ther the
King of Poland, supposing them, as well as his Majesty, to have
commanded Maurevel to make his attempt, he saw nothing but cause
of alarm for his Majesty's safety,--as well on the part of the
Catholics, if he persisted in his resolution to punish M. de
Guise, as of the Huguenots, for the reasons which he had just
laid before him.

LETTER V

King Charles, a prince of great prudence, always paying a particular
deference to his mother, and being much attached to the Catholic
religion, now convinced of the intentions of the Huguenots, adopted
a sudden resolution of following his mother's counsel, and putting
himself under the safeguard of the Catholics. It was not, however,
without extreme regret that he found he had it not in his power
to save Teligny, La Noue; and M. de La Rochefoucauld.

He went to the apartments of the Queen his mother, and sending
for M. de Guise and all the Princes and Catholic officers, the
"Massacre of St. Bartholomew" was that night resolved upon.

Immediately every hand was at work; chains were drawn across the
streets, the alarm-bells were sounded, and every man repaired
to his post, according to the orders he had received, whether
it was to attack the Admiral's quarters, or those of the other
Huguenots. M. de Guise hastened to the Admiral's, and Besme, a
gentleman in the service of the former, a German by birth, forced
into his chamber, and having slain him with a dagger, threw his
body out of a window to his master.

I was perfectly ignorant of what was going forward. I observed
everyone to be in motion: the Huguenots, driven to despair by
the attack upon the Admiral's life, and the Guises, fearing they
should not have justice done them, whispering all they met in
the ear.

The Huguenots were suspicious of me because I was a Catholic,
and the Catholics because I was married to the King of Navarre,
who was a Huguenot. This being the case, no one spoke a syllable
of the matter to me.

At night, when I went into the bedchamber of the Queen my mother,
I placed myself on a coffer, next my sister Lorraine, who, I
could not but remark, appeared greatly cast down. The Queen my
mother was in conversation with some one, but, as soon as she
espied me, she bade me go to bed. As I was taking leave, my sister
seized me by the hand and stopped me, at the same time shedding
a flood of tears: "For the love of God," cried she, "do not stir
out of this chamber!" I was greatly alarmed at