of Conde, of Madame de
Roye, his mother-in-law, and of the others who had so narrowly escaped
being plunged with him in a common destruction.[1010] Such declarations
might be supposed to savor indifferently well of hypocrisy. They were,
however, outdone in the final scene of this pompous farce, enacted about
two months later in one of the halls of the castle of St. Germain. On
the twenty-fourth of August a stately assembly gathered in the king's
presence. Catharine, the princes of the blood, five cardinals, and a
goodly number of dukes and counts, were present; for Louis of
Bourbon-Vendome, Prince of Conde, and Francis of Guise were to be
publicly reconciled to each other. Charles first announced the object
for which he had summoned this assemblage, and called upon the Duke of
Guise to express his sentiments. "Sir," said the latter, addressing
Conde, "I neither have, nor would I desire to have, advanced anything
against your honor; nor have I been the author or the instigator of your
imprisonment!" To which Conde replied: "Sir, I hold to be bad and
miserable him or those who have been its causes." Nothing abashed, Guise
made the rejoinder: "I believe that it is so; that concerns me in no
respect." After this gratifying exhibition of convenient memory, if not
of Christian forgiveness, the prince and duke, at the king's request,
embraced each other; and the auditory, highly edified, broke up.[1011]
It was fitting that this hollow reconciliation should take place on the
very day upon which, eleven years later, a more treacherous compact was
to bear fruit fatal to thousands.

[Sidenote: Humiliation of Navarre.]

[Sidenote: The boldness of the Particular Estates of Paris,]

[Sidenote: secures Antoine more consideration.]

It has been necessary to anticipate the events of subsequent months, in
order to give the sequel of the singular procedure. We must now return
to the spring of this eventful year. It was not long after the
adjournment of the States General before the King of Navarre began to
perceive some results of his humiliating agreement with Catharine de'
Medici. The Guises were received by her with greater demonstrations of
favor than were the princes of the blood. The keys of the castle were
even intrusted to the custody of Francis, on the pretext that he was
entitled to this privilege as grand master of the palace. In vain did
Antoine remonstrate against this insulting preference, and threaten to
leave the court