t. That is all. I will answer for
the Bastille and the Arsenal; and holding these, we hold Paris."

But thereupon the king declared a decision, which I felt it to be my
duty to combat with all my influence. He had conceived the idea of being
the one to accompany me to the rendezvous. "I am tired of the dice," he
complained, "and sick of tennis, at which I know everybody's strength.
Madame de Verneuil is at Fontainebleau; the Queen is unwell. Oh, Sully,
I would the old days were back when we had Nerac for our Paris, and knew
the saddle better than the armchair."

"The King belongs to his people."

"The fowl in the pot?" he replied. "To be sure. But time enough to think
of that to-morrow." And do what I would I could not turn him. In the
end, therefore, I took my leave of him as if for the night, and retired
leaving him at play with the Duke of Epernon. But an hour later, towards
eight o'clock, he made an excuse to withdraw to his closet, and met me
outside the eastern gate of the Louvre. He was masked, and had with him
only Coquet, the master of the household. I too had taken a mask and was
esquired by Maignan, under whose orders were four Swiss--whom I had
chosen because they spoke no French--and who had Andrew in charge. I
bade Maignan follow the innkeeper's directions, and we proceeded in two
parties through the streets in the direction of the Arsenal, until we
reached the mouth of an obscure lane near the gardens of St. Pol, so
narrow that the decrepit wooden houses shut out well-nigh all view of
the sky. Here the prisoner halted and called upon me to fulfil the terms
of my agreement. With misgiving I complied. I bade Maignan remain with
the Swiss at a distance of fifty paces--directing him to come up only if
I should whistle or give the alarm; then I myself, with the King and
Andrew, proceeded onward in the deep shadow of the houses. I kept my
hand on my pistol, which I had previously showed to the prisoner,
intimating that on the first sign of treachery I should blow his brains
out. However, in spite of this precaution, I felt uncomfortable to the
last degree. I blamed myself for allowing the King to expose himself to
this unnecessary danger; while the meanness of the quarter, the fetid
air, the darkness of the night which was cold and stormy, and the
uncertainty of the event lowered my spirits, and made every splash in
the kennel, or stumble on the reeking slippery pavements--matters over
which the King grew mer