CHAPTER XX.
HOW CHICOT, FORCED TO REMAIN IN THE ABBEY, SAW AND HEARD THINGSVERY DANGEROUS TO SEE AND HEAR.
Chicot hastened to get down from his chair, and to mix among themonks so as to discover, if possible, what signs they used. Bypeeping over their shoulders, he found out that it was a farthing,with a star cut in the middle. Our Gascon had plenty of farthingsin his pocket, but unluckily none with a star in it. Of course, ifwhen on coming to the door he was unable to produce the necessarysigns, he would be suspected and examined. He gained the shadeof a pillar, which stood at the corner of a confessional, andstood there wondering what he should do. An assistant cried,"Is everyone out, the doors are about to be shut."
No one answered; Chicot peeped out and saw the chapel empty,with the exception of the three monks, who still kept their seatsin front of the choir.
"Provided they do not shut the windows, it is all I ask," thoughtChicot.
"Let us examine," said the young lad to the porter. Then theporter lifted a taper, and, followed by the young lad, beganto make the tour of the church. There was not a moment to lose.Chicot softly opened the door of the confessional, slipped in,and shut the door after him. They passed close by him, and hecould see them through the spaces of the sculpture.
CHICOT THE JESTER.]
"Diable!" thought he, "he cannot stay here all night, and oncethey are gone, I will pile chairs upon benches, Pelion on Ossa,and get out of the window. Ah! yes, but when I have done that,I shall be, not in the street, but in the court. I believe itwill be better to pass the night in the confessional; Gorenflot'srobe is warm."
"Extinguish the lamps," now cried the lad; and the porter withan immense extinguisher put out the lamps, and left the churchdark, except for the rays of the moon which shone through thewindows. The clock struck twelve.
"Ventre de biche!" said Chicot, "Henri, if he were here, would benicely frightened; but, luckily, I am less timid. Come, Chicot,my friend, good night and sleep well."
Then Chicot pushed the inside bolt, made himself as comfortableas he could, and shut his eyes. He was just falling asleep, whenhe was startled by a loud stroke on a copper bell, and at thesame time the lamp in the choir was relighted, and showed thethree monks still there.
"What can this mean?" thought Chicot, starting up. Brave as hewas, Chicot was not exempt from superstitious fears. He madethe sign of the cross, murmuring, "Vade retro, Satanas!" Butas the lights did not go out at the holy sign, Chicot began tothink he had to deal with real monks and real lights; but atthis moment one of the flagstones of the choir raised itselfslowly, and a monk appeared through the opening, after which thestone shut again. At this sight Chicot's hair stood on end, andhe began to fear that all the priors and abbes of St. Genevieve,from Opsat, dead in 533, down to Pierre Boudin, predecessor ofthe present superior, were being resuscitated from their tombs,and were going to raise with their bony heads the stones of thechoir. But this doubt did not last long.
"Brother Monsoreau," said one of the monks to him who had justmade so strange an appearance.
"Yes, monseigneur," said he.
"Open the door that he may come to us."
Monsoreau descended to open the door between the staircases,and at the same time the monk in the middle lowered his hood,and showed the great scar, that noble sign by which the Parisiansrecognized their hero.
"The great Henri of Guise himself!" thought Chicot, "whom his veryimbecile majesty believes occupied at the siege of La Charite. Ah!and he at the right is the Cardinal of Lorraine, and he at theleft M. de Mayenne--a trinity not very holy, but very visible."
"Did you think he would come?" said La Balafre to his brothers.
"I was so sure of it, that I have under my cloak where-with toreplace the holy vial."
And Chicot perceived, by the feeble light of the lamp, a silvergilt box, richly chased. Then about twenty monks, with their headsburied in immense hoods, came out of the crypt, and stationedthemselves in the nave. A single one, conducted by M. de Monsoreau,mounted the staircase, and placed himself at the right of M. deGuise. Then M. de Guise spoke. "Friends," said he, "time isprecious; therefore I go straight to the point. You have heardjust now, in the first assembly, the complaints of some of ourmembers, who tax with coldness the principal person among us,the prince nearest to the throne. The time is come to renderjustice to this prince; you shall hear and judge for yourselveswhether your chiefs merit the reproach of coldness and apathymade by one of our brothers, the monk Gorenflot, whom we havenot judged it prudent to admit into our secret."
At this name, pronounced in a tone which showed bad intentionstowards the warlike monk, Chicot in his confessional could nothelp laughing quietly.
"Monsieur," said the duke, now turning towards the mysteriouspersonages at his right, "the will of God appears to me manifest;for since you have consented to join us, it shows that what wedo is well done. Now, your highness, we beg of you to lower yourhood, that your faithful friends may see with their own eyesthat you keep the promise which I made in your name, and whichthey hardly dared to believe."
The mysterious personage now lowered his hood, and Chicot sawthe head of the Duc d'Anjou appear, so pale that, by the lightof the lamp, it looked like that of a marble statue.
"Oh, oh!" thought Chicot, "the duke is not yet tired of playingfor the crown with the heads of others!"
"Long live Monseigneur le Duc d'Anjou!" cried the assembly.
The duke grew paler than ever.
"Fear nothing, monseigneur," said Henri de Guise; "our chapel isdeaf, and its doors are well closed."
"My brothers," said the Comte de Monsoreau, "his highness wishesto address a few words to the assembly."
"Yes, yes!" cried they.
"Gentlemen," began he, in a voice so trembling that at firstthey could hardly distinguish his words, "I believe that God,who often seems insensible and deaf to the things of this world,keeps, on the contrary, His piercing eyes constantly on us, andonly remains thus careless in appearance in order to remedy, bysome great blow, the disorders caused by the foolish ambitionsof men. I also have kept my eyes, if not on the world, at leaston France. What have I seen there? The holy religion of Christshaken to its foundation by those who sap all belief, under thepretext of drawing nearer to God, and my soul has been full ofgrief. In the midst of this grief, I heard that several nobleand pious gentlemen, friends of our old faith, were trying tostrengthen the tottering altar. I threw my eyes around me, andsaw on one side the heretics, from whom I recoiled with horror;on the other side the elect, and I am come to throw myself intotheir arms. My brothers, here I am."
The applause and bravos resounded through the chapel. Then thecardinal, turning to the duke, said:
"You are amongst us of your own free will?"
"Of my free will, monsieur."
"Who instructed you in the holy mystery?"
"My friend, the Comte de Monsoreau, a man zealous for religion."
"Then," said the Duc de Guise, "as your highness has joined us,have the goodness to tell us what you intend to do for the league."
"I intend to serve the Catholic religion in all its extent."
"Ventre de biche!" thought Chicot, "why not propose this rightout to the king? It would suit him excellently--processions,macerations, extirpation of heresy, fagots, and auto-da-fes!Go on, worthy brother of his majesty, noble imbecile, go on!"
And the duke, as if sensible of the encouragement, proceeded:"But the interests of religion are not the sole aim which yougentlemen propose. As for me, I see another; for when a gentlemanhas thought of what he owes to God, he then thinks of his country,and he asks himself if it really enjoys all the honor and prosperitywhich it ought to enjoy. I ask this about our France, and I seewith grief that it does not. Indeed, the state is torn to piecesby different wills and tastes, one as powerful as the other. Itis, I fear, to the feebleness of the head, which forgets thatit ought to govern all for the good of its subjects, or onlyremembers this royal principle at capricious inte
rvals, whenthe rare acts of energy are generally not for the good, but theill of France, that we must attribute these evils. Whatever bethe cause, the ill is a real one, although I accuse certain falsefriends of the king rather than the king himself. Therefore Ijoin myself to those who by all means seek the extinction ofheresy and the ruin of perfidious counselors."
This discourse appeared profoundly to interest the audience, who,throwing back their hoods, drew near to the duke.
"Monseigneur," said the Duc de Guise, "in thanking your royalhighness for the words you have just uttered, I will add thatyou are surrounded by people devoted not only to the principleswhich you profess, but to the person of your highness; and ifyou have any doubt, the conclusion of this sitting will convinceyou."
"Monseigneur," said the cardinal, "if your highness still experiencesany fear, the names of those who now surround you will, I hope,reassure you. Here is M. le Gouverneur d'Aunis, M. d'Antragues, M.de Ribeirac, and M. de Livarot, and gentlemen whom your highnessdoubtless knows to be as brave as loyal. Here are, besides, M.de Castillon, M. le Baron de Lusignan, MM. Cruce and Leclerc,all ready to march under the guidance of your highness, to theemancipation of religion and the throne. We shall, then, receivewith gratitude the orders that you will give us."
Then M. de Mayenne said: "You are by your birth, and by yourwisdom, monseigneur, the natural chief of the Holy Union, and weought to learn from you what our conduct should be with regardto the false friends of his majesty of whom you just now spoke."
"Nothing more simple," replied the prince, with that feverishexcitement which in weak natures supplies the place of courageto weak minds; "when venomous plants grow in a field, we rootthem up. The king is surrounded, not with friends, but withcourtiers, who ruin him, and cause a perpetual scandal in Franceand all Christendom."
"It is true," said the Duc de Guise, in a gloomy tone.
"And," said the cardinal, "these courtiers prevent us, who arehis majesty's true friends, from approaching him as we have theright to do by our birth and position."
"Let us, then," said M. de Mayenne, "leave the heretics to thevulgar leaguers; let us think of those who annoy and insult us,and who often fail in respect to the prince whom we honor, andwho is our chief."
The Duc d'Anjou grew red.
"Let us destroy," continued Mayenne, "to the last man, that cursedrace whom the king enriches, and let each of us charge ourselveswith the life of one. We are thirty here; let us count."
"I," said D'Antragues, "charge myself with Quelus."
"I with Maugiron," said Livarot.
"And I with Schomberg," said Ribeirac.
"Good!" said the duke; "and there is Bussy, my brave Bussy, whowill undertake some of them."
"And us!" cried the rest.
M. de Monsoreau now advanced. "Gentlemen," said he, "I claiman instant's silence. We are resolute men, and yet we fear tospeak freely to each other; we are intelligent men, and yet we aredeterred by foolish scruples. Come, gentlemen, a little courage,a little hardihood, a little frankness. It is not of the king'sminions that we think; there does not lie our difficulty. What wereally complain of is the royalty which we are under, and whichis not acceptable to a French nobility; prayers and despotism,weakness and orgies, prodigality for fetes which make all Europelaugh, and parsimony for everything that regards the state and thearts. Such conduct is not weakness or ignorance--it is madness."
A dead silence followed this speech. Everyone trembled at thewords which echoed his own thoughts. M. de Monsoreau went on.
"Must we live under a king, foolish, inert, and lazy, at a timewhen all other nations are active, and work gloriously, whilewe sleep? Gentlemen, pardon me for saying before a prince, whowill perhaps blame my temerity (for he has the prejudices offamily), that for four years we have been governed, not by a king,but by a monk."
At these words the explosion so skilfully prepared and as skilfullykept in check, burst out with violence.
"Down with the Valois!" they cried, "down with Brother Henri!Let us have for chief a gentleman, a knight, rather a tyrantthan a monk."
"Gentlemen!" cried the Duc d'Anjou, hypocritically, "let me pleadfor my brother, who is led away. Let me hope that our wiseremonstrances, that the efficacious intervention of the powerof the League, will bring him back into the right path."
"Hiss, serpent, hiss," said Chicot to himself.
"Monseigneur," replied the Duc de Guise, "your highness has heard,perhaps rather too soon, but still you have heard, the true meaningof the association. No! we are not really thinking of a leagueagainst the Bearnais, nor of a league to support the Church,which will support itself: no, we think of raising the nobilityof France from its abject condition. Too long we have been keptback by the respect we feel for your highness, by the love whichwe know you to have for your family. Now, all is revealed,monseigneur, and your highness will assist at the true sittingof the League. All that has passed is but preamble."
"What do you mean, M. le Duc?" asked the prince, his heart beatingat once with alarm and ambition.
"Monseigneur, we are united here, not only to talk, but to act.To-day we choose a chief capable of honoring and enriching thenobility of France; and as it was the custom of the ancient Frankswhen they chose a chief to give him a present worthy of him, weoffer a present to the chief whom we have chosen."
All hearts beat, and that of the prince most of any; yet he remainedmute and motionless, betraying his emotion only by his paleness.
"Gentlemen," continued the duke, taking something from behindhim, "here is the present that in your name I place at the feetof the prince."
"A crown!" cried the prince, scarcely able to stand, "a crownto me, gentlemen?"
"Long live Francois III.!" cried all the gentlemen, drawing theirswords.
"I! I!" cried the Duke, trembling with joy and terror. "It isimpossible! My brother still lives; he is the anointed of theLord."
"We depose him," said the duke, "waiting for the time when Godshall sanction, by his death, the election which we are aboutto make, or rather, till one of his subjects, tired of thisinglorious reign, forestalls by poison or the dagger the justiceof God."
"Gentlemen!" said the duke, feebly.
"Monseigneur," then said the cardinal, "to the scruple whichyou so nobly expressed just now, this is our answer. Henri III.was the anointed of the Lord, but we have deposed him; it is youwho are going to be so. Here is a temple as venerable as thatof Rheims; for here have reposed the relics of St Genevieve,patroness of Paris; here has been embalmed the body of Clovis,our first Christian king; well, monseigneur, in this holy temple,I, one of the princes of the Church, and who may reasonably hopeto become one day its head, I tell you, monseigneur, that here,to replace the holy oil, is an oil sent by Pope Gregory XIII.Monseigneur, name your future archbishop of Rheims, name yourconstable, and in an instant, it is you who will be king, andyour brother Henri, if he do not give you up the crown, willbe the usurper. Child, light the altar."
Immediately, the lad, who was evidently waiting, came out, andpresently fifty lights shone round the altar and choir.
Then was seen on the altar a miter glittering with precious stones,and a large sword ornamented with fleur-de-lis. It was thearchbishop's miter and the constable's sword. At the same momentthe organ began to play the Veni Creator. This sudden stroke,managed by the three Lorraine princes, and which the Duc d'Anjouhimself did not expect, made a profound impression on the spectators.The courageous grew bolder than ever, and the weak grew strong.The Duc d'Anjou raised his head, and with a firmer step thanmight have been expected, walked to the altar, took the miter inthe left hand and the sword in the right, presented one to thecardinal and the other to the duke. Unanimous applause followedthis action.
"Now, gentlemen," said the prince to the others, "give your namesto M. de Mayenne, grand Master of France, and the day when Iascend the throne, you shall have the cordon bleu."
"Mordieu!" thought Chicot, "what a pity I cannot give mine; Ishall never have
such another opportunity."
"Now to the altar, sire," said the cardinal.
"Monsieur de Monsoreau my colonel, MM. de Ribeirac and d'Antraguesmy captains, and M. Livarot, my lieutenant of the guards, takeyour places."
Each of those named took the posts which, at a real coronation,etiquette would have assigned to them. Meanwhile, the cardinalhad passed behind the altar to put on his pontifical robes; soonhe reappeared with the holy vial. Then the lad brought to him aBible and a cross. The cardinal put the cross on the book andextended them towards the Duc d'Anjou, who put his hand on them,and said,--
"In the presence of God, I promise to my people to maintain andhonor our holy religion as a Christian king should. And may Godand His saints aid me!"
Then the Duc de Guise laid the sword before the altar, and thecardinal blessed it and gave it to the prince.
"Sire," said he, "take this sword, which is given to you with theblessing of God, that you may resist your enemies, and protectand defend the holy Church, which is confided to you. Take thissword that, with it, you may exercise justice, protect the widowand the orphan, repair disorders, so that, covering yourselfwith glory by all the virtues, you will be a blessing to yourpeople."
Then the prince returned the sword to the Duc de Guise, and kneltdown. The cardinal opened the gold box, and, with the point of agolden needle, drew out some holy oil; he then said two prayers,and taking the oil on his finger, traced with it a cross on thehead of the prince, saying, "Ungo dein regem de oleo sanctificato,in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti."
The lad wiped off the oil with an embroidered handkerchief. Thenthe cardinal took the crown, and, holding it over the head ofthe prince, said, "God crown thee with the crown of glory andjustice." Then, placing it, "Receive this crown, in the nameof the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
All brandished their swords and cried, "Long live Francois III."
"Sire," said the cardinal, "you reign henceforth over France."
"Gentlemen," said the prince, "I shall never forget the namesof the thirty gentlemen who first judged me worthy to reign overthem; and now adieu, and may God have you in His holy keeping."
The Duc de Mayenne led away the new king, while the other twobrothers exchanged an ironical smile.