rtnight before the set time for
the escape of the princes from court, Navarre, who, under pretext of
hunting, had been allowed to leave the royal palace of Saint Germain,
received a secret visit from M. de Guitry, a gentleman who had succeeded
in bringing into the vicinity an armed body of the confederates. The
meeting took place by night, in Navarre's bedchamber, in the little hamlet
of St. Prix.[1371] On the morrow Guitry found means to confer with M. de
Thore, Turenne, and La Nocle, "all in despair by reason of Alencon's
variable moods."[1372] This feeble prince, it would seem, was not even yet
decided, and trembled at the peril he might run in attempting to reach
Sedan. Under these circumstances the plan of flight was modified. Guitry
was instructed to bring his force nearer to St. Germain, and wait for
Alencon and Navarre, who, under his escort, were to gain Mantes, a little
farther down the Seine, and perhaps ultimately join the confederates near
La Rochelle. Guitry waited in vain: Alencon and Navarre never came.

[Sidenote: Flight of the court from St. Germain.]

Either Alencon himself, or La Mole, his favorite, in his name, betrayed
the project to the queen mother. The discovery of a body of armed men in
the vicinity, albeit they gave assurance that they meant no injury to the
king, threw the entire court into consternation. Catharine, reminding
Charles that her soothsayers had long since warned her of Saint Germain as
a place that boded no good to her or hers, was among the first to flee,
leaving the king, who was ill with quartan fever, to follow the next
day.[1373] The court partook of Catharine's terror, and imitated her
example. Layman and churchman vied in haste to gain Paris, whence in a few
days they retreated in a more leisurely manner to the safer refuge of the
castle of Vincennes. While some hurried by the main road, or picked their
way along the banks of the Seine, others took to boats as a less dangerous
means of conveyance. But, among those who joined in the disorderly flight,
there were some who retained their composure sufficiently to note the
ludicrous features of the scene. Long after they recalled with undisguised
amusement the terror-stricken countenances of the new chancellor and of
three French cardinals, as, mounted on fiery Italian or Spanish steeds,
they clung with both hands to the saddle-bow, evidently fearing their
horses even more than the dreaded Huguenot.[1374] It was a very pretty