<P> While in the city of Lucca in 1581, he learned that, like his father before him, he had been elected mayor of Bordeaux; he returned and served as mayor . He was re-elected in 1583 and served until 1585, again moderating between Catholics and Protestants . The plague broke out in Bordeaux toward the end of his second term in office, in 1585 . In 1586, the plague and the Wars of Religion prompted him to leave his château for two years . </P> <P> Montaigne continued to extend, revise, and oversee the publication of Essais . In 1588 he wrote its third book and also met the writer Marie de Gournay, who admired his work and later edited and published it . Montaigne called her his adopted daughter . King Henry III was assassinated in 1589, and Montaigne then helped to keep Bordeaux loyal to Henry of Navarre, who would go on to become King Henry IV . </P> <P> Montaigne died of quinsy at the age of 59, in 1592 at the Château de Montaigne . The disease in his case "brought about paralysis of the tongue", and he had once said "the most fruitful and natural play of the mind is conversation . I find it sweeter than any other action in life; and if I were forced to choose, I think I would rather lose my sight than my hearing and voice ." Remaining in possession of all his other faculties, he requested mass, and died during the celebration of that mass . </P> <P> He was buried nearby . Later his remains were moved to the church of Saint Antoine at Bordeaux . The church no longer exists: it became the Convent des Feuillants, which has also disappeared . The Bordeaux Tourist Office says that Montaigne is buried at the Musée Aquitaine, Faculté des Lettres, Université Bordeaux 3 Michel de Montaigne, Pessac . His heart is preserved in the parish church of Saint - Michel - de-Montaigne . </P>

Who wrote the most famous travel account during the renaissance