Page:A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country (1804).djvu/563

Rh that the countenance she had all along shewn to the protestants was merely from a spirit of toleration and compassion for their sufferings. This, however, is not probable. She was a constant reader of the Bible, and had a fancy to have plays taken from different parts of it, and acted before herself and the king, in which the follies and vices of the Romish ecclesiastics were severely handled: and throughout her works, she takes every opportunity of commenting upon them. She at one time interceded so powerfully with her brother, who was tenderly attached to her, and painted so eloquently the sufferings of the Huguenots, that he appeared inclined to favour them, till some zealots so angered him by libels, that he began to persecute them, and Margaret could no more interfere in their favour. She had written a book, called The Mirror of sinful Souls, which was censured by the Sorbonne, who, however, were induced to deny their award, at the interference of Francis, who, though in some instances he felt disposed to blame her, would let no indignities be offered to his beloved sister, without resenting them. The constable Montmorenci told him once, that if he would exterminate heretics, he must begin with his own family, thereby alluding to Margaret: but he answered, he would hear no more on that head; saying, she loved him too well to disbelieve what he believed, or to embrace a religion prejudicial to the state. Yet he could not be ignorant of her sentiments, which she took no great pains to conceal, openly hearing and protecting the popular ministers of the reformed. In this she suffered some vexations from her husband, who being told that they said prayers, and gave some instruc-