(Peter de), Chevalier de Gié, and marshal of France, better known by the name of Marshal de Gié, was the son of Louis de Rohan, the first of the name, lord of Guémené and Montauban, and descended of one of the most ancient and most illustrious families of the kingdom. The family of Rohan, before the Revolution, held the rank of prince in France in consequence of deriving its origin from the first sovereigns of Brittany, and clearly admitted by the dukes of Brittany themselves in the states general of that province held in 1688. The house of Rohan had still another advantage, which was common to it with very few families, even the most distinguished among the princes, namely, that instead of having been aggrandised by the wealth procured from alliances, it had held in itself for seven centuries the largest possessions of any family in the kingdom.

One of the most distinguished branches of this family was Peter, the subject of the present article. Louis XI. rewarded his bravery with the staff of marshal of France in 1475. He was one of the four lords who governed the kingdom during the indisposition of that prince at Chinon in 1484. Two years afterwards he opposed the attacks of the archduke of Austria upon Picardy. He commanded the van-guard at the battle of Formoue in 1495, and signalized himself much in that engagement. His bravery procured him the countenance and confidence of Louis XII. who appointed him his prime counsellor, and general of the army in Italy; but these advantages he lost, by incurring the displeasure of Anne of Brittany the queen.

The marshal had stopped some of her equipage on the road to Nantes; for which that vindictive princess prevailed on her husband to enter into a process against him before the parliament of Toulouse, at that time the most rigorous and severe in the kingdom. He was on the 15th of February 1506 found guilty, banished from the court, and deprived of the privileges and emoluments of his office for five years. The expense of this prosecution amounted to more than 31,000 livres, and it did no honour either to the king or the queen. If indeed it be true, that the queen was never so much delighted as with the humiliation of her enemies, she had good reason to be satisfied here. John of Authon, who hath entered into a pretty full detail of this affair, reports that Gié, being removed to the Chateau de Dreux, became an object of ridicule to the witless who had sworn against him. He wore a long white beard, and, quite full of the thoughts of his disgrace, took it on one occasion in his hands and covered his face with it. An ape, belonging to Alain d'Albret, count of Dreux, jumped from a bed where his master was reposing himself, and attacked the beard of Gié, who, with some difficulty, extricated himself. This scene not only occasioned much laughter to the whole company who were present, but likewise became instantly the subject of the farces and mummeries which were then acting in France. Even the school-boys made a representation of it, where, alluding to the name of the queen, they said, that there was a marshal who wished to shoe an ass (un âne), but that he received such a blow with the foot, as threw him over the wall into the garden. Marechal de Gié died at Paris, the 22d April 1513, perfectly disgusted with courts and grandeur.

(Henry duke of), peer of France, and prince of Leon, was born at the Chateau de Blein in Brittany in 1579. Henry IV., under whose eyes he gave distinguished proofs of his bravery at the siege of Amiens, when only 16 years of age, loved him with as much affection as if he had been his own son. After the death of Henry, he became chief of the Calvinists in in France; and was equally formidable for his genius as his sword. In defence of the civil and religious rights of his party, he maintained three wars against Louis XIII. The first, which terminated to the advantage of the Protestants, broke out when that prince wished to establish the Roman religion in Le Bearn; the second, because of the siege which Cardinal De Richelieu caused to be laid to Rochelle; and the third, when that place was besieged a second time. The consequences of this war are sufficiently known: Rochelle surrendered; and the duke de Rohan perceiving, that after the taking of this place, the majority of his party were endeavouring to make up matters with the court, succeeded in procuring for them a general peace in 1629, upon very honourable and advantageous terms. The only sacrifice of importance which the Huguenots were obliged to make, was their fortifications; which put it out of their power to renew the war. Some factious persons, dissatisfied with seeing their fortresses fall into their enemies hands, were ready to accuse their general of having sold them. This great man, undeserving of such odious ingratitude, pretended his breast to these enraged malcontents, and said, "Strike, strike! I wish to die by your hands, after I have hazarded my life in your service." The peace of 1629 having extinguished the flame of civil war, the duke de Rohan, no longer of use to his party, and become disagreeable at court, retired to Venice. There is a very particular anecdote of him, extracted from the Memoirs of the duchess of Rohan, Margaret of Bethune, daughter of the famous Sully. Whilst the duke de Rohan was at Venice, a proposal was made to him from the Porte, that for 200,000 crowns, and an annual tribute of 20,000, the Grand Signior would give him the island of Cyprus, and fully invest him with the dignity and prerogatives of king. The duke was warmly inclined to comply with this proposal, and to settle in the island the Protestant families of France and Germany. He negociated this business at the Porte by means of the intervention of the patriarch Cyril, with whom he had much correspondence; but different circumstances, and in particular the death of the patriarch, occurred to break off the treaty. The republic of Venice chose Rohan for their commander in chief against the Imperialists; but Louis XIII. took him from the Venetians, and sent him ambassador into Switzerland, and into the Grisons. He wished to assist these people in bringing back La Valteline under their obedience, the revolt of which the Spaniards and Imperialists encouraged. Rohan, being declared general of the Grisons, after many victories, drove the German and Spanish troops entirely from La Valteline in 1633. He defeated the Spaniards again in 1636 at the banks of the lake of Côme. France, not thinking it proper to withdraw her troops, the Grisons rose up in arms, and the duke de Rohan, not satisfied with the conduct of the court, entered into a special treaty with them the 28th March 1637. This hero, fearing the resentment of cardinal de Richelieu, retired to Geneva, with a view to join his friend the duke of Saxe-Weimar, who wished him to undertake the command of his army, then ready to engage the Imperialists near Rhinfield. Although he declined this honour, yet he took the command of the regiment of Nassau, with which he threw the enemy into confusion; but was himself wounded, February 28, 1683, and died of his wounds the 13th of April following, at the age of 59. He was interred May 27th, in the church of St Pierre in Geneva, where there is a magnificent monument of marble erected to his memory, having on it the most illustrious actions of his life. The duke de Rohan was one of the greatest generals of his time, equal to the princes of Orange, and capable, like them, of settling a commonwealth; but more zealous than they for religion, or at least appearing to be so. He was vigilant and indefatigable, not allowing himself any pleasures which might take off his attention from his necessary employments, and well qualified for being the head of a party; a post very difficult to retain, and in which he had to fear equally from his enemies and his friends. It is in this light that Voltaire has viewed this illustrious character, when he composed the following verse:

Avec tous les talens le Ciel l'avait fait naître: Il agit en Héros; en Sage il écrivit. Il fut même grand homme en combattant son Maître, Et plus grand lorsqu'il le servit.

His military virtues were much heightened by the sweetness of his disposition, his affable and courteous manners, and by a generosity which had few examples. Neither ambition, pride, nor a view of gain, could ever be traced in his character. He was wont to say, that "true glory and a zeal for the public good never dwelt where self-interest reigned." Rohan had always a particular regard for Henry the Fourth: "Truly (said he, sometimes after the death of that prince) when I think of him, my heart is ready to break. A wound received in his presence would have afforded me more satisfaction than now to gain a battle. I would have valued an encomium from him in this art, of which he was the greatest master of his time, more than than the united praises of all the commanders now living." He wrote several interesting performances: 1. The Interests of Princes, printed at Cologne in 1666, in 12mo: in which work he fully examines the public interests of all the princes of Europe. 2. The Perfect General, or an abridgement of the wars from Caesar's Commentaries, in 12mo. In this he makes it appear, that a knowledge of the tactics of the ancients might be of much use to the moderns. 3. A Treatise on the Corruption of the ancient Militia. 4. A Treatise on the Government of the Thirteen Provinces. 5. Memoirs; the best edition of which is in 2 vols 12mo. They contain the history of France from 1610 to 1629. 6. A Collection of some Political Discourses on State Affairs, from 1612 to 1629, 8vo, Paris, 1644, 1694, 1755; with the Memoirs and Letters of Henry Duke de Rohan relative to the war of La Valteline, 3 vols 12mo, Geneva, 1757. This was the first edition which appeared of these curious memoirs: We owe it to the great attention and diligence of M. le Baron de Zurlauben, who published them from different authentic manuscripts. He likewise ornamented this edition with geographical, historical, and genealogical notes, and a preface, which contains an abridged, but highly interesting life, of the duke de Rohan, author of the memoirs. The abbé Pérou has also written a life of him, which occupies the 21st and 22nd volumes of the History of the Illustrious Men of France. Some want of spirit might be excused in the detail of wars finished upwards of 140 years. years ago; yet the memoirs of the duke de Rohant still afford considerable pleasure in the perusal. He tells his story with humour, with sufficient exactness, and in such a style as procures the confidence of the reader.