preserve order, the two kings
were a full quarter of an hour in the roadway of Plessis park holding out
their hands to one another without being able to join them; people
climbed trees to see them; all shouted with great vigor and exultation,
Hurrah for the king! hurrah for the King of Navarre! hurrah for the
kings! At last, having joined hands, they embraced very lovingly, even
to tears. The King of Navarre, on retiring in the evening, said, 'I
shall now die happy, since God hath given me grace to look upon the face
of my king and make him an offer of my services.' I know not if those
were his own words; but what is certain is, that everybody at this time,
both kings and people, except fanatical Leaguers, regarded peace as a
great public blessing, and were rejoiced to have a prospect of it before
their eyes. The very day of the interview, the King of Navarre wrote to
Du Plessis-Mornay, 'M. du Plessis, the ice is broken; not without numbers
of warnings that if I went I was a dead man. I crossed the water,
commending myself to God, who, by His goodness, not only preserved me,
but caused extreme joy to appear on the king's countenance, and the
people to cheer so that never was the like, even shouting, Hurrah for the
kings! whereat I was much vexed.'"

Some days afterwards, during the night of May 8, the Duke of Mayenne made
an attack upon Tours, and carried for the moment the Faubourg St.
Symphorien, which gave Henry III. such a fright that he was on the point
of leaving the city and betaking himself to a distance. But the King of
Navarre, warned in time, entered Tours; and at his approach the Leaguers
fell back. "When the white scarfs appeared, coming to the king's rescue,
the Duke of Mayenne and his troops began shouting to them, 'Back! white
scarfs; back! Chatillon: we are not set against you, but against the
murderers of your father!' meaning thereby that they were set against
King Henry de Valois only, and not against the Huguenots. But Chatillon,
amongst the rest, answered them, 'You are all of you traitors to your
country: I trample under foot all vengeance and all private interests
when the service of my prince and of the state is concerned; 'which he
said so loudly that even his Majesty heard it, and praised him for it,
and loved him for it." The two kings determined to move on Paris and
besiege it; and towards the end of July their camp was pitched before the
walls.

Great was the excitement throughout