CHAPTER XI
STILL THE LEAGUE.
At the moment when Robert Briquet was about to enter, he saw Poulainwaiting for him.
"Pardon," said he, "but my friends do not know you, and decline toadmit you to their councils till they know more of you."
"It is just, and I retire, happy to have seen so many brave defenders ofthe Holy Union."
"Shall I re-conduct you?"
"No, I thank you, I will not trouble you."
"But perhaps they will not open for you; yet I am wanted."
"Have you not a password?"
"Yes."
"Then give it to me. I am a friend, you know."
"True. It is 'Parma and Lorraine!'"
"And they will open?"
"Yes."
"Thanks; now return to your friends."
Briquet took some steps as if to go out, and then stopped to explore thelocality. The result of his observations was, that the vault ranparallel to the exterior wall, and terminated in a hall destined for themysterious council from which he had been excluded. What confirmed himin this supposition was that he saw a light at a barred window, piercedin the wall, and guarded by a sort of wooden pipe, such as they placedat the windows of convents and prisons to intercept the view fromwithout, while the air was still admitted. Briquet imagined this to bethe window of the hall, and thought that if he could gain this place hecould see all. He looked round him; the court had many soldiers andservants in it, but it was large, and the night was dark; besides, theywere not looking his way, and the porter was busy, preparing his bed forthe night.
Briquet rapidly climbed on to the cornice which ran toward the window inquestion, and ran along the wall like a monkey, holding on with hishands and feet to the ornaments of the sculpture. Had the soldiers seenin the dark this figure gliding along the wall without apparent support,they would not have failed to cry, "Magic!" but they did not see him. Infour bounds he reached the window, and established himself between thebars and the pipe, so that from the inside he was concealed by the one,and from the outside by the other.
He then saw a great hall, lighted by a torch, and filled with armor ofall sorts. There were enough pikes, swords, halberds, and muskets to armfour regiments. He gave less attention, however, to the arms than to thepeople engaged in distributing them, and his piercing eyes soughteagerly to distinguish their faces.
"Oh! oh!" thought he, "there is M. Cruce, little Brigard and Leclerc,who dares to call himself Bussy. Peste! the bourgeoisie is grandlyrepresented; but the nobility--ah! M. de Mayneville presses the hand ofNicholas Poulain; what a touching fraternity! An orator, too!" continuedhe, as M. de Mayneville prepared to harangue the assembly.
Briquet could not hear a word, but he thought that he did not make muchimpression on his audience, for one shrugged his shoulders, and anotherturned his back. But at last they approached, seized his hand, and threwup their hats in the air. But though Briquet could not hear, we mustinform our readers of what passed.
First, Cruce, Marteau, and Bussy had complained of the inaction of theDuc de Guise.
Marteau was spokesman, and said, "M. de Mayneville, you come on the partof M. le Duc de Guise, and we accept you as his ambassador; but thepresence of the duke himself is indispensable. After the death of hisglorious father, he, when only eighteen years of age, made all goodFrenchmen join this project of the Union, and enrolled us under thisbanner. We have risked our lives, and sacrificed our fortunes, for thetriumph of this sacred cause, according to our oaths, and yet, in spiteof our sacrifices, nothing progresses--nothing is decided. Take care, M.de Mayneville, Paris will grow tired, and then what will you do?"
This speech was applauded by all the leaguers.
M. de Mayneville replied, "Gentlemen, if nothing is decided, it isbecause nothing is ripe. Consider our situation; M. le Duc and hisbrother the cardinal are at Nancy--the one is organizing an army to keepin check the Huguenots of Flanders, whom M. d'Anjou wishes to oppose tous, the other is expediting courier after courier to the clergy ofFrance and to the pope, to induce them to adopt the Union. The Duc deGruise knows, what you do not, that the old alliance between the Ducd'Anjou and the Bearnais is ready to be renewed, and he wishes, beforecoming to Paris, to be in a position to crush both heresy andusurpation."
"They are everywhere where they are not wanted," said Bussy. "Where isMadame de Montpensier, for instance?"
"She entered Paris this morning."
"No one has seen her."
"Yes, monsieur."
"Who was it?"
"Salcede."
"Oh! oh!" cried all.
"But where is she?" cried Bussy. "Has she disappeared? how did you knowshe was here?"
"Because I accompanied her to the Porte St. Antoine."
"I heard that they had shut the gates."
"Yes, they had."
"Then, how did she pass."
"In her own fashion. Something took place at the gates of Paris thismorning, gentlemen, of which you appear to be ignorant. The orders wereto open only to those who brought a card of admission--signed by whom Iknow not. Immediately before us five or six men, some of whom werepoorly clothed, passed with these cards, before our eyes. Now, who werethose men? What were the cards? Reply, gentlemen of Paris, who promisedto learn everything concerning your city."
Thus Mayneville, from the accused, became the accuser, which is thegreat art of an orator.
"Cards and exceptional admissions!" cried Nicholas Poulain, "what canthat mean?"
"If you do not know, who live here, how should I know, who live inLorraine?"
"How did these people come?"
"Some on foot, some on horseback; some alone, and some with lackeys."
"Were they soldiers?"
"There were but two swords among the six; I think they were Gascons.This concerns you, M. Poulain, to find out. But to return to the League.Salcede, who had betrayed us, and would have done so again, not only didnot speak, but retracted on the scaffold--thanks to the duchess, who, inthe suite of one of these card-bearers, had the courage to penetrate thecrowd even to the place of execution, and made herself known to Salcede,at the risk of being pointed out. At this sight Salcede stopped hisconfession, and an instant after, the executioner stopped hisrepentance. Thus, gentlemen, you have nothing to fear as to ourenterprise in Flanders; this secret is buried in the tomb."
It was this last speech which had so pleased all the conspirators. Theirjoy seemed to annoy Briquet; he slipped down from his place, andreturning to the court, said to the porter, "Parma and Lorraine." Thegate was opened, and he left.
History tells us what passed afterward. M. de Mayneville brought fromthe Guises the plan of an insurrection which consisted of nothing lessthan to murder all the principal people of the city who were known to bein favor with the king, and then to go through the streets crying, "Vivela Messe! death to our enemies!" In fact, to enact a second St.Bartholomew; in which, however, all hostile Catholics were to beconfounded with the Protestants.