CHAPTER XXXV.
A NIGHT OF KINGS.
Charles IX. walked along with Henry leaning on his arm, followed by hisfour gentlemen and preceded by two torch-bearers.
"When I leave the Louvre," said the poor King, "I feel a pleasuresimilar to that which comes to me when I enter a beautiful forest. Ibreathe, I live, I am free."
Henry smiled.
"In that case," said he, "your Majesty would be in your element amongthe mountains of the Bearn."
"Yes, and I understand that you want to go back to them; but if you arevery anxious to do so, Henriot," added Charles, laughing, "my advice isto be careful, for my mother Catharine loves you so dearly that it isabsolutely impossible for her to get along without you."
"What does your Majesty plan to do this evening?" asked Henry, changingthis dangerous conversation.
"I want to have you meet some one, Henriot, and you shall give me youropinion."
"I am at your Majesty's orders."
"To the right! to the right! We will take the Rue des Barres."
The two kings, followed by their escort, had passed the Rue de laSavonnerie, when in front of the Hotel de Conde they saw two men,wrapped in large cloaks, coming out of a secret door which one of themnoiselessly closed behind him.
"Oh! oh!" said the King to Henry, who as usual had seen everything, buthad not spoken, "this deserves attention."
"Why do you say that, sire?" asked the King of Navarre.
"It is not on your account, Henriot. You are sure of your wife," addedCharles with a smile; "but your cousin De Conde is not sure of his, orif so, he is making a mistake, the devil!"
"But how do you know, sire, that it is Madame de Conde whom thesegentlemen have been visiting?"
"Instinct tells me. The fact that the men stood in the doorway withoutmoving until they saw us; then the cut of the shorter one's cloak--byHeaven! that would be strange!"
"What?"
"Nothing. An idea I had, that is all; let us go on."
He walked up to the two men, who, seeing him, started to walk away.
"Hello, gentlemen!" cried the King; "stop!"
"Are you speaking to us?" asked a voice which made Charles and hiscompanion tremble.
"Well, Henriot," said Charles, "do you recognize the voice now?"
"Sire," said Henry, "if your brother the Duc d'Anjou was not at LaRochelle, I would swear it was he speaking."
"Well," said Charles, "he is not at La Rochelle, that is all."
"But who is with him?"
"Do you not recognize his companion?"
"No, sire."
"Yet his figure is unmistakable. Wait, you shall see who he is--hello,there! I tell you," cried the King, "do you not hear, by Heaven?"
"Are you the watch, that you order us to stop?" said the taller of thetwo men, freeing his arm from the folds of his cloak.
"Pretend that we are the watch," said the King, "and stop when we tellyou to do so."
Leaning over to Henry's ear, he added:
"Now you will see the volcano send forth its fire."
"There are eight of you," said the taller of the two men, this timeshowing not only his arm but his face, "but were you a hundred, passon!"
"Ah! ah! the Duc de Guise!" said Henry.
"Ah! our cousin from Lorraine," said the King; "at last you will meet!How fortunate!"
"The King!" cried the duke.
At these words the other man covered himself with his cloak and stoodmotionless, having first uncovered out of respect.
"Sire," said the Duc de Guise, "I have just been paying a visit to mysister-in-law, Madame de Conde."
"Yes--and you brought one of your gentlemen with you? Which one?"
"Sire," replied the duke, "your Majesty does not know him."
"We will meet him, however," said the King.
Walking up to the other figure, he signed to one of the lackeys to bringa torch.
"Pardon me, brother!" said the Duc d'Anjou, opening his cloak and bowingwith poorly disguised anger.
"Ah! ah! Henry, is it you? But no, it is not possible, I am mistaken--mybrother of Anjou would not have gone to see any one else before firstcalling on me. He knows that for royal princes, returning to thecapital, Paris has but one entrance, the gate of the Louvre."
"Pardon me, sire," said the Duc d'Anjou; "I beg your Majesty to excusemy thoughtlessness."
"Ah, yes!" replied the King, mockingly; "and what were you doing,brother, at the Hotel de Conde?"
"Why," said the King of Navarre in his sly way, "what your Majestyintimated just now."
And leaning over to the King he ended his sentence in a burst oflaughter.
"What is it?" asked the Duc de Guise, haughtily; for like every one elseat court, he had a way of treating the poor King of Navarre very rudely,"why should I not go and see my sister-in-law. Does not Monsieur le Ducd'Alencon visit his?"
Henry flushed slightly.
"What sister-in-law?" asked Charles. "I know none except QueenElizabeth."
"Pardon, sire! it was your sister I should have said--Madame Marguerite,whom we saw pass in her litter as we came by here half an hour ago. Shewas accompanied by two courtiers who rode on either side of her."
"Indeed!" said Charles. "What do you say to that, Henry?"
"That the Queen of Navarre is perfectly free to go where she pleases,but I doubt if she has left the Louvre."
"Well, I am sure she did," said the Duc de Guise.
"And I too," said the Duc d'Anjou, "from the fact that the litterstopped in the Rue Cloche Percee."
"Your sister-in-law, not this one," said Henry, pointing to the Hotel deConde, "but that one," turning in the direction of the Hotel de Guise,"must also be of the party, for we left them together, and, as you know,they are inseparable."
"I do not know what your majesty means," replied the Duc de Guise.
"On the contrary," said the king, "nothing is simpler. That is why acourtier was riding at either side of the litter."
"Well!" said the duke, "if there is any scandal concerning mysisters-in-law, let us beg the King to withhold justice."
"Well, by Heaven," said Henry, "let us leave Madame de Conde and Madamede Nevers; the King is not anxious about his sister--and I haveconfidence in my wife."
"No, no," said Charles, "I want to make sure of it; but let us attend tothe matter ourselves. The litter stopped in the Rue Cloche Percee, yousay, cousin?"
"Yes, sire."
"Do you know the house?"
"Yes, sire."
"Well, let us go to it. And if in order to find out who is in it, it isnecessary to burn it down, we will burn it."
It was with this end in view, which was rather discouraging for thetranquillity of those concerned, that the four chief lords of theChristian world set out to the Rue Saint Antoine.
They reached the Rue Cloche Percee. Charles, who wished to workprivately, dismissed the gentlemen of his suite, saying that they mighthave the rest of the night to themselves, but for them to be at theBastille with two horses at six o'clock in the morning.
There were only three houses in the Rue Cloche Percee. The search wasmuch less difficult as two of the buildings were perfectly willing toopen their doors. One of the houses faced the Rue Saint Antoine and theother the Rue du Roi de Sicile.
As to the third house, that was a different matter. It was the one whichwas guarded by the German janitor, and this janitor was not easilymanaged. That night Paris seemed destined to offer memorable examples ofconjugal fidelity. In vain did Monsieur de Guise threaten in his purestSaxon; in vain did Henry of Anjou offer a purse filled with gold; invain Charles went so far as to say that he was lieutenant of the watch;the brave German paid attention neither to the statement, the offer, northe threats. Seeing that they insisted, and in a way that was becomingimportunate, he slipped the nose of a gun under the iron bars, a movewhich brought forth bursts of laughter from three of the four visitors.Henry of Navarre stood apart, as if the affair had no interest for him
.But as the weapon could not be turned between the bars, it was scarcelydangerous for any except a blind man, who might stand directly in frontof it.
Seeing that the porter was neither to be intimidated, bribed, norpersuaded, the Duc de Guise pretended to leave with his companions; butthe retreat did not last long. At the corner of the Rue Saint Antoinethe duke found what he sought. This was a rock similar in size to thosewhich three thousand years before had been moved by Ajax, son ofTelamon, and Diomed. The duke raised it to his shoulder and came back,signing to his companions to follow. Just then the janitor, who had seenthose he took for malefactors depart, closed the door. But he had nottime to draw the bolts before the Duc de Guise took advantage of themoment, and hurled his veritable living catapult against the door. Thelock broke, carrying away a portion of the wall to which it had beenfastened. The door sprang open, knocking down the German, who, infalling, gave a terrible cry. This cry awakened the garrison, whichotherwise would have run great risk of being surprised.
At that moment La Mole and Marguerite were translating an idyl ofTheocritus, and Coconnas, pretending that he too was a Greek, wasdrinking some strong wine from Syracuse with Henriette. The scientificand bacchanalian conversation was violently interrupted.
La Mole and Coconnas at once extinguished the candles, and opening thewindows, sprang out on the balcony. Then perceiving four men in thedarkness, they set to work to hurl at them everything they had at hand,in the meantime making a frightful noise with blows from the flat oftheir swords, which, however, struck nothing but the wall. Charles, themost infuriated of the besiegers, received a sharp blow on the shoulder,the Duc d'Anjou a bowl full of orange and lemon marmalade, and the Ducde Guise a leg of venison. Henry received nothing. He was downstairsquestioning the porter, whom Monsieur de Guise had strapped to the door,and who continued to answer by his eternal "_Ich verstehe nicht._" Thewomen encouraged the besieged by handing them projectiles, whichsucceeded one another like hailstones.
"The devil!" exclaimed Charles IX., as a table struck his head, drivinghis hat over his eyes, "if they don't open the door pretty soon I willhave them all hanged."
"My brother!" whispered Marguerite to La Mole.
"The King!" cried the latter to Henriette.
"The King! the King!" repeated Henriette to Coconnas, who was dragging achest to the window, and who was trying to exterminate the Duc de Guise.Without knowing who the latter was he was having a private struggle withhim.
"The King, I tell you," repeated Henriette.
Coconnas let go of the chest and looked up in amazement.
"The King?" said he.
"Yes, the King."
"Then let us hide."
"Yes. La Mole and Marguerite have already fled. Come!"
"Where?"
"Come, I tell you."
And seizing him by the hand, Henriette pushed Coconnas through thesecret door which connected with the adjoining house, and all four,having locked this door behind them, escaped into the Rue Tizon.
"Oh! oh!" said Charles, "I think that the garrison has surrendered."
They waited a few minutes. No sound reached the besiegers.
"They are preparing some ruse," said the Duc de Guise.
"It is more likely that they have recognized my brother's voice and havefled," said the Duc d'Anjou.
"They would have to pass by here," said Charles.
"Yes," said the Duc d'Anjou, "unless the house has two exits."
"Cousin," said the King, "take up your stone again and hurl it againstthe other door as you did at this."
The duke thought it unnecessary to resort to such means, and as he hadnoticed that the second door was not as solid as the first he broke itdown by a simple kick.
"The torches! the torches!" cried the King.
The lackeys approached. The torches were out, but the men had everythingnecessary for relighting them. This was done. Charles IX. took one andhanded the other to the Duc d'Anjou.
The Duc de Guise entered first, sword in hand.
Henry brought up the rear.
They reached the first floor.
In the dining-room the table was set or rather upset, for it was thesupper which had furnished the projectiles. The candlesticks wereoverturned, the furniture topsy-turvy, and everything which was notsilver plate lay in fragments.
They entered the reception-room, but found no more clue there than inthe other room as to the identity of the revellers. Some Greek and Latinbooks and several musical instruments were all they saw.
The sleeping-room was more silent still. A night lamp burned in analabaster globe suspended from the ceiling; but it was evident that theroom had not been occupied.
"There is a second door," said the King.
"Very likely," said the Duc d'Anjou.
"But where is it?" asked the Duc de Guise.
They looked everywhere, but could not find it.
"Where is the janitor?" asked the King.
"I bound him to the gate," said the Duc de Guise.
"Ask him, cousin."
"He will not answer."
"Bah! we will have a dry fire built around his legs," said the King,laughing, "then he will speak."
Henry glanced hurriedly out of the window.
"He is not there," said he.
"Who untied him?" asked the Duc de Guise, quickly.
"The devil!" exclaimed the King, "and we know nothing as yet."
"Well!" said Henry, "you see very clearly, sire, that there is nothingto prove that my wife and Monsieur de Guise's sister-in-law have beenin this house."
"That is so," said Charles. "The Scriptures tell us that there are threethings which leave no trace--the bird in the air, the fish in the sea,and the woman--no, I am wrong, the man, in"--
"So," interrupted Henry, "what we had better do is"--
"Yes," said Charles, "what we had better do is for me to look after mybruise, for you, D'Anjou, to wipe off your orange marmalade, and foryou, De Guise, to get rid of the grease." Thereupon they left withouteven troubling to close the door. Reaching the Rue Saint Antoine:
"Where are you bound for, gentlemen?" asked the King of the Duc d'Anjouand the Duc de Guise.
"Sire, we are going to the house of Nantouillet, who is expecting myLorraine cousin and myself to supper. Will your Majesty come with us?"
"No, thanks, we are going in a different direction. Will you take one ofmy torch-bearers?"
"Thank you, no, sire," said the Duc d'Anjou, hastily.
"Good; he is afraid I will spy on him," whispered Charles to the King ofNavarre.
Then taking the latter by the arm:
"Come, Henriot," said he, "I will take you to supper to-night."
"Are we not going back to the Louvre?" asked Henry.
"No, I tell you, you stupid! Come with me, since I tell you to come.Come!"
And he dragged Henry down the Rue Geoffroy Lasnier.