d'Anjou and d'Alençon, and a faithful servant of Henri II, Charles IX,
and Henri III, whom he served with untiring zeal during the intestine
troubles of the kingdom. He died in 1582. His son, the subject of the
present note, embraced the legal profession, and became, from
parliamentary councillor, president _à mortier_. In 1586, after the day
of the Barricades, he left Paris, and entered the service of Henri III,
who confided to him several missions in England and Italy. On the
accession of Henri IV, De Thou eagerly embraced his interests, and by
this sovereign he was also employed in negotiations of importance. At
the death of Amyot he was appointed grand master of the King's library.
During the regency of Marie de Medicis he became director-general of
finance, and was deputed, in conjunction with Cardinal Duperron, to
reform the University of Paris, and to aid in the construction of the
Royal College. Posterity is indebted to De Thou for a _History_ of his
time, in one hundred and thirty-eight books, embracing sixty years, from
1545 to 1607. His style is terse, elevated, and elegant, and the work is
full of elaborate and most minute detail. De Thou died in 1617.

[59] L'Etoile, vol. iv. pp. 164-169.

[60] Mézeray, vol. xi. pp. 9, 10.

[61] Antoine Arnaud was the elder son of Antoine Arnaud, captain of the
light horse, and subsequently attorney and advocate-general of Catherine
de Medicis. The younger Arnaud embraced the legal profession, and became
an advocate of the Parliament of Paris, where he distinguished himself
by his probity and eloquence. Henri IV rewarded his merit by the brevet
of councillor of state, and Marie de Medicis appointed him
advocate-general. When offered the dignity of secretary of state, he
resolutely refused to accept it, representing to the Regent that he