Preparations for resistance were made at once in the principal cities of the south.

[Sidenote: Siege of La Rochelle] La Rochelle, besieged by the royal troops, evinced a heroism worthy of the cause.

While the men repulsed the furious assaults of the enemy the women built up the walls that crumbled under the powerful fire of the artillery.

A faction of citizens who demanded surrender was sternly suppressed and the city held out until relief came from an unhoped quarter.

The king's brother, Henry Duke of Anjou, was elected to the throne of Poland on condition that he would allow liberty of conscience to Polish Protestants.