little Abbe there wished to sail with a fair wind, he should
throw away his breviary and study his Calvin.'

Berenger's attention was thus attracted to the Abbe de Mericour, a young
man of about twenty, whose dress was darker than that of the rest, and
his hat of a clerical cut, though in other respects he was equipped with
the same point-device elegance.

'Calvin would never give him the rich abbey of Selicy,' said another;
'the breviary is the safer speculation.'

'Ah! M. de Ribaumont can tell you that abbeys are no such securities
in these days. Let yonder Admiral get the upper hand, and we shall see
Mericour, the happy cadet of eight brothers and sisters, turned adrift
from their convents. What a fatherly spectacle M. le Marquis will
present!'

Here the Chevalier beckoned to Berenger, who, riding forward, learnt
that Narcisse had engaged lodgings for him and his suite at one of the
great inns, and Berenger returned his thanks, and a proposal to the
Chevalier to become his guest. They were by this time entering the city,
where the extreme narrowness and dirt of the streets contrasted with the
grandeur of the palatial courts that could be partly seen through
their archways. At the hostel they rode under such an arch, and found
themselves in a paved yard that would have been grand had it been
clean. Privacy had scarcely been invented, and the party were not at all
surprised to find that the apartment prepared for them was to serve both
day and night for Berenger, the Chevalier, and Mr. Adderley, besides
having a truckle-bed on the floor for Osbert. Meals were taken in
public, and it was now one o'clock--just dinner-time; so after a hasty
toilette the three gentlemen descended, the rest of the party having
ridden off to their quarters, either as attendants of Monsieur or to
their families. It was a sumptuous meal, at which a great number of
gentlemen were present, coming in from rooms hired over shops, &c--all,
as it seemed, assembled at Paris for the marriage festivities; but
Berenger began to gather that they were for the most part adherents of
the Guise party, and far from friendly to the Huguenot interest. Some of
them appeared hardly to tolerate Mr. Adderley's presence at the table;
and Berenger, though his kinsman's patronage secured civil treatment,
felt much out of his element, confused, unable to take part in the
conversation, and sure that he was where those at home did not wish to
see him.

No sooner w