at the Arsenal, he determined to spare him the fatigue of
travelling to the Louvre, and to drive to the Arsenal. With much
foreboding the king had agreed to the coronation of Marie de' Medici,
which had been celebrated at St. Denis with great pomp. The ceremony
was attended by two sinister incidents: the Gospel for the day, taken
from Mark x., included the answer of Jesus to the Pharisees who
tempted Him by asking--"Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife?"--the Gospel was hurriedly changed; and when the usual largesse
of gold and silver pieces was thrown to the crowd not a voice cried,
"_Vive le roi_," or "_Vive la reine_." That night the king tossed
restless on his bed, pursued by evil dreams. On the morrow his
counsellors begged him to defer his journey, but nineteen plots to
assassinate him had already failed: he gently put aside their
warnings, and repeated his favourite maxim that fear had no place in a
generous heart. It was a warm day, and the king entered his open
carriage, attended by the Dukes of Epernon and Montbazon and five
other courtiers; a number of _valets de pied_ followed him. In the
narrow Rue de la Ferronnerie the carriage was stopped by a block in
the traffic, and the servants were sent round by the cemetery of the
Innocents. While the king was listening to the reading of a letter by
the Duke of Epernon, one Francis Ravaillac, who had been watching his
opportunity for twelve months, placed his foot on a wheel of the
coach, leaned forward, and plunged a knife into the king's breast.
Before he could be seized he pulled out the fatal steel and doubled
his thrust, piercing him to the heart. "_Je suis blesse_," cried
Henry, and never spoke again. Ravaillac was seized, and all the
refined cruelties inflicted on regicides were practised upon him. He
was dragged to the Place de Greve, his right hand cut off, and, with
the fatal knife, flung into the flames; the flesh was torn from his
arms, breast and legs; melted lead and boiling oil were poured into
the wounds. Horses were then tied to each of his four limbs, the body
was torn to pieces and burnt to ashes.[126] Some writers have
inculpated the Jesuits for the murder, but it may more reasonably be
attributed to the fury of a crazy fanatic. Certain it is that Henry's
heart was given to the Jesuits for the church of their college of la
Fleche, which was founded by him.

[Footnote 126: In 1586 six poor wretches convicted of plotting the
assassination