3-003-774 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Bed of Henry IV. of France, in the Chateau Pau, 1861. Engraving of '...the old-fashioned bed of Henry, which, like most of the ancient furniture, was collected by Louis Philippe in his attempt to restore the historic mansion to its pristine splendour. The bed in question is curiously enriched with carvings in wood, the most notable among them being seventy-five medallion heads of the Kings of France and of renowned French warriors. A small portion of the upper panelling is supposed to be of comparatively modern workmanship; but the rest is undoubtedly some centuries old...In the chamber where it now stands the great Protestant Sovereign [Henry IV] probably first saw the light. It was there, in all likelihood, that his heroic grandfather, Henri d'Albret, having first rubbed his infant lips with garlic, after the manner of the Bearnois, poured down his throat some of the fiery wine of Jurançon, and exclaimed, "Va, tu seras un vrai Bearnais!" the same heroic grandfather having previously compelled the mother to sing a merry song during the pangs of childbirth!'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.