MARGUERITE DE VALOIS.
35
therefore, to
Prince de Porcian ; he was wron,
address me."
" But what do you think of the inclinations
of the Prince de Condé and M. de Porcian?"
" How can I tell their inclinations, René?
God has not, that I know, given me the privilege
of reading hearts."
" Your Majesty may ask yourself the ques-
tion, " said the Florentine, calmly; "has there
not been in your Majesty's life some event so
gloomy, that it may serve as an example of
clemency—so painful, that it may be a touch-
stone for generosity?"
These words were pronounced in a tone that
made Charlotte shudder. The allusion was so
direct, so manifest, that the young lady turned
aside to hide her flushed face, and avoid Henry's
look.
Henry made a powerful effort over himself,
smoothed his brow, which, during the Floren-
tine's address, had been heavy with menace, and
changing the deep filial grief which weighed
upon his heart into an air of vague reflection,
said:
" In my life—a gloomy event!—no, René—no;
I only recollect the folly and recklessness of my
youth mixed with those fatalities, more or less
cruel, which are inflicted on all tlie frailties of
nature, and the trials of God."
René mastered himself, in his turn, and turned
his glance from Henry to Charlotte, as if to ex-
cite the one and restrain the other—for Char-
lotte, going toward her toilet to conceal the feel-
ings inspired by this conversation, again extend-
ed her hand toward the box of salve.
"But if, Sire, you were the brother of the
Prince de Porcian, or the brother of the Prince
de Condé, and your brother had been poisoned,
or your father assassinated?"
Charlotte uttered a cry, and again was about
to apply the salve to her lips. René saw this,
but neither stopped her byword nor gesture;
he only said, hastily:
"Inthe name of Heaven, Sire, reply! Sire,
if you were in their place, what would you do?"
Henry collected himself; wiped, with tremu-
lous hand, his forehead bedewed with drops of
cold perspiration, and elevating his figure to its
full height, replied in the midst ofthe breathless
silence of René and Charlotte :
" If I were in their place, and were sure of
being king—that is to say, of representing God
on earth—I would do like God, and forgive!"
"Madame," exclaimed René, snatching the
salve from Madame de Sauve's hands;
' ' madame, give me that box ! I see my assistant
made a mistake in bringing it to you ; to-morrow
1 will send you another."
CHAPTER XXIII.
a new convert.
On the following day there was to be a hunt
in the forest of St. Germain. Henry had desired
that there should be kept ready, at eight o'clock
in the morning, saddled and bridled, a small
horse of the Bearn breed, which he intended as
a present for Madame de Sauve, but which he
first intended to try himself. The horse was
duly brought; and as the clock struck eight,
Henry descended.
The horse, full of breed and fire, in spite of
its small size, was plunging atout in the court-
yard. It was cold, and a slight hoar frost cov-
ered the ground.
Henry was about to cross the courtyard, in
order to reach the stables, where the horse and
his groom were waiting, when passing before a
Swiss soldier, who was on guard at the door,
the sentinel presented arms to him, saying:
" God preserve his Majesty the King of
Navarre!"
At this wish, and particularly the accent and
emphasis of the voice that uttered it, the
Béarnais started, and retreated a step, muttering
the words, " De Mouy!"
' ' Yes, Sire, De Mouy.
" And what are you doing here?"
" Seeking you."
" What would you?"
" 1 must speak to your Majesty!"
" Rash man!" said the King, going close to
him, " do vou know that you risk your
head?"
" I know it, and 1 am here."
Henry turned slightly pale, looked around
him, and retreated a second time no less quickly
than before.
He saw the Duc d'Alençon at a window.
Then, changing his air, Henry took the musket
from De Mouy, and appeared to be examining it.
" De Mouy," he said, " it is some very pow-
erful motive that makes you come thus to throw
yourself into the wolf's throat."
"It is, Sire, and for eight days I have been on
the watch. It was only yesterday 1 learned that
your Majesty meant to try this horse this morn-
ing, and I took my post, accordingly, at this
door of the Louvre". ' '
" Why under this costume?"
" The captain of the company is a Protestant,
and one of my friends. ' '
" Take your musket, and continue your
guard. We are watched. As I return, 1 will
endeavor to say a word to you ; but if I do not
speak to you, do not stop me.    Adieu!"
De Mouy resumed his measured tread, and
Henry advanced toward the horse.
" What is that pretty creature?" inquired the
Duke d'Alençon, from his window.
" A horse I am going to try this morning."
" But it is not a man's horse."
" It is intended for a pretty woman."
" Be careful, Henry, or you will be indiscreet;
for we shall see this pretty woman at the chase,
and if 1 do not know whose chevalier you are, I
shall at least learn whose esquire you may be."
"Eh, mon Dieu! you will not know," said
Henry, with his wonted laugh, " for this pretty
woman being very unwell this morning, she
cannot ride to-day."   And he sprung into the
saddle.
" Ah, bah!" said D'Alençon, laughing; " poor
Madame de Sauve!"
"François! François—'tis you who are in-
discreet."
"And what ails the lovely Charlotte?" in-
quired the Duke.
" Why," answered Henry, " I hardly know.
A kind of heaviness in the head, as Dariole in-
formed rae—a weakness in all her limbs, a per-
fect languor. ' '
" And will that prevent you from accompany-
ing us?" inquired D'Alençon.
" Why should it?" was Henry's reply. " You
know how madly 1 love a hunt, and that noth-
ing would make me miss one.".
" You will miss this, however, Henry," re-
plied the Duke, as he turned round, and after
having spoken an instant with some one whom
Henry could not see, " for 1 learn from his Maj-
esty that the chase cannot take place."
"Bah!" said Henry, with the most dis-
appointed air in the world; " and why not?"
"Very important letters have arrived from
M. de Nevers, and there is a council being held
by the King, the Queen-mother, and my brother
the Duke d'Anjou."
" Ah, ah!" said Henry to himself, " is there
any news from Poland?" Then he added,
aloud: " In this case it is useless for me to run
any more risk on this slippery ground. Au
revoir! brother." And pulling his horse up
short by De Mouy, " My friend, "he said, "call
one of your comrades to finish your guard.
Help the groom to take the saddle off my horse,
put it on your head, and carry it to the gold-
smith of the royal stable; there is some em-
broidery to do to it, which he had not time to
finish.    You can bring me back his answer."
De Mouy hastily obeyed, for the Duke
d'Alençon had disappeared from his window,
and it was evident he had conceived some sus-
picion. Scarcely, indeed, had the Huguenot
chief left the wicket than the Duke appeared.
A real Swiss had taken De Mouy's place.
D'Alençon looked attentively at the fresh
sentinel, then, turning to Henry:
" This is not the man with whom you were
conversing- just now, is it, brother?"
" The other was a young fellow of my house,
for whom I obtained a post amongst the Swiss. I
gave him a commission, which he has gone to
execute."
" Ah!" said the Duke, as if satisfied with the
answer; " and how is Marguerite?"
" I am just going to inquire, brother."
" Haven't you seen her since yesterday."
"No.    I went last night at eleven o'clock;
but Gillonne told me she was much fatigued and
asleep."
" You will not find her in her apartment.
She has gone out."
"Yes," replied Henry, "most likely.    She
was going to the. Convent of the Annonciade."
There was no means of pushing the conver-
sation further, as Henry appeared determined
only to reply.
The two brothers-in-law then separated—the
Duke d'Alençon to go and hear the news, as he
said, and the King of Navarre to return to his
apartment.
At the moment the two brothers-in-law sepa-
rated, some one knocked at the door of Henry's
sleeping apartment. He opened the door, gave
admittance to De Mouy, and closed the door
after him.
"Sire," said De Mouy, " the time for action
has arrived. Fear nothing, Sire—we are alone;
and I will be quick, for time is very precious.
Your Majesty may now, by a single word, re-
store to us all that we have lost for our holy re-
ligion during this disastrous year. • Let us be
explicit, let us be brief, let us be frank."
" I listen, my gallant De Mouy," replied the
King, seeing that it was impossible any longer
to avoid an explanation.
" Is it true that your Majesty has abjured the
Protestant religion?"
" lt is true," said Henry.
" Yes; but is it an abjuration of the lips or
of the heart?"
" We are always grateful to God when he has
saved our life," replied Henry, not replying di-
rectly to the question; "and God has visibly
spared me in a most cruel strait and danger."
"But, Sire," continued De Mouy, "confess
that your abjuration is not a matter of convic-
tion but of calculation. You have abjured that
the King may let you live, and not because God
has spared your life."
" Whatever may be the cause of my conver-
sion, De Mouy," answered Henry, " I am not
the less a Catholic. "                                         i
" Yes; but shall you always continue one?
Should an occasion present itself, would you
not relapse? Well, this occasion presents itself
at this moment: Rochelle is insurgent; Roussil-
lon and Bearn only await the signal to act, and
in Guienne all is ripe for revolt. Only avow
that you were a Catholic on compulsion, and I
will answer for all the rest."
" My dear De Mouy, a gentleman of my birth
is never forced; what I have done, I have done
freely."
"But, Sire," continued the young man, his
heart oppressed at this unexpected resistance;
' ' you do not. reflect that in thus abandoining us,
you betray us."
Henry remained perfectly unmoved.
' ' Yes, " De Mouy continued ; ' ' you betray us,
Sire; for very many of us have come, at the peril
of our lives, to save your honor and liberty.
We have prepared everything to give you a
throne, Sire; not only liberty, but power; a
throne for your acceptance; for, in two months,
you may choose between France and Navarre."
" De Mouy," replied Henry, looking down-
ward for an instant to conceal the joy that
sparkled in his eyes; " De Mouy, I am safe; I
am a Catholic; I am the husband of Marguerite;
I am the brother of King Charles; I am son-in-
law of my good mother Catherine; and "when,
De Mouy, I took all these relations upon me,
I not only calculated the chances, but also the
obligations."
" But, Sire," replied De Mouy, " what am I
to believe? They say that your marriage is in-
complete; they say you are free in your own
heart; they say that Catherine's hatred-----¦"
' ' Lies, lies, lies, all !" interrupted the Béarnais,
hastily; "you have been impudently deceived,
my friend. My dearest Marguerite is indeed my
wife: Catherine is truly my mother ; the King
Charles IX. is really the lord and master of my
life and of my heart."
De Mouy started, and a smile almost con-
temptuous passed over his lips.
' ' Then, Sire, ' ' said he, endeavoring by his look
to fathom a mind so full of concealment; " this
is the answer 1 shall bear to my broth ers in arms.
I shall say that the King of Navarre extends his
hand and gives his heart to those who cut our
throats ; I shall say that he has become the flat-
terer of the Queen-mother, and the friend of
Maurevel."
" My dear De Mouy," was Henry's response,
" the King is just breaking ur> the council; and
I must go and learn what "are the important
reasons which have postponed the hunt. Adieu !
imitate me, my friend : renounce politics, swear
allegiance to the King, and take the mass."
And Henry led, or rather pushed the young man
to the door of his antechamber, whilst De
Mouy's amazement was fast giving way to rage.
Scarcely was the door closed, than, unable to
resist his desire of visiting his vengeance on '
something for want of somebody, De Mouy
squeezed his hat between his hands, threw it on
the ground, and trampling it under foot, as a
bull does the cloak of a matador:
" S'death!" he cried; "he is a cowardly
Prince, and I have a great mind to kill myself