par sa brigue, by its secret intrigues

1. 37. la Ligue. The Sainte- Ligue, formed by the Duc de Guise at Péronne in 1576, during the reign of Henry III, to crush out Protestantism in France, and especially to exclude Henry of Navarre from the throne.

1. 43. Nobles par votre boutonnière, ' Ennobled by a recent decoration' (in token of which a small piece of ribbon is worn in the buttonhole). Cf. Mon Habit, 11. 29-31.