reprefentatives. Upon Lewis JCI.'s entry, in 1461, a very agreeable reprefentation was devifed. * Several fine girls, quite naked, representing Syrens, and dif- playing their beautiful breajls, were placed before the fountain of Ponceau^ where they fung motets and pajloral airs. It feems that at the entry of Queen Ann of Britanny, fo much attention was paid to the accommodation of the Ladies of the train, that ten or a dozen people were ftationed at proper diftances with chamber-pots, for thofc who might have any occafion for them. I forgot to obferve, that at that time, upon all thefe ce- remonies, the cry of acclamation was not Vive It Rot, God fave the King j but Nt'el, Mil, Chri/imaS) Cbrijlmas, he Jlrect des Pretres de la, Doftrine Chretienne, (or Priejls of the Chrif- tian Doftrine] Fauxbourg Sf. Vittor. Their houfe and this ftreet are fltuated upon a fpot of ground, which was called le Clos des Art" ntSy becaufe f Chilperic I. ereded a Circus here, in * Vide Malingre, p. 2 8. f- Cbilperic, who is feldom mentioned, but on account of hit wife Frcdegondc, was a very particular Monarch, if the portrait which 88 Hijiorical Eflays in 577; Every one knows, that the Circus amongft the Romans was a place allotted for public games, and particularly for chamot and horfe-races. The Anna was that part of the Circus where Gladiators and wild beafts fought. Pepin the Short took great delight in feeing bulls combat with lions. Philip de Vahis bought a barn in the ftreet Froidmanteau> near the Lou- vre, to keep his lions, bears and bulls in. At the Hotel St. Paul was the lions tower, upon the fpot where the ftreet of that name * is now built. L'Etaile relates, " that at Eafter, 1583, *' Henry UL after receiving the Sacrament "in " the which Gregory de Tourt has drawn of him, is juft. He fancied himfelf a great Theologift, and was defirous of publishing an Edict, whereby the ufe of the words Trinity and Ptrfant in talking of God were to be abolished, faying, that the word ptrfmi, which is ufed in fpealciag of men, degraded the divine Majefty. He prided himfelf too upon being a Poet, and a very able Grammarian. To the tetters which were ufed in his times, he added four characters to exprefs certain founds, each of which required more than one letter. Thefe additions confifted of the Greek i t Y, Z, II. He difpatched orders into all the Provinces to correct the old books, agreeable to this orthography, and to teach it to children. The an- cient orthography had its martyrs ; . and two fchool- mailers chofe rather to lofe their ears, than, adopt the new one, which was never praclifed but during the life of this Prince* Vide Greg Turon. Hift. Lib. V. See the Article dtt Lioni-Jtrtet. upon Paris. 89 " the Convent des Bons-Hommes, returned to the ' Louvre, where he had his bulls, lions, bears, " and fuch other beafts as he had ufually trained '* up to fight with maftifs, fhot to death with " blunderbufles. This he did on account of a 14 dream wherein he thought he was devoured " by lions, bears, and dogs j a dream, which <c feemed to prefage that the furious beafts of the " League would fall upon this poor Prince and " his people." Our manners are now fo changed, that we no longer receive pleafure from feeing two ani- mals tear each other to pieces ; and if our Princes keep lions and tigers in their Menageries, it is only for their curiofity. Though we are not fond of feeing blood fpilt, we are certainly as brave as the Romans. La vieilk Draperie Jlreet. At the corner of this ftreet was the houfe of the father of that execrable John C hotel, who at- tempted the life of Henry If. and wounded him with a knife upon the upper lip, on Tuefday, the ayth of December 1594. The ground that this houfe occupied, which was afterwards razed, forms the little fquare, that is before the great gate of the Palace, A pyramid was creeled here with jo Hiflorical Effays with infcriptions, but was taken down in 1605. Extraft of a Letter , which Henry IV. wrote tt the different Cities, immediately after this attempt. " We were not arrived at Paris, from our '* journey into Picardy, above an hour, being " ftill booted, when in company with our coufins " the Prince of Conti, the Count de Soiflbns, " and the Count de St. Paul, and above thirty tf or forty of the principal Lords and Gentle- " men of our Court j as we were receiving the " Sieurs de Ragni and de Montigni^ who had not * before faluted us, a young fellow, named John " Chatel, of a very fmall fize, and not above ** eighteen or nineteen years old, having flipt in- " to the apartment with the crowd, advanced * { without being fcarce perceived, and thinking '* to ftab us in the body with the knife he had " in his hand, (bowing jufl then to raife the faid " Sieurs de Ragxi and de Monti gat, who were " faluting us) it only ftruck us upon the right 4i fide of the upper-lip, and cut one of our teeth: " Thank God, we have received fo little hurt, " that we fhall not go to bed an hour fooner ** upon that account." upon Paris. 91 It appears by an article of the interrogatories which were put to John Chatel, that the Provoft of the King's houfehold, after feizing and fearch- ing him, did not in the leaft doubt of his being an Emiflary armed at all points with fanatacifm. " Being afked who gave him the dgnus Dei, " the fhift of our Lady, and all the chaplets " which were about his neck, and whether it u was not to perfuade him to aflaffinate the King, " under an aflurance that he would be invulne- *' rable, and that no harm could come to him ? " He faid, his mother gave him the Agnus Dei, ft and the fhift of our Lady; as to the chaplets, " he ftrung them himfelf." There were fome grounds to believe his father was concerned : his mother and fitters were quite innocent. He maintained, when he was put to the queftion ordinary and extraordinary, and even to his death, that he had not commu- nicated his defign to any one, and that he had taken thisJJep entirely of his own proper motion.* f " Being afked why he wanted to kill the King ? " He replied, that in order to expiate his fins, " he thought it behoved him to perform fome " fignal act that might be ferviceable to the Ca- " tholic, Apoftolic, and Roman religion; and " that * Journal de Henri IV. f Firft interrogatory before the Provoft of the King's Houfehold. 9 i Hijlorical Effays tf that having failed in his defign on this occa- "' fion, he would ftill do it, if he could. " Being afked again by whom he was per- " fuaded to kill the King ? " He replied, that he had heard it given out, " in many places, as a maxim which one ought * c to hold as inconteftible, that it was lawful to " kill the King, from the moment the Pope dif- " approved of him j and that this do&rine was " general." This unhappy fellow faid nothing but the truth ; a year did not elapfe before the greateft part of the Ecclefiaftics, and alcnoft every Reli- gious, delivered it from the pulpit, and in their Thefes and Confeflionals. The Sieur dt Piganiol, who has only tran- fcribed word for word the antiquities of Paris by Sauval, fays, that Henry 17. was wounded by John Chatel in the court of the Hotel du Bouckagg ^twhicb was then called the Hotel d'EJ1rets y where the bandfomt Gabrielle reftded. It is evident by all the proceedings, that it was in one of the halls of the Louvre. Befid*es, the Hotel du Bouchage was at no time called the Hotel d'Eftrees ; and Gabrielle tfEjlrces at that time refided at the Hotel dt Schimberg* which ftill cxifts in the ftreet Bajlleul, behind theHotel d'Aligre, where the f- At prefcnt tbt Falbtn of tbe Oratory. upon Paris. $3 the grand Council has for a long time afTem- bled. - Les Ecrivains Jlreet. The houfe wherein Nicbolat Flamel refided, formed the angle of this and Marivault-ftreet. His figure, it is laid, is flill to be feen upon one of the fide-pofts, as well as that of his wife Per- ndk^ with Gothic infcriptions and pretended hie- roglyphics. The hiftory of this man is fome- what remarkable. He was born without any fortune, of obfcure parents, and his profeffion as a writer did not enable him to acquire great riches. By his beneficence, he of a fudden dif- clofcd a great fortune. The ufe he made of it, is very uncommon : he was rich for the unfor- tunate. A reputable family, fallen into diftrefsj a virgin whom wretchednefs might have drawn into bad courfes ; a {hop-keeper or workman over-burthened with children ; in a word, the widow and orphan, were objects of his munifi- cence. He founded hofpitals, repaired fome churches, and rebuilt in a great meafue that of the Innocents. Naude afcribes Flamel's. riches to the knowledge he had of the Jews afr^Lrs ; and adds, when they were driven out of^jVance in 1394, and their effects confifcated, Mamtl nego- tiated 94 Hiftorical Effays elated with their debtors for one half of what they owed, and promifed not to divulge the tranfac- tion. Naude, and Piganiol who quotes him, would not have advanced fo falfe an allegation, if they had read the declarations of Charles VI. with regard to the banifhment of the Jews. The firft, dated the lyth of September, 1394. ena&s, that though he exiles them for ever, he does not mean that their perfons fhould be ill- treated, or that their effeb fhould be pillaged. Befides, he en- joins thofe who are indebted to them, to pay them within a month on pain of lofing their pledges ; and thofe who have not dcpofited any pledges, to difcharge their contracts and with- draw them before the time expires. By another declaration of the 2d of March 1395 , four months after their quitting the Kingdom, he prohibits from that time any who are indebted to the Jews, making good their payments, and puts a flop to fuch fuits as may have been com- menced againft them upon that account, order- ing at the fame time a general releale for all thofe confined in prifon ; and to conclude this matter entirely, by a declaration, bearing date the 30th of January 1397, the P** of P" 13 is commanded to deftroy and burn all the bonds given to the Jews. By upon Paris. 95 By thefe Ordonnances it appears, that as the King himfelf difcharged his fubje&s of all the debts contracted with thefe infamous ufurers, Flamel could not be fo great a gainer, by turning informer againft thofe who were in their debt. Several curious people having dug in the vaults of his houfe, found in different parts, urns, phials, retorts, coals, and in fome ftone- pots a certain calcinated, thick, mineral fub- ftance like peas. It is not certainly known, whether he was buried at St. Jacques de la Bou- rberif, or under the Charnel- houfe of the Inno- cents. Paul Lucas * feems even to be in doubt whether he was dead : he relates in a very fe- rious manner, that being in Afia, he got ac- quainted with a Dervis, who fpoke all languages, and who appeared to be not above 30 years old, tho' he had already lived more than a century. " This Dervis, fays he, informed me, that " F'amel, being convinced that he would be ar- '* rcfted, in cafe he fhould pafs for one that was " pofleiTed of the philofopher's ftone, found " means to quit France, by getting a report " fpread abroad that he and his wife were dead. " She feigned a diftemper, which had its courfej " and when it was given out that fhe was dead, " fhe * FMe the Traveli of Paul Lucas through Afia Minor, C, XII. T. I. 96 Hijiorical Effays c {he was near Swiflerland, where fhe had or- e ders to meet her hufband. A block of wood " was fubflituted in her place, and buried ; and " that no part of the ceremonial might be want- < ing, this interment was made in one of the churches which fhe had rebuilt. He had after- '* wards recourfe to a fimilar ftratagem for him- " felf. As every thing is to be done for money, " it was not difficult to gain over the phyficians " and churchmen. He drew up a will in form, " wherein he was particularly defirous of being " interred with his wife, and that a pyramid fhould be erected for their monument. Whilft " this fenfible man was upon the road to join ** his wife, another piece of wood was buried " in his ftead. From that time they both led a " philofophical life, fometimes in one Country, " and fometimes in another. I am their particular " friend, and it is but three years fincc I left them in India." Paul Lucas was one of Ltwis XIV .'& penfion- ers, and travelled by his order. Such flights as thefe, which we frequently find in his book, do not reflecl much honour upon the Minifler who chofe and prefented him. VEn-l upon Paris. 97 L* Enfer-Jlreet near the Palace of Luxemburgh. St. Lewis was fo edified with the account which was given him of the filent and auftere life of the Difciples of St. Bruno^ that he feleded fix of them, and prefented them with a houfe, gardens, and vineyards, in the village ofGentilli. Thefe religious men had from their windows a view of the Palais de Vauvert^ built by King Robert^ but deferted by his fucceflbrs, which might be converted into a commodious and agree- able Monaftery, by reafon of its proximity to Paris. This old Caftle was by accident haunted by Gholls, and hideous howlings were heard from it. Spe&res were feen dragging chains, and amongft others, a green monfter with a huge white beard, half man and half ferpent, armed with a large club, and appeared every night ready to fall upon paflengers. What was to be done with fuch a Caftle? The Chartreux afked it of St. Lewis: he gave it them with all its appurte- nances and dependances. No more GTioJIs were feen ; the ftreet only retained the name of Enfir, in remembrance of the infernal racket the devils had made in it. Some Etymologifts pretend that the flreet of St. Jaques was anciently called via fuferlor, and VOL, I. F this 5>8 Hiforical Ejjfays this ftreet, by reafon of its being lower, via in- ferior or infera j hence by corruption and con- traction it afterwards received the name of Er.fer. Others aflert that beggars, fharpers, and vaga- bonds frequently retiring into bye-flreet?, the name of Hell was given to thefe ftreets on ac- count of the outcries, oaths and quarrels, which were inceflantly heard there. St. Etienne-du-Mont. The Curate of this Parifh having complained that a man named Micbau, one of his Parifhio- ners, had made him wait till midnight to pro- nounce ihcbcnediftion of the marriage-bed^ Peler dc Gondiy Bifhop of Paris, ordered that for the future this ceremony (hould always be performed in the day-time, or at lateft before fupper. For- merly a new- married couple could not go to bed till it had been blefled. This was an additional fmall perquifite for the Curates, who al/o claimed les Plats de Noces, (or wedding-diflies,) which was their dinner either in kind, or in money. The Curates of Picardy were very trouble- fome, afTerting that a new-married couple could not, without their permifiion, fleep together the time firfl nights. An Arret was iflued, bearing date upon Paris. 99 date the igth of March 1409 *, whereby the Bijhop of dmiens and the Curates of the /aid City Were forbid the taking or exacting of any money from a new-married couple, for giving them leave to lie together the firft, fecond or third night after their Nuptials; empowering every inhabitant of the faid City to lie with hi 3 wife, without the per- nnffian of the Bifiop and his Officers* We cannot difpofe of any thing that is not ours : did thofe Curates, like certain Priefts of India, imagine that thefe three firft nights belonged to them ? People of diftin&ion, as well as the com- monalty, were married at the church-door. In 1559, when Elizabeth of France, daughter of Henry II, was married to Philip 77. King of Spain, Euftatius du Bellay, Bifliop of Paris, went to the porch of the church of Notre Dame^ and (fays the French Ceremonial) performed the celt- bration of the E/poufals at the faid door, according to the cuftom of our hely Mother the Church. It ihould feem, that it was thought indecent, to give leave, in the church itfelf, for a man and a woman to go to bed together. Froijfard fays, on the fubjec~l of the marriage of Charles VL with Jfabeau de Bazierc, that the intended bride of a King of France, how high F 2 [never * Reglein, <3u Parlement, i oo Hijiorieal Effays foei'er her birth may be, muft be examined and in- fpefted quite naked by the Ladies, in order to know whether Jhe is Jit and properly formed to bear children. La Ferronnerie -Jlreet *. On Friday the i4th of May 1610, about four o'clock in the afternoon, two carts that' were locked in each other, having obliged the coach of Henry IV. ** to flop about the middle of this ftreet, which was then very narrow, Ra- vaillac who had followed him from the Louvre, got upon a fpoke of one of the hinder wheels, and with two ftabs of a knife aflaflinated this Prince, who expired on the fpot. /* is amazing (fays Etoile] that none of the Lords who were in the coach, faw the blows given to the King, and if this mon/ler f had thrown away his knife, it could not have been known who had done it. Htnry If. was reading a letter of the Count de SoiJ/ons : * So tilled from the Ironmongers, Ttrrtnarii. ** Fe was going to the Arfcnal, and had let down the windows, at it was fine wiather, and as he- wanted to fee the preparations that were making for the Queen's entry. f- When he was arrefted, (fays Ptter Matbieu,] (even or ci:' t men came up fword in hand, who faid aloud that he ought to be put to death, but inftantly withdrew again aniongft tie crowd. upon Paris, 101 Soijfom: the Duke d 1 Epernw was upon his right hand on the back-feat ; the Marshals of Lav ar din and Roquelaure fat by the door, on the fide of the Duke d'Epernon; and by the door on the fide of the King were the Duke de Monbazon and the Marquis de la Force', and on the fore- part were the Marquis of Mirebeau and du Plcffis Liancourt. Nicholas -Pafquier relates that a devil appeared to Ravaillac^ and faid to him *; Go, Jirike bard ; you will find them all blind. This devil might very likely be one of thofe feven or eight men, who came fword in hand after he was arrefled, and who wanted to put him to death. I fhall not enter into any long detail, nor into a variety of circumftances that are endlefs, and which few people are unacquainted with. I fhall only deliver my fentiments upon the character of two abandoned villains, whofe parricidious hands were armed againft one of the beft and greateft of our Kings. John Cbatel, aged about 18 or 19 years, after having ftudied under the Jefuits, went through a courfe of Philofophy at the Uni- verfity. His father was a rich fhopkeeper, who did not let him want for any thing. His inter- rogatories point out an unhappy man, ftedfaft in F 3 his * See hii firft Letter. 102 Hi ft or leal Ejfays his abominable principles, artlefs, fincere, and always equal in his replies; a real fanatic not terrified at the fight of his Judges, but looking upon htmfelf as a Martyr, and upon his punifti- ment and crime as an expiation of his fins. After he was released frorh the torture, / accufe myfelf t (faid this monfter in an humble tone of voice to his Confeflbr,) of famt impatience during my ferments ; I pray Gad ta forgive me, and to forgii't my Perfecutors. Ravaillacy who was about 32 years old, was poor, bragged of revelations, and flew into a rage at the very name of Huguenot. He appeared to be a fit initrument for the horrible attempt, which had been for a long time meditated. It is eafy to difcover by his interrogatories, that his fanaticifm was more affected than real. He fometimes put on an ignorant ftupidity, and would lay, the Pope is GW, and Ged is the Pope. His anfwers were in other refpecls like thofe of a rea- ibnable man, not altogether uninftrucled. He lies *, prevaricates, cries, and laments that he has He faid he bad never been out of the Kingdom: it was proved that he had been Teen at Naples. He faid he had never divulged to any o r '.e (not even at confefTion) his defign of killing the King: more than a year before the Prior of the Auguftins of Montargis found a letter upon the Altar, in which he was charged to inform that Prince, that upon Paris. \ 03 has not been able to reiift the temptations of the devil; he entreats his Judges not to throw bis foul into defpair by the force of torments; he acknowledges himfelf guilty of a great crime, but periiits in denying that any one excited him to perpetrate it, and that he would not have taken the refolution of killing the King, if he had not been aflured that this Prince was going to wage war againft the Pope. Is it poflible to be- Jieve, fay fome, that in the horror of his tortures, he would not have accufed thofe who had feduced him either directly, or by their Emifliries, in giving him from time to time fmall donations? Perhaps he expected ft ill that they would lave his Jife. Bcfides, it is certain that upon the firft pull of the horfts, he afked a refpite, and dilated a will, v^hich the Greffitr penned in fuch an un- intelligible manner, that the moft expert decy- pherers have not been able to explain it. F 4 .. Cr- tan t * r,a'.lve r.f dngmlerr.e, intended to aflalfinate him f . This Prior having confulttd with the Lieutenant General and ihc principal Inhabitants of the City, it was refolved to fend the letter, with the verbal procedure thereupon, to the Chan- cellor, who unluckily neglefted this advice. Here is judicial proof, well authenticated, that Ravaiilac had communicated his abominable purpofe. f Vide t l ie Journal of Henry IF. anno 1616. and Nicbilat Pajfuitr, Letter I. IO4 Hiftorical Effays Germain Brice * fays, that when Ravaillac was arreJJed, he was carried to the Hotel de Retz, at prefent the Hotel de Conde. This would have been carrying him a great way. I know that the Hotel de Conde was then the Hotel de Gondi ; but Jean Bapti/ie de Gondi, Duke of Retz, had ftill another Hotel near the Louvre **, and it was hither this villain was dragged. Here he remained two days, chained and guarded by the Archers. The quejlion was put to him in all its rigour, adds Germain Brice, and he acknowledged fuch Jlrange things, that the Judges fur pri fed and frightened, fwore amongjl themf elves upon the holy EvangeliJIs, never to reveal a tittle, for fear of ihe terrible confequences that might have enfued* They even burnt the depofitions, and the whole ver- bal procefs, in the middle of the Chamber ; fo that nothing has remained concerning them, but fame flight fufpiciont, upon which no right judgment has hitherto been founded. This account is abfolutely falfe. Ravaillac always maintained under the queftion that he had no accomplices ; and if he acknowledged any out-of-the-way things, it was only during the fhort refpite which he afked, after the horfes firft began to draw him afunder. Some * Defcription de Paris. Vol. Jn the ftreet da Puli. upon Paris. 105 Som months after, the Demoifelle d'Ecoman^ a Gentleman's wife, who had been attached to Queen Margaret , accufed the Marchionefs de Vtr- neuil and the Duke d 'Epernon * of being the In- frruments of Henry iV.'s aflaflination f. She fpoke welly fays Etoile, and was Jieady and confijlent in her anfwers and accufations> which were con- firmed by cogent reafons and very Jlrong proofs^ that quite ajlanifoed the Judges. Legal proofs were requifite ; but thefe (he could not furnifli. She was condemned to be immured within four walls the reft of her days ; and in the Arret it was faid that all the proceedings fhould be fupprefled. It is not at all unlikely that Germain Brice, who is but too apt to confound ali fadis, has, amongft others, confounded this procedure with the criminal process againft Ravai'Jac. I fliall conclude this article with a pafld^e from the Memoirs of Sully , which fhews the little pre- caution that Henry IV. took againfl the attempts which were continually made upon his life. F 5 "I * There is no one of his race row remaining, his line being extinft at the fecond generation, as well as that of the Duke de Lcrmt in Spain. 1 fhall in another article point out the reafons thefe two men had for forming this ecnfpiracy, and in what manner they conduced it. f Anno 1611. An Arret of the 3ift of July 1611. io6 Hiftorical EJJays cc I received advice from Rome (fays Sully *) " that there was a confpiracy formed againft *' his Majefty's perfon, which I imagined lought " not to conceal from him, though the intel- " ligence did not appear to myfelf to be worthy " of any thing but contempt, which, indeed, " it met with from that Prince, who replied " to me upon the occafion, That he was con- " vinced, that the way not to render his life " worfe thah death itfelf, was to pay no regard " to any fuch informations j that the calculators " of horofcopes had threatened him, fome with " dying by the fword, and others in a coach ; " but that no one had ever mentioned poifon *' to him, which in his opinion was the eafieft " manner of difpatching him, as he eat a good ** deal of fruit, of every kind that was brought " to him, without a tafter; and that in fine he " repofed his confidence in the fovereign Matter of his days. " 'The For-l'Evefque. Forum Epifcopi, that is to fay, the Seat of the temporal JurifdicYion of the Bifhop. There were in Paris and its Fauxbourgs nineteen Lords Jurifdiflions ; the uncertainty of whofe limits occa- * Memoir* of Sully t anno 2605. upon Paris. 107 occanoned frequent altercations. By an Edi& of the month of February 1674, all thefe fubordi- nate Jurifdi&ions were united and incorporated into that of the Chatelet. The Jurifdiclion of the Archbifhop of Paris, and the Chapter of Notre Dame, of the Abbe de Sr. Germain des Prez, of the Grand Prior of France, of the Com- mander of St. John de Latran, and of the Prior of St. Martin des Champs, only remained, and thefe were confined to their own diftri&s. Adrian ae Falois pretends that it is pronounced For-rEveque, inftead of Four-F Eveque ; and that the common oven, where the Bifhop's vanals ufed to fend their bread to be baked, makes part of that building, which is now converted into a prifon. The Jlreet of les Fc/ds Saint Germain de The Hotel de Sourdis * had communication with the Cloifter of this Church. Gabrielle d'Ef- trees, Duchefs of Beaufort, refided in the Dean's houfe, probably to be near the Louvre, and the Marchionefs of Sourdis her aunt. She died here upon Eafter-eve in 1599. Sauval avers that he knew fome old men, who informed him, that F 6 after The CuI-dc-Sac dtSsurdis in this ftreet. io8 Hiftorical EJJ'ays after her death, (he was expofed to view in the great hall of this houfe ; that (he was drefled in a white fattin gown, and lay upon a bed of ftate, of crimfon velvet, ornamented with gold and filver lace. It does not feem probable, that a perfon fliould be expofed to public view, whofe features were all disfigured, and whofe mouth was turned round her neck, by the frightful fymp- toms of death. She f had pafled part of Lent at Fontainebleau: policy and decorum not allowing Henry 17. to keep her with him during Eafter, he had begged of her to return to Paris, and conducted her as far as Melun. Thefe two Lo- vers (fays Sulli) feem to have had a fecrct mif- giving, that they fhould never fee each other more. With tears in their eyes, they loaded one another with carefles, and talked in fuch a ftrain, as if it was for the laft time of their con- verfing. The Duchefs recommended to the King her children, her houfe at Monceaux, and her domeftics. The Prince heard her, and melted into tears, inftead of alluring her, her requefts fliould be granted ; they took leave, and inflantly recalling each other, embraced again, and could not The Deanery^over-againft the great door of the church, towards the Louvre. t Journal de Henri IV. 1599. upon Paris. 109 not part. She went to lodge at the houfe of one Zumet *, an Italian who had accumulated a very large fortune by being concerned in every new exaction upon the people. This was the man, who in the marriage contract of one of his daughters, filled himfelf, Lord Paramount of feventeen bun" tired thoufand Crowns. His witty and lively cha- racter had endeared him to Henry IV. and this Prince ufually fixed upon his houfe for his pri- vate fuppers and parties of pleafure. The Du- chefs was received by her hoft with the higheft refpec"h Whilft fhe was hearing Jenebres, in the church of Petit St. Antoine, upon Holy Thurf- day, after eating a hearty dinner, fhe was taken with a fwimming in the head. Being returned to Zamtt's, whilft fhe was walking in the gar- den, after having eat part of a citron, (others fay a fallad f) (he had all on a fudden fuch a burning in her throat, and luch violent pains in her ftomach, that fhe cried out, J lake me out of this hovfe I am poifened . She was carried home, where her dilbrder increafed with fits, and * Confeflion de Sanci, L. II. Remarques fur le Chap. I. t Vide ^A^gne. ~\ Sully '- Memoirs. ^ A marriage betwen Henry IV. and Mary de Midicis was already talked of; and as Zamtt was born a lubjtft of the Duke of Florence, his enemies fufpefted him of a crime of which there was no proof. HO Hijlorical E/ays and fuch violent convulfions, that one cou'd not look without horror upon a face that Come hours before was fo har.dfome. She expired on Satur- day morning about 7 o'clock : (he was opened, and the child was found dead in her womb. Henry W. made all his Court go into mourning, and wore it himfelf the firft week in a violet colour, and the fecond in black. This Fa~ vturite was poifoned^ fays a writer of that time, becaufe the King had refolved upon marrying her ; and confidtring the troubles that fuch a Jlcp would have cccafioned, adds this galant man, /'/ was do- ing & fervice both to the Printe and the State. This may be, but it muft be allowed at the fame time, that fuch fervices are more infamous than thofe of the executioner ; befldes, the majority of hiftorians impute this fo extraordinary death to fome very unfavourable circumftances that at~ tended her pregnancy. Du Fouarre-ftreet. The Univerfity-fchools were formerly on both fides of this ftreet. It took its'-name of Fouarre t (an obfolete word that fignifies ftraw,) from the great quantities of it confumed by the fcholars, who were feated in their clafles upon nothing but ftraw. There were formerly neither benches nor upon Paris. in nor chairs in churches. They were ftrewed with frefh ftraw and odoriferous herbs, parti- cularly at midnight mafs, aud other high feilivals. he Jlreet del Francs-Bourgeois, au Marais. In 1350, John Rou/fcl and Mice his wife, caufed twenty-four alms-hou!ts to be built in this ftreet, which was then called the ftreet det vieillet Poulies. Their heirs, in 1415, gave thefe alms- houfes to the Grand-Prior of France, together with 70 livres of Paris by way of annuity, upon condition of furnifhing two poor perfons with lodging in each of thefe alms-houfes, who were to be allowed 13 deniers (or farthings) upon their coming in, and a denier a weet. Thefe chambers were called la mafjan des Francs-Bcur- geois, becaufe thofe who were admitted into them, were free from all taxes and imports, on account of their poverty. This is the origin of the namft of this ftreet. Here lived two beggars in 1596, who in their leifure hours had fo much praclifed the imitation of French horns and the voice of dogs, that at the diftance of thirty paces, one would imagine he heard a pack of hounds and huntfmen. The deception muft have been ftill ftronger in a place where 112 Hijlorlcal E/ays where the eccho is multiplied by a rocky fitua- tion. It is highly probable, that thefe men were employed in an adventure, wherein a real apparition was thought to appear. If Henry IP. had been curious enough to have advanced, he would doubtlefs have received a dart ; and it would have been afterwards faid, that not being a good Catholic at heart, it was the devil that had killed him. Moft hiftorians relate this affair in the following manner. f " The King being a hunting in the foreft of " Fontainebleau, heard at about half a league's " diftance from where he was, the barking of <s dogs, with the cry and the horns of huntfmenj ** and in an inftant all this noife which feemed -" to be afar off, was juft at his ear. He ordered " * the Count deSoiffons to go before and fee " what was the matter, not imagining that any " one would be bold enough to interfere with " his hunt, ad interrupt his paftime. The f< Count de So!flT:>ns in going on, heard the noife^ '* but could not d'fcover from whence it came* *' A great black man prefented himfelf in the " thickeft part of the bufh'-*, and cried in a ter- * c rible voice, Do you want tne ? and fud- *' denly difappeared. At thefe words, the moft ' re- f P. Mathleu, L. I. Nar. V. * Journal du rcgne de Hinri IV, anno 1598. Supl. upon Paris. 113 " rsfolute thought it was prudent to difcontinue " the chace, which now excited nothing but " fear ; and though this paffion frequently ties " the tongue and freezes up the fpeech, they " nevertheless related the adventure, which " many would have looked upon as one of Mer- " lin's fables, if the truth of it, corroborated by *' fo many tongues, and witnefled by fo many " eyes, had not put it out of all manner of doubt. " The (hepherds in the neighbourhood fay, it " is a fpirit which they call the great huntfman ; " others pretend that it is St. Hubert's hunt, " which is heard in other places." 'The Church of Ste. Gfnevieve. The tail of Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld 3 cloak, which is upon his tomb in this church, is fupported by an Angel. I am furprifed that the extravagant imagination which created this Page, inftead of leaving him. half-naked, did not give him a livery. Grenelle-jlreet^ in the Quarter of . St. Eujlache. This Hotel where the amorous Count de Soif- fons diverted himfelf with difperfing on ail fides, upon JJ4 Hijlorical Effays upon the windows, ceilings, and wainfcot, inge- nious emblems, galant devices, and his cypher blended with that of Catherine de Navarre y fitter to Henry 17. This fame Hotel, which was after- wards inhabited by the Duke de Etllegarde y that amiable and polite Courtier, who was the flame of Gabrielle d'Ejtreei, of Madame, of Ma- demoifelle de Guife, and many others : This Hotel, injine^ which became, after the death of the Cardinal de Richelieu y the afylum of the Mufes, where the French Academy fo long afTembled, and where the Racans, the Sarazins, and the Voitures held their meetings, is at this hour the Hotel des Fermes, On the 9 r .h cf June 1572, Jwnne fAlvrtti mother to Henry IV. died in the third houfe from this Hotel, towards the ftreet of St. Honore. She was only 44 years old, and had been ill but five days. It was reported that (he had been poifon- ed, by the fcent of a pair of perfumed gloves, which fhs had bought of Rene, an Italian, and a great rogue, who was perfumer to the Court of Catherine de Medicis. The body of this Prin- cefs was opened, and the furgeons, according to Cayet, reported, that they could not difcover any fymptoms of poifon. She could not avoid coming to Paris upon the marriage of her ftfh ; bcfidts, flie had been aflured, that war was going to upon Paris. 115 to be declared againft her irreconcileable enemy, Philip II. King of Spain, Charles IX. being per- fuaded that he had caufed his wife, Elizabeth of France, to be poifoned, accufing her with carry- ing on a criminal correfpondence with his Con Don Carlos. Now a- days, as foon as a Princefs enters in- to the fifth month of her pregnancy, Phyficians, Surgeons and Men-midwives make a property of her health, and it is with difficulty fhe can ob- tain leave from them to go out of her apartment. The eafien\ carriage, and the fined roads, are no fecurity to them. However defirous fhe may be of going only from Verfailles to Fontainebleau, they will not allow it. Cayet, Deputy- Precep- tor to Henry IV. relates, " That Jeannt Al~ *' bret, being defirous of following her hufband cc to the wars of Picardy, the King her father u told her, that in cafe fhe proved with child, '* he wanted her to come and lie in at his houfe ; " and that he would bring up the child, whe- ' ther boy or girl, himfelf that this Princefs " finding herfelf pregnant, and in her ninth * c month, fet out from Compiegne, pafled " through all France, as far as the Pyrenees, " and arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Beam. " She was mighty defirous, (adds this hifrorian,) 48 to fee her father's will. It was contained in n 6 Hijlorical E/ays ** a thick golden box, on which was a golden " chain, which would have gone 25 or 30 times vt round one's neck. She afked it of him. It " {hall be thine, faid he, as foon as thou haft *' fhewn me the child thou now carrieft about '* with thee ; and that thou may'ft not bring in- 11 to the world a crying or a pouting child, I pro- " mife you the whole, provided that whilftyou " are in labour, you fing a Beam fong, and I " will be prefent at the birth. About rulf " paft twelve at night, on the ijth of December, " 1553, the Princefs's pains began to come " upon her. Her father being informed, came " downj {he hearing him fell a tinging the Beam " fong, which begins, Notre Dame du bout '* du ponty aidez-moi en cette heure ; (i. e. Our 4< Lady of the end of the bridge, affilt me in this " hour.) Being delivered, her father put " the golden chain about her neck, and gave " her the golden box wherein was his will, fay- " ing to her : That is for you, daughter, but this ** is for me, taking the child in his great gown, " without waiting for its being dreft in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little " Prince was brought up in fuch a manner, as to ' be able to undergo fatigue and hard/hip, fre- ** quently eating nothing but common bread. " The good King his grandfather ordered it thus, upon Paris. 117 ' thus, and would not let him be delicately pam- " pered, that from his early youth he might " be enured to neceflity. He has often been ' feen, according to the cuftom of the country, amongft the other children of the Caftle and Village of Coirazze, bare footed, and * bare-headed, as well in winter, as in fummer." \Vho was this Prince? HENRY IV. G renter St. Lazare- ftreet. Pafquier relates, that in the year 1424 a girl, named Mar got > came to Pa: is, who played at tennis (at the court in this ftreet) both fore- handed and back-handed better than any man. This is the more aftonifhing, as at that time the game was played with the bare hand, or with a double glove. Afterwards fome contrived to lace cords and packthread acrofs their hands to fend the ball with greater velocity, and thence arofe the idea of Raqucts. The name ofpaume, (tennis) he adds, was given to this game, becaufe at that .time this amufement confifted in receiving and returning the ball with the palm of the hand. Guenegaud - ftreet. I have obferved that from Buci-gate, fituated near the top of the ftreet of St. Andre des Arcs *, the * Oppofite the ftreet Contref arpe. liS Hijlorkal Ejfays the City-walls pafling over the ground, where Dauphine-gate * was afterwards ereded, ter- minated therr inclofure at the gate de Nefle, Which then flood on the fpot which the court of the College de* quatre Nations now occupies. The Hotel de Nefle, with its gardens, was fituated on the ground, where we now fee fome appurtenances of this College, the houfes of the petite-place de Conti, this petite-place itfelf, the Hotel de Conti, the ftreet Guenegaud from the common fewer to the river, and the little ftreet de Nevers. Philip the Fair purchafed it from Amaurl de Nejle> in 1308. The Kings his Succeflbrs gave it away and alienated it feve- ral times : it always reverted to the Crown. Cbarle$ IX. fold it, in 1571, to Lewis de Gon- zagufj Duke of Nevers, who rebuilt it in part. It was afterwards called the Hotel Guenegaud, and at length the Hotel de Conti. Henri de Guenegaud, Secretary of State, who purchafec it in 1650, made great alterations to it, and built this ftreet upon part of the ground which compofed the garden. Brantome mentions a Queen f who rcfided at tbe Hotel de Ncjlc^ who ttfed to watch for pajjen- gen ; and fuch as were mojl agreeable to her, let them At the other end of Contrefcarpe-ftreet. f Dunes Galaotes. Tome I. p. 27 1. upon Paris. 119 them l>e cf what condition they would, Jhe had them called and introduced to her ; and after having obtained what Jhe wanted of them, Jhe had them thrown from the Tower * into the water below. I cannot fay, continues he, that this is a faff ; tut the greatefl part of the people of Paris affirm it, and thoje who Jhew the Tower, never fail to relate it. The Poet Villon in his ballad to the Ladies, which he compofed in 1461, fays; Ou ejl la Reine )ui commando que Buridan Put jctte en un foe en Seine ? " Where is the Queen,who ordered that Buridan Should be thrown in a fack into the Seine ? " Jane, Countefs of Burgundy & Artois, Queen of France and Navarre, a Princefs much cen- fured for her manners, refided at the Hotel de Ncfle, after the death of Philip the Long, her hufband. She died in 1329, and wanted to be buried in the Cordeliers Church. John Buridan was a native of Bethune in Artois, and famous in * It flood where the Place des quatre Nations i now ercfted. 120 Hijiorical Eflays in the Univejfity of Paris after the year 1327. If he was thrown into the Seine, he was not drowned ; for he was ftill living in 1348. f It was to this fame Hotel de Nefle, that Henrietta of Clevcs, wife to Ltwis de Gonzoguf, Duke of Nevers, brought the head of her Lover CoconaS) || which was expofed upon a poft in the Place de Greve : (he carried it off herfelf by night, had it embalmed, and kept it for a long time in the drawer of a cabinet behind her bed. This cabinet was afterwards watered with the tears of her grand-daughter Maria Louifa de Genzague of Cleves, whofe Lover | fuffered the fame fate as Coconas. D. Felibien and D. Lobineau^ in their Hiflory of Pari?, have manifeftly copied the Plans in the firft Volume of the Treatife upon the Po- lice by the Commiffary la Marre. Thefe Plans are very erroneous. They place the Hotel Nefle without the walls ; whereas it was moft certainly within them ; and it is equally certain that the walls of this Hotel made part of thofe ef the City. The Duke dc Berri, uncle to Cbarltt j- Memoires de Nevers. Tome I. p. 57. || Beheaded in 1574. She was married to Ladijlat, and afterwards to Cafmir, brothers and Kings of Poland. | Cinyrr.an, beheaded in 1642, upon Paris. 121 Charlts VI. it is true, ereded a little Hotel (the ftjeur de Nefle) beyond the City-ditches. It communicated with the great Hotel by a draw- bridge, and the gardens extended on one fide to- wards Buci-gate, and on the other to the bank of the river, that is to fay,to where the Key Malaquet now ftands. This little Hotel ought not to have been confounded with the great one. The College des quatre Nations was ere&ed upon fome of the appendages of each, and alfo upon the City-ditches. Before writing this, I made an accurate infpe&ion of the ancient Plans of Paris in the King's Library, and in that of St. Viclor. Some people who were digging near the Tower de Nefle, in 1538, difcovered u vaults, and in one of thefe vaults the body of a man, armed cap a pie. Were thefe fepulchres made in the time of the Pagans ? It is very certain, there never was a Church or a Church- yard upon this fpot *. Gibct. A corrupt word from Gebel, which fignifies in Arabic a mountain. In former times, cri- minals Guiil. Marcell, Tome I. p. 71 & 78. VOL, I. G 122 Hijlorical E/ays minals were executed in France upon high grounds, that the punifliment inflicted might be feen at a great diftance. Tacitus * fays that the Germans ufed to hang traitors and deferters upon trees, and that they ftifled cowards, lazy people, and nice fellows, under a hurdle in a bog. The fpirit of the law, in the dif- ference of thefe punifhments, was to publifh the defert of the crime, and to bury its infamy in eternal oblivion. Stephen Pafquier f obferves that the gibbets of Montfaucon have been fatal to all that were any wife concerned in them ; that they were hand- felled by Enguerrand de Marigni, who erected them ; that Peter Remi, Superintendent of the Finances, under Charles the Fair, having re- paired them, was alfo hanged upon one of them ; and in our time, adds he, John Mourner, Lieu- tenant Civil of Paris, having lent a band to renew thtm, if he did not end his days then like the two others, made tbt Amende honorable however in the fame place. Pa/pier's remark is good, as it fhews there was a time, when jjftice was inflided in France, upon great rogues, as well as little ones. < * De Moribus Germ. C, XII. t L. VII. C. XL, upon Paris. 123 The Guet. It appears that under the fiifr. Race of our Kings, the Guet was not in great repu- tation. By an Ordonnance of Clotarius //. anno 595, it is ena&ed " That when a robbery " is committed by night, thofe who are upon " guard in that quarter, are refponfible if they " do not flop the thief; that in cafe the " rogue, efcaping from thefe firft, is feen in *' another quarter, and the guards of this fe- " cond quarter, being immediately acquainted " with it, neglecl: to flop him, then the lofs " occafioned by the robbery, {hall fall upon " them, and they fhall moreover be con- " demned to pay a fine of five fols j and fo, " on from quarter to quarter *." La Harpe-Jlreet. Under a very forry houfe that has the fign of la Croix de Fer, (or iron Crofs) there is a very large hall vaulted, near 40 feet high. This is a remain of the ancient Palace des TermeS) and a precious monument of the Ro- man manner of building. The cement which they made ufe of, we have never yet been ac- G 2 quainted Traitc de la Police, Tome I. p, 256. 124 Hljlorical Effays quainted with. This, methinks, does no honour to our Architect. The Edifices and Courts of this Palace occupied all the extent between this ftreet de la Harpe, and that of St. Jaques, from the ftreet du Foin to the Place de Sor- bonne. The park and gardens of this Palace reached on one fide as far as Mount Leuco- titius *, and on the other to the Temple of Jfis **. Some learned men believe that the Emperor Julian created it about the year 358. Others pretend it is more ancient. This was the ufual place of refidence of our Kings of the firft Race. Childebert, fays Fortunat^ went from his Palace , through his garden^ as far as the environs of the Church of St. Vincent. The Princefles Gijlj and Rotrude, daughters of Charlemain^ were exiled to this place after his death. This great Prince had winked a little too much at their conduct, very likely through that fame tendernefs, which (according to P. Daniel f ) prevented his giving them away in marriage, not being able to refolve upon a feparation from them. Lcivif le De- bonnaire, as foon as he mounted the throne, undertook to reform their manner of living, and * The Mountain of Ste. Genvieve. St. Vincent's, fince St. Germain des Prez. f Hifto y of France. Vol. I, p. 55*. upon Paris. 125 and began by putting two Lords to death, who parted for their Lovers. He doubtlefs believed, that this example would intimidate other Gal- lants from offering themfelves. It appears he was miftaken, and that they were never in any want of fuch. Thefe PrincefTes, befides a great fhare of wit, had no fmall tafte for Letters ; they were alfo affable, generou', beneficent, and in a word good, as wo- men of gallantry ufuaily are, without guib, and without any motives of intrigue, intereft, or ambition. They died generally lament- ed; and whilft le Dibonnaire, who was fond of no other company but that of Prieft?, who had banifhed all recreations from his Courr, and even regulated it monaftically ; who had no tafte for any thing but Pfalm-finging and Church-ceremonies, after having rendered him- felf contemptible, fays the lame P. Danid *, to the Bijhops and Abbes, by having been tso familiar with them, and paid them too much deference, died disgraced and degraded in the opinion of his lubjedts, with the reputation of a very virtuous, but at the fame timt a vtry indifferent Monarch f. G 3 St. Hiftory of Frairc. Vol. I, p. 645. f Ibidem. 126 Hiftorical Eflays St. Honor e-Jireet. In the reign of Philip the Fair, the Churches of St. Honore, St. Thomas du Louvre, and des Quinze-Vingts, were ftill furrounded with fields and vineyards; and in an old Regifter of that time it may be feen, that in the year 1310 there was a good harveft of corn, wine, and oats. Thefe Churches were not inclofed in Paris till the building of the wall began under Charles V. in 1367, finished in the reign of Charles VI* in 1383, and which exifted fo late as 1633. In reading the Hiftory of civil wars in the reigns of Henry 111. and Henry IV. il fhould be obferved that the Palace of the Thuilleries was on the outfide of the walls. " Henry 111. * " fays I'Etoilt, feeing the rage of the people " continue, and being informed befides, that " the Preachers who diftracled them, and who " maintained no other doctrine than that thty <( Jhould go and take IT -other Henry of Palais " in his Louvre, had got 7 or 800 Scholars, * f and 3 or 400 Monks to take up arms ; " and thofe about the Prince having at five ' in the afternoon received advice by one of his In 1588. upon Paris. 127 " his trufty fervants, who had fllpt into the ** Louvre in difguife, that he muft get out as *' faft as he could, or he was undone, he went " out of the Louvre on foot, with a ftick in his " hand, according to cuftom, and as if going to " walk in the Thuilleries. He was not yet out " of the door before a Citizen told him, to " rmike the beft of his way, for that the Duke * " de Guife, with 1200 men, was coming to " take him. Being arrived at the Thaillcries *' where was his liable, he got on horleback * c with fuch of his Attendants as could be mount- * c ed there. Duhalde booted him, and putting " on his fpur the wrong way, It is all one, faid * the Prince, / am not going to fee fry nriflrefs. '* Being on horfeback, he turned towards the City, and f'wore he would not re-enter it but " by a breach." '* Between five and fix in the evening, fays ' Ceyety Henry III. went out of Paris by the Porte G4 " Neuve. The Duke dt Guift went at night to the firft Prefident, Acbiile </e Harlai, who perceiving him coming, cried to him : " It is a fhame, Sir, it is a fliame, that the man fhould tura " hii mafter out of his houfe ; moreover, my foul is God's, " my heart is the King's, and as to my body, I give it, if it muft be fo, to the wicked people who lay wafte the Kingdom." Chronologic Noveoaire. 128 Hijiorical EJJays Neuve. His attendants followed him, moft of " whom were in great condensation ; for a cer- <c tain Counfellor of State, who had gone in " his robes to find him at the Louvre, mounted " the firft horfe he met with in the ftable, and '* inftantly fet off, unbooted as he was, in order " to come up with him j and when this Prince " went out by the Porte Neuve, 40 Arquebu- " fiers, who were pofted at the gate of Nefle, *' fired fuddenly upon him and his followers." From the authority of thefe two cotemporary Hiftorians, it appears, that the Porte Neuve was iltuated on the bank of the river, a little on this fide the laft wicket *, leading from the New- Bridge to the Thuilleries. The walls of the City, croffing the ground from the Porte Neuve to where the ftreet of St. Nicaife f is now built, afterwards joined to the gate of St. Honore, fituated where the Shambles des Quinze-Vingts are now creeled. This gate of St. Honore was not taken down, and moved back to the place where we have feen it, at the entrance of the Boulevard, till the year 1633. " The Gallery of the Thuilleries, fays San- " val, is a work, that Henry IV. wanted to " carry * At that time there was neither a Gallery at the Thuille- ries, nor wickets. f Built about the year 1636. upon Pan's. 129 " carry all along the river as far as the Palace " of the Thuilleries, which then compofed part " of the Fauxbourg St. Honore, that fo he " might be either without the City, or within " it, as he chofe, and not fee himfelf im- " mured, where the honour and life of " Henry HI. had almoft always depended upon ** the caprice and phrenzy of an irritated mob." In 1616, M. de Berulle purchafed the Hotel du Bouchage, as an eftabliftiment for the Priefls of the^Congregation of the Oratory. The Gui- de- fac of the Oratory was called the ftreet du. Louvre. It was at the end of this ftreet du Lou- vre, in the ftreet St. Honore, facing the Hotel du Bouchage, that Paul Stuard de CauJ/adf, Count de St. Megrin, going out of the Louvre about ii at night, on Monday the 2ift. of July 1578, was attacked by 2 or 30 men, and re- ceived 33 wounds of which he died the next day. The King caufed him to be buried at St. Paul, with the fame pomp and ceremony as ' Quelus and Maugiron*. " There was no enquiry '" made after the perpetrators of this murder, " ( fays rEtoilt ) his Mnjefly being informed G 5 " that Tome II. pag 40. This Gallery was not finiflied till the Reign of Leivit XIII, * Anno 1578. 130 Hijlorical Eflays e{ that the Duke of Guife had inftigated it ; a report being fpread abroad that this favourite <c was the darling of his wife *, and that the " man who committed the murder, had a beard " and countenance like the Duke de Mayenne." What times ! what manners ! If we call them to mind, and confider the fhocking picture v/hich this half century prefents to us, we fliall agree, I believe, that in general the lives of the Citizens would be lefs expofed under the reign of a Neroj than under that of a King, whofe feeble authority produces nothing but petty Tyrants. The Hotel de Vilk. During the confinement of King John, the Provoft of the Merchants and Sheriffs made a prefent to the Church of Notre Dame, of a wax candle (probably rolled up) of the fame length .as the circumference of the walls of Paris. This gift which was received annually, was fufpended during the time of the League for 25 or 30 years. In 1605, Miron, Provoft of the Mer- chants, gave inftead of it a filver lamp, with a wax taper, that burns night and day, before the Altar of the Virgin. This devotion is as refpecl- able, * Catbtrine efClevti, widow to the Prince de Porcien, whofe fccond huiband was tttnry dt Cuift, killed at Blois in 1588. upon Paris. 131 able, as it is fingular. What indeed can be more fo, than to go every year in Proceflion round 2 or 300 faggots, which are fet on fire, during the moft intenfe heats of the fummer ? After many refearches concerning this ridiculous cere- mony, I find that the Greeks and Romans had rejoicings at the proclamation of a peace, or the news of victories gained over an enemy j and that thefe rejoicings were always accompanied with Sacrifices, when great fires were lighted up to burn the victims. We have had the wit to preferve the fires, without having any vidlims to burn. Ever fince gunpowder was invented, it has been thought the birth of Princes has been moft majeftically announced by a hundred brazen mouths. Query,would not concerts of flutes, vi- olins, bag-pipes, and hautbois, have a much better omen ? St. y agues -Jlreet. The fubterraneous Chapel of the Church of the Carmelites ( formerly Notre Dame des Champs) appears to be of very great antiquity. It compofed part of a Temple dedicated to Mer- cury* and if fome Authors are to be credited, the figure which is feen on the top of one end of this Churchj is a fhtue of that God. Moreau dt G 6 Man- 132 Htfarical Effays after having feveral times examined this figure with fpying glafles, fays in his account of it to the Academy of Infcriptions, '* That it *' was of ftone ; that it had the face of a young man " wiihout a beard, and that the hair of the head " was fhort ; that it was cloathed with a drapery *' from the neck down to the feet; that on the back of the head which was naked and leaning to- *' wards the left (houlder, there were five fpikes " uTuing from a large bar of iron, which went a- ** crofs this ftatue, and ferved to fupport itj that it " held a balance in the left hand; that little *' children's heads were perceivable in each fcale " of this balance, and that the fcale on the right " fide funk lower than the other j that on the <e top of the wall M. DC. V. appeared in Ro- " man characters, intimating the epocha of the " building of the wall, as well as of the ere&ioti c of that ftatue : and that in fine, thele things " all taken together led him to think that it re- " prefented St. Micbatl *, who weighs the fouls " in a fcale." If * Piganlol, the moment he leaves off tranfcribing Sauva! t is no longer happy in his reafoningi and quotations. Certain iron ffiket, fays he, (Defciipt. de Paris, Tcm. V. p. 343.) iub:cb wen placed on tbt top oftbitjlatut to prevent the iiidsfrom perching upon lt } and to defend it from the crdure that they might leave there, have induced Moreau de Mautour to believe that tbty were tart of corn, asd tbertfort a fymbol cf Ceres. We find that Moreau de Mautour faj quite the contrary, upon Paris. 133 If this had been the figure of that Archangel, it would have had wings, with the Devil under foot, and the drapery would not have extended below the knees. I am apt to imagine, that it is in faft a Mercurius Theutates, which has been found in fome part of this inclofure ; and that being taken for the ftatue of a Saint, it was placed on the top of the gable-end of this church, when it was rebuilt in 1605. D I I S I N F E R I S V E N E R I MARTI E T MERCURIC SACRUM. This Infcription, found in the foreft of Belef- me, evinces that the Gauls placed Mercury amongft the infernal Deities ; and as they be- lieved the Metempfychofis f, it is natural to ima- gine, that they fometimes reprefented this God as examining, weighing, and appraifing foul c , in order to judge whether he fhould give them a good or bad fituation, when he fent them back to the earth. <c Arnongft the Gauls, fays Co-far , * were " many image? of Mercury; they had more ve- " nera- f C*far de bcllo Galileo. Lib, VI. Ibid. No. 15 and 16. 134 Hijlorical Eflays neration for him than for any other of all the " Gods - T they looktd upon him as the Inventor " of Arts, the Protedor of Travellers, and the Patron of Merchants.- - They all fay that they are defcended from PIuto t which they " knew by the tradition, that the Druids have " preferved. It is in commemoration of this " origin, that they do not compute time by days, " but by nights. In dating the beginning of " months and years, and in celebrating the an- " niverfary of their birth, they always reckon *' from the preceeding night." f No one is ignorant, that the fame Deity amongft the Pagans had various employments. They adored Apollo^ as God of the Sun, and at the fame time as the God of Phyfic and Poetry. Thus, tho' Cafar feems to diftmguifh Mercury from Pluto ', in the paflage which I have juft quo- ted, it is not the Jefs true that they were th fame amongft the Gauls j and this is what de- termines me in my opinion. Titus Livius fpeaks of a fpot (to all appearance confecrated) which was called the Mount of Mercurius-Theii- tates. Here then Mercury and Theutates make but one ; or rather ThtutattSy which figni- fied in the Celtic language, The father of th? f So late as the nth. century, they reckoned by nights in France. J L. XX, C. XL1V. upon Paris. 135 people, was only an epithet which the Gauls and Cettiberians gave to Mercury^ becaufe they looked upon him as the chief of their race. This was the Pluto, the Dis pater whom Cajar men- tions, and from whom they pretended to be de- fcended. Galli fe omnes a Dite patre prognates predicant. The ufe of ftatues * to reprefent Divinities, whom they adored, was not introduced amongft them till very late, and by a more frequent in- tercourfe with the Greeks and Romans. In antient times, when they had deified a Hero, they gave his name to a wood, a lake, a rock, a precipice, or a river. Thefe wild and rural places were the only objects of their devotion ; thefe were the Temples, the Altars of their Gods, and their Gods themfelves. It was particularly in the middle of forefts, at the foot of the oldeft oak- Tbeut flgnified people, and Tad, father, from whence is derived the word Tata, which children make ufe of. * The Germans, fays Tacitai, think it would be degrading the Majefty of the Gods to fliut them up in Temples, and to reprefent them under human figures. They give the names of their Divinities to woods, which they confecrate to them, and aiore thefe folitary places as being filled with their presence. Cttlcrum nee cobibere parittibut Dtot, titfue in vllom bumanl orit ffeciem ajjimilart, tx magnitudine cttleftium arbitrantur. Lucot at nemora confttratit, Dtorumque niiminibut appellant Jecretum illud, jutd fola revcrentia vfdeat. De Morib. Germ. Cap. JX. 136 Hiftorlcal Effays oak-trees, and fuch as were the moft- covered with mofs, thrtt they peiroimed their principal religious ceremonies, and thoie (hocking facrifices of human vidmii that are defcribed by Lucan. Barbara ritu Sacra Dcum : Jlru&a facris ftralibm ara^ Omnis & humanis lujirata cruoribus Arbor* Lib, iii. They attributed to the Rhine a difcernmenf, fomewhat extraordinary, and which luckily we have not yet afcribed to the Seine. When they fufpe&ed their wives of infidelity, they expofed the children upon the river, which fwallowed up thofe who were not legitimate, and bore the others gently to the fhore*. Temples were not begun to be built in Gaul, till it was fubdued by the Romans. It feems thefe Tempt s were not in Cities,but in the neigh- bourhood of them ; it is certain there were none within the walls of Lutetia. The Abbey of St. Germain des Prez was built upon the ruins of the Temp'e of Jfis. That of Cybele was pretty near the beginning of the ftreet called Coquilliere, towards the Church of St. Euftatius. Monmarte took its name from the Temple of Mars\ and the Temple of Mercurius-TJuutateSy or Pluto, was at that Vid Juliani Imper. Eyift. XVL uf>cn Paris. 137 that time, where the Convent of the Carmelites now ftands, that is to fay, upon that fide of Mount LeucotitiuSy which is now called the Fauxbourg St. Jaques. On the other hand, I am not ignorant, that in moft burying grounds there was a Chapel de- dicated to St. Michael, who was invoked as the patron of the dead, and defender of their tombs ; that at the gate of Notre Dame, he is reprefent- ed weighing of fouls, whilft the Devil in order to pilfer fome of them fquats down and hides him- felf under his fcales \ and that it fhould therefore be prefumed, fome may fay, that it is one of his ftatues which is feen upon the top of the Carme- lites Church. To this objection I anfwer, that after Chriftianity had diffipated the darknefs of idolatry, the fame functions were attributed to feveral Saints, as the Pagans had attributed be- fore to their falfe Divinities ; that fomebody having by accident, as I faid above, dug up in a field a Mercurius-Theutatdy imagined it to be a reprefentation of St. Michael, and that Sculptors proceeding upon this ftatue, and on this opinion, ufed to reprefent that Archangel in this manner. I will add, that the Pagans never buried their dead in Cities ; that the places where they made their interments, were ufually confecrated to Mercury , that they gave this God the epithet of 138 Hijiorical Eflays of Redux, as having the pcwer of re-condu&ing fouls to the earth ; and in fine, that by all the monuments which have been difcovered in the inclofure of the Carmelites and the environs, it is not to be queftioned but that this was the burial- ground of the Parifians in the times of Paga- nifm. *The Church des SS. Innocens. Under the article of this Church- yard, Corro- zct quotes an Epitaph which was to be feen in his time, but is not now to be found, probably becaufe being engraved upon a plate of copper, fome wretch or other has ftole it to fell. Here lies Jottande Bailly, who tiled in ike year 1514, in the SSth of her age, and the 42^ of her widowhood; who faw, or might have feen before btr death, twt hundred and ninety -five children, all defended from herfelf *. JJle of Notre Dame, or St. Louis. It was under the reign of Charles V. according to fome Authors, that there lived a dog, whofe memory deferved being handed down to poflerity by a monument that is ftill extant over the chim- ney of the great hall of the Caftle de Mont ar- gil. Antiquitcs de Paris, printed in 1561. upon Pans. 139 gis. D'Audiguler fays it was a grey-hound ; a circumftance, which I cannot help calling in queftion, if it be true that the faculty of fmelling in dogs is the primum mobile of their perception. Grey-hounds, it is well known, have no fcentj and therefore if they fawn upon their mafter, or if they wait upon him when he goes to bed, and when he gets out of if, it is nothing more than the power of habit, (which is the cafe of Courtiers) and not the effect of any attachment or affe&ion. In fhort, I hold dogs abfolutely incapable of thofe marks of fondnefs and love, of which I am now going to give the relation. jiubri de Montdidier, travelling alone in the foreft of Bondi, was murdered, and buried at the foot of a tree. Hts dog remained upon the grave feveral days, and would not leave the place, till he was compelled to do fo by hunger. He came at laft to Paris, to the houfe of an intimate friend of the unhappy Au.bri, and by his doleful howlings, feemed to acquaint him of the lofs they had fuftained. After receiving fome victuals, he renewed his noife, went to the door, and turned about to fee if he was followed by any one, came back to his mafler's friend, and pulled him by the coat, as it were to perfuade him to go along with him. This extra- 140 Hifiorical EJJays extraordinary behaviour of the dog, his return- ing without his mafter whom he never quitted, and who all at once difappeared, and perhaps too that diftribution of juftice and of events, which feldom permits any long concealment of atrocious crimes; all thefe put together, oc- cafioned the dog's being followed. As foon as he came to the foot of the tree, he began to howl more violently than ever; and to fcratch up the ground, as if marking out the fpot where they fliould dig : they dug, and found the body of the unhappy Aubri. Some time after, he accidentally fpied the murderer, whom all Hiftorians agree in calling the Chevalier Macaire. He flew at his throat immediately, and it was with much difficulty he was forced to quit his hold. Every time the dog met him, he purfued and attacked him with the fame fury. The dog's inveteracy againft this man alone brgan to be taken no- tice of; and people not only called to mind the aftVclion which he had always fliewn for his mafter, but fcveral inftances of the Che- valier Macairis hatred and envy againft Aubri de Montdldier came alfo to be recollected. Some other circumftances increafed the fufpicion. The King being informed of what had pafled, had the dog fent for, who remained perfectly quiet, upon Paris. 141 quiet, till fuch time as the Chevalier Macairs appeared, when immediately, in the midft of a fcore of other Courtiers, he turned about, barked, and attempted to rufh upcn him. In thofe times, when there were no convincing proofs of guilt, it was ufual to appoint a com- bat between the Accufer and Arcufed. Thefe kinds of combats were called God' 's Judgment^ becaufe people were perfuaded, that heaven would fooner work a miracle than let innocence be overcome. The King being ftruck with fo many corroborating circumftances againft Ma- caire> judged it to be a gage of battle-cafe ; that is to fay, he appointed a duel between the Chevalier and the dog. The Circus was marked out in the Ifle of Notre Dame, which was then a large plain, uncultivated, and un- inhabited. Macaire was armed with a large club; the dog had a c*flc, whither he might retreat upon occafion, and from whence he might renew his attacks. On being loofened, he inftantly runs up to his adverfary, turns round him, evades his blows, threatens him firft on one fide, then on the other, tires him out, and at length darts at him, feizes him by the throat, brings him to the ground, and forces him to acknowledge his crime in the prefence of the King and the whole Court. It 142 Hlftorical EJJays It is not aftonifliing that this dog fhould remain feveral days upon his matter's grave, nor that he fhould manifeft fo much rage at the fight of his aflaflin ; but the greater part of readers will not believe, that a duel was appointed between a man and a dog. For my part, it appears to me, that whoever has lived any time in the world, and is a little acquainted with Hiftory, fhould be as fully convinced of the oddities of the human mind, as of the fidelity of dogs. About the year 968, it was debated, whether inheritance fhould take place in direct line. The Civilians being divided in opinion, the Emperour Otho I. appointed liuo Braves to fight together in his pre fence, to determine this point of right *. The Champion for inheritance getting the better, it was ordered to take place, and that for the future, grand-children fhould be joint heirs to the Eftates of their progenitors with their uncles and aunts, in the fame man- ner as their fathers and mothers would have inherited. The Bifhop of'Paris and the Abbe de St. Dtnis difputed about the Patronage of a Monaftery ** Ptpin the Short, not being able to decide the claims, * Tiray. de jure pritnig. Qu, XL, * Hift. de Paris. upon Paris. 143 claims, which appeared to him very much perplex- ed, referred them lo the Judgment of God by the Crofs. Hereupon the Bilhop and Abbe appoint- ed each of them a man, who being conducted in- to the Palace-Chapel, ftretched ouc his arms in the form of a Crofs ; whilft the people with de- vout atteniion betted by turns for the one and the other. The Bifhop's man grew firfr tired, dropped his arms, and loft him the cauie*. The Ordeal, or Judgment ef Godly cold water > corfifted in caftmg the accufed perfon into a large deep tub of water, with his right hand tied to his left foot, and his left hand to his right foot. If he funk, he was judged innocent j if he fwam, it was a proof that the water, which was previ- oufly confecrated, would not receive him, as being too pure to admit a criminal. The perfon condemned to the Ordeal, or Judg" nitnt of God by fire, was compelled to carry a red-hot iron bar of about 3 pound weight nine and fometimes a dozen paces. This trial was alfo rrade by thrufting the hand into an iron gauntlet red-hot from the furnace, or Ky plunging it Amongft other means employed by the Siamtfe> to difro- ver on whi.h fide juftice is in civil and criminal matters, they particularly ufe certain purgative pills, which they caufe the two parties to fwallow ; and he who keeps them longeft upon hij flomach without voiding, wins his fuit, Biji, dei Pyogti. 144 Hiftorical Effays it into a vefTel full of boiling water, to take out a confecrated ring, which was fufpended in it at a greater or lefs depth. The Patient's hand was afterwards wrapped up with a linnen cloth, upon which the Judge and the Accufer affixed their feals. At the end of three days, the cloth was taken off, and if no mark of the burning appear- ed, he was abfolved and acquitted. The irons and other inftruments which were ufed upon thefe trials, were confecrated and kept in Churches privileged for that purpofe.The profits which therefrom arofe were additional reafons for fupporting this credulity of the lieges. It (hould feem that the precept,7/Wyft0// not tempt the Lord thy God, was entirely forgotten in thofe times. I am forry that the Author of the Spirit of Laws * fhould be perfuaded that our Anceftors had hands like a crocodile's paws. Who dots not perceive, (fays he, fpeaking of thefe triah) that among ft a people trained to arms, a hard and cal- lous fkin could not receive fuch an itnprcjjion front hot iron or boiling water, as to be vifible tbret days after ? And if it did appear, it proved that Jje who underwent the trial was an effeminate fel- low. Effeminate perfons, one might tell him, may be very worthy people. Ourpeafants, adds he, Vol. II. pig, 311. i ^ upon Paris. 145 he, with their callous hands, handle hot iron jujl as they pleafe. Where has he feen this, one may afk him again, and in what Provinces do our Peafants plunge their hands in boiling water, without any mark remaining ? The trial by fire was in ufe amongfl the Pa- gans *. In the Antigone of Sophocles^ the guards offer to prove their innocence by handling hot iron, and walking through flames. Strabo f men- tions fome Prieftefies of Diana, who walked upon burning coals, without receiving any hurt. St. Epiphanius relates, that the Egyptian Priefls tubbed their faces with certain drugs, and after- wards plunged them in boiling caldrons, with- out feeming to feel the leaft pain. Madame de Sevigne, in one of her letters , fays, that (he has juft feen a man in her own chamber, who let fall ten or a dozen drops of burning fealing-wax upon his tongue, which after the operation ap- peared as well as ever. We have feerj in the Provinces a Quack, named Gafpard Toulon^ who rubbed his hands with melted lead. To return to the hiftory of Aubri de Montdi- ditr's dog. It appears to me, that the decifion of a point of law, by the fighting of two Cham- pions ; the lofs of a fuit by one man's growing tired * P. Brumoy. Vol. Ill, p. 403. f Slrat. L, XII. J Vol. V. VOL. I. H 146 Hijlorical E/ays tired and letting his arms drop fooner than an- other ; the acquittal of perfons accufed, be- caufe being tight bound, they fink in water, and ethers being adjudged guilty for not being able to grafp a bar of red-hot iron, without being burnt ; it appears to me, I fay, that fuch fads might abate the reader's incredulity with regard to the duel in queftion, and the more fo, as the fact is confirmed by a monument. I have already obferved that this combat is painted upon one of the chimneys of the great hall of the Caftle de Montargis. Befides, very judicious* Critics, and particularly Julius Scaliger and Father Montfaucon t relate this hiflory, and thefe writers are not apt to recount fabjes. With refpecl to the Authors who fix it in 1371, in the reign of Charles V. I believe they are miftaken. Oliver JelaMarcbe, who wrote about the year 1460, - relates it in his Treatife upon Duels, and fays, that he extracted it from the ancient Chronicles j an expreflion which is never ufed when an event is mentioned to have happened not above a hun- dred years before. I prefume, that this dog was co-temporarv with Philip Augujlus^ or Lewit La Juiverie Jlreet. This flreet is fo called in abhorrence of a people continually expofed to oppreflions, and the Exerc. CC1I. No. VI.' upon Paris. 147 the fport of the avarice of Princes, who banifh- cd them to feize upon their effects, and after- wards permitted them to return upon paying ex- orbitant Sums ; for fuch was the fate of the Jews in France, under the firft, fecond and third Race, til] the year 1394, when they were abfo- lutely and compleatly baniflied by Charles Pf. Whatever propofals they have fince made, even during the moft preffing exigencies of the State, they have never been able to obtain a new tole- ration. The moft opulent of them refided in the ftreets de la Pelleterie, de la Juiverie, de Judas, and de la Teixeranderie j the artifans, litile bro- kers, and falefmen occupied the Halles, and all thofe ftreets which terminate there. Their fchools were in the ftreets St. Bon and de la Tacherie. Their fynagogue was at different times in the ftreet du Pet-au-Diable, or in that de la Juiverie. Philip Augvjlus, after expelling them in 1 183*, permitted theBiftiop of Paris to convert their Sy- nagogue in the ftreet de la Juiveris, into a Church, when it became, and has fince remain- ed, the parochial Church de laMagdcleine. Two fpots of ground which were then ufelcfs, but where the ftreets Galande and Pierre- Sarrazin have been fince built, ferved (hem for burying- grounds. They were not allowed to appear in H 2 public, * Chart, Ep, Parif. Biblioth, Reg. F. 22. 148 Hijhrical EJJays public, xvithout a yellow badge upon their breafls. Philip the Bold obliged them to wear even a horn upon their heads. They were prohibited bathing in the Seine; and when they were hang- ed, it was always between two dogs. In the reign of Philip the Fair, their Community was called Societas Caponum *, and the houfe where they met Domui Societatis Caponum, from whence doubtlefs arofe the word Capon, [a Sharper.] La Juffienne-Jlreet. This flreet was formerly called the ftreet de 1'Egiptienne, on account of a Chapel dedicated to St. Mary the Egyptian, which is at the en- trance of it, towards the ftreet of Montmarte. People by a corruption and abbreviation of the word, have become accuftomed to call it la rue de la JtJJfienne. We laugh at certain ceremonies in the reli- gious devotion of Savages, It is difficult for us to conceive, that the fimplicity or extravagance of the human mind could carry men to fuch lengths. But are thefe rites of Savages more ridiculous than thtife which the fuperftition of our Anceftors gave birth to ? In 1660, the Curate of St. Germain :\ tic 1'Auxerrois cauied fome glazing that had been in Regifl. du Pailcment, 1311. upon Paris. 149 in the Chapel of St. Mary the Egyptian for above 3 Centuries, to be taken down. On this glafs the Saint was painted ftanding on the deck of a boat, with her cloaths tucked up to the knees before the waterman, with thefe words under- neath, How the Saint offered her body to the ivater- manfor her faffage. { fbe Port of St. Landri. The body of Ifaleau de Baviere, wife to Charh$ VI. who died on the 3Oth of September, 1435, was carried to the Church of St. Denis, in a very particular manner. It was embarked at this Key in a fmall boat, and the waterman was oi'dsud to remit it to the Piior of the Abbey. Les Lions-Jlrect, near St. Paul. This ftreet took its name from the buiUing and courts wherein were kept the King's great and fmall lions. * One day, whilft Francis I. amufed himfelf with looking at a combat between his lions, a Lady having let her glove drop, faid to de Lorgeiy If you would have me believe, " that you love me as much as you ("wear you '* do, go and recover my glove." De Lories H 3 went * Brar.tomc Dames Galantes. I jo Hiflorical Effays went down, took up the glove in the midft of thefe furious animals, returned, and threw it in the Lady's face, and notwithftanding all the ad- vances fhe made, and all the arts fhe ufed, would never fee her afterwards. Le s Marmouzets ftreet. " Such of us, fays the Commiflary de la " Marre *, as have feen the beginning of his Majefty's reign, ftill remember that the ftreets " of Paris were fo full of dirt and mire, that " neceflity had introduced the cuftom of always " going ut booted; and as to the infection this " communicated to the air, the Sieur Courtois, " a Phyfician, who lived in the ftreet des Mar- " mouzets, made a fmall experiment, whereby ' a judgment might be formed of the reft. Ho ** had in his hall, towards the ftreet, fome large " andirons with brafs knobs, and he feveral * c times informed the Magiftrates and his friends, " that every morning they were covered with a " pretty thick tincture of verdigrife, which he *' caufed to be cleaned, by way of experiment " the next day; and that from the year 1663, " when the Police for cleanfing the ftreets was c re-eftabliflied, thefe fpots totally difappeared. " He * Traite de la Police, Vol. I. p, 560. upon Paris. 151 '* He drew this confequence from thence, that " the corrupted air which we breathe,occafioned t; impreflions upon the lungs and other entrails, " fo much the more malignant, as thofe parts " are incomparably more delicate than brafs, *< and that this was the immediate caufe of feve- <{ ral diforders." Le Maltboh ftreet, near the Arcade de la Greve. As the young King Philip, whom his father Lewis the Fat had united with him in the Mo- narchy, and caufed to be crowned at Rheims, was patting near St. Gervais, a hog got between his horfe's legs, and threw him down, by which the young Prince had fo unlucky a fall, that he died of his wounds the next day, October 3, 1131. It was prohibited at that time to let fwine go about in the ftreets. Afterwards thofe of the Abbey St. Antoine were allowed that privilege, the Nuns having reprefented that it would be fail- ins; in point of duty to their Patron, not to except his pigs from the general rule. H 4 St. 152 Hiftorical Effays St. Martin-Jlreet. A fpot of ground, that was covered with fand, and that was furrounded with a double rail, with fcaffolds for the King and the Judges of the field, for the Ladies, the Courtiers and the People, was called Champdos. This kind of theatre, which was deflined to be fprinkled with the blood of theNobility,was ufually creeled at the expence of the Accufer ; and fometime^ the Accufed had pride enough to infift upon fharing the cofts. * // it very likily, fays Sauval, that the Lifts or Champdos of St. Martin des Champs, and of the Abbty of St. Germain des Prez^were always ready ; and that thefe remained without Icing renewed, till fvch time as they were no longer fit for being xftd. The Religious of this Priory and Abbey had, doubtlefs, the goodnefs to hire them out ; and there was an obligation due to thefe holy men for providing a place where people might cut one another's throats, at an eafier expence than if a new Champdos had been prepared on purpofe. I fhall quote a paflage from Brant ome, which will lead me to fome reflexions upon judicial combats and duels. I believe they will appear fo natural, that it will feem furprifing they fliould have Vol. II. pag. 581 & 66?. upon Paris. 153 have cfcaped fo many Authors who have treated upon this fubjeft. " At the comhat between my late un- " cle Chataigneraye and Jarnac, fays Bran- " tome*, amongft the grand and fuperb aflembly " which was there met, a great number of Em- " bafiadors was prefent, and amongft others " that of the great Sultan Soliman, who was " much aftonifhed at feeing a French Gentleman <' fight againft a French Gentleman, and more *' fo, at a combat between one favourite of the '* King and another ; the King himfelf fetting " them by the ears, and expofmg them in fuch *' a manner to carnage and bloodfhed. The * { Mahometans do not pradlife this j amongft " them the fole point of honour confifts in icr- <c ving their King well, and in efpoufmg and ** fupporting his quarrels in war. The antient ** Greeks faid thefe combats were only fit for *' Barbarians. The antient Romans were of * e the fame opinion as the Greeks and Turks j " they in no fhape approved of thcfe duels and **' combats, nor did they ever dip in thofe points " of honour, which are peculiar to us Chrif.- tians." The Greeks and Romans, like the Mahome- tans of the prefent time, were drefied in long H 5 veft- * Memoires fur le& Duels, p. 194, 154 Hijiorical Effays veftments, had no arms in their Cities, and never carried any but when going to war, it was fcar- Cely poffible in thofe ages, that a quarrel between two Citizens (hould have a bloody iflue. *The people of Germany had no Cities ; they lived in forefts j their drefs, not to be incommo- dious in hunting, was fhort, and rather confined their ihape ; the dread of wild beafts obliged them to be always armed j and the firft emotion of a man that is fo, when an infult is offered him, is to lay his hand upon his arms : hence, I believe, we may derive the origin of duels, with which other Nations reproach the people of the North, and their defcendants. Let us now fee, how thefe combats were judicially authorized, and why the event was looked upon as a Dtcifeon of God. When the Franks had, with Chvis for their conductor, compleated their eftablifliment in Gaul, they felt the neceffity cf having written laws, to regulate the adminiftration of Juftice, and conftitute a pofitive form of Government. It is only requifite to read Tacitus^ f 10 fee that thofe laws which were called S0//Y, were form- ed upon the ufages and cufioms of the Germans; they were only altered and modified according to the preferit ftate of a nation,which was no longer wandcr- Vide Tacit, de Moribus German. f Ibid. upon Paris. 1 55 wandering, and wherein each Particular began to enjoy the property of the partition fallen to his lot of the conquered lands. The unfortunate cuftom of doing one's felf juftice by force, tranf- mitted, as one may fay, with their blood, from age to age, amongft all the people that came from Germany *, appeared to them as antient and noble as their origin. There were no poffible hopes of perfuading Conquerors to renounce a cuftom, which they looked upon not only as a mark of their independence, but as the right of every freeman. If Numa had no trouble in aboliftiing it amongft the Romans, it fhould be confidered that this fo much boafted Legiflator, who commanded at moft not above two leagues in circumference, in an afylum of flaves, fugi- tives, and thieves, was not required to be more than a tolerable Juftice of Peace. It was eafy to enforce rules upon a fet of villains, whom the hopes of impunity had rendered fellow-country- men, who mutually defpifed and feared one an- other, and each judging of the reft by himfelf, was obliged for his own iecurity, to be cautious of not infringing upon the laws. Our Anceftors were a very different fort of men. Natural equity, candour, and good faith, formed the ba- fis of their character. As they were not ap- H 6 . prehen- * Ibid. C. xxi. if 6 Hiftorical E/ays prehenfive of any bafe defigns, they would have been afhamed to arm themfelves againft force and courage j not being degraded by crimes* they felt, a little too haughtily indeed, that they were men. The Sages whom they ap- pointed to digeft their laws, were therefore obliged to conform to the pr-judices of that brutal honour which predominated ; they en- deavoured only to diminifli its fatal effects, by fubjecting it to formalities. It was faid, that he who thought himfelf injured by another in bis honour or fortune, fhould fummon him be- fore a Judge, and after having reprefented his grievances, he might declare with a loud voice, that he thenceforward looked upon the man prefent as his enemy y and that he would purfue him and attack him wbere-ever he could. If the proofs againft the accufed perfon were fufficient to convift him, the Judge terminated the affair by fining him. It ftiould be obferved, that amongft the Francs, as well as the * Ger- mans, even homicide was expiated by a Sum of Money ; and that under the firft and fecond Race of Kings, and during almoft 300 years of the third, a Nobleman could not be pu- nimed with death but in cafes of high-treaforh or treafon againft the State. la Ttcit. ibid. C. XXt. upon Paris. 157 In default of fufficient evidence for con- vi&ion, an oath was adminiftered. If two neigh' hours, according to the Capitularies of Dagobert, difpute about the boundaries of their poj/ejfions 9 a fod of earth mu/f be cut from the fpot in qucjlion, and be exhibited by the Judges in Court, The two Parties touching it with the points of their /words, mu/i call God to ivitnejs to the jujiice of their claims, and then proceed to fight. Yiftory is to determine on which fide juftice lies. In cafes of a capital nature, the formality of the oath was increased, in order to render it more dreadful to the Parties, by making them fwear by the Relicks of thofe Saints, for whom it was known they had the greateft veneration. .Setting afide the remorfe of a wretch, who has juft perjured himfelf, and the refolution which innocence never fails to infpire, it was natural to confidtr the event of a com- bat authorifed by law, and confecrated by re- ligious ceremonies, as a formal judgment, where- by the Supreme Being manifefted the truth or falfehood of the accufation. The- Vanquifhed was immediately drawn upon a hurdle, in his fhirt, to the gibbet, where he was hung up, whether dead or alive. Legrts, whom the wife of Carrouge accufed of having ravifhed her, ajter his, being thrown on the ground and under his 158 Hiftorical E/ays his enemy, maintained ftil! that he was inno- cent. " He was convi<Sttd notwithftanding by " the iflue of the combat, fays Laboureur * ; " his body was dragged to the gibbet, ac- " cording to the cuftom on like occafions, and " he paid with his honour and blood for the " crime of a wretch, who was afterwards " executed for other mifdeeds, and who ac- knowledged himfelf guilty of this rape. " It is aftonifliing to find a Nobleman fuf- fering an ignominious puniihment, becaufe he was overcome in the trial by duel, when this fame Nobleman, being declared attainted and convicted of the fame crime upon certain and pofitive evidence, would only have been fined. After having duly confidered a cuftom, which appears fo fantaftical, I believe, I have dif- covered its origin amongft the ufages of tbt Germans. A German could not be punifhed with death, unlefs heaven itfelf feemed to pro- nounce his fentence. " Amongft that people, '* the execution of a criminal (fays Tacitus) * ( is not fo much confidered as a punifhment, " which the authority of the Chief has a right " to inflic~r, as an infpiration and an exprefs ** commandment from God, who they imagine " prefides over battles, and fuccours the com- " batants. Book VI, Chap, X. upon Paris. if9 c batants. Velut Deo imperante, quern adej/e " bellantibus credunt *. " Part of the confifcated Eftate of the Van- quifhed devolved to the Lord High-Jufticiary j fo that the Bifhops, Abbes, Priors and Chapters, who were in pcfieflion of Fiefs and Lordfhips, thought the decifion of civil and criminal trials by duel might be very well permitted. Pope Nicholas L f looked upon duelling as a legal combat^ and a confl'itt autborifed by the laws. Peter It Chantre^ who wrote about the year 1 180, fays, J " That fome Churches adjudge and order " duelling, and make the Champions fight in " the Court of the Bifhop or Archdeacon, as " is pra&ifed at Paris ; and that Pope Eugene III. " being confulted upon thefe fights, replied '.' that the ancient cuftom fliould be continued." Lewis VI. declared that the Bondfme /?, or hom- ines de corps of the Church of Paris might bear witnefs againft whomfoever they wouIJ, and that whoever treated them as guilty of per- jury, fliould be obliged to prove his accufation in * De Moribu8 Germ. C. VII. J- In the year 858. J Quaedam Ecclefiae habent monomachias, & judicant monomachiam debere fieri inter rufticos fuosj & faciunt eos pugnare in curia Ecclefix, in atrio Epifcopi vel .Archidiaconi, ficut fit Parifii*. De quo confultus Papa Eugtniut rcfpondit, Utimiai confuetudine vtjirt. Cod. MS. Abb. St. Vift. Parif. 160 Hiftorical E/ays in the way of duel, other wife he mould lofe his caufe, and be obliged under pain of excom- munication, to make reparation for the infult given to the Church. Under the reign of Lewis the Young, the Monks of St. Genevieve offered to prove by duel that the inhabitants of a fmall Village near Paris were Bond/men of their Abbey. In the fame reign, the Monks of St. Germain des Prez, having required a duel to prove * that Stephen de Maci was culpable in imprifoning one of their Bondfnien, the two Champions fought a good while with equal advantage j but at length by the ajjijlance of God (fays the Hiftorian) the Abbey-Cbamphn Jlruck out his Antagonist eye> and obliged him to own him/elf conquered. The Plebeians and Bondfmen fought with cudgels, and had a fhield to parry the blows. In the Auditories of all tRe Lords Spiritual and Temporal, inftead of the Crucifix which is now feen, there were the figures of two Champions armed cap a pie, in the heat of battlj. Ragutau relates that there were two fuch figures in the Audience- Chamber of the Chapter of St. Merri. " 1 am " much miftaken, fays Sauval, f if I have not a feen fome jnyfclf in the two Chambers of " Ra- Hiftoire & Preuves, anno 1154. f Vol. II. p. 480. upon Paris. 161 " Requefls in the Palace, before .they were " painted, gilt, and ornamented, as they are *' at prefent ; and I think, continues he, that " behind the Crucifix of one of thefe Cham- " bers, there remains great part, if not the " entire figure, of .one of thefe Champions." By the regulations of Philip the Fair * it is ordered, That the Lifls fliould be forty paces wide, and eighty in length. That duelling ihould not be allowed, ex- cept there were grounds of fufpicion againft the accufed perfon, and when the proofs were not fufficient. That on the day fixed, the two Combat- ants fhould fet out from their houfes on horfe- back, their vifor raifed, and carrying before them a glave, hatchet, fword, and other proper arms of attack and defence ; that they (hould move flowly on, making at every other ftep the fign of the crofs, or at leaft having in their hand the image of the Saint, to whom they pay the moft devotion, and in whom they have the greateft confidence. That Anno 1306. 1 62 Hijlorical EJJays That being anived in the Lifts *, the Appellant having his hand upon the Crucifix, is to^fwear upon the faith of baptifm, upon his life, foul, and honour, that he believes he has a good and juft quarrel, and that more- over he has neither about him, nor his horfe, oor his arms, any herbs, charms, words, ftones, cxorcifms, compa&s, or incantations, which he inten3s to make ufe of. The Refpondent is to take the fame oaths. That the body of the Vanquifhed, in cafe he is killed, {hall be delivered to the Marfhal of the Field, till fuch time as his Majefty has declared whether he will pardon him, or have juftice executed upon him, by tying him by the httli to a gilbtt. That in cafe the Vanquifhed is alive, he is to have hfs points cut, be di farmed and undrefled ; that all his harn,efs (hall be fcattercd about the field, and he fhall remain lying upon the ground, till fuch time as his Majefty has declared in like manner, whether he will have juftice executed upon him, or whether he will pardon * In Germany a Coffin was placed in the middle of the Lifts. The Accufed and Accufer placed themfelves, one at the head, and the ofer at the foot of this Coffin, where they remained filent for fome moments, and then began the duel. upon Paris. 163 pardon him. As to the reft, his Eftate (hall be confifcated for the King's yfe, after the Conqueror has been previoufly paid his damages and expences. The combat between Cbataignerayt * and de Jarnac * The Challenge of Francis de Vivonne de la Chataigneraye. ' Sire, Having learnt that Guy Chalet was lately at Com- p'ngne, where he faid, " That the perfon who had given out, " that he had bragged of lying with his mother-in-law, was " wicked and malicious : whereupon, Sire, with your good " pleafure and permiflion, I reply, that he has told a wicked " falfehood, and that he will always do fo, as often as he fays " that therein I have advanced a thing which he did not him- " felf fay 5 for he told me federal times, and bragged of it, " that he had lain with his mother-in-law. Francis de Vivonne. See the Additions of the Memoirs of Caflelnau, Vol. II. p. 554. The Challenge of Guy Chabot de Jarnac. " Sire, With your good leave and pleafure, I fay, that Fran, t( cit de fivonne lies, in the imputation which he has caft " upon me, concerning what I fpoke to you of at Compiegne, " and therefore, Sire, I moft humbly intreat that you will " pleafe to order us a field far the utmofl rigour. Guy Cbabct. The 164 Hijlorical Effays Jarnac in the Court of the Caftle of St. Germain- en-Laye, on the loth of July, 1547, was the laft duel that was authorifed. Henry II. was fo affe&ed at the death of Chataigneraye, his favou- rite, that he made a folemn oath to abolifh this kind of duelling. It was proved to Henry IV. by above 7000 Letters of grace expedited at the Chancery, that there had been at leaft 7 or 8000 Gentlemen killed in duels within the fpace of 17 or 18 years. There were but few duels, whilft they were per- mitted, becaufe a man fightirrg by ftealth, would have been difhonoured and .pafled for an aflaffin ; becaufe The Oath of Francis de Vlvonne. " I Francit de Vivontse, fvvear upon God's Holy Evangeliflg, " upon the true Crofs and the Faith of Baptifm, which I hold ? from it, that in a good and juft caufe I am come into this * field to fight Guy Cbabot, who has a bad and unjuft caufe to " defend himfelf againft me; and moreover 1 have not about ' me, nor in my arms, 'any words, charms, or incantations, " whereby I am in hopes of aggrieving my adverfary, or by n which I wifli to be aflifted againft him." Cbabot took the fame 'Oath. The day of th;$ combat, la Cbataigiierayt, who was a true braggadochio,had invited above i joperfons belongingto thecourt to fupper; all the preparations he had made for this fupper in his tent at the end of the Lifts where they fought, were eat and devoured by the fenrants. Mtmoirtt dt Melville, Vol. I. p. 319. upon Paris, 165 becaufe by making a complaint and requiring a du?l, he obtained fatisfa&ion to his honour ; becaufe the Judges acquainted with the quarrel by the complaint made, endeavoured to accom- modate it ; becaufe it was fcarce poflible for him who was in the wrong, not to be intimidated by the oaths he was to take ; and in fine, becaufe it was neceflary either to kill or die, and die dif- honoured. Moreover, the Nobility not being yet fo venal as they are at prefent, a Gentleman had fufficient regard for his own blood, and even for that of his antagonift, to imagine they were each of them anfwerable to their Country, and fhould therefore not fpill it upon a trivial occa- iion. The Edicls of Lewis XIV. againft duelling are very fevere j but the fatal prejudices which have hitherto fubfifted with regard to the Point of Honour, will never be removed, except by fhame and ridicule. I would feleft four different places, in four different quarters of Paris, where a duel fhould be prefented every Sunday, for the diverfion of the public. The fortunate Champion, who killed his antagonift, fhould be recompenfed with a prize in money, and a me- dal. Thofc who were emulous of acquiring glory in thefe combats, fhould the day before repair to a Commiflary appointed to receive an account 1 66 Hiftorical Effays account of their names and qualities ; they {hould then draw lots, and each of thefe Gentlemen having gained an antagonift, they {hould go and fup together, like honeft folks, who were to cut one another's throats the next day, but without any enmity, and only becaufe they were men of fpirit. I would alib abolifh the prefent cuftom of punifliing with death, fuch Gentlemen as quar- relled and fought ; but I would compel them to wear the medal. The idea of being confounded with wretches who expofe their life for money, without being looked upon as more courageous than they, would infenfibly difpofe a perfon the leaft pacifically inclined, not only to view with reluctance, but even with fhame and infamy, the giving or receiving provocation to fight i the more fo, as killing in fome private combats is no certain proof of a man's valour. If it had been the faftiion amongft the Romans, as it is with us, to attempt plunging a fword into each other's body, upon the flighted offence, I main- tain that the combats of Gladiators would have put an end to it. Mr. Duclos aflerts *, That this Point of Honour^ which is fometimes chimerical t may have the advantage of keeping up a certain fen- Jibility of foul y more generous and powerful than fimple duty. I do not underftand very well what is * Memoires dc TAcad, des Infcript. Tom. XV. p. 630. upon Pan's. 167 is that generous fenfebility of foul, over which duty has not an entire dominion; or if I compre- hend its meaning, it muft be, that the foul of a Frenchman is not formed like that of an antient Greek or Roman, nor like that of a Turk or a Perfian ; and that if it was not conftantly em- ployed on the jdea of tilting at the moft trifling perfonal infult, it might become very ignomi- nioufly modified in time of action, when nothing more is required of a Citizen, than to do his duty. If this Comment explains Mr. Duclos's fen- timent, his (entiment is falfe and inconsiderate. The Author of the Elements of Education, printed in 1640, fancies that whifkers may con- tribute to make a man brave. I have a good opinion^ fays he, of a young Gentleman, who is curious about his mujiaches. The time which he takes in combing and adjujling them, is not at all loji time ; the more attention he beftows thii tuay t the more is his heart nourijhed and fupported with manly and heroic ideas. It appears in fadl, that the love and pride of handfome whifkers is the thing that died laft in the brave men of thofe times. The French Mercury relates *, " That " vvhilft the Executioner was cutting off the " Count de Boutevil/e's hair, the Count ftroked " his * Anno 1627, p. 452. Beheaded for duelling. 168 Hijlorhd Efays * c his whifkers, which were large and hand- <c fome, and' the Bifhop of Nantes told him, *' You fhould thin-k no more of this world, my " fon ; What, do you think of it ftill ?" La Parcheminerie-Jlreet. Before the Art of Printing was known in Europe, the Benedi&in, Bernardin, and Char- treux Monks employed themTelves in copying ancient -Authors. We are obliged to them for having preferved to us an infinite number of books. The Chartreux Monks being informed, that Guy, Count de Nevers, intended to prefent them with fome filver veflels, they intimated, that a prefent of parchment would be much more agreeable.- The ufe of paper, fuch as we have at prefent, is not very ancient : nothing but parchment was ufcd in the reign of King John. New-Jlreet of St. Merry. In 1358, Perr'tn Mace, a banker's fervant, aflaflinated John Eatllet^ Treaftirer of the Fi- nances, in this ftrect. The Dauphin, after- wards Charles V. who was Regent of the King- dom *, during the imprisonment of his father King Cboifi Hiftoire du Roi Jtn, upon Pans. , 169 JCing John, ordered Robert de Clermont^ Marfhal of Normandy, to go and feize this villain in the Church of St. Jaques de la Bouchcrie *, where he had taken refuge, and to have him hanged ; which was accordingly performed. John de Meu- lanty Bifhop of Paris, exclaimed againft the im- piety, under pretence that it was violating the Ecclefiaftical privileges, and had the body of this aflaflin taken down from the gibbet, and the fune- ral obfequies performed in this Church of St. Ja- ques de la Boucherie, at which he himfelf aflift- ed^; : this was doing great honour to this gibbetted man. Some days after, Robert de Clermont, was af- fafiinated in an infurreclion, wherein he was main- taining the intereft of his King. John de M<u- lant interdicted his interment in any Church or Church-yard, faying, he had incurred Excommu- nication, by caufing Perrin Mace to be feized in holy ground, and that an Excommunicated perfon ought not to be buried amongfl the Faith- ful. It feems this Prelate had not improved his underftanding by reading the OldTeftament; he would there have feen that the places of refuge [ intended by Mofes, and afterwards eftablifhed by Vide Malingre. J Hiftoire de Paris. Vide Danitl. f Vide Numt. Cb. xxxr, r. 6. VOL. I, I 170 Hiftorical Effays by Jojbua, were not defigned for aflafllns, but for thofe who had committed an involuntary murder j and that God fays, If a man come prt- fumptuoujly upon his neighbour to flay kirn vjitb guilty thou foalt take him from my altar , that he may die *. Lewis^ XII. loved his people too much, and his religion was too enlightened, not to abolifh abfolutely and entirely the right of afy- lum, which feveral Churches and Convents en- joyed ; amongft others St. Jaques de la Bouche- rie, St. Merry, Notre-Dame, THotel-Dieu, the Abbey St. Antoine, the Carmelites of the Place Maubert, and the great Auguftins. A judgment may be formed of the abufe of thefe afylums, by a (ingle inftance. In 1365, William Charpen- tier murdered his wife ; his crime was notorious, and proved by inconteftible evidence ; he even acknowledged the commulion of it himfelf j he was feized at the Hotel-Dieu, whither he had fled for refuge, by the Serjeants who conducted him to prifon; he made his complaint, where- upon the Parliament fined the Serjeants, and or- dered, that the faid William Charpentier fhould be replaced in his afylum f, which was abfolutely done. I do not know what became of him, or \vhether he married again j but it is certain that he was not puniflied. Les Exod, Ch, xxi. ?, 14, f Rcglcment du Parlemcnt, upon Paris. 171 Les Trots Pcrrillom-Jlreet. Diana de Poitiers, wife of Lewis de Brcze y Grand Senefchal of Normandy, whom Henry II. created Duchefs of Valentinois, refided at the Hotel Barbette. In 1561, the Duchefles d'Au- male and de Bouillon, her daughters, fold this Hotel (as being part of their father's inheritance) to different perfons who dcmolifhed it, and be- gan to build in its place, the ftreets de Diane, du Pare Royal, and the new ftreet Barbette. It cannot be afcertained how the ftreet de Diane changed its name to that of dcs trois Pavilions. The maidenhead of Diana, fays a certain Ma- nufacturer of Anecdotes, was a delicious bit> and worthy of being prefented as an offering to the greatejl of Monarch* y nor did our good King Fran- cis refufe it. It is certain that Francis I. grant- ed to Diana of Poitiers the Count de Si. l r al!ier> her father's pardon, after he was condemned to die, in 1523, for having been concerned in the fchemes of the Conftable of Bourbon. With refpeft to the maidenhead^ the Author is mifhken, as fhe had been married 8 years before (March 29th 1514.) to Lewis de Bnze. * Brantomc fixes the time of her birth to the year 1496, Father Anfelme dates it 1499, and I 2 Du- Hift, Cenlo S i<i du P. Jxftlme, Vol A II. p. 207. 172 Hijlorical Effays Duchefne in 1500, fo that (he was at leaft 49 years old, when Henry II. who was then only 18, became fo defperately in love with her; and tho' (he was near 60 years old at the death of this Prince, fhe had always preferved the fame dominion over his heart f : he wore her li- very (wh : ch was black, and white J,) at the Tour- nament wherein he 'was wounded. She had very black hair which curled, a white fkin, beautiful teeth, and finely turned legs and hands, was tall of ftature, and had a mod noble mein. She was never ill. In the coldeft weather ftie wafhed her face with fpring- water, and never ufcd any fort of pomatum. She rofc every morning at 6 o'clock, often took a ride of about a league or two, then returned and went to bed, where {he read till noon. Every man who had any way diftinguiftied himfelf by Letters, might depend upon her protection. The Calvinifts who hated her *, gave out that // ment Marot was amongft the number of her fa- vourite lovers. She told Henry II. who wanted to acknowledge a daughter he had by her, in a f- Brantome. Vie de Henri II. p. 37. J Widows always continued in mourning. Memoirs de Coude. Vol. VI. p. n. Note. $ This Daughter was ft:il living in j6zo, and was called , Macem. de la ULr.tagnt, upon Paris. 175 a haughty manner : I was lorn of a family that entitled me to hare legitimate children by you ; / have been -your mijlrefs, becaufe I loved you ; 1 will not fuffer any Arret to declare me your concu~ line. The Courtiers, who for fo long time had idol- ized her to her face, turned their back upon her, as ufual, fo foon as Henry II. was at the point of death ; and Catherine de Medicis fent her an order to deliver up the jewels of the Crown, and to retire to one of her Caftles. Is the King dead ? faid fhe to the perfon who was charged wuh this commiflion. No, Madam, replied he, but he cannot live till night. IVtll then, fays fhe, 1 have as yet no mafter, and I would have my ene- mies to know, when this Prince Jhall be no more, that I fear them not ; if I am unfortunate enough tofurvlve him for any length of time, my heart will be too much hjl in for row, for me to be fenfible of the chagrin and anxiety which they are defirous of giving me. She died the 26th of April, 1566, aged 66 years, 3 months and 27 days. She ordered by her Will, that her body fhould be expofed to view in the Church des Filles Penitentes *, before it was carried to Anet, where it was buried. 41 Six months before her death, ( fays Bran- 13 tome Vide the IlJuftrious Ladies of Hilar. dtCoft. Vol. I. p. 510. 174 Hijlorical Effays 41 tome*)} I faw her fo handfome, that no heart of adamant could have been infenfible to her *' charms, though fhe had fome time before " broke one of her legs upon the paved ftones *' of Orleans. She had been riding on horfeback, " and kept her feat as dexteroufly and well as " fhe had ever done ; but the horfe flipt and fell *' under her. One might have expected that <( fuch an accident, added to the pain fhe un- *' derwent, would have made fome alteration at " leaft in her amiable face: but this was not * l the cafe ; fhe was as beautiful, graceful, and " handfome in every refpeft, as (he had always " been. What a pity it is, that the earth fhould ** cover fo charming a perfon ! She was gracious, * f beneficent and charitable. - J The people of " France ought to pray to God, that every King's " favourite may be as good and as beneficent as this." She is the only one, I believe, whofe Medal was flruck. " M. Ptirtfc t fays PEtoilt, fent me the Medal of the Duchefs de Valentinois " ftruck in copper ; on one fide is her effigy " with this Infcription, Diana Dux Valentinorum " tlarijjima, and on the reverfe, omnium viftorem Dimei galantd. Tom. II. p. 139, J Vie de Htnri II. p. II. Marth ajth. Anno 1608. upon Paris. 175 ** rid, (I have conquered the Conqueror of all.)" The Abbe de Choift, in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory*, wherein fimilar accounts are not frequently found, aflerts that the Duchefs de Valentinois, priding herfelf uptn her virtue, real or imaginary, caufed this Medal to be ftruck, where fhe is reprefent- ed trampling Love under her feet. This agrees pretty well with the haughtinefs fhe exprefled in oppofing the legitimation of the daughter fhe had by Henry II. but this rs not to be reconciled with that article of her Will, wherein fhe enjoins, that after her death her body may remain fome time in the Church of the Filles Penitentes. M. dt Trudaine has this Medal ftruck in filver in his Ca- binet j it is extremely rare, and he was very will- ing to fhew it me. I believe it was the City of Lyons, where this Duchefs was much beloved, that caufed this Medal to be ftruck, and that the words, 1 have conquered the Conqueror of all, are allegorically f applied to Henry 11. who had an- other Medal ftruck in 1552, where fhe is repre- fented under the figure of Diana, with her breaft naked, a quiver upon her fhoulder, holding in one hand an arrow, and leaning with the other upon her bow, with thefe words infcribed, nomtn ad ajlra. The Henry- Diana, with crefcents, that is to fay, the //'s and D's, which we fee cy- I 4 phered Vol. IX. anno 1559. 176 Hiflorical Effkys phered in the Louvre, are ftill greater monu- ments of the paflion of this Prince. La Poterie-Jlreet. In 1600, the Comedians of Provence ob- tained leave to fettle at Paris j they opened their Theatre at the Hotel d'Argent in this flreet. In 1609, the Judge of Police, on account of fome difturbances which happened at the door of this play-houfe, and at that of the Hotel de Bourgogne, iffued an Ordonnance, the principal articles of which I (hall recite, as they appear to me curious by reafon of the comparifon of times and man- ners. " Upon complaint made by the King's Sol- <c licitor, that the Comedians of the Hotel de * l Bourgogne and the Hotel d'Argent finifli their ** reprefentations at unfeafonable and inconve- nient hours for the winter-time, and that they * { exadl exorbitant Sums from the people, with- *' out permiflion ; it being neceflary to make " fome provifion in this refpecl, and to ftipulate " a moderate tax for the fubjeds, We have pro- <{ hibited, and hereby very exprefsly prohibit ' the faid Comedians, from St. Martin's day " till the 1 5th of February, to perform after <c half an hour part four at the lateft, and to ' this upon Pans. 177 <{ this end they arc enjoined to begin, with fuch " audiences as they may have, at two o'clock in " the afternoon precifely, and end at half paft ct four, and that the door be opened precifely at ' one o'clock. *' The Comedians are forbid taking of the " inhabitants ?id others, a greater Sum than five " fols for the pit, and ten fols for the boxes and " galleries ; and in cafe there fhould be any re- " prefentations, which may require a larger ex- *' pence, we fhall make provifion for the fame " upon their petition." " Paris, fays M. le Prefident Hainault, was *' very different at that time from what it is now; " there were no lamps, there was a great deal of " dirt, very few coaches, and a great number of " thieves." To this it may be added, that a Player might then fupport himfelf better with twenty pence, than he can now with fix livres. In the beginning of the reign of Lewis XIII. the Comedians of the Hotel d'Argent left that quarter, and hired a tennis-court in the old ftreet du Temple ; they were called the troop du Ma- rais. It was upon this new ftage, that two Ac- trefTes (the Demoifelles Marctte Beaupre and Catherine des Urlis) appointed a meeting in order to fight each oth-r fword in hand, which 'hey did in good earneft at the end of the Entertain - I 5 menti 1 78 Hiftorical E/ays ment. Sauvol fays he was that day at the play *. Les Prouvatres-Jlreet -}-. In 1476, Alpbonfo V. King of Portugal, came to Paris to follicit for fuccours againft Ftrdinand King of Arragon, who had difpoflcfled him of Caftille. LewisXL Hiftorians fay, paid him great | honour, and endeavoured to procure all poiTiblc amufemens for him : he lodged at a Grocer's, J, named Laurence Herbclot^ in this ftreet, and was taken to the Courts of Juftice, where he had the pleafure of hearing a very fine caufe plead- |. ed j the next day he went to the Bifhop's Pa- < lace, where a Doctor in Theology was admitted in his prefence, and on the Sunday following, which was December ift, and the eve of his departure, an Univerfity-proceffion was ordered, which pafied under his windows |j. Here is a j| King very honourably lodged, and very finely am u fed. Vol. II. p. 578. f Or les Pretres-flreet. Pnueirt) in old Frencb uified a Prieft. Maiirgrit. Annales de Parii. U See Chronique dc Ltuit XI. upon Paris. 179 The fireet and hill St. Rock. In mentioning the wall * begun in the reign of Charles V. in 1367, and compleated under Charles VI. in 1383, and which fubfifted till 1631, I obferved that the City- walls crofled the ground of the Place des Vicloires, and of the garden of the Palais Royal, and terminated at the gate of St. Honore, fituated where the Sham- bles des Quinze-vingts nowftand. It was on this fide that Charles VII. attacked Paris on the 8th of September, 1429, whilft the Englifli were matters of it. The faid King f came to the fields towards the gate St. Honor e^ upon a fort of bank or mountain which was called the Afarche aux Pour- ceaux^ where he er eel ed fever al cannon: and culvt* rias." Jane the Virginfaid Jhe would ajjault the Ci- ty; /he was not well acquainted with the quantity of water that was in the ditches |]. She fathomed it with a line, and found it very deep ; in doing which $)Jhe was wounded in both (or at leajl one) of her thighs with an arrow. She would not retire^ I 6 not- ' See above, p. ai. + Hiftoirc dc Cbarles WL called that of the Maid of Orleans. J La Bute St. Roch. H This part of the ditches where (he propofed making the at- tack, was where the ftreets des Boucberies, and Travcrterc now ftand. $ Near the ftreet TraTerfieie, towards the ftreet St, Honoie. l8o Hijlorical E/ays notwithftanding, but caufed wood and faggots fa be thrown into the other ditch^ in hopes to gain the wall* y in fine i when night came cn,Jhe wasfent for ftveral times, but (he could not be prevailed upon to retire inany Jhape^ till the Duke d'Alen^on went in fearch of her bimfelf, and brought her tack. Some mills remained upon the hill of St. Roch, fo late as 1670. The new ftreet des Petits Champs terminated at the ftreet of Ste. Anne, and from thence to the Hotel de Vcn- dome, which was demolifhed in 1687. to erect the fquare of that name, there were nothing but a few paltry houfes, difperfed here and there, up- on the ground, where this new ftreet des Petits- Champs was continued, and the ftreets of Gaillon, d'Antin, and Lewis le Grand were built. The market for horfes was held on that fpot which the Hotel d'Antin now occupies. It was at the beginning of this ftreet d'Anin, on the fide towards thenewfireetdes Petits-Champs, behind the garden-walls of the Hotel de Ven.- dome, that the Dukes of Beaufort and Nemours fought a duel, having five feconds on each fide, on the 30th of July, 1652, about feven in the eve- * This fide of the wall or rampart was where now ftandt the little ftreet du Rempart, it erodes the ftreet de Richelieu, in the ftreet St. Honore, om-agamfl the ftreet it. Nicaife, upon Paris. 181 evening. The Duke of Beaufort's feconds were Buri, de Ris t BriUet, and d'Hericourt. The Marquis de Pillars, father to the Marfhal ; the Chevalier de la Chaife, Compan, and d'Uzercbes, were the Duke of Nemours's feconds, who had himfelf loaded the piftols at home, and took them with the fwords to the place of a&ion. Upon their meeting, the Duke of Beaufort faid to him, What a Jbame it is, brother-in-law ! Let us forget what is pa/}, and be good friends : to which Nemours replied, You villain, I muft either kill you, or you kill me. He fired firft, probably as having received the offence, and would after- wards have fallen upon M. de Beaufort, whom he had miffed, fword in hand j but he received three balls in the ftomach from his antagonift's piftol, which killed him on the fpor. D'Heri- court was killed by the Marquis de Villars, and de Rii by d'Uzerches f ; the others were not dangeroufly wounded. The Archbifhop of Paris forbid % prayers being faid for the Duke de Ne- mours in his own Parifh- Church of St. Andre des Arcs, whither his body had been carried. Who was this Archbifhop ? The famous Cardi- nal J- See Memoires de Mantftnfur. J He at length permitted it at the end of a fortnight, Aug. 14, 1653, at the rejueft of the Prince de Coruit. l8a tiifarical Effays nal dt Retz *, who ufually carried a poiniard in bis pocket, inftead of a breviary. Salle-au- Comte-Jlreet. The houfe of Henry de Marie ^ Chancellor of France, who was aflaffinated in 14.18, was fituated near the Fountain. A Procurator of the Chatelet, who purchafed this houfe in 1663, fays Sauvaly found himfelf very badly lodged and ftraitened in it for want of room. It is recorded in the Regifters of the Parlia- ment, that on the gth of Auguft, 1413, Charles VI. in order to proceed according to the ufual forms, and by way of fcrutiny, in the election of a Chancellor, caufed the Dauphin, the Dukes of Berri, Burgundy, Bavaria and Bar, with feveral' Barons, Knights and Counfellors, to enter into the Council-Chamber, who all fwore upon the Evangelifts, and upon the true Crofs, to choofc him whom they fhould judge moft worthy of fill- ing that high Port. Arnaud dt Corbie had eight- een fuffrages : Simon de Nantes^ Prefident of the Parliament, had twenty, and Henry de Marle^ firft Prefident, had forty- four ; fo that (according to the Abbe dt Choifi-\ ) Henry de Marie was pro- claimed .; Vide the Memoirs of Retsa. See the Article of the ftreet St. Atdri Jin Arts. ' t Hift, de CtarJ,t VI. Upon Parts. 183 claimed Chancellor, by a plurality of voices, the vote of the King being only reckoned as one. La Seine-Jlrect. Queen Margaret de Galois, firft wife to Henry IV. on her return to Paris, after an abfence of twenty- five years, caufed a Hotel to be buflt, which had very large gardens, that extended along the river, at the bottom of this ftreet, in i6o6 J j (he died here March 2jth 1615. I have as much efteem as any body for virtue in fe- . males ; but I do not think a woman fhould be pulled to pieces without mercy, like this poor Princefs, becaufe fhe may have had a few lovers, and been fubje& to fome weaknefTes. Setting thefe afide, Queen Margaret was a hearty well-wifher to the glory and tranquillity of the State, and to the beft of hearts united the moft noble, compaf- jfionate and generous foul, much wit and a great deal of beauty. " The true heirefs of the Palais, ** fays Mezeray *, fhe never gave to any one, ' without apologizing for the fmallnefs of the * c gift ; flie was the refuge of Men of Letters, " had always fome of them at her table, and " improved fo much by their converfation, that " fhe fpoke and wrote better than any woman of " her * Hift. de la mere fc du fill. 184 HiJIorical Eflays " her time." She pafled part of the day in bed, furrounded with fome of the prettieft children of the choir, who fung to her. " Being at Tou- " loufe, fays the Prefident Laroche -r, fhe re- " ceived the falutations of the Parliament, in a " very rich white damafk bed, having at the foot " of it little children of the choir, finging " and playing upon the lute." There was no body in Europe that danced fo well as fhe. Don Juan of Auftria *, Governor of the Low- Coun- tries, fet out poft on purpofe from Bruflels, and came to Paris incognito, to fee her dance at a grand ball. Henry IV. had no reafon to complain of her want of complaifance. The following pa flage found in her own Memoirs, on the fubject of one of the King's Miftreflcs. " + Being taken " ill at day-break, as fhe lay in the Chamber des Filles, fhe fent for my Phyfician, and de- " fired him to acquaint the King my hufband * of her fituation ; which he did. We lay in " the fame room, but in different beds, as was " our cuftom. When the Phyfician brought < him this news, he was a good deal embar- " raffed, not knowing what to do j fearing on the f Hift. des Parlemens de France. Vide Braatome. J Memoirej de la Reine Mrgumttt. ._ . .^j upon Paris. 185 c< the one hand that fhe would be di (covered, *' and on the other, that fhe would be badly at- " tended, for he loved her dearly. He at length " refolved to acknowledge the whole affair to " me, and to defire me to go and affift her, " knowing very well, notwithftanding what had " paused, that he fhould find me ready to ferve *' him in every thing that gave him pleafure. " He opens my curtain, and fays to me : My " dear, I have hidden a thing from you, which " I muft now impart to you : I beg you will for- *' give me, and not remember any thing I have " faid to you upon this head j but oblige me fo " far, as to get up prefently, and affift Fo/eufe t " who is very ill. You know how much I love " her. I defire you will oblige me in this. I ct told him that I honoured him too much to be " offended at any thing he faid, that I would go " inftantly, and would behave to her as if fhe was * c my own daughter } he faid that in the mean " time he fhould go a hunting, and take all hia " Courtiers with him, that they might not be " acquainted with the affair. I prefently had " her moved from the Chamber des Filles, and " put her into a room apart, with my Phyfician " and women to attend her, and had her per- tc feclly well taken care of. God was pleafed " that fhe fhould bring forth only a daughter, " and 1 86 Hijlorical Effays " and that too ftill-born. The King my huf- " band coming back from the chace, found me " returned to bed, being fatigued with having " rifen fo early, and with the trouble I had been * at, to get her properly affifted. He defired " me to get up, and go to fee her. I told him ** I had vifited her, when fhe flood in need of " my afiiftance, but that at prefent fhe had no '* farther occafion for it j and that if I went, I " fhould rather difcover than conceal what had ** happened, and (hould be pointed at by all the ** world. He was very angry with me, which ** difpleafed me a good deal, as I can't help ' thinking, that I did not deferve fuch a recom- c pence, for what I had done in the morning." The horrors of the night of St. Bartholomew art well pourtrayed in another paflage of the Memoirs of this Princefs. " When I was faft <* afleep, fays fhe, there comes a man knock- " ing at the door with his hands and feet, ' and crying out, Navarre, Navarre t My " nurfe thinking it was the King my Mafter, " run haftily to the door. It was a Gentleman, " named M. dt Tejan, who had received a < wound in his elbow from a fword, and another 44 in his arm from a halbert, and who was ftill " purfued by four Archers, who all rufhed into my apartment after him. He wanting to " flielter upon Paris. 187 * { (heller himfelf, flung himfelf upon my bed. " I feeling that I was held by thefe ruffians, *' threw myfelf on the floor, and he after me, ' clafping me all the while about the waift. " We both fcreamed out, and were both equally tl frightened. At length, it pleafed God that " M. de Nancai *, Captain of the Guards, came *' in, who finding me in this fituation, though *' he compafllonated my condition, could not " forbear laughing." In the Louvre, in the King's fifter's bed-chamber, even upon the bed, wretches were butchered, whilft they in vain appealed to the faith of oaths and treaties ! Nancai t who pafled for one of the worthieft men at Court, laughs at this fpe&acle ! He laughs in thefe moments of horror, upon a day execrated by all pofterity ! " Having fluffed myfelf, (fays " the Princefs,) for I was all over fprinkled with " blood, and having put on a night-gown, I " went into the apartment of Madame de Lor- '* raine, my fifter. As I was entering the anti- ** chamber, a Gentleman, named Bourfe, ef- " caping from the Archers who purfued him, 4< was run through with a halbert, at the diftance ' of three paces from me. Five or fix days ' after, thofe who had engaged in this affair, " finding they had failed in their principal de- " fign, Caffard de la Cbatrtt. 388 Hijlorical Effays " fign, not having fo great an enmity to the * { Huguenots as to the Princes of the blood, " were extremely difconcerted and chagrined, " that the King my hufband and the Prince dt *' Condi had efcaped j and knowing, that as he " was my hufband, no one would attempt hts " life, they planned another fcheme j they per- " fuaded the Queen my mother, that I ought " to be divorced. Upon a holiday, which we *' had appropriated for commemorating Eafter, " going to her levee, flie made me fwear that I " fliould tell her the truth, and afked me, if the " King my hufband was a man ? faying, if he { were not, there were methods of getting me u divorced. At firft I begged of her to believe, ** that I did not underftand herqueftion: but as " fhe prefled it very clofe, I refolved at laft on " protecting that he wasj having fome fufpicion * that they wanted to feparate us in order to do ** him a bad office." * Henry IV. by whom {he had no children, finding himfelf in peaceable poflefiion of the Crown, propofed to her, for the good of the State, to diflblve their marriage ; to which (he anfwcred in the nobleft, modcfteft and moft dif- interefted manner. So far from infifting upon a number of condition?, which that Prince would hive $ul/f t Merooin. upon Paris. 189 have been obliged to comply with, flie only de- fired that her debts might be paid, and that fhe fhould be infured a reafonable penfion. " The <c abafement of her condition, fays Mezeray *, " was fo heightened, by her goodnefs, and the " other Royal virtues which fhe poflefled, that " fhe never fell into contempt, on account of " this reverfe of her fortune." Her Palace was fold in 1619, four years after her death j and they begun building the Key Malaquais upon part of the ground, which the gardens occupied. Till then the Fauxbourg St. Germain was only like thofe villages, that are compofed of a few flreets,the houfes whereof being feparatedone from another by vineyards, fields and gardens. On going out of the gate de Nefle, fituated where the College des Qiiatre -Nations now ftands, the country immediately prefented itfelf. The ftreets of Tarannes and St. Dominique were called the Cbemin aux Packet ; and the ftreets des Petits- Auguftins, Jacob, de St. Pere, de 1'Univerfite, du Bacq, de Verneuil, de Beaune, and de Bour- bon, did not yet exift j the proof of which may be read with pleafure, in a Comedy of Corneille^ exhibited for the firft time in 1642. D O- * Hift. dc la mere & do fih. $ Formerly the Pre avx Cltnt, 1 90 Hijlorical EJJays D O R A N T E. 1o my eyes Paris appears like a country in Ro- mance. This morning I imagined it an enchant- ed Jjland: when I left /'/, it was a defcrt^ and now -/ find it inhabited. Some new dmpbion, without the aid of mafonry, has transformed its thickets into Juperb Palaces. G E R O N T E. Such metamorphofes are every day to be feen in Paris. All over the field aux Clcrcs, the fame thing is vifible, and there is nothing in the Univerfe that can parallel the fupcrb outfide of the Cardinal-Palace. * An entire City, built with magnificence, feems to fpring mira- culoufly from an old paltry ditch. LE MENTEUR, AdeH. Sc. V. The Paffage of the Seine at the Key Ma- laquais, or des Qitatre-Nations. J A fliort time after the Peace x>f Vervins, Henry JV. as he returned from hunting, in a ( plain drcfs, and attended only by two or three Gentlemen, crofled the River at the Key Mala- quais, The Quarters de RUbtKtu and Mentmarte, % Vide Sauvtl, Vol. II, p. 534. upon Paris. 191 quais, at the fame place where people ilill take water. Finding that the waterman did not know him, he aflced him what folks faid of the Peace. Upon my life, fays the waterman, I don't know what this fine Peace fignifiesj every thing is tax- ed, even to this wretched boat, which I can fcarce live by. But, continued Henry IV. does not the King intend to regulate thofe taxes? The King is a good fort of man enough, replied the ruftic, but he has got a Miftrefs, who muft have fo many fine cloaths, and fo many trinkets^ and it is we that muft pay for allBe it fo, if {he were but true to him ; but they fay {he has got many other lovers btfidcs. Henry If. who was highly diverted with this converfation, fent the next morning for this waterman, and made him repeat before the Duchefs of Beaufort, all that he had faid the day before. The Duchefs flew into a violent paflion, and would have had him hang'd. You are a fool, fays Henry IV. this is a poor devil, whom wretchednefs puts out of humour ; I will not have him pay any more for his boat, and I am fure he will every day fing, Long life to Henry, and long life to Gabriettf. This good King was haughty upon occafion-. He one day aflced Redolpbus IL's Ambaflador, fays Peter Afatbieu, whether that Emperor had any MiftreiTes ? If my Ma/ler keep! any, they are in 192 Hijtorical Eflays in private, replied the Ambaflador. // is very true, fays Henry IV. there are few men, who have great qualities enow not to oblige them to hide their weaknejjes. The fame Hiftorian relates, that he had frequently heard him aver, that it was not pleafure alone that attached him to the Duchefs of Beaufort, ' that fhe was ufeful to " him in reconciling the bickerings of his Court; " that he entrufled her with the informations he " received concerning his Courtiers ; that fhe " foothed him, foftened his temper, and diflipat- " ed his chagrin ; fo that, adds the Hiftorian, " fhe fupported every one, opprefled nobody, " and the majority rejoiced at her grandeur and " fortune." St, Severin-JIreet. In the month of January, 1474, the Phyfi- fictans and Surgeons of Paris reprefented to Lewis XL that * " feveral perfons of condition ** were affli&ed with the ftone, colick, pains " and flitches in the fide j that it would be very *' proper to infpecl the parts where thefe difor- '* ders were engendered ; that the greateft lights * c they could receive, would be from perform- " ing an operation upon a living man, and that " therc- Chroniquc dc Louii XI, p. 213* upon Pans. 193 " therefore they begged a Franc-Archer, who c was condemned to be hanged for a robbery, <c and who was frequently affli&ed with thefs " complaints, fhould be delivered up to them.", Their petition was granted ; and this operation, which, I believe, was the firft that was made for the ftone, was publickly done in St. Seven n Church-yard. After having examined and " made their experiment, adds the Chronicle, " the bowels were replaced in the body of the '* faid Franc- Archer y which was fewed up by the King's command, and fo well drefled, that " in a fortnight's time he was cured, was par- ** doned his crimes without expence, and even ** had money given him." The courfe of events in human life is fome- times very remarkable. It was neceflary that this wretch fbould be condemned to be hanged, in order to be cured of the ftone ; but will it be believed, that if he had fuffered death, his body would have remained a precious depoflt, which the Surgeons would not have dared to have touch- ed ? The diiTcftion of a human body was looked upon as facrilege, fo late as the beginning of the reign of Francis I. and the Emperor Charles V* ordered a confultation of the Theologians of Sa- lamanca, to determine whether, in point of con- VOL. I. K fcience, 1 94 Hijlorical Effays fcience, a body might be difle&ed in order to obtain a knowledge of its ftru&ure. Upon the gate of the Anatomical Amphitheatre of Touloufe, there is the following Infcription : Hie locus eft ubi man gaudet fuccurrere vita. Here death pleafes himfelf with fuccouring life. I {hall not rifle a tranflation of the Infcription which is over the door of the Anatomical Am- phitheatre of Paris. manuquc. I fhould find myfelf between two rocks : I fhould difpleafe either the Faculty of Phyfic, or the Academy of Surgery. Le Ttmfle -fireet. The Templars were fo called becaufe Bald- win 77. King of Jerufalem, gave them a houfe near the Temple of Solomon. Their Order tlid not fubfift above 200 years ; it began in in8, and was abolifhed in 1312. ftilani, and the greateft part of Hiftorians, aver that a Templar, who was Prior of Montfaucon, near Touloufe, and a Florentine, named Nof- jodd, who were their accufers, were two pro- fligates, upon Paris. 195 fligates whom the Grand-Mafter had condemned for herefy, and for the infamous lives they led, to end their days in prifon. Thefe two wretches contrived to inform Enguerand de Marigni^ Superintendent of the Finances, that upon a promife of their liberty, and being fecured a fubfiftence, they would difcover fecrets, where' from the King might derive greater advantages than by the conqueji of a Kingdom. It was upon the depofition of thefe two men, that all the Templars who were found in France, were arrefled upon a day appointed, October i3th 1307. William de Nogaret, fo well known by his outrageous character, and Friar Imbert t a Dominican, Confeflbr to the King, and digni- fied with the title of Inquifitor, took upon themfelves to profecute this affair with all pof- fible activity. Informations were lodged on every fide, and prefently nothing was talked of but chains, dungeons, executioners, and funeral piles *. The very dead were not exempted from this profecution ; their bones were taken up, and burnt, and their afhes given to the wind. Thofe who voluntarily acknowledged themfelves guilty, had their pardon, and even penfions, granted them: the others were de- livered up to the torture. Several who would K 2 not * Vid, Nangii continuat< 196 Hiflorical EJJays not have feared death, terrified by the Apparatus of the torments, agreed to all they were bid to confefs. There was alfo a great number, whofe conftancy could not be fhaken, either by promifes or punifhments. Fifty of the r e were burnt behind the Abbey de St, Antoine, who to a man protefted their innocence in the midft of flames, to their la(t breath. The Grand -Mafter, Jama dc Molai, who had been God-father to one of the King's children ; Guy y Commandant of Aquitaine, fon to Robert 11. and Mabaut d'Auvergne, and brother to the Dauphin of Auvergne, Hugh de Pfrelde, Grand- Prior of France, and another whofe name is loft, after being conducted to Poitiers before the Pope, were brought back to Paris to make a public confeffion of the general corruption of their Order. Thefe were the principal Offi- cers ; and as Philip the Fair was not igno- rant of its being loudly reported, that the im- menfe riches which the Templars had biought from the Eaft, and which he wanted to get pofleflion , o^, was the real cau'e of. the per- fecution they underwent, he hoped that fo much ceremony would impofe upon the people, and calm the minds of thofe who were terrified by fo many /hocking execution. , both in the Capital and the Provinces. They all four mount- ed upon Paris. 197 cd a fcaffbld, which was ereted before the Church of Notre-Dame ; their fentence was read, which mitigated their punifhment to perpetual imprifonment. One of the Legates afterwards made a long fpeech, wherein he expatiated upon all the abominable and impious practices that the Templars had been convi&ed of, (as he faid,) by their own acknowledgment ; and that none of the Auditors might harbour the leaft doubt, he called upon the Grand-Mafter to fpeak and pu- bliclcly renc;v the confeflion he had made at Poi- tiers. !<;, I am going to /peak, faid the unfortu- nate old man, fnaking his chains .and advancing to the edge of the fcaffold ; / have but too long betrayed truth. Deign to hear me^ deign to receive^ O my God ! the oath that I make^ and may it avail ffie when I appear before tbyttibunal. I fwear that all which has jujl been fold of the Templars is falfe j that they have ever been an Order zealous for the faith , charitable, juft, and orthodox ; and that if I have been weak enough to fay otherwife at the follicitation of the Pope and the King, and with a view to fufpend the horrible tortures which were infii fling on me, J repent of it. I fee, added he, that 1 provoke our Executioners, and that the pile is going to be lighted. I fubmit my f elf to all the torments that are preparing for me, and acknowledge^ O my GW, that there are none which K 3 can 198 Hiftorical E/ays can expiate tbt crime I have been guilty of again ft my brethren, the truth, and Religion*, The Legate, highly difconcerted, ordered the Grand- Mafter to be recondu&ed to prifon, as well as the brother of the Dauphin of Awvergne, who had alfo retraced. The fame night they were both burnt alive at a flow fire, on the fpot where the ftatue of Henry IV. is now creeled. Their fredfaftnefs did not fail them : they invoked Jefus- Cbrifty and prayed to him to fupport their cou- rage. The people in confternation melted into tears, threw themfelves upon their aflies, and car- ried them off as precious relicks. The two Com- manders, who had not refolution enough to re- trac~r, were treated with lenity. Mezeray relates f that the Grand-Mafter cited the Pope to ap- pear before the Tribunal of God % , in 40 days, and the King in a year. If it be true, that there was fuch a fummons, it was a prophecy which the event verified. With regard to the two vil- lains who occafioned all thefe proceedings, the firft perifhed in an unlucky affair, and the other, Nojffodeiy was hanged for fome new crimes. The abominable practices which the Templars were accufed of, were that upon their reception into * Hift. dc Paris, Uv. II. f Hift. de France. J Cboiji, Hift. Ecclefiaftique. $ Proctjfui centra 7'tmplariot, per Dufuy. upon Paris. 199 int the Order, they were conduced into a dark room, where they denied Jefus-Cbrifty and fpit thrice upon the Crucifix j that he who was re- ceived, kifled him that admitted him, firft upon the mouth, and after ward sjn fine fpince dor ft 5" in Tirga rlrjl't ; that they adored a wooden head gilt, whicli had a long beard, that was never ex- hibited but at the general Chapters ; that it was recommended to them to be chafte with refpeft to women, but very complaifant towards their brethren, as fion as they were required ; that if it happened that a Templar had a male-child * by any girl, they aflombled, and forming a ring, tofled it from one to another till fuch time as it was dead, pojlea igni torrebant eum, exque tliquala inde pinguedine fimulacrum decoris gratia ungue- Jtant ; that in Languedoc, three Commanders f being put to the torture, had acknowledged they had aflifted at feveral provincial Chapters of the Order ; that at one of thefe Chapters held at Montpellier, in the night-time, according to cuftom, a bead was expofed ; that immediately the devil appeared under the figure of a Cat ; that fo long as they continued adoring this Cat, it fpoke and anfwered to all with great condefcen- iion j that afterwards feveral D;emons appeared K 4 under Robert Gagult, L. VII. p. 12. f Hiftoire Generak de Languedoc, anno 1307. 200 Hijlorical E/ays under the form of women, and that every bro- ther took one. Brother Peter de Boulogne^ Procurator General of the Order, reprefented * in different petitions, that it was not at all probable, that men, efpe- cially fuch as were not actuated by any motives of intereft, fliould renounce the religion in which they were born, to believe in an Idol, and that none who prefented themfelves to be admitted in- to the Order, had been terrified at thefe abomi- nable myfteries, and had revealed them j that the King, by his Letters, had promifed fuch Templars as voluntarily acknowledged themfel- ves guilty, their liberty, their lives, and even penGons; and that thofe who could not be fcdu- ced by promifes, nor terrified by threats, were Given up to the moft excruciating tortures ; that it had been proved that feveral Templars, who fell ill in prifon, had protefted in their laft mo- ments, with the moft (biking marks of repent- ance and fincerity, that the declarations which had been extorted from them, were falfe, and that they had made them only with a view to being releafed from the horrible torments which were inflicted on them ; that the evidences were not confronted with the accufed perfons, and in fine, that none of the Templars who had been arrefted in Dtfcttjic Ttmplar. per Dufiy. upon Paris. 20 r in the other Kingdoms of Chriflendom, had de- pofed any thing fimilar to the abominable pracli- ccs, which had been imputed to them in France, where their deftru&ion had been refolved upon, and prepared for, by all the methods that force and feduc^ion could employ. The Archbimops of Sens, Rheims and Rouen, fo far from paying any attention to thefe remon- ftrances, procured a decifion in the Councils of their Provinces, to the following effecl *, That fuch Templars as retracled from what they had declared when put to the queftion, fhould be treated as reprobates, and as having renounced JeJus-Chrift j and fome days after, agreeable to this barbarous and Angular Jurifprudence, 59 of them were burnt, in the place where the Ho- tel des Moufquetaires noirs now {lands. By the account of the Bifhop of Lodevo f, a cotempo- rary Hiftorian, thefe unfortunate men are repre- fented, whilft devoured by flames, as fixing their eyes upon heaven, to draw from thence that ftrength which had failed them when upon the rack, and praying to God not to permit them to betray truth a fecond time, by accufing themfel- veS and their brethren of crimes which they had not committed. K 5 At * Ex ftcunda -vita CUmtnt't V. p. 37. J- Chronicjue de Montftrt, par Dutbcfnc. Vol. V. 202 Hijlorical EJJays * At the general Council helJ at Vicnne in Dauphiny, compofed of upwards of 300 Arch- bifaops, Biftiops, and Do&ors, of Germany, Italy, England, Spain and France, all (except an Italian Prelate, and the Archbifhops of Sens, Rheims and Rouen) reprefented, that it would be againft natural equity to fupprefs the Order of the Templars, before they had been heard in their own defence, and upon their exceptions againft the evidences, and without having con- fronted them with their accufers, as they had re- quefted in all their petitions. The Pope, afto- niftied at this general cppofition to his intentions, bellowed forth, That if for want of fame forma- lilies, a judicial fentence (via juftitiae) could not be pronounced upon them, the extent of bis Pontifi- cal power Jupplicd them all^ and that he would condemn f them by way of expedient, rather than taufe any uneafinefs to his dear fan the King of France. In effect, in a fecret Confiftory, held fome months after, of the Cardinals and Bifhops, whofe complaifance, (fays Vtrtot^] broug ht them back to his opinion, he broke and annulled the Order of Templars. The purport of the fentence was, that not being able to try them according to the Hiftoire Ecclefiaftique, par flturi. \ CunbUri. Hift. Tempi ariorum, Num. 141. Vide Rafin dtTboira. upon Paris. 203 the forms of Jaw, he condemned them in the mean time by his apoftolical authority. It is certain, that they had given themfelves up to pomp and luxury, to an effeminate and vo- luptuous life; that their bravery, their birth, and the laurels they had acquired in fo many actions, together with their immenfe riches, infpired them with pride and fentiments of independence, which could not fail to give infinite difpleafure to every Sovereign ; that on account of their privileges and pofleffions, they had had very warm difpu- tes * with the greateft part of the Bifhops ; that their continual railleries at the idlenefs and pious frauds of the Monks had drawn upon them dan- gerous enemies ; and that, in fhort, Philip the Fair accufed them of having fent fuccours in money to Boniface VIII. during his mifunder- ftanding with that Pope, and of difcourfing at all times in a feditious manner upon his conduit, and upon that of his two favourites, Engucrrand de Marignl, Superintendent of the Finances, and Stephen Barbette, Provoft of Paris and Matter of the Mint. Marigni was one of thofe men, who call themfelves Minifies of S'ate, and who are only its Tyrants, under the authority of a Matter, whofe natural equity they corrupt by flattering K 6 all * ProceJJui (ontra Twflar, per Dufvy, p. 1 30, 2O4 Hijiorical Ejfays ail his paflions. Not being able to devife any new taxes, he had had recourfe to the moft per- nicious of refources, the lowering and raifing of the value of money. The alterations he made therein, became fo frequent, and were carried to iuch an excefs, that the populace of Paris rofe, pillaged Stephen Barbcttis houfe *, ill-treated the King's Purveyors in the Markets, kept the King himfelf fhut up in the Temple, "\vnere he at that time refided, and prevented any provifions being carried to him for three days. Barbette and Ma- rlgnl accufed the Jews and ths Templars of having excited this commotion. No Prince was 'ever more haughty than Philip the Fair, and his pride rendered his hatred implacable ; befides , he was avaricious, expenfive, always in want of money, and confequently frequently obliged to let himfelf be deluded by the means his Minifters employed to procure it. There was no difficulty to make him adopt a fcheme of revenge, which might bring into his coffers the fpoils of the Jews, and part of the riches that the Templars had brought from the Eaft. A report was pre- fently fpread in Paris, that the Jews had commit- ted an outrage upon a hoft, profaned the facred vtflcls, and crucified children upon Good-Friday, The Hift. de Parifc ^ Sefi DxfirCs Hiftory of the Church ia the 141!} Century. upon Paris. 205 The people who are fond of believing every thing that may excite their rage, did not hefitate cry- ing out, that thefe enemies to theChriftian name (hould be exterminated. The Miniftry caufed them all to be arrefted in one day, the 22d of July, 1306 : their effects were confifcated, and none of them had any thing left him, befides what was juft neceflary to carry him out of the Kingdom *. The year following, all the Tem- plars who were found in France, were arrefted in the like manner j and the terrible Tribunal which was erected againft them, was compofed of Bi- {hops and Monks. The Archbiftiop of Sens, brother to Enguerrand de Marigni, prefided in that at Paris. Clement V. filled St. Peter's chair. Almoft all Hiftorians, amongft others f St. Antonin^ Arch- biftiop of Florence, Villani^ and the writer of Nangis's continuation, fay, that this Pope carried en a Jhameful trade with facred things .... that Livings were public kly fold at his Court ... that going from Lyons to Bourdeaux, he had pillaged in his way all the Monajl tries and Churches . . . that be had fixed the Holy See in France J that he might not be at a dijlancefrom the Ceuntejs * Hift. Ecclcfiaftique, par Flturi. f Ibid. Nangii continual, anno 1305, J See t'illani. 206 Hijloricd Effays daughter to the Count de Foix, whom he was dtf- perately in love with . . . . || that Philip the Fair having offered to get him elefled to the Popedom^ upon 6 conditions > he fwore upon the holy Sacrament to fulfill them all, and that the extinction of the Order of the Templars wat one *. So that, when he learnt this Prince had caufed thefn to be arreft- ed, if he teftiSed furprife and paffion, and if he wrote fevere Letters upon the (object, this was only, according to fome Authors, not to appear having given up the rights of the Holy See. It is certain that it was not long before he was ap- peafed. That dear fan, fays he, in one of his Bulls, talking of Philip the Fair, has not arrejied the Templars through an avaricious motive, (non typo avaritiae,) but through pure zeal for Religion ; he is very far from deftring to appropriate the moft tri- vial part of their effefls, . JPe ourf elves have inter- rogated 72, adds he, who have all conftjfed the abominable crimes which are imputed to their Or- der . . . The Grand-MaJler has alfo made a conffjfion at Cbinortj before our CommiJJaries, the Cardinals Berenger de Fredole, Etienne de Suifi & Lan- dolphus de Brancaccio. The Grand-Mafter, like moft of the Nobility of that time, could neither write nor read. When the depofhion he H Hift. Ecdefiaftiquc, parfttj/f. Fleuri. Ibid. upon Paris, 207 $ he was faid to have made at Chinon, was read to him at Paris, he Teemed greatly aftonifhed, made the fign of the Crofs twice, and faid, If thofe three Cammi/Janes * were of a difftrent pro- fejjion, 1 know what propofal I Jhould make ty them. He was anfwered, that Cardinals did not receive challenges to fight. Well then^ replied he, / pray God, that their bellies may be ripped up t as the Tartars and Sarrazim rip up thofe of lyars and falfe witne/fs. Vtrtot fays, that in order to fix a ftill heavier charge againft the Grand Mafter, and to make him appear more criminal, the Greffer had manifeftly added fome aggravat- ing circumftances to his depofition. This does not juftify the Commiflaries : fhould a Judge fubfcribe to an interrogatory, without having read it ? In confequence of the Pope's Letters and Re- prefentations, the Templars were arrefted in all the States of Chriftendom. There were none, however, condemned to death but in France, and in the County of Provence, which then be- longed to the King of Naples and Sicily. The Council of Vienne, after the general fuppreffion of the Order, had difpofed of their Eftates in fa- vour of the Knights Hofpitallers of St. John of Proeeffut contra Tetxpfar, p. 131, Hift. Ecdcfiaflisue, par Cbttfi. ?o8 Htjlorical Ejjays Jerufalcm * ; but Philip the Fair did not confcnt to this transfer, but upon condition of being prc- vioufly paid 200,000 Livres, for the expence of proceedings. This was an immenfe fum in thofe days : neverthelefs his Succeflbr Lewis Hu- tin thought he had a right to afk 60,000 Livres more, and it was at length agreed, that he fhould have two thirds of the Templars money, their houfehold - furniture, their Church-ornaments, and all the Fruits and Revenues of their Lands, from the I3th October 1307, to the year 1314. Rapin de Thoiras, fays " that Edward II. King " of England, in hopes to avail himfelf of their " effects, held a national Synod in London, " wherein they were condemned ; but that they l were not treated fo rigouroufly as in France, " and that the Government of that Country " was fatisfied with difperfing them amongft " the Monafteries, to do penance, with a mo- " derate penfion arifing from their Revenues." The Abbe dt Choift aflerts, that the Englifh Lords poffeffed themfelvcs of all the Templars effcfb, faying, " that their Anceftors had given thefe Riches to the Templars, and not to the " Hofpitallers, and that as there were no more " Templars, it was equitable that thofe eftec~h Ihould return to their ancient Matters." The The Knights of Malta. $ Regift. du Trcfor. upon Paris. 209 The King of Caftille united their Eftates to his Domain. The King of Portugal gave them to the Order of Chrift, which he infti- tuted, and the King of Arragon appropriated to himfelf 17 Fortrefles, which they poflefled in the Kingdom of Valentia. The Pope * had a good (hare of thefe rich fpoils, particu- larly in the States of Charks II. King of Naples and Sicily, Count of Provence and ,de For- calquier. He divided with this Prince all the money and moveables of thefe unfortunate men. Enpuerrand de Afarigni, whom Father Daniel reprefents as a Minifter of great merit, had pil- laged the Treafury, overwhelmed the people with Taxes, and ruined many individuals by * In the Hiftory of the reign of Pbilif the Fair, the Abbe Velli maintains, that Clement V. did not profit by the fpoils of the Templars, and that Dufuy, who is quoted, is incapable of faying that the Pope had any pecuniary advantage therefrom. Here are Dnpv\'s own words. Thefe Letters iotre ixecuted, and the Templars ivtre condemned to death, which lk'y accordingly Buffered ; tbelr gtodi and chattels wire ccnjtfcateii to the Cvurt dt Prwtncc 's emolument, ivitb ivLsm tie Pope JJjareJ, and fucb things as ivtre intmyveabh^ -were frefcr-ved fir the Ihfpitalltrt, fiift, de la condamnatioti des Tem^licrs. Tom. I. ? 57- The firft Edition of thefe Historical Efiays had appeared five years before the publication of the Hiftory of the Abbe Vtlli. I had therein quoted Dupuy; fo that this was accufing me of a falfc allegation, aio Hiftorical Effiys pnheard-of vexatious profecutions. He was equally void of faith and piety, and was the vaineft and moft infolent of men. He had the audacity to fay, in full Council, to the Count de Fahis y brother to Philip the Fair, // // you that have lied. Upon Afcenfion-eve 1315, before day-break, as was then the cuftom, he was hung upon the gibbet that he hjmfelf had caufed to be erected at Montfaucon fome years before, and in quality of Majler of the houfe- holdy fays Mezeray, be had the honour to be tucked up to the highejl part of it, quite abort all the common thieves. Ten years after, the Count de Valois, whofe illnefs had affected his mind as much as his body, ordered alms to be given to the poor; and thofe who had the diftribution of them, faid from him to every beggar, Pray to God for Mr. de Marigni, and for Mr. de Patois. This Prince's Con- feflbr, fecretly follicited by the Bifhop of Beau- vais, and the Ar,chbifhop of Sens, brothers to Marigniy had alarmed his confcience upon the condemnation of this Minifter, whofe trial, it is true, was not conduced with all the re- quiilte fotmalities. A ftatue of Marigni had been erected upon the flair-cafe of the Palace, near to that of Philip the Fair. It was afterwards taken down. I upon Paris. 211 I had the curiofity to view it in a fmall court of the prifon of the Conciergerie, where it remains without a pedeftal, refting againft the wall. It Teemed to be in a good attitude : it is of a fhort ftature and pretty plump, the face fmiling and agreeahle. The drapery falls below the knees, and there is a fort of hood upon the head, the point of which is not turned up behind, but twifted, and falling uppn the left (boulder : it has an embroidered belt over the coat, with a fword fixed to it. The old Jlreet du Temple. In this ftreet, on the 23^ of November 1407, about half an hour paft feven in the evening, over-againft the houfe, which was then called the Image Notre Dame, and which joins to the Convent of the Hofpitaller Nuns of St. Ger- vais, the Duke of Orleans, only brother to Charlei'VL having with him only two Eque- ries, mounted upon the famt horj"e y a Page *, and three footmen, who walked before to light him, was attacked by eighteen armed men* at the head of whom was a Norman Gentleman, named Raoul d'Ocguetonvilh. This villain cut off * This Page, named Jacob dt Merrc, was killed in endea- vouring to cover hit Matter. 212 Hijlorieal EJJays off his hand, with which he held his mule's bridle, with a flroke of a battle-ax, and with two more ftrokes cleft his head. It is faid, that the next day blood iflued from the body of this Prince, which was taken to the Church of the Blancs-Manteaux, when the Duke of Burgundy *, who was not yet known to be the * There is a fympathy and antipathy between Beings purely material. The blood, it ic faid, being accuftomed to be violently agitated at the fighc of a man one highly detefts, may contraS a fufficiently ftrong antipathy, to be ftill a little agitated, at that man's approach, even though frozen by death. " It i; certain', fays *,T:zcray, (Vol. II. p. 1:7.) that Ricbarl " . Cceur ele Lion, being arrived at Chinon to celebrate the funeral " of his 'father' Henry II. the body of this unhappy father, " deprived of life, and no longer endowed with words to " reproach this -u grateful fen, wiih all the chagrin be had " felt tjpon his account, fpurt^d out blood in large quantities 11 from the nofe and rn'outh againft him, as if he laboured to fay, " Glut thyftlf-with tkti bho<f } tebicb ttt* ftamdft fi mud to tbirjl M. tUTlau relates, that Garciat Meditii, having ftabbed his brother Cofmo, Great Duke of FJoience, their father made Garcia approach the body, when, the wounds inftantly opened and emitted blood. Lib. XXXII. A great quantity of corpufcles flow with agitation frrm the human body, when it endeavours to defend itfelf j theft fix themfelves upon the murderer and his garments j when he approaches the perfon he has killed, they are attracted towards their natural fource; it is their magnet ; they enter into the wounds, and give fufikicnt motion to the blovd, to caufe feme drops to iflue. rtttttmonfi Baguette divinatoirc. The upon Paris. 213 the author of this aflaffination, and who was willing to put on a good face, came to give him holy water. This Lewis I. Duke of Orleans, united to the moft bewitching figure a great fhare of wit. " He was a great debaucher of the " Ladies of the Court, (fays Brantome in his " Dames go/antes,) and of Women of the firft " Quality. One morning there being one in " bed with him, whofe hufband came to wiflt " him good morrow, he hid the Lady's face, " and (hewed him all her body, which he had " the pleafure to fee naked and touch where- " ever he would, but upon condition of not " difcovering her face on pain of death . . . " and the jell was, that the hufband being " the next niht in bed with his wife, he told " her that M. ^'Orleans had '{hewn him one *' of the handfomeft women *he had ever feen ; The Trial or y-udgmtnt cf Gcd by tie Cifftn, has been a long t!rie in praffcice in Germany. When an Afiaflin, notwith- ilrnding information?, fiill remained unknown, the body of the I'crfon afiaflinated \v;s entirely ftript, and placed upon a Coffin ; and all thcile who were fulpe^ed of having any in the aiTaiTmation, were obliged to touch it. If any : .otion, any alteration in the eyes, mouth, hands, feet, or i-.y ether part of the bcdy, was obfcrvcd j if the wound bled, l>e who touched at the tinr.e ot this extraordinary emotion, was looked upon at gniky, Fttman, dtj/irt, dt frod. fanguin:*, 214 Hijlorical E/ays " but as to her face, he did not know what '* to fay of it, as he had always kept it hid." This Lady's name was Mariettt <F Anglritn, and her hulband was Sire de Canni dc Pawnes. * From this little traffic (adds Erantomt] fprung " the brave and vaillant baftard of Orleans, " Count of Dunois, the fupport of France, " and the fcourge of the Englifli. " Moft Hiftorians give us to underftand, that whilft the daughter of a dealer in horfes, who was very gay and pretty, fupplied the Queen's place to Charles VI. at the Hotel of St, Paul, the Duke of Orleans endeavoured to amufe that Princefs at the Hotel Barbette : he was coming to fup with her, when he was aflaf- finated. It was alfo faid, that the Duchefs of Burgundy was not cruel to him, behind the Tapiftry at a Mafquerade ; that he had under- taken to render hiinfelf amiable in her eyes, partly through the hatred he bore her hufband, and that he was fo indifcreet, as to fmg a fong, which he made for this Princefs, before him at fupper, wherein fhe was defcribed by the beauty ef her black hair. The Chronicle adds, that he had a clofet, wherein were hung all the pictures of fuch Ladies, whofe favours he had received ; and that the Duke of Burgundy, knowing that his wife's picture was there amongft others, upon Paris. 215 others, refolved to take his revenge by that infamous and cowardly aflaflination. This Duke of Burgundy was fon to Philip of France, who was taken Prifoner at the Battle of Poitiers, and conduced to London with his father King John. Whilft King John and the King of England were at fupper together, Phi- lip gave the Steward a flap in the face, faying to him, Where haft thou learnt to ferve the King of England before the King of France, when they are at the fame table ? Truly ^ Cou- fin t faid Edward to him, without being angry, you are Philip the Bold. The Courage with which this young Prince had fought at the Battle of Poitiers, being then only 14 years old, entitled him to the furname of the Bold\ but I cannot conceive why the Duke of Bur- gundy his fon was furnamed John without fear, as his heart was inacceifible to remorfes, and he was perpetually agitated by the fear of having attempts made againft his life. After the murder of the Duke of Orleans, he built a Tower at his Hotel of Burgundy *, and in that Tower he had a Chamber without windows, the door of which was very low. He fhut it at night, and opened it in the morning, * The Hotel of the Italian Comedy makes part of it. Vide R'saf.rdtt. 216 Hiftorical EJJays morning, with all the precaution wherewith fear infpires the guilty. He was familiar with none but butchers *. The hangman was one of his Courtiers, who went to his levee, and took him by the hand. The Maflacres which this unworthy Prince cccafioned in Paris, his treachery towards France, and his connections with the Englifh, will render his memory ever execrable. Thibautode-Jlreet. jfgnes du Rockier, a very pretty girl and the only child of a rich tradefman in this ftreet, eighteen years of age, whofe father had left her a handfome fortune, turned Reclufe in the Parifli of St, Oportune, October 5th 1403. Thofe were called Rtclufes, whether maids or widows, who built themfelves a little chamber joining to the wall of fome Church. The ceremony of their Rechfton was performed with great * Vide C<H/f, Hift. Ecclefiaftique. 5 " ^ He was called Captlutbt, and was condemned to death for feveral crimes. Being upon the fcaffold, and perceiving that he who wa$ to cut his throat, was taken ill, he ordered himfelf to be untied, difpofed the block, examined if the fabre was very fliarp, juft as .if he had hitended, fays the Journal, to perform that office upm another ; afterwards he called for mercy upon God, and was brhetded by his own Valet. Journal dt Parit, Auguft zzd. 1418, Upon Paris. 217 great pomp: the Church was hung with tapeftry ; the Bifliop celebrated Mafs pontificaliy, preached, and afterwards went himfelf to feal the door of the little chamber, after having copioufly fprink- Jed it with holy water j there remained nothing but a little window, from whence the pious Soli- tary heard the Offices of the Church, and recei- ved the neceffaries of life. Agnes du Rockier died at the age of ninety-eight years ; {he was born rich, and by vifiting prifoners, and poor people in diftrefs, might have folaced many an unfortunate perfon in the fpace of fourfcore years ; but (he wanted to get to heaven, without once going out of her chamber. Saint Thomas du Louvre-Jlrcct. About the middle of this ftreet, the houfe that is conftrucled of ftones and bricks, which now belongs to M. Artaud, was a century ago the Hotel of Rambouillet, fo celebrated by Ma- demoifelle de Scuderi, and the other Geniufes of that time. The Hotel of Longueville was the Hotel of Chevreufe, the cradle of the p-miotifm and politics of the famous Cardinal de Retz, who had all the great qualities that he wifhed to have, but would not be troubled with thofe of a Bifhop, a Citizen, and an honeft man. ; I. L Tin- 2i8 . Hijlorical E/ays Tire-Boutin, formerly Tire-P -Jlreet. Mary Stuart, wife of Francis II. going through this ftreet, afked its name : it was not decent to pronounce it, fo the laft fyllable was changed, and the alteration has ftill remained. Of all the ftreets allotted for women of pleafure, this ftreet and that of Brifemiche, were the beft furnifhed. In 1387, the Provoft of Paris iflued an Ordonnance, to drive this fort of women from Brifemiche * ftreet, at the requeft of the Curate of St. Merri, on account of" the inde- cency of their refiding fo near a Church and a Chapter. Some Shopkeepers oppofed the exe- cution of this Ordonnance, and undertook to fupport thefe proftitutes in their ancient poflef- fion of this ftreet. The Parliament by an Arret of the 2ift of January, 1 388, admitted the Shop- keepers oppofuion (referving however a definitive fentence) on the firft Monday in Lent, upon frelh allegations of the parties. Some time after, the Curate of St. Merri found means to be reven- ged of one of thefe Shopkeepers, by condemning him to the amende honorable on a Sunday, at the Panfh-Church-door, for having eat meat of a F.iday. Tire~ Or Baillebce. $ Hift. dc P.iii. VP!. II. L. XIV. p. 701. upon Paris. Ztg Tirecbape-Jlreet. On the night of the 20th of January, 1608, five men who carried provifions to the Hallcs, were found frozen to death at the corner of this ftreet. Peter Matthieu relates, that he was pre- fent when Henry IV. faid at his levee, * That hh tuhijkcrs were frozen in bed, by the fide of the Queen. This was his wife. La 'ftxeranderie-jlreet. Paul Scarron lodged, on the fecond floor, at a houfe in this ftreet. He and his wife (after- wards Madame de Maintenon ) had no other apartments than the two front-rooms, divided by the ftair-cafe, a kitchen in the court, and a clo- fet where a footboy lay. Mr. de foltaire fays, that when Scarron married in 1651, he lodged in the ftreet d'Enfer. There are four ftreets which bear this name in Paris ; they are not in. the Parifli of St. Gervais. Scarron had probably moved ; he died aged 59 years, October jft. 1660, and was buried at St. Gervais, the Parifh wherein is this ftreet de la Tixeranderie. His family, who were originally from Piedmont, had for a long time affifted in Parliament, Mr. L 2 dt * Book III, p, 771. 220 Hiflorical E/ays de Voltaire is in the right to fay, That it wai for- tunate for Afiifs a" Aubignyjo marry that man^thotigh impotent, and poffejjed of a very f mall EJiate ; but the expreffion is not juft, when he adds, that he was ill-favoured by nature. Scarron had been well made, and of an agreeable figure in his youth; he became impotent by the effects of a debauch he committed at the age of feven and twenty. La grande & la petite Truanderie- Jlreet. The Ifttle Place of the Puitt-d* Amour (Love's Well) or of r Ariane^ is at the corner of a trian- gle, which is foimed by thefe two ftreets with thai of Mondetour. This Well was fo called from the tragical end of a young girl, who threw herfelf into it, and was drowned, being decei- ved and deferted by her lover. She was called Jlgnes Hellebic, and her father held a pretty con- fidcrable port in Philip Augujlus,\ Court. About three hundred years after, another adventure hap- pened at this Wtll. A young man who was dri- ven defperate by the ciuclty of his miftrcfs, threw himfclf in, but was fo lucky as not to receive a.'iy hurt ; and the fair one had time enough to lc h m down a cord, afluring him, that for the future upon Paris. 221 future flie would abate of her feverity. To de- monftrate his regard for this Well, he was at the expence of rebuilding it. Sauval fays , that in his time there was the following Gothic infcrip- tion, badly engraved, upon the upper ftone of it. L' Amour m'a rfait En * 515 tout-a-fait. Love ccmpleatiy repaired me in * 1525. The Author of the Noflurnal Events aflerts, that a Miffionary, preaching at St. Jaques de 1'Hopital, held forth wkh fuch ftrengtfi and zeal againji the rendezvous which were kept every night at this Well; againji the fongs that were fung there j again/I the lajcivioui dances that were danced there ; againji the oaths that were taken there as at an to love for ever j and againji all that fol- that fathers and mot hers , and devotees , male and female^ repaired thither immediately^ and filled it up. I very much queftion this anecdote, as it is fcarce probable* that Sauval y who was a cotemporary, would not have related it. He only fays, / have feen water drawn from this Wtll, and 1 have feen it dried up j it is at prefent filled up and half dejiroyed. Formerly the Taxes which were levied upon the people, were called Tributs y and by abbre- L 3 viation, Vol. i. P . ,8 4 . 222 Hijlorical EJ/ajs viation, Trtis. From this word Trus, (fays Paf- ji/r,)thatof Truander is derived,which figni- " fies to gormandize and trample upon; be- " caufc thofe who are appointed to levy the Ta- <c xes, are generally ill-natured people, who " have little compaffion for the poor, over whom " they execute the King's orders." It is pro- bable, the name of Truanderie was given to the ftreets, where the Offices of thefe Farmers and Receivers were eftablifhed. La Trcuffe-Vache-Jtreet^. The Cardinal de Lorraine^ returning from the Council of Trent, wanted to make a kind of folemn entry into Paris, accompanied by feveral military people in arms. The Marfhal of Mont- morenci, who was then Governor of this Ca- pital, fent to acquaint him that he would not allow it. The Cardinal returned a haughty an- fwer, and continued his march. Montmorenci met him facing the Charnel-houfe of the Inno- cents, put his efcort to the fword, and his Emi- nence efcaped into the back-fhop of a tradefman in Vol. I. p. 883. f So called from a Sign, a la Vad>t trwffee, the Cow with her tail turn'd up. Vide dcthu, Book XXXVII. upon Paris. 223 in this ftreet, where he remained till night, con- cealed under a maid-fervant's bed. This fame Cardinal being at the head of the Council, in the reign of Francis 11. found him- felfimpoi tuned by a great number of lame Offi- cers, and Officers widows, who follicited at Court fome fmall penfions to enable them to live. He caufed it to be proclaimed by found of trumpet, in order to rid himfelf (for fuch were his words) of tbcfe Beggars*, that all thofe who were come to Fontainebleau to afk for any thing, were to withdraw in 24 hours, upon pain of being hanged on a Gibbet, which he had erected before the Cattle. He died in bed. De Vaugirard-jlreet. f In the reign of Francis 7. the fum total of the rent of all the boufes in Paris amounted to no more than 312,000 Livres. At prefent the bare-footed Carmelites, independent of the vafl extent of ground which their gardens and Con- vent occupy, enjoy near 100,000 Livres, arifing from the rent of houfes, which they have built in this and the adjacent ftreets. They did not begin their fettlement in France tilli6u, when a tradefman, named Nicholas Fivian, gave them L 4 a * Vie de Frartpit dt Guife, p. 65. f Hiftoire dc Paris, L. XIX. Numb. 55. 224 Hijlorical E/Jays a very fmall houfe. It is but doing them juftice to fay, that they do not pride themfelves upon their riches. They ftill continue fending fome of their brotherhood to beg from houfe to houfe. * M. Camus, Bifhop of Bellay, avers, " that " a fingle Order of Mendicants cofts the Chri- " ftian world thirty-four millions of gold, reckon- l< ing only a hundred Livres for the vi&uals and " cloathing of every religious perfon ; fo that '* (fays he) the moft tyrannical Prince does not " exact of his people, for fupporting his luxury " .and his armies, fo much as the Mendicants " draw from them. To want to live without " working, is a continual robbery of the Nation, " and of the real poor." Several celebrated Doctors have maintained, that it is contrary to Religion and good fenfe, to make a profeffion of poverty ; that Jefus-CbriJIj though he chofe to live in a ftate of poverty, did not, however, affect it j that he never afked alms, nor made profeflion of a voluntary po- verty j that he did not teach, that the faithful fhould make a profeflion of begging ; that on the contrary he laid it down as a maxim, that men fhould never afk alms by inclination and choice, but only when they were compelled to it by nc- ceflity. Live L'Apocalypfc de Mtlitt*. upon Paris. 225 Live by the labour of your hands ; employ in this labour, which is ufeful to fociety, the time you apply in endeavouring to obtain legacies and alms ; remember that it is faid in Genefis, that God placed man in the terreftrial Paradife, to drefs it and to keep it : Tutit ergo Dominus Deus h omine W) & pofuit cum in Paradifo voluptatis^ ut operaretur & cujlodlret ilium. Verdelet-Jlreet. The Butcher was formerly a furname of ho- nour, which was given to a General after a vic- tory, in remembrance of the carnage he had made of 30 or 40,000 men. *Jnhn de Man- tigni, firft Prefident of the Parliament, was fur- named the Baker*, in remembrance of the corn, which he brought to Paris during a famine, and which preferved the lives of 25 or 30,000 people. This is one of ihofe afiions, fays Mezeray^ the memory of which I would have per- petuated by Medals. Had this Hiftorian lived in our time, he would have had this fatisfacTion. The inhabitants of Provence caufed a Medal to be ftruck in 1747, to convey to pofterity a mo- L 5 nument * His family gave up the name of Montignl, to adopt fo honourable a furname. He rei'ided at tke coiner of this ftrcet, which joins to that of Platriere. 226 Hijlorical Eflays nument of the obligations they had received from M. Bouret. A Letter -written ly Mejjleurs the Procurators of the Country of Provence, to M. Bouret, Farmer General , May i2tb. 1747. SIR, " We are greatly mortified to fee you depart " from us, without our having given you fome " mark of the deep fenfe we entertain of your favours. Nothing but the feelings of our " hearts can equal the fervices Provence has " received from you j and all that we can do, " will ever fall fhort of what we owe you. We " conceived that the moft fenfible teftimony we c could give you of our fentiments, was to caufe " a golden Medal to be engraved, having on '* one fide the arms of the Province, with this " Infcription, COMITIA PROVINCIJE, and on the reverfe, STEPHANO-MICHAELI BOURET QUOD jussu LUDOVICI XV. REGIS CHRI- STIANISSIMI, ET OPE Jo. BAPT. DE MA- CHAULT GENERALIS ^ERARII MODERATO- RIS, PROVINCIAM MAXIMA REI FRUM1N- TARIJE PENURIA LABORANTEM, PROVIDEN- TISSIME SUSTENTAVIT, HOC CRATI ANIMI MONU- upon Paris. 227 MONUMENTUM PROCURATORES PROVINCIAE DJCANT, CONSECRANT. M. D. CC. XLVII. " The matter has thus been deliberated in one " of our aflemblies, and we have fent our orders " to Paris, for ftriking fuch a Medal. It is un- " fortunate for us, that we cannot prefent it to " you, before your departure. We imagine, " when it is executed, you will be pleafed to " accept of it, as a mark of the gratitude of the " Body of this Province, and of the refpe&ful " attachment with which we are, SIR, Tour mojl bumble and mo ft obedient Servants, The Marquis OF PIERREFEU, JULIEN, THOMASSIN, LA GARDE, MICHEL POMIERS, Confuls and Afleflbrs of Aix, Procurators of the Province. La Verrerie-ftreet. The Ordonnances of Charlemain, St. Lewi's, Charles IV. and Charles P. againft prohibited Games, mention Dice and Backgammon, but do not fpeak of Cards, which is a proof that they were unknown at the time of the publication of thofe Ordonnances. It appears they were invent- L 6 ed 228 ' Hijlorical Effays ed towards the end of the reign of Charles V. as mention is made of them in the Chronicle of little Jeban de Saintre, when he was Page to that Prince. A painter who refided in this ftreet of la Verrerie, named 'Jacquemin Gringonneur y was the Inventor. In an account of Charlet Poufart, Cafhier ( or Superintendent of the Finances) to Charles VL we read ; * " Paid 56 fols, Paris- " money, to Jacqutm'm Gringonneur y painter^ *' for three packs of Cards, gilt and varioufly tc coloured, with feveral devices, to be laid be- " fore the faid Lord our King, for his amufe- " ment. " We play, fays Mr. de Croufaz, to avoid being peftered with the converfation of fools. There are many fools then ! There are alfo many excommunicated people ! The Council of Mentz f, held in 813, feparated from the Communion of the Faithful all Ecclefuftics and Laymen, who played at games of chance. The thirft of gain has rendered us more polite than our Anceftors. They did not play upon their parole. When a perfon had not money to pay at the end of the game, he was obliged to give fecurity for the Sum he owed The Rcgifter of the Chamber of Accounts. (j During the intervals of his fatal iilncft, f Vide COM. A%. Can. 14. upon Paris. 229 owed f. ** In 1368, the Duke of Burgundy (fays Laboureur] " having loft fixty Livres at " Tennis, with the Duke of Bourbon, Mr. " William de Lyon, and Mr. Guy dc la Tri- " mouillcy left them, for want of money, his " belt as a depofit ; which he afterwards gave " in pledge to the Count d 1 Eu for eighty " Livres, which he loft to him at the fame " play. " * In 1676, a Comedy of five Ads of Thomas Corneille, called Le Triomphe des Dames, (which has never been printed) was reprefented upon the Theatre of the Hotel de Guenegaud; and the Ballet of the Game of Piquet was one of the Interludes. The four Knaves firft made their appearance with their halbarts, in order to clear the way. The Kings came fuccef- fively afterwards, giving their hands to the Queens, whofe trains were bore up by four Slaves, the firft of whom reprefented Tennis, the fecond Billiards, the third Dice, the fourth Backgammon. The Kings, Queens, and Knaves, having, by their Dances, formed tierzes and quatorzes; all the black being ranged on one fide, and all the red on the other ; they con- cluded with a Country-Dance, wherein all the fuits were confufedly blended together. f Hift. de Pbilippt dt Boulogne. Tome I. p. 94. * Theatre Franjois. Vol. XI. p. 475, 230 Hiflorlcal Effays I believe this Interlude was not new, and that it was nothing more than a fketch of a grand Ballet, which was performed at the Court of Charles VII. from whence the firft idea of the game of Piquet was taken, as it was certainly not thought of till towards the end of this Prince's reign. How many are there who play every day at this game, with- out being acquainted with the depth of its merit ! A Diflertation, which I take to be Father Daniel's, evinces that it is fymbolical, al- legorical, political, hiftorical, and that it com- prehends very ufeful maxims upon war and go- vernment. As (or Ace) is a Latin word, which fignifies a piece of money, wealthy or riches. The Aces at Piquet have the precedency, even of the Kings, to fignify that money conftitutes the finews of war, and that when the Finances are low, the King's power is weak in propor- tion. Treffle or Trefoil, (Clubs) an herb that grows fpontaneoufly in our meadows, implies that a General fhould never encamp his Army in a place where forage may be fcarce, and whither it will be difficult to convey it. By Piques and Carreaux (Spades and Diamonds) are meant Atfenals of Arms, which fhould always Memoires pour 1'Hift. dei Sciences & des Beaux Arti. Anno 1720. upon Paris. 231 always be well furnifhed. Carreaux (Diamonds) were a fort of ftrong heavy arrows, which were (hot from a crofs-bow, and were fo called on account of their heads being fquare. Hearts reprefent the courage of Chiefs and Soldiers. David, Alexander^ Cafor, and Cbarlemain, are at the head of the four Quadrilles, or fuits of Piquet, to denote that however numerous and brave troops may be, they have occafion for experienced Generals, equally prudent and courageous. When an Army finds itfelf in a difagree- able fituation, difadvantageoufly encamped, and unable to difpute the victory, they muft en- deavour to make the lofs they are to fuftain, as fmall as poflible. This is what is pracljfed at Piquet. If the foundation of our game is bad, if the Aces, the Quintes and Quatorzes are againft us, we muft endeavour, by way of pre- caution, to get the Point, to prevent the Pic and the Repic ; the Kings and the Queens muft be guarded to avoid a Capet. We find upon the four Knaves the names of Ogier, Lancelot, (two Worthies in the time of Cbarlemain) la Hire * and Heftor (of Ga- lard) * Whilft the Englifli were Maftors of Paris and the one half of France, la Hire, it is laid, was fliewn by Ctarla 232 Hijiorical lard) two celebrated Captains in the time of Charles VII. The title of Valet was formerly honourable, and the greateft Lords bore it, till they were created Knights. In this view, the four Knaves (Valets) at Piquet reprefent the Nobility, as the tens, nines, eights and fevens imply the Soldiers. The Anagram of Argine y which is the name of the Queen of Clubs, is Regina : this was Queen Mary d'Anjou, wife to Charles V1L The beautiful Rachae!, Queen of Diamonds, was Agnes Sorel. The Maid of Orleans was reprefented by the chafte and warlike Pallas, the Queen of Spades, and JJabtau de Baviere, by Judith,' the Queen of Hearts. This is not the Judith, who is mentioned in the Old Tefta- ment, but the Emprefs Judith, wife to Lewis le Debonnaire, who was accufed of being a \voman of great intrigue, who occafioned fo many Cbariu Vll. the great preparations that Monarch was making for a magnificent Ballet, and was afked by the King what he thought of them. Faith, Sire, replied la Eire, My opi- nion it, that a gayer method cannot be devifed of lofng a Kingdom. It it faid of the fame la Hire, that juft as he wai going to sttack the enemy, he fell on his knees, folded his hands, and preferred to heaven the following Application : God, I ieftecb tbee to perform tbis day far la Hire, as much at tbou vooitldft v>ijb la Hite to perform for tbee, if be vitrt God, and tbou vjtrt la Hire. He fancied that he had prayed vety devoutly. upon Paris. 333 many troubles in the State, and whofe life there- fore had a good deal of refemblance to that of Jjabeau de Baviere* Charles VII. is eafily known by the name of David t which is given to the King of Spades. David, after having been a long time perfecuted by Saul, his father-in-law, obtained the Crown of Judea j but in the midft of his profperity, he had the mortification to fee his fon Altaian revolt againft him. Ckarlei VII, after having been dif- inherited and outlawed by Charla VI. his father, glorioufly recovered his Kingdom ; but the latter years of his life were much troubled by the reft- lefs fpirit and bad character of his fon (afterwards Lewis XL) who dared to wage war againft him, and was even the caufe of his death. Thus a pack of Cards, by the help of a com- mentary, may become as confequential, as many Greek and Latin Authors. Les Fieilles Etuves-Jlreet. The ufe of hot baths, was formerly as com- mon in France, even amongft the middling fort of people, as it now is, and always has been in Greece and Ada ; they were frequented almoft every day *. St. Rlgobert caufed baths to be con- ftru&ed for the Cannons of his Church, and fur- niflied * Vide Bol'andut. T. I. Januarii. p. 175. 234 Hijlorical Effays n:fhed them with wood to he'at the water. Gre- gory de Tours f mentions fome Nuns, who had quitted their Convent, becaufe fome indecencies had been praclifed in the baths. Pope Adrian /. recommended to the Clergy of every Parifh to go to the bath procelfionaily every Thurfday, and to fing Pfalms as they went along. It feems the guefts who were invited to dine or fup, were at the fame time invited to bathe. " The King and Queen (fays the Chronicle of ** Lewis XI.) gave fome grand Entertainments in '* feveral Hotels belonging to their Servants and " Officers of Paris. A mongft others, there was " one on the loth of September 1467, when " the Queen, accompanied by Madam de Bour- " boa, Mademoifelle Btnne of Savoy, her lifter " and feveral other Ladies, fupped in the Hotel of Matter John Dauvet, firft Prefident in " Parliament, where they were received and " regaled in a very fumptuous manner, and '* four fine baths, richly ornamented, were fitted " up, as it was thought the Queen would bathe " there; but (he did not, as finding herfelf fome- " what indifpofed, and alfo becaufe it was a dan- <l gerous feafon. In one of thefe baths Madam '* de Bourbon and Mademoifelle de Savoje bathed ** themfclves, as did Madam de Alonglat and Per- rette f Greg. fur. Hift. L. X. Cap. x. upon Paris. 235 " rette de Cbdlon (a tradefman's wife of Paris) *' in another apart. The next month, the King " fupped at the Hotel of the Sieur Demi Hejfi- " //, his Matter of the Pantry, where he was " very nobly entertained, and where there were * c three fine baths richly decorated for him, to '* divert himfelf with bathing, which however ** he did not do, as he had taken cold, and the " feafon alfo was dangerous." The Ceremony of the Bath was the moft punctually obferved of any, upon the reception of a Knight. " * When an Efquire comes to " Court to receive the Order of Knighthood, <l he muft be very nobly received by the Officers <{ of the Court. . . . Two Equerries of Honour, properly qualified and well acquainted with " preparing courtly Entertainments and Repafts, *' and deeply read in Chivalry, muft be appoint- " ed to conduct every thing relating to the * c faid Efquire. . .They muft fend for the barber, " and prepare a Bath to be furnifhed with Lin- *' nen both within and without the tub ; and * the beard and hair of the Efquire muft be " drefled and cut round. . . The King (hall or- ** der his Chamberlain to introduce into the " Efquire's Chamber the genteeleft and moft ** fenfible Knights then prefent, that they may *' teach * Gloflairedc Ducangt, Vol. II. p. 357. 236 Hijlorical Effays " teach him the orders and rul?s of Chivalry; " and the Minftrels fhall march before the faid " Knights, Tinging, dancing and fporting, till <c they come to the chamber-door of the faid " Efquire ; and when the Equerries of Honour " hear the Minftrels, they are to undrefs the Ef- c< quire, and put J)im into the bath naked . . . " and the fiift of the Knights is to kneel before ** the tub, and fay to him in a whifper, Sire, *' this bath is a great honour to you ; and then " he is to teach him the rules of Chivalry in " the beft manner he can. Afterwards, he is " to pour fome of the water in the bath upon " his (boulders, which all the Knights are to '* do in like manner, one after the ether." Charles VI. being defirous to create Lewis and Charles d'dnjou Knights, thefe two Princes, fays the Chronicle, appeared at firft as nothing more than fimple Efquires, being drefled only in a long tunic of light brown cloth, without any ornament. They were conducted into the Cham- ber where their baths were prepared for them ; they jumped in j they afterwards received the Knight's habit, made of crimfon filk, trimmed with a light grey fur, the gown trailing, and a mantle made in the form of a facerdotal cloak. After fupper they were conducted to the Church, to pafs the night, according to cuftom, in prayer. The upon Paris. 237 The next morning, the King being drefTed in the royal mantle, entered the Church, preceded by two Efquires who carried two fwords with the hilts upwards, from whence hung two pair of golden fpurs. After Mafs was celebrated by the B;/hop of Auxerre, the two young Princes went upon their knees before the King, who dubbed them, and put on them the belt of Knighthood. The Sieur de Chauvigni fattened on the fpurs, and the B:(hop gave them his bleffing. During the Rtpaft, fays an ancient Ordon- nance, the new Knight is not to eat, nor drink ^ nor Jiir y nsr look about him, any more than a bride on her wedding-day. There was in England an Order of the Knights of the Bath. The new Knight dined with the King the day of his reception. When he retired from table, the head Cook came in, and (hewed him his great knife, threatening to cut his fpurs off with difgrace, if he did not faithfully keep the Oath he had juft taken. La Vivienne-flreet. In the year 1628, as a gardener was digging the earth, in order to root up a tree on the fpot where the Change now ftands, he found nine Cuirafles, which had certainly been made for women, 238 Historical EJays women, as appeared by the emboflments and rounding on each fide of the breaft. Who were thefe Heroines, and what Century did they live in ? This is a difcovery I have not been able to make. I have only found in Mezeray, under the article of the Croifade, preached by St. Bernard^ in the year 1147, * That feveral women did not content themfelves with taking the Crcfs, but that they a If a took up arms to defend it, and compofed fquadrons of females , which rendered credible all that has been f aid of the prowefs of the Amazons. When the French conquered Gaul, they had no other defenfive armour than the fliield. Superiority of numbers may crujh them, but never terrify them y fays Sidonius jfpollinaris. The haughty courage which animated them, remains im- printed on their brow, even after death. . . Their drefi is jhort, and jlr tightens their waifts, he adds; their heads are uncovered when they go to the field of battle^ and the fwiftnefs with which they fall upon tht enemy, feems to equal tbit of the javelin which they dart. They did not ufually wear a helmet and aura's, like the Romans and Gauls whom they had fubdued, until the reign of the Cons of Cloiis. The Lords of certain Fiefs un- der the fecond Race, and all the Knights under the third, wore a breaft- plate of fteel -, upon this Hift. de France, Vol. II. p. 98. upon Paris. 239 this p^ate was the Gobijfin*, over the GoliJ/on the Haubert , or Coat of Mail, and upon the Coat tf Mail the Coat of Arms . I do not know whether all thefe accoutrements were more weighty and incommodious, as Father Daniel avers, than the compleat iron armour, which began to be in ufe in the reign of Philip the Fair, and covered f the whole man with iron, from top * The GobiJTon, or Gair.beffin, was a kind of doublet made of taftety, fluffed with wool, and quilted. It ferved to break the violence of a blow from a lance, which, without piercing the Coat of Mail, might caufe contufions. The Haubtrt, or Coat of Mail, was a jacket made of little iron rings, to which were fattened the greaves, which were made of the fame materials, and covered the legs and thighs. The be.'tr.et fecurrd the head, f*ce, and nape of the neck. The vizor of ihe helmet was a little grate, which might ke lifted in time of a&ion, to admit the air. In Tournaments the fwyrds were four fingers breadth wide, that they might not go through the cavities of this grate. t TheC:at of Arm was made of fine woolen cloth, and fometimes of fold or filver fluff. Hereupon the warriors arrm were emblazoned. It was made in the manner of the upper coat cf the MufquMcers. MH'ue Frarfoife, Vol. I. p. 396. f M. Dtfnyers, Secretary of State, wrote to the Marftial dt Cca:illon in 1638. " The King defires that you will caufe ' to beJiftributed by Meilri. the Intendants, to the French " Cavahy the fuits cf armours which are at ^ontreuil, 240 H'ftorical Effajs top to toe ; but I believe, that by rendering him- felf almoft invulnerable by either of thefe me- thods of arming, a warrior was expofed at the fame time to a cruel death, by the difficulty of rifing when thrown from his horfe. More men died by thefe overthrows, than by the wounds they received from hoflile weapons. " We * c had (fays Philip de Comines> fpeaking of the battle of Fornora,) " a great train of footmen * " and fervants, who all furrounded thofe ar- " med Italians, and killed the greater part of " them. Almoft all thefe footmen were pro- " vided with hatchets, fuch as are ufed for cut- " ting wood, with which they cleft in pieces " the vizors of thefe men in armour, and gave " them many fevere blows upon the head ; for '* it was difficult to kill them, they were fo <c ftrongly fortified, and I did not fee any one " fall but when he was furrounded by three or " four men." What a horrid right of war ! " Alas ! fa} r s Cbarron^ we chufe obfcurity, we hide " and that you will oblige the Cavaliin to wear them upon ' pain of being degraded from their Nobility. You, Sir, and " the Marfhal de la Force, are enjoined to inftruft them of ( < what confequence it is to the State and to their own pre- " fervation, that they don't go into the field every day, in '< nothing but a doublet, againft an enemy that is armed Fanta/mt, who accompanied the armed men. upon Paris. 241 * hide <$urfelves, and are viiible to none but our " enamorata, in the pleafing ad"l of producing " our own likenefsj whereas we deftroy it in " open day- light, to the flourish of trumpets, '* with which the whole atmofphere refounds ! It " is not decent, adds he, to converfe about cer- " tain things, whilft we expatiate with pride " upon a fabre and a pike --- the inftruments of t{ death are marks of Nobility we gild, we " enrich a fword, it is a capital ornament of our cc drefs." A Critic gravely replies, would the Philofopher Cbarron have us publickly expofe and decorate with ribbons and pearls what ought to be concealed ? L'Uniwrfite -Jlreet. This flreet is fo called by reafon of its being upon ground belonging to the Univerfity, and formerly known by the name of the field aux Clercs. In ancient times, the Univerfity was very powerful in the State. As foon as the Members perceived that their privileges began to be infrin- ged upon, they {hut up their fchools. The Preachers becoming hoarfe all of a fudden, gave no more fermons, and the Phyficians aban- doned their Patients, The people complained VOL, I, M and 242 Hijlorical Effays and remonftrated ; the Court was obliged to yield, and fatisfy the Univerfity. Zacbarie-Jlreef. It is but a fhort time fince there was to be feen a {tone, about 2 feet fquare, over the door of the houfe which joins the corner of this ftreet to that of St. Severin, whereupon was engraven a variety of figures; the principal of which were that of a man thrown from his horfe, and of an- " other whom a Lady crowned with a garland of rofes *. Over this (lone there was the following infcription : To the valliant Clari^ and underneath, In defpite of envy. This was a monument which the fifter of William Fouquet, who was Equerry to Queen Jfabeau of Bavaria, had the boldnefs to eredl on her houfe, to commemorate the glory of her kinfman, the Sire de Clary, at a time when the Court, highly difpleafed at the com- bat between this brave man and Courtenay, pro- fecuted him with a violence that tended to make him lofe his life upon a fcaffold. Peter Courts' nay t an Englim Knight and the favourite of his M after, had come to Paris, to fet at defiance with the lance and fword, Guy de la TrimouiHe, the This was the price which tbtfcrvant of Lave rtceivtJfrom bit very honoured Lady, %ubofe -wbitt bands placed it vfcn bis bead. upon Paris, 243 the King's Standard-Bearer ; folely becaufe la Trimouille pafled for one of the braveft and molt fkilful men in France. After they had broken feveral lances againft one another, in prefence of the whole Court, the King would not allow them to fight with the (word, as there was nothing more than an emulation of glory between them, and no ground of quarrel had excited them to take up arms. Courtenay, upon his return, waited upon the Countefs de St. Pol, the King of England's lifter, and repeated to her feveral times, that no Frenchman had dared to make a trial with him. " The Sire de Clary ^ (fays the Chronicle of St. Deni?,) " thought he was in ho- " nour bound to pick a quarrel with this Brag- " gadochio, for the injury he did his Nation, 44 and propofed to him, even * with the confent 44 of the Countefs, to meet the next day in the 44 Champclos, where he behaved fo valliantly, 44 that he forced him to quit the field covered all 44 over with bruifes. Every body (adds the Chronicle) " looks upon this action as worthy 44 of a perfect Knight, and it is agreed that he 44 juftly chaftifcd the pride of this Englilhman. * 4 But the judgments of Courts do not always 44 coincide with perfonal merit, and private inte- 44 reft frequently decides in a very different man- M 2 " ner * Vide Le Lafaunur, Book V, p. 3. 244 Hifiorical Eff&ys " ner from the voice of the public. The Duke * l of Burgundy, who envied the Sire de Clary the " glory he had wrtfted from la Trimouille, his ** favourite, changed the face of the afFair. He " faid it was an unpardonable crime in a private " perfon, to have dared to enter the Lifts with- " out the King's permiflion, and profecuted him " fo rigouroufly, that this brave Knight was for " a long time in great perplexity. I have feen " him feeking for fhelter on every fide, fear- ' ful left what he had undertaken only for the " g^ or y f ^6 State, fhould be expiated by his *' blood, as if he had betrayed his Country." It is very extraordinary, that the men of thofc times, who took fo many precautions againft death, by wrapping themfdves up in iron from head to foot, fhould range the world to pick quarrels, and fight without caufe, in the manner of la TrimouUle and Courtenay. It appears that the Form of the Challenges of ancient Chivalry ftill fubfifted in the time of Henry IV. The famous Earl of E/ex, who commanded the Troops that Queen Elizabeth lent to this Prince in isgr, wrote to Admiral Andrew de Villart Brancas \ " If you will ycur- felf fight either on horfeback or on foot, I *' will maintain that the King's quarrel is more * juft than that of the League * ; that I am a Chron. nov. , better upon Paris. 245 " better man than you, and that my Miflrefs is '* handfomer than yours j that if you refufe to '* fight fingly, I will bring twenty with me, ' the worft of whom {hall be a party worthy " of a Colonel, or fixty, the lowed of whofe " rank (hall be that of Captain." The Ad- miral anfwered j " As to the conclufion of your " Letter, whereby you would maintain, that *' you are a better man than me, I tell you '* that you have lied, and will lie every time " you endeavour to maintain it j and you will alfo lie, when you pretend that the quarrel I ** efpoufe for the defence of my Religion, is not * { better than that of thofe who endeavour to " defiroy it ; and as to the comparifon between " your Miftrefs and mine, I am inclined to be- *' lieve you do not adhere more to truth in this <c article, than in the two others : however, " this is not an object that afFecls me much at ** prefcnt." This Challenge had no confe- quences. According to the ancient Chivalry, a Lady was chofen, to whom, as to the fupreme Being, a Knight difclofed all his fentiments, thoughts, and actions. I am aftonifhed, that no Author has taken notice of the origin of this galant devotion, in the manners of the Germans our anceftors : M 3 They 246 Hijlorical E/ays " They believe (fays Tacitus *) there is fome- " thing divine in woman." The Church of Notre-Dame. The Chriftians did not begin to have public Temples till about the year 230. The firft Church in Paris was built in the reign of the Emperor Valtntiman I. about the year 375. It was called St. Stephen's, and there was no other within the City in 522, when Childebert, fon to C/oris, liberally contributed to its reparation. At this period it was furnifhed with windows of glaf?, enlarged, and improved with a new Bafili- que, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was partly upon the foundations of thefe two Churches, by giving a greater extent to the Cathedral which we now fee, that the building of this Church was begun about the year 1160, in the reign of Lewis the Young. It fhould feem the Paftors of thofe times had a Jefs ardent zeal in their undertakings, or were much Jefs fucccfs- ful than their brethren of our days. It was not compleated before the expiration of two hun- dred years. It was cuftomary on Whitfunday, to throw firebrands through the openings of the arched roof * C. VI If. upon Paris. 247 roof, and to let loofe fomc pigeons, which flew upon the afliftants whilft Ma r s was faying. Upon the death of the Bifhop and Cannon, their bed devolved to the Hotel-Dieu. When luxury and effeminacy had introduced beds more rich and commodious, there frequently arofe dif- putes between the Bifhop's creditors and the Hofpital, concerning the curtains, the counter- pane, and the number of matrafTes. The Par- liament in 1654 fet afide the claims of the creditors of Francis de Condi, Archbifhop. of Paris, and adjudged his bed, with all its appurte- nance?, to the Hotel- Dieu. This was the nup- tial bed of a Steward's daughter. In digging underneath the Choir, in the month of March, 1711, there were found, at the depth of 15 feet *, nine flones, the Bas-reliefs and Infections of which could not fail making a great noife arrongft the Antiquarians of Europe. I have read all the explanations and conjectures, which they have rifqued upon thefe monu- ments ; and what feemed to me the moft pro- bable, was, that under the reign of Tiberius, a company of Traders by water (nautts Parifiacl] had caufed an Altar to be erected on this fpot, M 4 (which * One may judge how much the level of ancient Paris has been raifed. There were 13 fleps to go up to this Church-door, \v hereas one muft flow dcfcend to go into ic. 248 Hijlorical Effays (which was then probably the Port of Paris,) fully expofed * to Efus, Jupiter, Vulcan, Caftcr and Pollux. Piganiol, after having obferved, that it was eafy to diftinguifh amongft thefe ftoncs the particular one which ferved as a hearth to this Altar, because the bolt in the middle of it was filled with coals and incenj'e at the time of the difcovery, adds, There is but little likelihood that the ftot where thefe Jlonei were found, was the place of their frft fituation ; // is more natural to believe, that this Altar confecrated to Jupiter, having been taken down by the Chriflians, its ruins were fcattered abroad, and abandoned to thoje who were willing to become poffeffid of them. This narration is truly worthy of this writer. If the Altar in queftion was fituated any where elfe, if the ftones which compofed it, were fcattered different ways, would not the incenft and coah have been turned upfide down,^ and diffipated likewife ? Would they have been found in the middle of this (lone, whofe center was bored to make It a hearth ? It is the Equeftrian Statue of Philip de Valois, and not of Philip the Fair, which is upon the right hand * I fey fully txpofed, becaufe the Gauls, when they were fubjefted to the Romans, and firft began to have Templei, built very few of them in their Cities. It is certain there were nene in Paris. Defcript. de Paris, Tom. I. p. 3*9. upon Paris. 249 hand in going in, againft the next pillar to the Choir. This Prince, when he came to Paris, after the battle of CafTe), repaired to Notre-Dame, which he entered compleatly armed, and left behind him his horfe and arms, after having thanked God and the Virgin Mary for the victory he had gained. The St. CbriJIopher is a vow of Anthony des EJJarts. He had been arrefted with his brother Peter des Efarts, Superintendent of the Finances, who was beheaded in 1413. He dreamt one night that St. Chrijlopker broke the grates of his prifon-window, and carried him away in his arms. Being pronounced in- nocent fome days after, he ordered this Colof- fal Statue to be cut, before which he is re- prefented kneeling. Lewis XIII. a/ked the Pope to erect the Epifcopal See of Paris into an Archbifhopric, which he obtained in 1622. Gregory XI. who had the fame requeft made him by Charles f. in 1376, replied to that Prince, 'That he was prevented from doing Jo y by the Church of Paris being fo very poorly endowed *. I imagine this would not have been an obftacle in the time of the Apoftles. M 5 Lewis * Vide Duclxjntt Kift. des Cardinaux Franois . 250 Hijlorical E/ays Lewis XIV. in the month of April, 1674, erecled the Lands and Lordfhips of St. Cloud, Maifons, Creteil, Ozoir-la-Ferriere, and Ar- mentieres, into a Duchy, in favour of Francis de Harlay, Archbifhop of Paris, and his Suc- ceflbrs. They take their feat in Parliament amongft the temporal Peers, immediately after the Dukes of Bethune-Charofr. The odhgon bafon in the Thuillerie-gar- dens, it is faid, is as wide as the Towers of Notre-Dame are high. The Palais. The Palais, or Palace, has been the ufual place of refidence of all our Kings of the third Race, from the time of Hugh Capet till that of Charles V. * It was a collection of large Toweis, which had a gallery of communica- tion, that commanded a profpect over Iffi, Meudon, and St. Cloud. The garden belonging to it, which was called the King's garden, oc- cupied all the ground whereupon are creeled the ntw Court and that of Lamotgnon, and all thofe brick houfes which furrounded them, and which are eafily diftinguifhed from the ancient build- He preferred living at the Hotel of St, Paul, which he had built, upon Paris. 251 buildings. This garden which covered the fpace, where Harlay-ftreet now ftands, was feparated, by a branch of the river, from two fmall Iflands, that were united to each other and to the City, and whereupon the Place Dau- fbine began to be built in 1608. In the month of March, 1599* the Par- liament caufed the mounting-block of ftone to be erected in the Court du May, that the aged Prefidents and Councilors might with greater facility mount their horfcs or mules, in going out of Court. A Counfellor in thofe days oftered his horfe's crupper to a Brother Bencher, juft as he would now offer him a place in his coach. He ajked me, are you on horfcback ? h there none of your Company here? I anfwered I am on foot all alone, and yet he did not offer me bis crupper. REGNIER, Sat. VII. We fhould think it very fmgular now-a- days, were we to fee two Magiftrates, in their robes and bands, mounted upon the fame horfe, like the Jons of Aimon. Gui Loifel every Saturday night accompanied his father on foot to his Ciunt'y-bouje, near Villtjuie, his father M 6 riding 252 Hijloricd EJJays riding all the way on bis mule. This was not oftentatious ; but we have at the fame time a very noble proof of the courageous refolu- tion which reigned in the deliberations, when the defence of the rights of the blood of our Sovereigns came upon the carpet. Let us image to ourfelves Paris given up to Fanaticifm, to Monks and Seizes, who breathed nothing bu-t maflacres and frefh affaflinations ; let us view the Parliament without fuccours or defence, furrounded with thefc blood-thirfty men : The Senate braves their fury, nothing intimidates it ... the Arret of the a8th of June 1593 (^ or tnc obfervation of the Salique Law) is ifiued, which faved the State, and reftored us to our lawful Princes and to the beft of Kings. There is no Hiftory of any people whatever, that can inftance an acYton which evinces a higher and more unlimitted devotion to the Natic-n, and to the Laws of jufticc and honour. The Palais des Tertnes. Dioclt/ian's Baths at Rome were not en- tirely finifhed till the year 306, and this Pa- lais was built upon the model of thofe Baths. It is aftonifhing, then, how any one can main- tain that is was confiderably more ancient than the u[on Paris. 253 the Emperor Julian, who commanded in Gaul in 357. Befides, in building this Palace, it was neceflary to confider how water could be brought thither; and not only fo, but in 1544. the remains of an aqueduct, which ferved to convey that of Arcueil, were actually dif- covered * j fo that it may be prefumed, this aqueduct, and consequently the Palace itfelf, were not yet compleated in the time of Ju- Han, in as much as he fays in his Mifopo- gon, The Parifians inhabit an IJland, and have no other water than that of the Seine, My opinion is, that this Prince, at his leaving Paris, gave orders to build this Palace, that he might leave a monument of his magnificence near a City, which he cheriflied, and where he had been proclaimed Emperor. // appears from the account of Ammianus Marcellinus, Libanius, and Zozimus, that the Soldiers who proclaimed him, went out of their Camp in the evening, and repaired in a body to the Place which wai before the Palace of hi: refidence, where they pajftd the night. This Pa- lace, it is faid, ivas Certainly that of the Termes, without the City, as a Place fpacious enough to * See Cerrsxet, 254 Hijiorical Effays to contain fucb a number of people as could not be within it. To this reafoning I reply, That it feems to me very eafy to imagine that this Place was there, and on the fame fpot too, where Charles Vll. a thoufand years after convened the inhabitants of Paris. " The " King (fays the Chronicle of St. Denis) re- " folved to reftore tranquillity by a convoca- " tioh of the Pariilans in the Palace-Court f : " a fcaffbfd was erected upon the ftairs, which " this Prince mounted together with his Uncles 4< and the great Officers of the Crown; the '* Chancellor fpoke to the people. " " How was it poflible (it is added) to F.nd c lodgings in the City for fuch a crowd of " CoUrtiers, as accompanied Julian? He had " with him the Prefect of the Gauls, the <* Mafter of Arms, the Count of the Do- mefticsj the Mafter of the Libels, the Mafter " of the Offices, the Prefed of the Chamber, 44 the Grand Equerry, a Queftor, Notaries, " Tri- The number of thefe Soldiers could not exceed 9 or jo,ooo, as they only compofed part of the Army of Julian, when he afterwards marched apinft Ctmftantiiu. This Army, according to Aw.mianut, Marccllinus and Zosiimus, (L. XXI. L. III.) confiftcd of only 20,000 men. f- The Palace-Court was not then furrounded with walls, nor iHCumbered with hcults and Aopt, as at prefent j befides, the adjacent ftieets did not terminate fo near, upon Parts. 255 " Tribunes, Chamberlains, Decurions of the '* Palace, and others. " This enumeration of Adrian de Valois^ which is more pedantic than judicious, I fhall anfwer by a feet. The Emperor Charles IV. and his fon Venceflas, who had been elected King of the Romans, paid a vifit to our King Charles V. in 1378; and our King Charles V. the Emperor, and the King of the Romans, were all three accom- modated at the Palace. The Author of the Journal of the Reigns of Charles VI. and Charles VII. relates *, that on Monday ; June lift 1428. the Regent of France (the Duke of Bedfort) gave at the Palace in Paris one of the mojl fumptuous feajls that had ever been feen ; that all perfons, of -what condition foever, were admitted to dinner ; that the Regent, his wife, and all the Knighthood, were ferved in their refpeftive places, and with fuch removes as were fuitable ; fr/l the Clergy, as Bijhops, Prelates, Abbes, 'Priors, and Dolors in all Sciences ; afterwards the Parliament, the Provoft of Paris, the Chatelet, the Provojl of the Merchants, the Sheriffs and EurgeJJes j and then the common people of all flations. The whole amounted to above 8coo guejls feattd at table. Farther, * Page 116. 256 Hiftorical Effays Farther, let us examine this City a little, which is reprefented as fo inconfiderable, and which in the time of Julian had neither Tem- ples to falfe Gods, nor Churches, Convents, nor Hofpitals; and we fhall find an Archbi- fliopric, the Cathedral, the Cloifter of the Can- nons of Notre-Dame, a Square, a Market- place, the Hotel- Dieu, a Foundling- Hofpital, two Convents of Monks, twelve Parifh-Churches, fix and forty ftreets, and the Palais with all its dependencies. I (hall difmifs this article with obferving that there was from the earlieft times a Palace in the City, where Cetfar, and the Proconfuls who fucceeded him in Gaul, refided ; that Julian occupied it, when he was proclaimed Emperor ; that feveral of our Kings of the firft and fecond Race have lived there, and that it was the ufual lodging of Hugh Capet, and all his SuccefTors, till the time of Charles VII* who ceded it entirely to the Parliament. With refpecl to the Palais des Termes, it was begun to be built towards the year 361, about 120 years before the time of Clovit. This Prince, Childebert his fon, and feme other Kings of the firft Race, preferred it for their rtfidence to the Cit) -Palace. The Normans dtftroyed it in part j and towards the end of the fecond Race, upon Paris. 257 Race, the garden and fuch of the apartments as were inhabited, ferved only as retreats for the pleafures of certain gay females who could not receive their Lovers at home. Tie Louvre *. It was faid of Verfailles, when Lewis XIV. began to build there, that it was a favourite "without merit. It may be faid of the Louvre, that notwithftanding the merit of its fituation, it has fcarce ever been in favour. Dagobert kept there his dogs, hunting-horfes, and huntfmen. Indolent Kings reTorted thither pretty frequently ; but it was only after dinner, by way of digeftive, taking an airing or fo in their coach in the foreft f, which covered all that fide of the river: they returned in the evening in a boat, angling as they moved along, to fup at Paris, and lie with their wives. This royal houfe is not mentioned under the fecond Race of Kings, nor even under the third till the reign of Philip Augujius^ who converted it into a kind of Citadel, furrounded with wide ditches, and flanked * Derived from the old Saxon word Louvear, which fignified a Cattle. f Part of this foreft flill fubfifted in the time of St. Lewis, for Hiftorians fay that he built the Hofpital of the Quinie- Vingts (in Inn) in a wood. 258 Hijtorical EJJays flanked with Towers. That which was called the large Tower of the Louvre, (pulled down by Francis I. in 1528.) was built by itfelf in the Center of the Court, and indeed of the whole Edifice, the apartments of which it ren- dered flill more dark and difmal. It fliould feem, this Prince affected to fhut out all light by the melancholy gloom he wanted to reign here, that this Tower, the dungeon of Sove- reignty, by which all the great Feudataries of the Crown held their fiefs, might proclaim to thofe who came to take the oaths of homage and fidelity, that it was a prifon ready prepa- red for them, in cafe they fhould fail to fulfill their engagements, Three Flemifti Counts, John de Mo-ntfort, who difputed with Charles de B lot's the Duchy of Britanny, and Charles the Bad, King of Navarre, were imprifoned here at dif- ferent periods. The Louvre which had remained without the City for above the fpace of fix Centuries, was at length taken into it by the walls commenced under the reign of Charles P. in 1367, and finifhed in the reign of Charles VI* in 1383. Charles V. whofe Revenues amounted to no more than a Million of Livrcs, expended 55,000 Livres on heightening this Palace, and rendering the apartments more commodious and agreeable j but neither this Prince, nor his Sue- upon Paris. 25-9 Sjccefibrs, till Charles IX. made it the ufual place of their abode : they left it for foreign Sovereigns, who happened to come into France. In the reign of Charles VI. Emanuel, Emperor of Conftantineple, and Sigifmund, Emperor of Germany, were lodged here. Francis I. com- plimented Charles V. with it in 1539. Thefe Princes, I obferve, were always received with great magnificence, and had the higheft honour paid them j but when they made their Entry into Paris, the ftri&eft care was taken to give them nothing but black horfes, the white ones being referved for the Sovereign's own riding in his Kingdom. " The Emperor Charles IV. (fays Chr'ijl'me de Pi/an *,) " rode upon the horfe, " fent him by the King, which was blackj " and his fon Venceflas^ elected King of the " Romans, was mounted in the like manner. " It was not without reafon, that they were *' furnifhed with horfes of this colour : for when '* the Emperors enter into any capital Cities " of their own dominions, they are ufua'Iy '" mounted upon white horfes, and King ** Charles V. was not willing that they fhould " be mounted in the fame manner in his King- " dom . . . Then the King to receive the " faid Emperor, fet out from his Palace upon "a * Chap. XXXV. and XXXVI. 260 Hiftorical E/ajs ** a great white Palfrey, accompanied by the Dukes " of Berry, Burgundy, Bourbon, and Bar, toge- " thcr with Counts, Barons, and Knights without " number, and Prelates drefled in Roman hoods." Charles IX. Henry III. Henry IV. and Lewis XIII. refided at the Louvre, where they erected feveral additional buildings. There are no vefti- ges to be feen of the old Caftle of Philip Au- gvftits, which Charles V. caufed to be repaired. What is moft ancient, is not of an earlier date than the reign of Francis I. " Sire,"(faid Dufreny one day to Lewis Xlf. who loved him am} diverted himfelf with his plea- fantries,) " I never look at the new * Louvre, ** without crying out, Superb monument of the " magnificence of one of the greateft Kings, ** who has filled the whole earth with his fame ; " Palace worthy of our Monarchs, you would " have been completed long ere now, had you " been given to one of the four Orders of '* Mendicants, to hold their Chapters in, and ** to lodge their General." The thought is ri- diculous; but it makes me call to mind, that none of thefe Friars ever want the neceflaries of life, whilft the Cardinal de Rttz + relates in his Memoirs, that paying a vifit one day to the Queen The building began by Lnoii Xir. f See Cardinal de Retz's Mmoirs, Vol. I. L. II. p. ag. ups n Paris. 261 Queen of England, at the Louvre, he found her in the chamber of her daughter, afterwards the Duchefs of Orleans, when (he faid to him : You fee I am come to keep Henrietta company ; the poor child could not get out of bed to day y for want of a fire. " It is very true, continues he, that for " fix months the Cardinal Mazarin did not " caufe her penfion to be paid j the trades-folks tc would give her no more credit, and there was " not a bit of wood in her apartments j the " Parliament fent her 40,000 Livres." O Henry IV. O my Matter, O my King, it is thy grand-daughter who is in want of a faggot, that file may rife, in the month of January, in the Louvre ! " If ever the grand fcheme, fays Piganiol t " which was projected for the Louvre, whilft " M. Colbert was Superintendent of the buildings, " be carried into execution, the Church of St. " Germain de 1'Auxerrois fhould be demolifhed, " as alfo the houfes of the Cloifter and thofe of " feme adjacent flreets, to form in their ftead, " a great and magnificent Square, which fhould " join to the Pont Ntuf, (or New-Bridge,) and *' which by opening an avenue to the Louvre. ** would place that fuperb Facade, which Claidt ** Perrault defigned, and which is the fiaeft piece 'of Deftriptioa de Paiis, Vol. II. p. 128. 262 Hiflorlcal E/ays " of modern Architecture in the Univerfe, in a " very advantageous point of fight." It is to be hoped that this plan will be exe- cuted by M. le Marquis dc Marigni, the only one, fince M. Colbert^ who has (hewn himfelf actuated by a zeal for the real glory of ffte King and the good of the Public. He has gratified the general wifh of the Nation, by undertaking to finifh the Louvre. This Square is doubtlefs comprehended in his defign. It would be eafy to join fome Abbey to the Canonicals, and to the Cure of St. Germain de 1'Auxerrois, to in- demnify the Curate and Cannons for the houfes to be taken down. I imagine it would not be neceflary to demolifh the Church, but only to decorate the great entry ; befides, if it were demolifhed, it might be rebuilt out of the funds of the Oeconomats, as was praclifed with refpecl to the new Parifh of Verfailles ; and by this regula- tion it would put neither the King nor the City to any expence. 72><? Tuilleries. This Palace had its name from the fpot whereon it is fituated, which was called les Tuil- leries, becaufe tiles (la tuile) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it in 1564, It confided of upon Paris. 263 of nothing but the large fquare Pavilion in the middle, the two wings, each of which have a terrafs on the garden-fide, and the two Pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry IV. Lewis XIII. and Lewis XIV. have extended, elevated and decorated it. It is faid to be neither fo well proportioned, fo beautiful, .nor fo regular, as it was at firft: the Tuilleries is neverthelefs, next to the Louvre, the fineft Palace in Europe. An Aftrologer having prognofticated to Ca~ tktrine de MtdiciS) that fhe would die near St. Germain, (he immediately flew in a moft fuper- ftitious manner *, from all places and Churches that bore this name. She no more reforted to St. Germain en Laye ; and becaufe her Palace of the Tuilleries was fituated in the Parifh of St. Germain de 1'Auxerrois, fhe was at the expence of building another, which was the Hotel de Soifibns, near St. Euftatius's Church. When it was known to be Laurence de St. Germain, Bi- ftiop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people infatuated with Aftrology, averred that the prediction had been accom- pliftied. It was at the Tuillerie?, four days before the Maflacre of St. Bartholomew, that fhe gave that feaft, which moft of the Hiftorians make men- tion * Vide Mezeray. 264 Hijlorical EJJays tion of *, but much too flightly. They excite the reader's curiofity, without gratifying it. Mt- zeray fays only, That upon occafion of the mar- riage f of the King of Navarre with Margaret de ValoiS) there were many diversions, Tourna- ments and Ballets at Court ; * c and amongft " others, there was one, which could not fail to " prefigure the calamity that was upon the point ** of burfting upon the Huguenots, the King and " his brothers defendingParadife againft the King ** of Navarre and his brothers, who wererepul- " fed and banifhed to Hcli." Here follows what I have found in fome Memoirs of thofe times, which are very fcarce. " Firft, in the faid " Hall, on the right hand, Paradife was repre- " fented, the entrance to which was defended " by three KmghtsfiharlesIX. and his brothers) " compleatly armed. On the left was Hell, < c wherein was a great number of devils and little " imps, playing an infinite number of monkey- " tricks, and making a hurly-burly with a great " wheel, turning round in the faid Hell, and fur- " rounded with little bells. Paradife and Hell *' were divided by a river, whereon was a bark " navi- De Tbtu, L. LII. f Afterwards Henry W. Memoires de 1'Etat de France foot Owlet IX. Vol. I. p. 36*. upon Paris. 265 " navigated by Charon, Ferryman of the infernal " regions. At one end of the Hall, behind Pa- ** radife, were the Elyfian Fields, which con- " fitted of a garden embelliflied with verdure " and all kinds of flowers, and the Empyrean " heaven, reprefented by a great wheel with the *' twelve figns of the Zodiac, the feven Pla- " nets, and an infinity of fmall Stars illuminated, 41 fhining with great laftre by means of lamps *' and flambeaux that were artfully difpofed be- ** hind. This wheel was in continual motion, *' and occafioned the turning of the garden al. r o, " wherein were twelve Nymphs, very richly " drefled. In the Hall feveral Knights errant " appeared (thefe were Lords of Religion, who " had been purpofely chofenj) they were armed " at all points, habited in a variety of liveries, '* and conduced by their Princes, (the King of *' Navarre and the Prince of Condi.} All of thcfe " Knights endeavouring to reach Paradife, in " order to go afterwards in queft of the Nymphs " in the garden, were prevented by the three " other Knights to whofe keeping it had been " committed ; who one after the other appeared " in the Lifts, and having broke their pikes " againft the faid afla;lants, and flruck them 44 with their cutlafles, drove them towards Hell, '* whither they were dragged by the devils and VOL, I. N " their Hijlorical EJJays * c their imps. This fort of battle lafted till the '* Knights were vanquished, and dragged one by. one into Hell, which afterwards ciofed and * was fhut up. At that inftant Mercury and C- *' pid defcended from the Ikies upon a Cock. * The part of Mercury was performed by Ste- " pbcn k Roiy the celebrated finger, who after " he had come down, went and prefented him- *' felf to the three Knights, when chanting a ** melodious fong, he made them a fpeech, and " returned to heaven upon his Cock, finging " all the way. Then the three Knights arofe " from their feats, pafled through Paradife, and " went into the Elyfian Fields in fearch of the " twelve Nymphs, whom they conducted into *' the middle of the Hall, where they danced *' a Ballet, which was exceedingly diverfified, '* and lafled a full hour. The Ballet being dohe, * the Knights who were in Hell, were releafed, " and fought together helter-fkelter, till they broke their pikes. The battle being ended, " fome trains of powder, which were laid round 44 a fountain fitted up almoft in the middle of the " Hall, were fet fire to, whereby a noife and *' fmoke were created, which obliged every one " to retire. Such was the diverfion of this day, ** from whence may be conjectured, amidft all " thefc upon Paris. 267 " thefe feints, what were the thoughts of the * l King and the Cabinet-Council." Catherine of Medids y whofe abominable Po- litics had corrupted the good difpofition of her fon, was the foul of this Cabinet-Council. Can one, without fhuddering with horror, think of a woman who devifes, compofes, and prepares a feaft on the Maflacre which fhe is to commit four days after, upon great part of the Nation, over which {he reigns ! Who fmiles at her victims ; who plays with carnage ; who makes Love and the Nymphs dance upon the banks of a river of blood, and who blends the charms of mufic with the groans of a hundred thoufand unfortunate Beings whom fhe inhumanly deftroys ! I obferve, that by an accident fingular enough, the fined public garden in Athens was called the TuillerieS) or the * Ceramique, becaufe it had been planted like ours, upon a fpot where tiles were made. The Hotel de Ville, or 'Tcwn-boufe. The French, after the conqueft of Gaul, did not change the forms of Police and Govern- N 2 jnent, * Ktf*f>{, a tile, and from thence Kipajtxixo's, the place where a Mamifafiury of tiles, or earthen ware, is carried 268 Hijlorical E/ays ment, which they found eftablifhed in the ref- peftive Cities ; each one had its Officers : they were called Defenders of the City. Their bufmefs was to fupport the privileges and trade of the in- habitants, and to regulate the expcnccs which were neceflary to be incurred upon certain occa- fions. Thefe Defender* of the City were chofen from amongft the body of the Nantes, who were Citizens of the firft rank, incorporated for carry- ing on the commerce by water. The Infcrip- tions found in the month cf March, 1711, on digging the ground under the Choir of Notre- Dame, informs us, that under the reign of Tibe- rius, the Company of the Nautes fettled at Paris, creeled an Altar to Efus, Jupiter, Vulcan, Ca/?or y and Pollux. It is natural to fuppofe that the Mercatorti aqua Parijiaci, who are mentioned in the reigns of Lewis the Fat and Lewis the Young, had fucceeded under another title to thofe ancient traders, and that here we may trace the fource of the municipal body, fince known by the name of the Hotol dc Ville of Paris, and intruded with the general Police of the Navigation and Merchandizes which come by water. It is not known where the Corporation of the City met under the firft and fecond Race. In the begin- ning of the third, they held their aflemblies in a houfe in the Valltt de Mij'ere, called the Houfe of Met- upon Paris. Merchandize ; from thence they removed to the Par loir aux Bourgeois, near the Great Chatelet, and afterwards to another Parloir aux Bourgeois, in one of the Towers of the City-walls, not far from the Jacobins in the flreet of St. Jacques. In the reign of Philip the Bold, anno 1274, their Officers received the title of Provofl and Sheriff? of the Merchants of the City of Paris. In 1357, they purchafed the Houfe tie Greve, otherwife called la Afaifon aux Piliers y on account of its front being fupported by Pillars, for 2880 Livres. It had belonged to the two lafl Dauphins of Viennois, and Charles V. refided there whilft he was Dauphin, -who gave it to John d'/uxerre^ Receiver of the Gabelles, in. con (iteration of the fignal fervices he had performed. Upon the ruins of this houfe, and fome other contiguous ones, the Hotel de V.lle was begun to be built in 1533, but was not compleatly finiihed till 1605. It would be a difficult matter, I believe, to find a public Edifice built in a worfe tafte, or whofe facade is more wretchedly imagined. With rtfpe& to the fquare ; is it not a relick of the an- cient barbarifm in our manners, to fix upon an inclofure ufually appropriated to gibbets and fcaf- folds, for the place of our public rejoicings upon the birth of a Prince, a victory obtained, or fome other happy event ? N 3 Tbt 270 Hiftorical Effays 'The Great and Little Chatelet. Paris, which flill comprehended only the City, was furrounded with walls, flanked with Towers* at certain diftances, when the Normans laid fiege to it in 885, in the reign of Charles the Fat. There was no entering it but by two bridges, the little bridge, and that of the Change. Each of thefe bridges was defended by two Towers, one of which was part of the wall, and confequently was within the City ; the other was feparated from it by the bridge and the river. Thefe outer Towers flood where the Great and Little Chatelet are now fituated. The Normans fet fire to the Little Chatelet, and entirely deftroyed it. There is the greateft reafon to believe, that after they raifed the fiege, another Tower was built upon the fame founda- tion, which fubfifted till the reign of Charles V. This Prince caufed the Edifice we now fee, to be begun in 1369. As to the Tower of the Great Chatelet, the Normans could not make themfelves matters of it. * In the ftrcet dt la felUtirit, and Jikewife in that of St. Lwii, near the Palace, fomc veftiges of the walls of thefe two , ancient Towers aie ftill remaining. It is faid the Tower in the flreet dt lu Pelleterie was at firft called tbt Tcwer dt Marguefat, and afterwards tbt Tcwer dt Roland j but it is very uncertain, uhethcr the famous Re/and ever reCdeJ at Pans. upon Parts. 271 It. Abbon^ a cotemporary writer, and perhaps an eye-witnefs, relates, That after having en- deavoured in vain to fill up the ditches of this Tower with fafcines, and even with oxen and cows, which they killed for the purpofe, they threw in the corpfes of part of the prifoners they had taken, whom they put to death, that their dead bodies might ferve them for a bridge ; that Gazlin, Bifhop of Paris, ftruck with horror and indignation at this a& of inhumanity, lanced a javelin, invoking the Virgin at the fame time, and killed one of the inftruments of this bar- barity, whofe body was immediately tofled in with the others. * The name of Co-far's Chamber, which hat been fixed by tradition, upon one of the Chamber i of the Great Chatelet^the antiquity of its large Tcwer, and thefe words, TRIBUTUM CJESARJS, engraved J upon a marble, which was Jlill to be feen under the arcade, about the end of the ftxteenth Century , appear to the Commiflary de la Marrc convincing N 4 proofs Vide Traitc de la Police, Vol. I. p. 87. J Cerroxet, whofe work was printed in. 1550, aiTerti that he had beard it averred by people ftill living in his time, that they had feen an Infcription upon that part of the Chatelet, to this purpofe, Here tbt Tribute -was paid n Cafjr ; and in our own memory, continues he, Creek and Latin charafters were vilible upon feme of the flones, Paris, p. jo. 272 Hijlorical Effays proofs of that Fortrefs's being built ly the ordert of this Conqueror, or under the reign of feme of tb? firjl Roman Emperors. When I fay that this does not deferve confutation, I allow that there might, from the earlieft period, have been a kind of Fort creeled on this fpot. In a Tariff of St. Lewis for regulating the duties upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the Little Chatelet, it is ordained, That whoever fetches a monkey into the City for fale, (hall pay four deniers ; but if the monkey belongs to a Merry-Andrew, the Merry- Andrew (hall be exempted from paying the duty as well upon the faid monkey, as on every thing elfe he carries along with him, by raufing his monkey to play and dance before the Collector. Hence is derived the Proverb, To pay in monkey* t coin, i. e. to laugh at a man inftead of paying him. By another article it is fpecified, That Jugglers (hall likewife be exempt from all impofts, provided they fmg a couplet of a fong before the Toll-gatherer. Le Pont * au Change, or Change-Bridge. Gregory de Tours relates that is was faid at his time, that Paris was confecrated by two brazen So called from the Money-Chan gers who redded there. Hift. L. VJ1I. C, XXXIIf, upon Paris. 273 brazen figures, which reprefented a Serpent and a Dormoufej that thefe animals were champs againft fire j that in cleanfmg the bed of the river, under this bridge, the two figures were taken up, and that from that time, this Capital had been fubjecl to frequent fires, and to be in- fefted by Serpents and Dormice. Germain Brice * boldly cites this paflage from Gregory dc Tcurs, without having read it, and fubjoins a ridiculous reflexion to the moft erroneous quo- tation. Ttfe Dealers in Birds, who obtained leave to expofe them to fale upon this bridge, were obliged to let loofe two hundred dozen of them upon the Entry of the Kings and Queens. This we may fuppofe to have been a kind of allego- rical intimation to the people, that if they had been opprefled under the preceding reign, their rights, privileges, and liberties were going to be reftored under the new King. At the Entry of Ifabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VL a Genoefe faftened a rope from the top of the Towers of Notre-Dame to one of the houfes upon this bridge; he defcended dancing upon the rope, with a lighted flambeau in each hand : he pafled between the blue taffcty curtains ornamented with large golden Flowers N 5 de Tefcriptien dc Paris. VoJ. I. p. 13, a 74 Hijlorical Effays de Luce, which covered the bridge; he fixed a crown upon Ifabeau's head, and re-afcended upon his rope into the air. The Chronicle adds, as this was performed in the night, he was feen in all parts of Paris and its environs. Le Pont Notre-Dame y or the Bridge of our Lady. The Ecclefiaftical Infantry of the League patted in review upon this bridge before the Legate on the 3d of June, 1590. Capuchins, Minims, Cordeliers, Jacobins, Carmelites, and Feuillans, (begging Friars of the Order of St. Bernard) with their gowns tucked up, and their hoods down *, with helmets upon their heads, cuirafies upon their backs, fwords by their tides, mufkets on their fhoulders, marched four and four, with the Reverend Bifhop of Senlis at their head, carrying a fpontoon : the Curates of St. Jacques de la Boucherie and of St. Come , acled as Serjeants Major. Some of thele Mi- litants, without confidering that their mufkets were loaded with ball, and eager to give the Legate a Salute, fired away in the height of their zeal, and killed one of his Almoners, who was {landing by his fide. His Eminence finding * Hift. de Parii. $ Vide rEtviUti Supplement, ano 1590, upon Paris. 275 finding the review to wax a little too hot for him, haftened to confer his benediction, and marched off the premifles. Le Pont-Netif, or the New Bridge. This bridge is 170 Toifes in length, and 12 in breadth, It was begun in 1578, but not finifhed till 1694. Two fmall Iflands on the Weft-fide of the City were united, in order to erect it : thefe Jflands had till then been fc- parated by a branch of the river, where the ftreet de Harlai now {rands. The Place Dauphine was begun upon thefe united Iflands, in 1608. The largeft of thefe Iflands was called TJJle aux Treilles, and the other YJJle de Bud, or du Pajieur aux yachts. In 1160, Lewis the Young made a Gift to the Chaplain of the Chapel of St. Ni- cholas of the Palais, of fix hogfheads of wine, annually, of the growth of the JJle aux Treilles. Place des Viftoires. The Abbe de Choifi fays *, that the Marfhal dt la Ftuillade intended purchafing a vault in the Church of the Petits Peres, which he de- figned to carry under ground as far as this Place, N 6 in ? Memoiresi L. V, 276 Hijlorical E/ays in order to be buried precifely underneath the Statue of Lewis XW. I am fenfible that the Marfhal de la Feuillade had not by his actions and fignal victories merited a monument at St. Denis like Duguefclin and Turennt j but neither was he one of thofe ufelefs Courtiers to the State, who ought to be interred at the foot of their Matter's Statue, in the public place confecrated to the Idol, whom they had adored, but little ferved. The Abbe de Cbai/i's wit con- fifts in thefe Tallies, which are void of truth, and which do harm to none but the writer, whofe malignity they unmafk. Rails before the Royal Hcufes and Jome Hotels. . The Princes of the Blood had an entire jurifdidtion over their domeftics. The great Officers of the Crown had the like over all thofe, who by their Ports, Employmens, or Bufinefs, were within their Department. If a tumult arofe amongft the people, or fome fudden complaint was to be made, they aflembled be- fore the houfe, either of the Governor, or the Great Almoner, or the Conftable, or the Great Chamberlain, or the Grand Equerry, or the Chancellor, or fome Prince of the Blood, in upon Paris. 277 a word before the houfe of any one who had a right to judge and punifh the perfons who were complained of. This Prince, or great Officer, went down to his door, where there was a rail to prevent his being broke in upon by the people, and on which he leaned to hear the grievances. This is the origin of the rails, which are feen before different Hotels. The Cardinal de Roban^ as Great Almoner, had one before his Hotel, in the ftreet du Temple : there was none before the Hotel de Soubife. There is one before the Hotel d'Armagnac, becaufe the Grand Equerry lives there : there are none before any of the Hotels of any of the other Princes of the houfe -of Lorraine. There is one before the Hotel of the Duke de Bouillon, in quality of Great Chamberlain: there is none before the Hotel d'Evreux, nor before that of Auvergne. The Dean of the Marshals of France, as reprefenting theConftable, has a right to rails. It is fomewhat improper to let rails remain be- fore Hotels which formerly had them, when the perfon that is in prefent pofleffion, has no right to them: it is true he cannot repair them, and he muft let them drop to pieces. There is a rail before the Hotel of the Controller-General, becaufe it was formerly intended for the Hotel of the Embafladors extraordinary, and had pre- vioufly 278 Hijlorical Effays vioufly belonged to the Chancellor, Mr. de Pont' fbartrain. The Keeper of the Seals has a ri^ht to a rail. It is furprifing to fee one before the Hotel of the Eaft-India Company ; for though it is not made like the others, it has neverthelefs the appearance of a rail, which does not belong to an Hotel that has fo commercial an ap- pearance. End of the Anecdotes upon Edifies in Paris. Non upon Paris. omnibus loquor. SENECA. PAUSAN1JS, fpeaking of the Gauls, fays that the cuftom of calling this people by that name, was not introduced till very late, and that their ancient appellation was Celtti. The Celtic language was the mother- tongue of all the Weft, and I believe there are proofs * of its being ftill preferved in Lower Bntanny \ and in Wales, with fuch alterations only, * What amounts almoft to conviftion in this refpeft, is, that the Bietons and the Welch underftand each other, though they are Ib remote in fituation, and have had no fort of connexion for many ages. f- Britanny was anciently called Armorica. This name was derived fiom ar mar, two words in the language of :hii Country, which fignify the Sea, and ribl Coaft, that is to Cay, Sca-Cqaft. The Inhabitants of the Ifland of Britain (Eng- 2 So Hijlorical Effays only, as time could not fail to create. Gall and Kelt fignified in Celtic, and frill fignify in the Britons tongue, valliant or courageous. Po- Jybius and Ammianus Marcellinui reprefent the Gauls as of an advantageous ftature, with an auftere look, lively, paffionate, and ftately ; in other refpedts they were candid, free and affable towards ftrangers. Cafar fays *, they were cu- rious to excefs, and tha.t they flopped travellers, and gathered round them in the public places, to afk them for news. They were fond of fhew, and wore golden bracelets, collars, rings, and belts. Their hair was naturally fair; but to change it to a colour, which was more agreeable to them, they reddened it with a po- matum made of gout's greafe and beech-afhes. The Vergobrets (or fovereigrt Magistrates) pow- dered theirs, and their beards alfo, upon ceremo- nial (England) painted their bodies with various colours, as the Savages do 16 this day. The Gauls called this Ifland Bri- tbenet. Britb, in Ereton, fignifies painted of different co- lour;, and etit's an ifland, that is to fay, the IJlanJ cf tbt tutu fainted with different colours. The name of Pidts, Pifii, which the Romans gave them, was in all likelihood derived from this fignification. S. IV. Numb. V. ^ !ome Authors pretend that this pomatum turned the hair entirely red, and that this people thought that a largf blood-colour mane, round their head, gave them a terrifyinj look when they went to the wari. upon Paris. 281 nial days, with gold-filings. The women took their feats in al! Affemblies wherein war and peace were to be deliberated upon. Thofe who came laft to thefe Aflemblies, were * hewn in pieces j and fuch as were appointed to im- pofe filence, were allowed to cut a piece off the cloaths of the perfon who caufed any inter- ruption -f. They dipped their new-born children into cold water, to render them more robuft, and to temper them like fteel. An over-fat $ man was fined, and the fine was annually in- creafed, or diminifhed, in proportion to his fize. When a girl was marriageable, her father gave an invitation to the young men of the difhicl: to dine with him : (he was left entirely at liberty to chufe which of all the number fhe liked beft; and to teftify the preference flic gave to that perfon, fhe prefented him firft with the vcfTels and implements for wafhing. Some- times they fixed upon two ravens to put an end to a law-fuit. The parties placed two cakes, made of flower, diluted in oil and wine, upon a board, which was carried to the fide of a lake ({ ; two ravens would prefently light upon this board, and would break and fcatter about one of the cakes, whilft they devoured the other entirely: that Vide Cafar. f Strain, L. IV. I Ibid, Ibid. 8z Hiftorical E/ays that party, whofe cake was only fcattered about, gained his caufe, A difcontented client might fay perhaps, that this was an emblematical prophecy, whereby the Druids foretold in what manner juftice would be adminiftered one day in Gaul. Ravens are voracious ; their plumage is black, and the party who gains his caufe, is often as nearly ruined, as he who lofes it. They had the greateft veneration for oaks, and particularly for thofe which had been con- fecrated by the ceremony of the Mifletoe. It was by this religious ceremony that they an- nounced the new year *. The Druids, ac- compa- * Their year began at the winter-folftice, the fixth night of the moon } this night was tailed the mother -tiigbt, as pro- ducing all the reft. We reckoned ftill by nights in France in the izth Century, and faid quinxe nuiti, (fifteen nights) s we fry now ym'nxe jours, (fifteen days.) Cafar, de bello gallico. L. VI. and Pliu. L. XVI. C. XLIV. Teutat or Ttutatet fignified in Celtic, and fignifies ftil! in Eriti/h, Father of the People, from Teut, people, and Tat, father. Tbt Gaul), fays C<gfar, pretend that they are defended from Pluto j now it is certain that Teutat was the Pluto of the Cauls. De bello gallico. L. VI. Efui or Eui, the God who fcatters horror and carnage, who raifes or deprefles the courage of Warriors, who points out thofe who are to be killed. ~ in Britifh fignifies terror, a kind of facred horror. Eux eries, the Ifle of Ufliant ; tntt, Ifle, and eux, horror or terror, the Ifle of terror, fo called on account of a Trophy confccrateJ there to Efui or Eui. upon Paris. 283 companied by the Magiftrates, and the people who cried out, AU GUY L'AN NEUF, (To tht Mijletoe ; the new year] went into a foreft, and there formed a triangular Altar of turf round the fineft oak, cutting upon the trunk and the two largeft branches the names of fuch Gods, as they thought moft powerful : T H E U T. ESUS, TARANIS. BELENUS. T H E U T. Then a Druid, drefled in a white Tunic, got up into a tree, and cut the Mijletoe with a golden bill, whilft two other Druids were at the foot to receive it in a linnen cloth, and to take par- ticular care to prevent its touching the ground. This new Mijletoe was dipped in water, which was diftributed amongft the people, who per- fuaded themfelves that it was now of a pu- rifying nature, very efficacious againft forcery, ind a fpecific for many diftempers. The Taranii, the God of thunder. Taran fignified in Celtic, and ftill fignifies in Eritiih, thunder. Btlcnui, like AfoUo amongft the Greeks and Romans, was with the Gauls the Sun and the Cod of Medicine. The Creek and Latin Poets fiid the fair Pbeebui; Mtkn in Britifh Cgnines fair. 284 Hiftorical Effays The Gauls believed that Mithras prefideJ over the Conftellations. They reprefented him as of both fexes, and adored him as the prin- ciple of heat, and fecundity, of good and of bad influences. Thofe who were initiated into his myfteiies, were divided into feveral frater- nities, each of which had a ConfteJlation for its Symbol, and the brethren celebrated their feafts, and made their procefllons and feftivals, difguifed in the fliape of a lion, a rcm^ a wo'f 9 a dog, &c. that is, linden the figures fuppofed to belong to the Conftellations ; fo that our Mafquerades and Balls, which we have cer- tainly the origin of here, were formerly reli- gious ceremonies. The principal Cclkge of the Druids. Cafar * pofitively aflerts that this College was upon the confines of the Country of Char- train, in fivibus Carnutum. Was it in the City of Dreux, whofe name is certainly dciived, like that o'f Druid , from the word Drus t or * De bello gallico. L. VI. Numb. XIII. $ Some pretend that Druid comes from two Celtic words, Di, God, and Rbouidd, talking, that is to fay, talking of God. But a proof that Druid comes from Drut, is the ve- neration the Druids -had for oaks, which were called Druyer, and that he who watches and prvfcrvei the fortft?, it fli'l called Gruytr. upon Paris. 285 r Deru, which in Celtic fignified, and ftill fignifies in Britifli, an oak, of oak ? The Druids were alfo called Stnans, i. e. Prophets or Di- viners. Pomponius Mela, who wrote under the reign of the Emperor Claudius, relates, That in the fmall Ifland of Sena, at prefent the Ifland of Sein, over-againft the Coaft of Quimperco- rentin, there was a College of female Druids, whom the Gauls named Cents ; that they were nine in number ; that they preferved a perpe- tual virginity ; that they delivered Oracles, and that it was believed they had the power of with- holding the winds, and of exciting tem- pefts. The words Senans and Cents were cer- tainly derived from Kcner, or Carter, which fjgnitied in Gallic and Britifh, to prophefy or foretell. Upon the fubjecl of the word Senans, D. Martin (in his Religion of the Gauls, Vol. I. p. 180.) quotes a Letter written by a Cannon of Ste. Genevieve, to a Benedictine Monk. It is to the following purport. " I beg of " you, Reverend Father, to fearch in M. Va- *' lots, or clfewhcre, what could be the place *' called Senantfi, between Chartres and Dreux. A prodigious quantity of Medals of the firft < age are found in two fiels lying between " the Church of Senantcs y and a place called " the 286 Hijlorical E/ays " the Grand Coudray. I will fend my brother *' twenty or thirty of them the firft opportunity, " to {hew them to the Connoifleurs. A littie " fquare fubterraneous chamber has alfo been " difcovered, by a horfe at work falling into it. " This chamber was paved in the Mofaic man- " ner, with inlaid work. The Medals are " found upon the leaft digging, or removing " the ftubble. There are feveral places ftill in " the fields I mention, where corn will not grow $ *' a proof of cavities being underneath, In a " Gift made in the time of Ives de Cbartrcs> " of the Church of Senantes at Coloms, thi* " place is called Locus de Senantis. Whence * c is this word derived ? If the Druids refided " at Dreux, Stnantes is not far off; but the " large bricks below ground, which are difco- " vered at every ftep one takes, and the Me- " dais that are found in fuch abundance, teftify " a work of the Romans. " D. Martin obferves, that the Roman Me- dals, and the Roman air, which is found in the remains of antiquity, difcovered at Sensntes, are nothing to the purpofe, becaufe the Druids were famous, rich, and powerful in Gaul, many ages before and after the conqueft of thefe vaft Pro- vinces by the Romans ; and therefore thefe Priefts might Iva de Cbertru died in 1115, aged So yeart. upon Paris. 287 might be poflefied of Roman Pieces and 'Me- dals, and may have given a Roman air to the works they conftru&ed at Dreux and at Senantcs, fince the time of Ccefar. The Opinion cfthe Gauls upon the ft ate of fouh after death. The Gauls burnt with the Deceafed his arms and cloaths, together with the animals, and even fome * of the Slaves he was known to be fondeft of. They lent them money, which they were not to afk the reimburfement of but in the other world ; and they wrote and threw Letters into the pile, to be given to their de- ceafed friends and relations. They thought that fouls circulated eternally from this world to the other, and from the other world into this; that is to fay, that what is called death, was the entrance into the other world, and what is called life, was the returning out of that world to come into this j That after death the foul pafled * Omnia ftitt vivis cordi fvijfi artitrantitr, in t'gtiem inft- runt, ttiam animalia ; ac fauh fufra tar,e nt(moriam t ftrv? & tlieituj, fid ab iit dtltfios effe totflatat, tina crtmabaxtvr* C*far. dc bcllo gallicc. L, VI. Numb. XVII. Dicdorus Siculut, 288 Hijlorical EJJays pafled i| into the body of fome other man, and that the inequality of conditions, and the mea- fure of pain and pleafure, were regulated in the other world upon the good or bad they had done in this ; That moreover, by fighting cou- tageoufly for one's Country, by offering onefelf a vidlim in times of public calamity, or by killing onefelf J to redeem the life of one's Prince, Patron, or friend, all the crimes that one might have committed, were expiated, and the pcrfon fo doing was fure of going to enjoy amongft heroes an agreeable and glorious life. The people of ths North believed, that heroes went into the Palace of Odinl their God, and that they had every day the pleafure of arming and \ Tie Dr-j'tdt teatb the Geuls t that fait fitvtr die, but that tbtyfafsfnm one to another after deatb ; and it it from this doc- trine they derive that tourage, vabicb embolden* them to mtet deatb tuitb fo much intrtpid:;y. Non interire animas, fed ab aliis, poft mortem, ad alios tranfire; atque hoc maxime ad virtutem ejfcitari putant ; metu mortis neglect?* Cttfar. de, bello gallico. L. VJ. Numb. XIII. See alfo Lucan. L. I. ver. 454 & feqq. J They were of opinion, that the wrath of the Gods Blight be ppeafed, and that one life might be redeemed by another. Accordingly, when they were ill and in danger of dying, they fought fome one who would die for them, and they now and then found fucK a perfon, paitly by dint of money, and partly becaufe he who killed himfelf, was in hope: of a happ.er life than that which he quitted, upon Paris. 289 and ranging themfelves in battle, and of hacking one another to pieces j that when the feftive hour approached, they returned on horfeback, fafe and found, and feated themfelves at table in the Hall of Odin, where a wild boar was ferved up, which was fufficient to regale them all, though almoft innumerable; that the fame boar was ferved up to them every day, and that every day it became entire again. be Siege of Paris by LA B i E N u s, one of CAESAR'S Lieutenants in the 70 ifl year of Rome, 52 years before JESUS-CHRIST. * Latienus, having left the Recruits that were newty arrived from Italy, at Sens, to guard the baggage, marched with four Legions towards Lutetia, which then confifted only of that little Ifland, which we call the City. He found the ParHaans t.r.camped behind a marfh, which was formed by the waters of the river Bievre, and is now the Fauxbourg Saint Marceau. After having fruhlefsly attempted to force a paflage through this morafs, by means of hurdles and De belio gallico. L, VII. C. L1V. LV. LVI, Voi, I. O 290 Hiftorical Ej/ays and fafcines, he decamped in the night, and returned towards Melun, which could not op- pofe him, as the greateft part of the inhabi- tants were gone to fuccour the Parifians. He made ufe of 50 large boats, which he found there, to carry his troops over the Seine, and came and encamped upon that ground, which is now covered by fo many flreets and houfes, from the Church of St. Gervais to the Louvre. The Parifians, fearful left he fhould take their City, fet fire to it, cut down the bridges, (the little bridge and the Change-bridge) and en- camped on the other fide of the river, having their right at the foot of Mount Leucotitius f, and the left where the Key of Conti now ftands. A few days after, news arrived, that the people of Autun had thrown off the Roman yoke, and that Cafar had raifed the fiege of Clermont in Auvergne : it was even added, that for want of provifions, he was retiring into the Narbonnoife Gaul. Labienm thought of nothing more than returning towards Sens, where h had left all the baggage of his Army j but his retreat was the more difficult, as he was obliged to pafs the Seine in fight of the Pa- rifians, and as he had at his back the people of Beauvais, who prepared to come and attack him. The Place Maubctt and Ste. Gencvicft. . upon Paris. 29 1 him. To extricate himfelf from this difagreeable fituation, he had recourfe to a ftratagem. He diftributed amongft the Roman Knights the 50 boats, which he had brought from Melun, with orders, that as foon as it fhould be dark, they fhould fall down the river in the greateft filence, and wait for him at two leagues di- ftance from the Camp. He left five cohorts for the defence of the Camp, and ordered five others to embark on board fome boats, and go up towards Melun, making all the noife and buftle they could j then with three Le- gions he went in perfon, and joined the Ro- man Knights, at the place he had appointed, over-againft Auteuil. When the Parifians per- ceived all thefe motions, they perfuaded them- felves, that the Enemy alarmed and terrified by the late intelligence, had feparated in dif- order, and ' were fludious only of flight. la this opinion, they divided into three corps: one remained to guard the Camp; another took the route of Melun *, and the third marched towards Meudon, and met Labienus y who had already got his Cavalry and Infantry acrofs the O 2 river. * The penetration of Commentators has been furprifiugly exercifed upon the word Metioftdum. Some fay it is Corbei], otheri Meudon. I take Mttiofedum to be an error in the text, and that it ftould be Mtlodunum, Melun. 29* Hiftorical Effays river. The battle was very bloody, and lafted the whole day ; at length victory declared for the Romans. Paris remained under their do- minion till the reign of Clovis^ that is to fay, about 533 or 534 years. The Franks *. " The Franks, " fays the Author of the Exploits of our Monarchs jj , " elecled a long- " haired King, Pharamond the fon of Mar- " comir. " " The Franks, " fays Gregory of Tours, " having pafled the Rhine, fettled at " once in Tongria , where they created, " in every Canton and City, Kings with long " hair, from the moft diftinguifhed family " amongft them. " He relates in another place, that young Ctovis, fon to Chilpertc^ having been ftabbed and thrown into the Marne, by order of Predegonde his mother-in-law, his body was caught in a fifhermaa's net, who could not doubt from * From the word franck, which in German fignifics free, y By all that is mentioned under this article, it will ppear that Clodion was not particularly furnamed the Icxg- iairtJ t any more than tke other Kings of the firft Race. , The Country of Liege. I have read over again Father Daniel's diflirtation upon this fubjeft, and am thereby more And more confirmed is my opinion againft his fyftera. upon Pan's. 293 from the length of his hair, that he was the font of the King. dgatias, a cotemporary Hiftorian, relates that Clodomir, fon of Clovis, having been killed in a battle againft the Burgundians, they knew this Prince amongft the flain, by his long hair\ for it is an ejlablified cujlom amongjl the Kings of the Franks (adds he) to let their hair grow from their infancy ', and never to cut it j they part it equally on both fides on the top of the hiad, and let it flow gracefully upon thefiwlders . . . This fort of head of hair is looked upcn as a prerogative inherent in the Royal family. Ex- cept thofe of this family, none of the Franks could wear their hair loofe: they clipped it round their head, preferving however that on the top, which they knotted and tied in fuch a manner, that the end of the toupee ihaded the forehead 'in the form of an aigrette. This is the manner in which Sidonius dpollinaris reprefents them in his Panegyric of Majorian^ and Martial in an Epigram to Domitian. Hie quoque monflra domas rutuli quibus arce cerebri Ad frontem coma tracla jacet, nudataque cervix Setarum per damna nitet. Sidoniui Jppollinor. Paneg. Carmen 47. O 3 You 2()4 Hiftorical Effays You have tamed monjlers, ivhoff long hair flowing from tht crown of the head, falh down upon their brow, whlljl the hinder part of the head is altogether unfurnljhed with hair. Crinibus in nodum tortis venere ficambri. Martial de Spcclac, pig, 3, Wg thert faw the Sicatnbri, who twljltd and knotted their hair. The conquered Nation, that is, the Gauls or Romans, wore their hair fhort 3 Serfs (or Bondfmen) had their heads fhaved ; the EC- clefiaftics, to teftify ftill more their fpiritual Servitude, fhaved it entirely, retaining nothing but a fmall circle of hair. They fwore in thofe days by their hair, in the fame manner as we do now upon our honour. To cut any one's hair, was degrading him, and branding him with infamy. Thofe who had been con- cerned in the fame confpiracy, were obliged to cut one another's hair. Fredegonda cut the hair of her fon-in-law's miftrefs, and fixed it to the door of that Prince's apartment : the acYion was looked upon as horrible. There was nothing more polite, than whilft you was faluting a perfon, to pluck off a fingle hair, and rcfcnt * upon Paris. 295 and prefenlT* it to him. Clevis pluckt off a hair, and gave it to St. Germier, to teftify how much he honoured him j immediately every Courtier pluckt a hair from his head in like manner, and prefented it to this virtuous Bifhop, who returned to his Diocefe enraptured with the politenefs of the Court. It is a miftake to imagine, that when a Prince of the Blood Royal had his hair clipped, he was obliged to take holy Orders, and be- come Prieft or Monk. He might have the fame intercourfe with the world, which other men had, and might even marry ; but he and his children were no more confidered as a part of the Nation, the long head of hair being a diftinguifhing mark between the Franks and the fubdued people. To cut a perfon's hair, was the fame thing as telling him, that he was from that moment become a Foreigner, and therefore incapable of fucceeding to the firft honours of the State. This law againft thofe who were no longer confidered as constituting part of the Na- tion, has been invariably obferved from the be- ginning of the Monarchy down to the prefent times. Hugh Capet urged it againft Cbarks O 4 Duke * This was as much as to fay, you are equally devoted to him as his flave. A 'man who became a flare, cut his hair off, and prefented it to his Mailer, 296 Hiftorical EJJays Duke of Lower Lorraine, and his nfue. The Duke of Anjou (afterwards Henry HI,) would not go to receive the Crown of Poland, to which he was elected, till fuch time as he had Letters Patent from Charles IX. declaring him to be flill a Denizen, notwithftanding his refidence in a foreign Country ; and Philip V. who was called to the Throne of Spain *, obtained the like Letters Patent from Lewis XIV. which he did not renounce till he was in the peaceable pof- feffion of that Throne, that is to fay, when the Regent (the Duke of Orleans) had engaged the .Emperor Charles VI. to give up his claim. " The Suevi are diftinguifhed from the other c< Germans, " fays Tacitus, (De Mor. Germ. Cap. XXXVIII.) " by a peculiar mode they have " of twifting their hair, and binding it up in " a knot ; and it is by this alfo that the Free- *' born of that Nation are diftinguifhed from the " Slaves. All thofe of the other parts of Ger- " many, who wear their hair in this manner, * { do it only in imitation of that people, or be- " caufe they have entered into fome alliance " with them. In thofc other Nations, however, " this pradice is not extended beyond the years * c of infancy; whereas the Suevi continue, even " to old age, to raife their hair backwards, and k lQ * Memoirei de ftrsu upon Paris. 297 ' to tie iron the top of their head, in a man- * ner ftern and flaring. That of their Princes Cl is more carefully adjufted. " This paflage, next to thofe already quoted from dgathias and Gregory de Tours, feems to me to point out plainly from what Quarter the Franks came ; and that they were detachments of young Suevi, who af- fociated with each other, and quitted the banks of the Elbe and the Wefer, to feek their for- tune in fome other Land. The Suevi were ori- ginally Gauls *. The Franks, therefore, by conquering Gaul when under the dominion of O 5 the Ambigat, King of the Celt*, lived in the time of the Elder Tarquin, King of Rome, and reigned over all that traft of Coun- try which now comprehends the French Monarchy, and the whole of Flanders. Bourges was the Capital of his dominions. (77V. Liv. Lib. V.) His people were fo numerous, that the Provinces were quite furcharged with them. He therefore ordered it to be proclaimed, that he intended fending Sigwezut and Bellovezuty his fitter's fons, to eftablifh Colonies, where- ever the Gods and Auguries flionld condudl them. In con- fequence of this Proclamation, 300,000 of his fubjed"ts fol- lowed thefe young Princes, about 600 years before Jefui-CbriJl. Bellovesuts crofled the A!p?, and fettled along the Po. Sigo- vezut traverfed the Hercinian foreft, penetrated into Bohemia, where he left part of his Army, and went with the reft to finifli his wanderings between the Elbe and the Wefer, on the banks of the Ocean. Some Authors pretend, that the Szmnorct, mentioned by Tacitus, who were the mcft powerful State of the Suevi, were defcended from the inhabitants of the Country of Sens (Sctionn) who had followed Thefe are the Saxons at prefent, 298 Hijlorical E/ajs n Faft, the Romans, did nothing more in Faft, than refume the property of a Country that had for- merly belonged to their Anceftors. Manners and Ufages under thejirft Race. The French were all free, and all equal. Honours and dignities eftablifhed nothing amongft them, fave only a temporary fubordination. They had Chief 3 and Judges ; but they had no Supe- riors. It was upon the Gauls, the Nation they had fubdued, that they impofed taxes, and on them they levied tribute. The Frenchman was en- tirely independent, both as to his perfon and poffeflions. He owed nothing to the State but fealty, attachment, courage, and a bold right hand. Hiftorians reprefent him as impetuous, vio- lent, and ever ready with his fword to vindicate his injured rights ; but in other refpects he was generous, beneficent, and endowed with an ho- nefty of heart, to which he would facrifice what he held deareft in the world, his Liberty. When he could not pay his debts, he went of himfelf to his Creditor, prefented him with a pair of fciflars, and became his Bondfman, by either cutting his own hair, or permitting fome body clfe upon Paris. 299 elfe to do it. The Decorum of modern man- ners has fuperfeded this old and ridiculous pro- bity. What fhould we fay now, were we to fee a Duke meafuring out cloth, or plying the broom in a Woolen- Draper's (hop ? He generally fat down to table in the Court- yard, and the gate upon fuch occaGons was con- ftantly kept open. He invited paflengers and ftrangers to partake of his repaft. The cheer indeed was none of the moft delicate, as it con- fifted only of large quarters of roafted pork and beef. They drank plentifully, and defcanted with fu/Ecient freedom on the conduct of their Governors ; but it was not allowed to fpeak ill of Women. Every crime, excepting High-treafon, was expiated by certain penalties. The man who did not offer himfeff to revenge the death of his murdered father * or kinfman, was excluded from his (hare of the inheritance. The legal manner of profecuting this revenge, was by fum- moning the murderer before the Judge, and de- claring to him with a loud voice, That from that period he fhould be purfued, and attacked O 6 wherever * The Duke Sandragefilt having been killed by one of his enemies, the Grandees of the Kingdom cited his children to appear before them for having neglected to revenge his death, and deprived them of their right of fuccefiion, 300 Hijtorical Effays wherever he could be found, and that fire and fword fhould be employed againft him. The Judge and fome common friends of the Parties endeavoured to foften their fpirits, and bring them to what they called a Compofition. That was <a fine which the murderer agreed to pay, and amounted to 200 Sols of Gold for the murder of a Frenchman, and the one half for that of a free-born Gaul or Roman. He that ftole a grey-hound, was obliged to make three turns round the Market-place, killing the dog's pofteriors. If he ftole a hawk *, he was condemned to pay eight Crowns of Gold, or fubmit to have five ounces of his flefh eaten off by the bird from a part of his body, which the reader will eafily guefs ar, without my naming it. Before the Nation had embraced Chriflianity, they chofe out a field famous for fome victory, where they depofited the remains of their Kings and Generals. A pile of ftones, fand, and turf, was creeled over the grave, to the height of about thirty or forty feet. Many of thofe tombs are ftill to be feen in France, and the Territory of Liege. Cbilderlc^ the father of Clovis, was buried near Tournay, on the banks of the Efcaut, in a place that has been fince inclofcd within the * Loi Combe Uc. upon Paris. 301 the walls of the City. His tomb was discovered in 1653. There was found in it a leather purfe almoftconfumed, containing upwards of a hundred pieces of gold, and double the number in filver, being Coins of different Roman Emperors : They likewife found in it buckles, clafps and threads of garments, with the handle and chape of a fword, all gold; writing-tablets, with a ftyle and plates of gold; a figure in gold of the head of an Ox, (the Idol he worfhipped, according to fome) and more than three hundred fmall bees of the fame metal * ; the bones of a horfe, with a fhoe, bit, and other remains of a horfe's harnefs; a globe of cryftal, a pike, a battle-ax, a human fkeleton entire, and by the head of this Skeleton another head, not quite fo large, which Teemed to be that of a young man, probably the 'Squire, who had been killed according to the cuftom of thofe times, that he might accompany and ferve his Mafter in the lower regions; laftly, a ring of gold, with thefe Latin words round it, CHILDIRICI REGIS, importing it to be the pro- perty * Thefe had been feparated, in all likelihood, from his Coat of Arms, into which they had been introduced. Beet^ it is faid, were the Symbol of the firft Kings of France and when Scutcheons were afterwards devifed under the third Race, thofe beti which were badly cut upon ancicat tomb- flones, weie taken for Flowers de Luce. 302 Hiftorical Effays perty of King Childeric. On the feal of this ring that Prince was represented with long hair flowing down upon his fhoulders, and holding a javelin in his hand in the manner of a fcepter. It appears from this, how careful they had been to inter with him his clothes, armour, money, horfe, domeftic, and writing-tables j in a word, every thing that they believed neceflary for him in another world. In later times, when Death removes any of our Sovereigns, their table con- tinues to be covered for the fpace of forty days ; wine and water is tendered them, and they are prelemed with every diih, as if they were ftill amongft the Living. When the fair AuJIrtgilde was on her death- bed, fhe prevailed on her hufband King Gontran t to caufe the two Phyficians who attended her in her illnefs, to be put to death, and buried along with her. Thefe, I believe, are the only two of the Faculty that ever were privileged to lie in the tombs of Kings ; but I have no fort of doubt, that many others have juftly merited the fame honour. The moft fordid fpecies of avarice had not yet led the Minifters of the Lord to pave his Temple with dead bodies. St. Gregory the Great, who was cotemporary with the grand-children of Clovis, in the Permiffions which he granted for upon Paris. 303 for the building of Churches, never failed ex- prefsly to fpecify, provided you are well-ajjltred that no dead body was ever laid in the place. The Council of Nantes in 656, when they al- lowed burial in the porch of the Church and round the walls, prohibited it in the flrifteft terms within-fide and near the Altars. Under the firft and fecond Race, there were no inter- ments within the walls of Paris. Gozlin, who was Bifhop of it, dying there in 886, whilft the Normans were befieging it, was iwried, fays the Monk de St. Vaaji^ within the City, con- trary to ancient cuftom^ becaufe it was impojfiblt to have it done without^ or perhaps becaufe they were dejirous to conceal his death from the beftegen, The rich had their tombs near Cities and Vil- lages ; and the practice of interring them with their clothes, arms, hawk, and other precious things that pertained to them, continued for many ages. People were paid for keeping watch at thefe tombs. At the end of the firft Race, more than a full third of the French flill remained plunged in the darknefs of Idolatry. They believed that certain females, Druidejfis y had by dint of me- ditation penetrated into the fecrets of Nature j that by the great good they had done in the world, they had procured themfelves an exemp- tion 304 Hiftorical E/ays tion from mortality, as the reward of their merit j that they refided in the bottom of wells, on the banks of rivers, and in the caverns of rocks ; that they had a power of granting unto men the faculty of metamorphofing themfelves into wolves and other animals *, and that their hatred or friendfliip decided the fate of families. On certain days of the year, and at the birth of their children, they were particularly careful to fpread a table in a feparate chamber, on which they placed a variety of difhes and bottles, with three covers and fome fmall prefents: This they did with a view to induce the Mothers (for fo were thofe fubaltern Powers called) to honour them with a vifit, and vouchfafe them their fa- vour. Hence is the origin of our Fairy-Tales. They thought, as the Gods were immenfe Beings, that they ought not to build any Temples for them; that their Divinity filled the foreft?, and was imprefTed on the furrowed bark and yellow mofs of the ancient oaks. The wood, which they had felecled for the celebration of their Myfteries, they approached with trembling. The filence and obfcurity that reigned in thofe awful retreats, infpired them not fo properly with fear, * At the beginning of the eleventh Century this Mcti- soorphofis was called upon Paris. 305 fear, as with a fpecies of religious horror, which they looked upon as an effect of the prefence of the Deity whom they came to adore. They dreaded at every ftep, left he fhould reveal him- felf to their eyes. To convey to him the idea they entertained of their own dependence, they never entered the wood, till they were firft bound about with cords *. If they happened to fall down, it was not lawful to rife: They muft make the beft of their way on their knees, or roll themfelves along, till they had fairly got beyond the facred precin&s. Men penetrated with fuch a veneration for places which they believed to be inhabited by the Gods, muft have been extremely fcandalized, when they faw Chriftians enter armed into Churches, talk to and falute each other there, and change their place and attitude, as if they were in an Am- phitheatre. I obferve, that if the Churchmen of thofe times did not reprefs thefe indecencies with a fuitable feverity, they were attentive at leaft to fecure a proper refpect for their own perfons. One of the Decrees of the Council of Macon bore, " That every Layman who " met a Prieft or Deacon in the way, fhould " prefent him his fhoulder to lean upon ; that " if the Layman and Prieft were both on horfe- back, * ffeirt ni/l vinculo ligatut if 306 Htftorical E/ays " back, the Layman muft ftop, and reverently " falute the Prieft; but if the Prieft happened " to be on 'foot, and the Layman on horfeback, " the Layman in that cafe muft alight, and not ' mount again, till the Ecclefiaftic had got to " a certain diftance ; the whole under pain of " being excommunicated during the pleafure of '* the Metropolitan. " In the fame Council of Macon, a Bifhop having maintained *, that Women neither could, nor ought to be denominated human crtaturts, the queftion was agitated for feveral Seffions. The difpute was carried on with no fmall keen- nefs, and the opinion of Theologians feemed very much divided. At laft however the Par- tifans for the Fair Sex carried the day. It was decided and folemnly declared, That Females did compofe part of the human fpecies ; and in my judgment, we ought to acquiefce in the de- cifion, tho' the Council that gave it, had not been oecumenical. The * Greg. fur. Lib. VIII. Cap. XX. Cum inter tot faneloi Patres Epifcopot quidam ftetutrit, non fojjt nee dtbtrt atulitrei -votari bominu: timtrt Dei fullice ibi ventiUrttur, (sf tandem fofl multas vexatte tujm qr- Sinit difceftaiitnei concluderetur quod mulitrtt ftnt kcminelt Polygamia Triumphatrixj pag. 123. upon Paris. 307 The Bifhops were obliged to maintain the poor and prifoners, and to ranfom Chriftian cap- tives. This part of their Office added to their general credit, and enriched feveral individuals. When one is deputed by the Public to diftribute charities, one has a right at the fame time to afk and colled them. They had a great {hare in the happy fuc- cefTes f of the arms of C/w/V, by fecretly en- gaging the Cities to revolt againft Gondebaud t King of the Burgundians, and to fubmit them- felves to the French. Clovis was a Pagan, but Gondcbaud an Heretic, of the Sect of Ariu*. A married man might be promoted to the Diaconate and Priefthood, and might even be- come a Bifhopj but he muft previously declare, that he would never more live with his wife on any other footing than if fhe was his filter : ' His fon generally obtained the reverfion of the Bifhoprick. It was not permitted to marry btr that was left off by a Prieft or Deacon. In the fixth Canon of the Council of Or- leans, which was held about the end of the reign of Clevis^ every Layman was forbid of- fering himfelf to be of the facred fun&ioo, with- out the permiffion of the King or fome Judge. Chat- f Greg, Tur. Lib. II. Capp. XXIII & XXXVI. 308 Hijlorical Effays Cbarlemain, renewing this prohibition in his Ca- pitularies, explains the motive to it in the fol- lowing terms, Ne regale obfequium minuatur y for fear the fervice of the King fliould fuffer. Birth, or political abilities, were little at- tended to in the choice of Queens, who owed their creation almoft always to their Beauty. The Kings, befides the occafional enjoyment of MiftrefTes, indulged themfelves with a plura- lity of wives. " Dear Prince, " faid Ingondt one day to her hufband Clotarius I. " I have " a lifter that I dearly love. Her name is An- " gonde t and ihe lives in the Country. I hope (t you will be kind enough to fettle her in the " world, and chufe her out a fpoufe. " Clo- tarius went to fee this fame Aregtmdt at her hwfe in the Country : He found her handfome, wedded her, and then returned to acquaint his wife, that he had not been able to devife a more proper match for her fifter than himfelf; that he had therefore married her, and that for the future Ihe fhould have her for a com- panion. A Prince was faved or damned, according to the Good or 111 he had done to the Monks. Thefe had eftablifhed it into a maxim *, " That * to fecure one'sfelf a place in Paradife, no- " thing Mextr*}, To. I. p. J$. upon Paris. 309 " thing more was requifite than to make a good " friend there, and that it was not at all im- " practicable to buy off the moft crying injuftice, " and the moft enormous crimes, by Donations " in favour of the Churches. " The Author of the Exploits of Dagobert (Gejl. Dagob. Regis, Cap. XLV1I.) fays, " That upon the death of * that Prince, he was condemned to the judge- " ment of God, and that a holy Hermit named " John, who lived upon the Sea-coaft of Italy, " faw his foul chained down in a bark that " was navigated by Devils, who ever and anon * c were mauling it moft cruelly, as they con- " ducked it towards Sicily, where they were to " plunge it into the gulfs of Mount vEtna; that *' St. Denis appeared all at once in a globe of " light, preceded by thunder and lightning, and " that having routed thefe malignant fpirits, and " refcued the wretched foul from the claws of ** the moft unmerciful of them, he carried it " up to Heaven with him in triumph. " This laft adventure of King Dagobert was painted be- hind his tomb in the magnificent Church, which he had ordered to be built to his blefled Pro- tector. Abderame^ Lieutenant to the Caliph of Da- mafcus, after conquering Spain, crofled the Py- renees, and advanced as for as Tours, at the head 310 Hijlorical Effays head of 400, ooo Saracens. Charles Marttl, by his activity, prudence, and valour, gained a com- plete victory over this formidable Army. Hardly, fay the greater part of Hiftorians, did 25,000 of them efcape. If this brave man had not ftemmed that impetuous torrent, perhaps we might have feen at this day as many Turbans in France, as are now in Afia. What obliga- tions then do not we lie under to him! But Charles, in order to pay and retain f his foldiers, had availed himfelf of all the gold and filver he found in the Monafteries : He even diftributed rich Abbeys amongft thofe of his Captains who had moft diftinguiflied themfelves in his fervice. He was damned, and damned in body and foul y to render his damnation, according to the rude notions of that uncultivated age, flill more ihameful. It is recorded in the Life of St. Eucbtr, (Mezeray, Tom. I. p. 331.) " That being at " prayer, he was ravifhed in fpirit, and led by " an Angel into Hell ; that he there faw Charles " Martel, and learnt of the Angel, that the " Saints, whofe Churches that Prince had robbed, " had condemned him to burn eternally in body " and foul. St. Eucber, adds the Hiftorian, wrote " an account of this revelation to Boniface, " Bifhop of Mentz, and to Fulrad, Arch-chaplain to f P, Daniel, Tom. J. p. 347. upon Paris. 311 " to Pepln the Short, praying them to open " the tomb of Charles Martel, and to fee whether " the body ftill remained there. The tomb was " opened accordingly. The bottom of it was " all burnt, and nothing found but a large fer- " pent that iflued out of it with a ftinking " fmoke. " Boniface did not omit to acquaint Ptpin the Short and Carlcman of all tbefe proofs and circumftances of their father's damnation. Lewis of Germany * having in 858 feized upon fome Ecclefiaftical Eftates, the Bifhops of the Aflembly of Crecy put him in mind by letter of all the particulars of this terrible hiftory, add- ing at the fame time, that they had received them from old men of undoubted credit, who had been eye-witnefles of the whole. I conclude this article upon the Manners and Ufages of the firft Race with faying, that the ferocious, perfidious, and barbarous conduct of Clovis, and the greater part of his fons and grand- fons, ought not to prejudice us againfl the cha- racter of the French of thofe early times. My idea perhaps may appear fingular. I hold, that in a State compofed, as the Monarchy was at that period, of one Nation abfolutely free, and of another that had been fubdued, it was next to an impoflibility that there fhould be good Kings. * Aftztray, Tora. I. .p. 332. 312 Hiftorical Effays upon Paris. Kings. The Frenchman enjoyed independence, relifhed it, and never went to Court. The Kings therefore had no Favourites, but fuch as they had enfranchifed : their Confidents were Slaves ; and their Privy-Council confifted of Gauls, who were ftudious only of raifing themfelves, and whofe trembling withered foul?, devoted to the caprice of their Idol, approved of his tranfports, and flattered all his paflions. End of the Firjl Volume. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. )wt-7,'70(N8475s8) C-120 UC SOUTHERN REGION I A 000 020 791 o