The king dropped dead into the arms of his friends, the blood
gushing from the wound and from his mouth. The wretched assassin, a
fanatic monk, Francis Ravaillac, was immediately seized by the guard.
With difficulty they protected him from being torn in pieces by the
populace. He was reserved for a more terrible fate, and was subsequently
put to death by the most frightful tortures human ingenuity could
devise.
The poniard of the assassin changed the fate of Europe. Henry IV. had
formed one of the grandest plans which ever entered the human mind.
Though it is not at all probable that he could have executed it, the
attempt, with the immense means he had at his disposal, and with his
energy as a warrior and diplomatist, would doubtless have entirely
altered the aspect of human affairs. There was very much in his plan to
secure the approval of all those enlightened men who were mourning over
the incessant and cruel wars with which Europe was ever desolated. His
intention was to reconstruct Europe into fifteen States, as nearly
uniform in size and power as possible. These States were, according to
their own choice, to be monarchical or republican, and were to be
associated on a plan somewhat resembling that of the United States of
North America.
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