Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/56

 18 Readings in European History Marriage of Louis XII with the sister of Henry VIII. Accession of Francis I rejoin his dear wife. His only remaining comfort was in the two good and beautiful princesses whom his wife had borne him, Claude and Renee, the latter about three years old. . . . Later in this same year, about the month of October, through the mediation of Lord Longueville, who was then a prisoner in England, a marriage was arranged between King Louis and Mary, sister of the English king ; and the lady was conducted to Abbeville, where our lord king mar- ried her. He did not much need to be married, for many reasons, nor did he greatly care to ; but as he saw himself threatened with war on all hands and could not maintain himself without burdening his people, like the pelican, he sacrificed himself for his children. For when the queen Mary [then sixteen years old] had made her entry into Paris, with great magnificence; and after many jousts and tourneys, which lasted more than six weeks, were over, the good king, to please his young wife, changed his whole manner of life ; for where he had been wont to breakfast at eight o'clock he had to take his dejeuner at noon, and instead of going to bed at six o'clock in the evening he often did not get to bed before midnight. So, toward the end of December, he fell ill of a disease which defied all human remedies, and he rendered up his soul to God on the first of the following January after midnight. He had been a good prince, wise and upright, who main- tained peace among his subjects and had not burdened them except when he was compelled to do so. He had seen much good and much evil in his time, for he knew the world well. He had won many victories over his ene- mies, but at the end of his life fortune turned a rather sour face upon him. . . . After him Francis, the first of that name, succeeded to the crown at the age of twenty. He was as handsome a prince as the world had ever seen, and had married Lady Claude of France, the eldest daughter of the king, his pred- ecessor, and of the duchess of Brittany. Never has there been a king in France so beloved of the nobles. He was