i.

p.

29, second edition, 1862], "The manifesto of Henry IV., as its very name indicates, was not a contract settled between the noblesse in camp at St.Cloud and the claimant; it was a solemn and reciprocal acknowledgment by the noblesse of Henry's rights to the crown, and by Henry of the nation's political, civil, and religious rights.

The engagements entered into by Henry were only what were necessary to complete the guarantees given for the security of the rights of Catholics.

As touching the succession to the throne, the signataries themselves say that all they do is to maintain and continue the law of the land." There was, in 1589, an unlawful pretender to the throne of France; and that was Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, younger brother of Anthony de Bourbon, King of Navarre, and consequently uncle of Henry IV., sole representative of the elder branch.