fancied the letter a mere pretext. "It is of no great consequence; all
about a Persian cat, I believe. So you may take it and give it her
to-morrow, if she is gone to bed now. There it is. But how is it you
are not with the young Count now? The Duke of Guise!--Page to the Duke
of Guise! Why, that is a step, indeed!"
"Hush!" cried Ignati, hearing the door of the Duke's cabinet open
behind the arras. "Hush! get you gone with all speed! They are coming
out; and if they find you here, I would not answer for your ears, or
my own either."
The man started up, and ran out of the door by which he had entered,
as fast as possible. But he had scarcely made his escape, when the
tapestry which covered the doorway into the Duke's cabinet was drawn
aside, and the Cardinal de Guise, with the Archbishop of Lyons, and
the rest of Leaguers, came forth from their conference with the Duke.
CHAP. XIII.
It is now necessary to turn to other apartments in the chateau
of Blois: namely, a suite inhabited by the King himself. It
comprised--besides several others both above and below--the King's
bed-room, into which opened four doors--one communicating with the
Monarch's private staircase, which we have already spoken of--one to
the right entering into a small dressing-room--one to the left, which
gave admittance to a chamber called the old cabinet--and one
communicating by a short and narrow passage with the large chamber,
which, during the residence of the King at Blois, was employed as a
council-room. The walls of the council-room were bare; but those of
the King's chamber and the two cabinets were lined throughout with
rich old tapestry.
Before five o'clock on the morning of the 23d of December, Henry had
risen from his bed and dressed himself in haste, and as soon as his
toilet was completed, one of his valets was dispatched with all speed
to bear a message, which had already been entrusted to him. The King
then passed out of his dressing-room into his bed-chamber, holding a
light in his hand, and approached the door which led to the private
staircase. There was eagerness and much anxiety in his countenance,
and his eyes were fixed upon the top of the stairs with an intense
gaze, which seemed to strain them from their orbits.
At length a heavy foot was heard ascending, and then several more, and
in a moment after the head and shoulders of an armed man, carrying a
light, appeared at the mouth of the staircase.
"Ah, Laugnac, this is well!" cried the King, as soon as he saw him.
"You are punctual and prepared, I see. Whom have you with you?"
"Nine of my most determined fellows, Sire," replied Laugnac. "There is
not one, indeed, of the Forty-five that would not shed his life's
blood for your Majesty. But these gentlemen I know well for men who
would kill the devil himself, I believe, if you were to bid them."
As he spoke, half a dozen steps behind him appeared, man after man,
nine of the Gascon band, called the "Quarante-cinq," in whose
countenances might be read that sort of remorseless determination,
which was suited to the moment and the deed, and whose frames
displayed the strength requisite to execute whatever violent act was
entrusted to them.
"This is well; this is well," said the King, as they entered. "But
where is Larchant, Laugnac?"
"He remained behind, Sire," replied the other, "as it will be
necessary to secure the doors of the council-chamber. Whenever the
enemy has entered, he will come round and join your Majesty."
"I should like to have some one with me in the cabinet," said the
King. "Run and tell Ornano, Bonnivet, and la Grange, to come to me,"
he continued, speaking to a valet. "Bring them by the back staircase."
The valet went away with a pale countenance, feeling all the agitation
which such events might well produce; and while he was gone, the King,
after asking Laugnac if he had explained to his companions what was
the task in which they were about to be employed, addressed them all
in a short speech, not without eloquence and fire.
When he had concluded, he made Laugnac open one of the large chests
which formed the window-seats of his bed-room, and taking thence a
number of long, sharp, and well-pointed knives, he gave them with his
own hands to the assassins, saying, "Here, gentlemen, are the avengers
of your liberty and mine! and I command and authorise you to use them
for the punishment of the greatest criminal in my kingdom. Every law,
divine and human, requires his death; and where power prevents the
ordinary course of justice from taking place, it is a right and a
privilege of the sovereign to execute judgment by any means that
present themselves! Now, follow me, gentlemen!" And leading them on to
the other side of the chamber, he posted them himself,--the principal
part of them in the old cabinet, and the rest behind the arras round
the door of the bed-room itself. Most of those even who were in the
cabinet were concealed also behind the arras near the entrance, and
the door was left open.
By the time this had been arranged a page had entered the King's
bed-room, and now informed him that the gentlemen he had sent for had
arrived, adding, "Monsieur de Nambu is there also, Sire, saying you
told him last night to come at this hour."
"I did, I did," said the King. "Bid them all come up;" and greeting
the others briefly, he took Nambu by the arm and led him into the
passage which conducted to the council-chamber. Through the door which
led thither voices were heard speaking beyond.
"Stay there, Nambu," he said in a whisper, "and let no one pass
without my especial order. The council cannot have begun its sitting
yet, for it is still dark, I see."
"As I passed by I saw into the room," said Nambu, "and there were none
but ushers and such people: but I heard that the Duke had been sent
for according to the commands your Majesty gave last night."
The King then left him, and returned into his room, where he found
Laugnac and the rest of the gentlemen, whom he led towards the door of
his dressing-room.
"I have taken off my head-piece and cuirass, Sire," said Laugnac, "as
I intend to remain here at the door of your Majesty's dressing-room
till the matter is settled, and the sight of arms might scare the
prey."
"Right, right, Laugnac!" replied the King. "Bid the page send for
Revol by the back staircase. We shall want him to fetch the Duke."
And, this said, he retired into his cabinet.
The page ran round at once to the door of the council-chamber, where
he found Revol just about to enter; and whispering a word to him, the
Secretary of State gave the bag of papers which he had in his hand to
one of the ushers, bidding him hold it till he returned, and followed
the King's domestic, forbidding the servants, who had accompanied him
thither, to go any farther. The spot where they remained was the large
open space at the top of the great staircase, and a number of other
persons were there collected, while the company of the King's guard
might be seen at the foot of the staircase, not, indeed, under arms,
or drawn up in regular order, but waiting apparently for the arrival
of some one to give them directions.
After the departure of Revol, the statesmen who had been summoned to
the council arrived rapidly one after the other. The Cardinal of
Vendome was amongst the first, and then followed the Marshals de Retz
and d'Aumont. Some other members of the council came next, and then
the Archbishop of Lyons. But still neither the Cardinal de Guise nor
the Duke had made their appearance. Time was now wearing on, and
occasionally a page, or valet-de-chambre, known to belong to the King,
was seen to come and speak with some of the people at the top of the
staircase, and then return suddenly.
While this was going on, a boy, bearing the habiliments of a page of
the Duke of Guise, passed along at the foot of the staircase; and,
seeing a number of archers of the guard collected there, he ran
lightly up the steps and mingled with the various persons collected.
He passed rapidly along from one to another, as if he was looking for
some person, spoke to two or three of those whose faces he knew, and
then hurrying away down the stairs, passed with a step of light to the
apartments of the Duke of Guise. He found that Prince just quitting
his cabinet and entering the antechamber. A number of gentlemen and
officers followed him, but the boy advanced straight towards him with
a degree of familiarity, neither insolent nor ungraceful, and kissing
his hand said, with his slight Italian accent, "May so humble a being
as I am detain your Highness for one moment?"
"What is it, Ignati? Speak!" said the Duke of Guise, "I am already
late for the council, my good boy."
"Your Highness promised to grant me any favour I asked," replied the
boy, "and as the greatest at this moment, I ask to speak with your
Highness alone."
"What is it?" said the Duke somewhat impatiently; "what is it?" And he
drew him a little on one side, motioning the rest to remain.
"My Lord," said Ignati, "there is danger going forward, I am sure.
All the archers of the guard are at the foot of the staircase;
there are many strange faces, not usually seen at the door of the
council-chamber. Twice I saw a servant of the King's come and speak to
Henville, and hearing you had not arrived, go round again, as if by
the back staircase, to the King's apartments. I am sure, sir, there is
something wrong."
The Duke smiled, but it was somewhat thoughtfully. "Thank you, my good
boy," he said. "I know rumours often precede the act; but I cannot
pause to consider such things now."
"Oh, sir, think!" the boy ventured to exclaim; "think how the welfare
of the State and the welfare of a thousand individuals depend entirely
upon your safety. What would become of me? What would become of the
young Count and his bride, if----"
"Ay, well bethought," replied the Duke. "Bring me here paper and the
ink-horn;" and when the boy brought them, Guise bent down over a large
coffer that stood near, and wrote a few lines.
"Take that to the Count," he said, as soon as he had finished writing.
"Quick, Ignati: but, after all, these warnings are but nonsense. There
is nobody in France dares do it. Look, I have delayed too long. Here
comes a messenger from the King."
"As I find your Highness coming," said the usher, approaching the
Duke, "it is needless, perhaps, to deliver the King's message: but I
was directed to say to your Highness that the council waited, and that
His Majesty was extremely anxious that the business of the day should
go on, as he wished to proceed to Clery in time for dinner. If your
Highness were not well, he said, perhaps you would not object to the
council being held without you."
"You see!" said the Duke in a low voice, turning towards Ignati with a
smile, "you see!" And following the usher, he walked on upon his way
towards the council-chamber.
At the bottom of the staircase he found Larchant and the whole body of
archers of the guard, who now pressed round him somewhat closely.
"What is it, Larchant? what is it, my good friend?" said the Duke.
"Your presence here is unusual, I think."
"We are here, your Highness," replied Larchant, "to solicit in a body
your mediation with the King. You promised me yesterday, my Lord, that
you would present our petition to his Majesty, and advocate our cause
in the council. These poor fellows have not received any pay for
months; I might almost say years."
"I did advocate your cause, yesterday," said the Duke, "and his
Majesty graciously sent an order upon the treasurer by one of the
ushers."
"But the treasurer ungraciously told us, sir, that there was not a
sous in his coffers," replied Larchant; and the Duke taking the paper
out of his hand, began to mount the stairs, saying, "I will see to it,
Larchant; I will see to it."
Larchant and the archers followed him up the steps, still pressing
close upon him; and he heard a low deep voice say from the midst of
them, "Look to yourself, my Lord Duke, there are bad men abroad!"
The Duke passed on, however, without notice and entered the hall of
the council, the ushers drawing back with low bows as he appeared, and
throwing open the doors for him to go in. The moment after those fatal
doors had closed behind him, the archers drew up across them at the
head of the stairs. Larchant hurried away towards the chamber of the
King, and Villequier, passing rapidly by, said in a low voice to one
of the attendants, "Go down to Monsieur de Crillon, at the Corps de
Garde; tell him to shut and guard the gates, as the Duke has gone in."
Though he spoke low, he seemed little to heed who listened to the
words; and they were heard by the boy Ignati, who, with the painful
conviction that some great evil was about to befall the Duke, had
followed him step by step to the council-chamber. The boy put his hand
to his brow with a look of painful anxiety, and darted away once more
towards the apartments of the Duke of Guise. The first person he met
with there was Pericard, the Duke's secretary; and grasping his arm,
he exclaimed, "They will murder him! they will murder him! They are
closing the gates of the castle and guarding them!"
Pericard rushed to one of the windows that looked out into the court.
"Too true, indeed!" he exclaimed. "Too true, indeed! It may be yet
time to save him though. Run quick, Ignati, and get one of the
Duke's handkerchiefs while I write." And with a rapid hand he wrote
down,--"My Lord, your death is resolved. They are barring and guarding
the gates. I beseech you come out from the hall of the council to your
own apartments. We can make them good against all the world, till the
town rises to protect you."
Before he had done, the boy was back again with the handkerchief; and
enveloping the note therein, Pericard gave it to him, exclaiming,
"Fly, fly with that to the door of the council-chamber, Ignati. The
ushers will let you in, surely, to give it to the Duke, if you say
that he has forgotten his handkerchief."
"They have let me in before," said Ignati; "but I doubt it now. I will
try and make my way at all events."
Again he flew to the top of the staircase, and, as if a matter of
course, pushed up towards the door, endeavouring to force his way
through the archers.
"Stand back, saucy spright," cried one of the men; "you cannot pass
here."
"But I must pass," cried the boy, turning upon him with a fierce air
of authority. "I am the Duke of Guise's page, and bring him his
handkerchief, which he forgot. Make way, saucy archer, or I will teach
you to whom you speak."
"Listen to the insolence of these Guisards," said the man. "But their
day is over. Stand back, fool, or I'll knock you down with my
partisan."
The boy laid his hand upon his dagger, still striving to push forward;
and the man, without further words, struck him a blow over the head
with the staff of his halbert, which laid him prostrate upon the
ground. For a moment he seemed stunned, but then, starting up, he
turned away, and went down the stairs, bursting into tears ere he
reached the bottom, not with the pain of the blow he had received, but
with the bitter conviction that the last effort had failed, and the
fate of Guise was sealed.
In the meantime the Duke of Guise entered the council-room, carrying
in his hand the petition of the guards. Every one rose at his
approach; and as the greater part of those present were personally
friendly towards him, he went round and spoke to them with his usual
grace and suavity, and then laying the petition on the table,
approached the fire, saying, "It is awfully cold this morning! Has not
his Majesty yet appeared?"
"Not yet," replied the Cardinal de Guise, "though we expected him
before, for he sent down to hasten our coming. But what is the matter
with your Highness? there is blood trickling over your mustachio."
"The cold has made my nose bleed twice this morning," replied the
Duke, and putting his hand in his pocket he said, "My people have been
negligent; they have forgotten to give me a handkerchief. St Prix," he
continued, turning his head to one of the King's valets-de-chambre,
who stood on the inside of the door communicating with the King's
apartments. "I wish you would send to my rooms for a handkerchief. You
will find some of my people at the door."
"There are plenty, my Lord, belonging to the King," replied St. Prix,
"in this little cabinet:" and crossing the hall of the council, he
took one out and gave it to the Duke, who thanked him graciously, and
still sitting by the fire fell into a deep fit of thought. Suddenly,
however, he turned pale; his eyes assumed the same expression as they
had done the night before, when he had fancied he saw a figure in the
room with him, and taking a small silver bonbonniere from his pocket,
he opened it, as if seeking for something that it usually contained,
saying at the same time, "I feel very faint!--My people have neglected
every thing," he added, "this morning."
Several members of the council gathered round him, and St. Prix, the
valet, brought him from the cabinet where the handkerchief had been
found, some of the dried plums of Brignolles, which were then held as
a restorative. The Duke took one of them and ate it, and placed the
others in the bonbonniere. After a little, his colour returned, and he
said, "I am better now. How strange these attacks are, and how
fortunate that one never feels them on occasions of battle or danger!"
A moment or two after, he took a turn or two up and down the room, and
seemed perfectly recovered; and as he was about to resume his seat,
the door of the passage leading to the King's chamber was opened, and
the Secretary of State, Revol, entered, saying, "Monseigneur, his
Majesty wishes to speak a word with your Highness before the business
of the council commences. You will find him in the old cabinet to the
left."
Revol was as pale as death. But the Duke of Guise took not the
slightest notice; and, passing through the door, which St. Prix held
open for him and closed after him, he advanced towards the chamber of
the King.
On entering it he saw Laugnac seated upon the coffer at the farther
end of the room; and he remarked, with an angry frown, that the King's
attendant did not rise when he entered. He said nothing, however, but
turned towards the door of the old cabinet, which was too low to
suffer him to pass without bowing his head. He accordingly stooped for
the purpose; and, raising the tapestry with his left hand, while he
held his hat in the right, he passed on.
He had scarcely taken a step into the cabinet, however, when he at
once saw several men in arms standing round. At the same moment there
was a sound close to him; and, springing from behind the arras, a
fierce and powerful man, named St. Malines, rushed upon him.
The Duke dropped his hat, and moved his hand towards his sword; but at
the same moment some one seized the hilt with both hands, and St.
Malines struck him a blow with a knife over the left shoulder, burying
the weapon in his bosom.
Another and another blow succeeded from the hands of those around him:
the blood rushed up into his mouth and throat; but still, with
prodigious power, he seized two of those who were assailing him, and
dashed them headlong to the ground, exclaiming at the same time, "Ah,
traitors!"
Rushing towards the door, he dragged another along with him into the
chamber of the King; and seeing Laugnac still there, and marking him
as the instigator of his murder, with a brow awful in the struggle of
the strong spirit against the power of death, with hands clenched, and
teeth set, he darted towards him.
Ere he had taken two steps, however, his brain reeled, his eyes lost
their sight, and Laugnac starting up saw, by the fearful swimming of
those visionless orbs, that the terrible deed was fully accomplished,
that the life of Guise was at an end; and though the Duke still rushed
forward upon him with the convulsive impulse of his last sensation,
the Captain of the Quarante-cinq did not even unsheath his sword, but
merely struck him a light blow with the weapon in the scabbard, and
Guise fell headlong on the carpet by the King's bedside.
The sound of that deep heavy fall was enough, and Henry, coming forth
from his cabinet, gazed for several minutes earnestly upon the dead
man, while the dark blood rushed forth, and formed a pool round the
Monarch's feet.
The countenance of every one there present, lips and cheek alike, were
as white as parchment; and for two or three minutes not a word was
spoken, till at length the King exclaimed, "What a height he was! He
seems to me taller even dead than living!"
Then setting his foot upon the dead man's neck, he cruelly repeated
the cruel words which Guise himself had used at the death of Coligny,
"Venomous beast, thou shalt spit forth no more poison!"
CHAP. XIV.
From the door of the council-chamber the boy Ignati flew back to the
apartments of the Duke of Guise, and the tidings which he brought
spread confusion and terror through the whole of the Duke's domestics:
but Ignati was of a clinging and affectionate disposition, and after
the Duke, his master, his next thoughts turned to Charles of
Montsoreau. To his apartments then the boy proceeded with all possible
speed, having in his hand the note from the Duke of Guise, which he
had almost forgotten in the agitation of the late events. He found the
young nobleman already dressed, and concluding with his attendants
various arrangements for his approaching union with her he loved--an
union, indeed, entirely dependent upon the life of him who was at that
very moment falling under the blows of assassins.
With the natural hopefulness of youth and of high courage, Charles of
Montsoreau, though still somewhat anxious, had nearly forgotten the
apprehensions of the night before. But the terrified countenance of
Ignati, and the cut upon the boy's brow from the blow he had received,
showed the young Count at once that something had gone wrong; and
demanding what was the matter, but without waiting for an answer, he
opened the billet of the Duke of Guise, and read.
The words which he found there written were as follows:--
"I have had many warnings, Logeres, which personally, it does not
become me to attend to. However, should these warnings prove to have
been justly given, and you see Henry of Guise no more, take your fair
bride with you at once; fly to my brother of Mayenne; be united as
soon as possible, without waiting for any ceremony but the blessing of
the priest; and, to the best of your power, avenge the death of him
who was your friend to the last."
"Where is the Duke, Ignati?" demanded the young Count, eagerly. "Has
he yet gone to the council?"
"He is gone! he is gone!" replied the boy; "and he will never return!"
And in a rapid manner he told him all that had taken place, as far as
he himself yet knew it.
"Fly to the apartments of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut instantly," said
the Count. "Ask if I can speak with her, and give her that note. If
she is not in her own apartment, she is in that of the Duchess of
Nemours, which is by the side of it. Quick, Ignati; tell her there is
not a moment to be lost."
The boy sped away. The Count then gave a few rapid orders to Gondrin,
bidding him discover if there was any means of issuing forth from the
castle; and then turned his steps, as speedily as possible, towards
the chamber of Marie de Clairvaut.
In the narrow passage, however, which led towards the apartments of
the Duchess of Nemours, he was passed by Pericard, the Duke's
secretary, who slackened not his pace for an instant, but said, "Fly,
sir! Fly! The Duke is dead!" and rushed on. The next moment, Charles
met the fair girl herself, coming towards him with as swift a pace as
his own, and followed by the boy Ignati, who from time to time turned
back his head, as if to see that they were not pursued. Marie was as
pale as death.
"Oh, Charles," she said, "I fear we cannot obey my uncle's commands.
What has happened to him, I know not; but the guards have just
arrested the Duchess de Nemours and my poor cousin Joinville. It is
impossible to pass in that direction, and I fear all the gates are
guarded."
"Run to the chapel," said the boy. "Run to the chapel by the back
staircase and the little corridor behind the Duke's room. There will
be no one in the chapel in this time of confusion, and there is a way
from the chapel into the gardens. The postern may be left unguarded."