AMBOISE, a town of France, in the former province of Touraine, now the department of the Indre and Loire, seated at the confluence of the rivers Loire and Masse. The town is the capital of a district, and has been rendered famous in history by the conspiracy of the Protestants in 1560, which opened the fatal wars of religion in France. The castle is situated on a craggy rock, extremely difficult of access, and the sides of which are almost perpendicular. At its foot flows the Loire, which is divided into two streams by a small island. To this fortress the duke of Guise, when he expected an insurrection among the Huguenots, removed Francis II. as to a place of perfect security. Only two detached parts of the ancient castle now remain, one of which was constructed by Charles VIII. and the other by Francis I. The former of these princes was born and died at Am-boise. The town is situated in long. 0. 34. E. lat. 47. 25. N.

Amboise, Francis d', son of a surgeon to Charles IX. of France. He very early obtained the patronage of that prince, and was supported by his liberality in the prosecution of his studies at the university of Navarre, where he devoted his talents to rhetoric and philosophy with great assiduity and success. His eloquence and extensive information raised him in 1572 to the place of solicitor of the French nation. He afterwards applied to the study of the law, and became one of the most accomplished advocates of the parliament of Paris. He was next advanced to be counsellor in the parliament of Bretagne, and afterwards to be a master of requests and counsellor of state. He visited different countries, and published the history of his travels, with several poetical pieces. He prefixed an apologetical preface to the edition of Abelard’s works in 1616, and with much industry collected many of his manuscripts. His brother Adrian rose to considerable consequence in the church; and his brother James was not less eminent as a physician.

Amboise, George d', a French cardinal and minister of state, was born in the year 1460. His father was a descendant of the renowned house of Amboise, and, through the influence of his powerful connections, he beheld the path of church preferment open before his son; therefore he destined him to the clerical order. In these sanguine expectations he was not disappointed; for he [7:2:596]had sufficient influence to procure for him the bishopric of Montauban at the early age of fourteen. Louis XI. appointed him one of his almoners; and, in the course of political events, he became strongly attached to the duke of Orleans, and suffered imprisonment in his cause. When this prince, however, had regained his favour at court, he was elevated to the archbishopric of Narbonne. After he had remained there for some time, he changed that station for the archbishopric of Rouen. When the duke of Orleans was governor of Normandy, he made him lieutenant-general; and in that situation he was of essential service to the province, in restoring justice and order. When the duke of Orleans became Louis XII. Amboise was suddenly raised to the elevated station of cardinal and prime minister. The same regard to equity which characterized his conduct when lieutenant-general, induced him to diminish the imposts, which rendered him very popular as first minister of France. In 1499, by his advice, the king undertook the conquest of the Milanese, and, on their revolt, the prime minister was sent to quell the rebellion. The great confidence which Louis had reposed in him induced the pope to make him his legate in France; and, in that station, he piously laboured to reform the ecclesiastical orders. He enforced his doctrine by precept, and not only set them an example of holding only one benefice at a time, but also devoted two thirds of its revenue to the poor, and to the repair of religious edifices. According to his own account, he was ambitious of the papal chair “merely for the purpose of effecting the reformation of abuses and the correction of manners.” It is reported that, upon the death of Pius HL, he would have been elected pope had he not been deceived by the Italian cardinals. Disappointed in his views with regard to the papal honours, he persuaded his master to declare war against the Venetians, to whose influence he attributed his failure. But this imprudent undertaking was suddenly interrupted; for, in the prosecution of his journey for the Venetian war, he was seized with an illness, and confined in the city of Lyons. Affliction rouses the reflecting powers of the mind, and calls to remembrance the past actions of life. From the consciousness of his past errors and faults he was induced to express his contrition to a brother of the infirmary who attended him at the convent of the Celestines. In the year 1510, and in the 50th of his age, he breathed his last in that place. Industry, steadiness, and good intention, characterized his conduct as a prime minister. He shone with peculiar brightness as a man of literature. By his liberality and patronage the arts and sciences flourished under his administration. It may be proper to add, that, assisted by some of the ablest lawyers in the kingdom, he formed a code of laws to reform the reigning abuses in the nation. Thus, by steadily pursuing the general welfare, he obtained the appellation of the “father of the people.”