Produced by David WidgerMARGUERITE DE NAVARREMEMOIRS OF MARGUERITE DE VALOISMEMOIRS OF MARGUERITE DE VALOIS QUEEN OF NAVARREWritten by HerselfBeing Historic Memoirs of the Courts of France and NavarreBOOK IILETTER XIIIThe LeagueWar Declared against the HuguenotsQueen Marguerite Setsout for SpaAt length my brother returned to Court accompanied by all the Catholicnobility who had followed his fortunes  The King received him verygraciously and showed by his reception of him how much he was pleasedat his return  Bussi who returned with my brother met likewise with agracious reception  Le Guast was now no more having died under theoperation of a particular regimen ordered for him by his physician  Hehad given himself up to every kind of debauchery and his death seemedthe judgment of the Almighty on one whose body had long been perishingand whose soul had been made over to the prince of demons as the price ofassistance through the means of diabolical magic which he constantlypractised  The King though now without this instrument of his maliciouscontrivances turned his thoughts entirely upon the destruction of theHuguenots  To effect this he strove to engage my brother against themand thereby make them his enemies and that I might be considered asanother enemy he used every means to prevent me from going to the Kingmy husband  Accordingly he showed every mark of attention to both of usand manifested an inclination to gratify all our wishesAfter some time M de Duras arrived at Court sent by the King myhusband to hasten my departure  Hereupon I pressed the King greatly tothink well of it and give me his leave  He to colour his refusal toldme he could not part with me at present as I was the chief ornament ofhis Court that he must keep me a little longer after which he wouldaccompany me himself on my way as far as Poitiers  With this answer andassurance he sent M de Duras back  These excuses were purposely framedin order to gain time until everything was prepared for declaring waragainst the Huguenots and in consequence against the King my husbandas he fully designed to doAs a pretence to break with the Huguenots a report was spread abroadthat the Catholics were dissatisfied with the Peace of Sens and thoughtthe terms of it too advantageous for the Huguenots  This rumoursucceeded and produced all that discontent amongst the Catholicsintended by it  A league was formed in the provinces and great citieswhich was joined by numbers of the Catholics  M de Guise was named asthe head of all  This was well known to the King who pretended to beignorant of what was going forward though nothing else was talked of atCourtThe States were convened to meet at Blois  Previous to the opening ofthis assembly the King called my brother to his closet where werepresent the Queen my mother and some of the Kings counsellors  Herepresented the great consequence the Catholic league was to his Stateand authority even though they should appoint De Guise as the head ofit that such a measure was of the highest importance to them bothmeaning my brother and himself that the Catholics had very just reasonto be dissatisfied with the peace and that it behoved him addressinghimself to my brother rather to join the Catholics than the Huguenotsand this from conscience as well as interest  He concluded his addressto my brother with conjuring him as a son of France and a good Catholicto assist him with his aid and counsel in this critical juncture whenhis crown and the Catholic religion were both at stake  He further saidthat in order to get the start of so formidable a league he ought toform one himself and become the head of it as well to show his zeal forreligion as to prevent the Catholics from uniting under any other leaderHe then proposed to declare himself the head of a league which should bejoined by my brother the princes nobles governors and others holdingoffices under the Government  Thus was my brother reduced to thenecessity of making his Majesty a tender of his services for the supportand maintenance of the Catholic religionThe King having now obtained assurances of my brothers assistance inthe event of a war which was his sole view in the league which he hadformed with so much art assembled together the princes and chiefnoblemen of his Court and calling for the roll of the league signed itfirst himself next calling upon my brother to sign it and lastly uponall presentThe next day the States opened their meeting when the King calling uponthe Bishops of Lyons Ambrune Vienne and other prelates there presentfor their advice was told that after the oath taken at his coronationno oath made to heretics could bind him and therefore he was absolvedfrom his engagements with the HuguenotsThis declaration being made at the opening of the assembly and wardeclared against the Huguenots the King abruptly dismissed from Courtthe Huguenot Genisac who had arrived a few days before charged by theKing my husband with a commission to hasten my departure  The King verysharply told him that his sister had been given to a Catholic and not toa Huguenot and that if the King my husband expected to have me he mustdeclare himself a CatholicEvery preparation for war was made and nothing else talked of at Courtand to make my brother still more obnoxious to the Huguenots he had thecommand of an army given him  Genisac came and informed me of the roughmessage he had been dismissed with  Hereupon I went directly to thecloset of the Queen my mother where I found the King  I expressed myresentment at being deceived by him and at being cajoled by his promiseto accompany me from Paris to Poitiers which as it now appeared was amere pretence  I represented that I did not marry by my own choice butentirely agreeable to the advice of King Charles the Queen my motherand