struggle for religious liberty was but the prelude to what was to follow.  There was abundant proof later that Protestants no less than Papists needed only opportunity and power to be as cruel and intolerant as their persecutors had been.  Before the Reformation was fifty years old, Servetus, one of the greatest men of his age, a scholar, philosopher, and man of irreproachable character, was burned at Geneva for heretical views concerning the nature of the Trinity; Calvin, the great organizer of Protestant theology, giving, if not the order for this odious crime, at least the nod of approval for its commission.

France had known many tragedies.  But when Francis, in pursuance of his Italian policy, secured the hand of Catharine de’ Medici for his son and heir, Henry II., he prepared the way for the most tragic event in her history.  Powerless to win the affection, or even confidence, of Henry while he lived, Catharine remained unobserved; but, as the event proved, not unobservant.  Her astute mind had been studying every current in the kingdom.

Two families had come into prominence during this reign which were to play leading parts in the immediate future:  the family of Guise, of the house of Lorraine, represented by Francis, Duke of Guise; and that of Chatillon, of which Admiral Coligny was the head, both of whom Catharine hated and had marked for destruction.

Mary, of the house of Guise, was the wife of James VI. of Scotland; and through the powerful influence of the Guises, the brothers of the Scottish queen, a marriage was arranged between her daughter—­her most serene little highness, Marie Stuart—­and the dauphin, who would some day be Francis II.

In order to be prepared for this high destiny, the little maid when only five years old was brought to the Court of France to be trained under the direct influence of the accomplished queen-mother, Catharine—­undoubtedly, although unsuspected then, the worst woman in Europe!  Poor little Marie Stuart, predestined to sin and to tragedy!  What could be expected of a woman with the blood of the Guises in her veins, and with Catharine de’ Medici as her model and teacher?

In 1559 Henry II. was killed by an accident at a tournament.  The marriage of the two children had taken place.  The sickly boy, with only a modest portion of intelligence, was Francis II., King of France.  Marie, his beautiful and adored queen, controlled him utterly, and was herself in turn controlled by her uncles of the house of Guise.  In fact, the family of Guise, which was the head of the Catholic party in the kingdom, ruled France, with the strange result that if Catharine looked for any allies in her fight with this ambitious family, she must make common cause with the Protestants, led by Admiral Coligny, whom she hated only a little less than the uncles of Marie Stuart.

The princes of the house of Bourbon, a remote branch of the royal family, which, next to Francis, were the nearest to the throne, had been extremely jealous of the growing power of the Guises.  Now they saw them, as the advisers of the young king, actually usurping the position which was theirs by right of birth.