then went to lodge in the chateau
Vieux, where the queen was residing."[B]

[Footnote B: There were at that time two palaces at St. Germain. The
old palace, originally built by Charles V., and in the alteration of
which Louis XIV. spent over a million of dollars, still remains. The
new palace, constructed by Henry IV. about a quarter of a mile from
the other, is now in ruins.]

At a very early hour in the morning the news was circulated through
the streets of Paris that the court had fled from the city, taking
with it the young king. The excitement was terrible, creating
universal shouts and tumults. All who were in any way connected with
the court attempted to escape in various disguises to join the royal
party. The populace, on the other hand, closed the gates, and
barricaded the streets, to prevent their flight. In the midst of this
confusion, a letter was received by the municipal magistrates, over
the signature of the boy-king, stating that he had been compelled to
leave the capital to prevent the seizure of his person by the
Parliament, and urging the magistrates to do all in their power for
the preservation of order and for the protection of property. The king
also ordered the Parliament immediately to retire from the city to
Montargis.

The Parliament refused to recognize the order, declaring "that it did
not emanate from the monarch himself, but from the evil counselors by
whom he was held in captivity." Upon the reception of this reply, the
queen regent, who had surrounded her palace at St. Germain with a
thousand royal troops, acting under the guidance of Mazarin, issued a
decree forbidding the villages around Paris sending into the capital
either bread, wine, or cattle. Troops were also stationed to cut off
such supplies. This attempt to subdue the people by the terrors of
famine excited intense exasperation. A decree was promptly issued by
the Parliament stating,

"Since Cardinal Mazarin is notoriously the author of the present
troubles, the Parliament declares him to be the disturber of the
public peace, the enemy of the king and the state, and orders him to
retire from the court in the course of this day, and in eight days
more from the kingdom. Should he neglect to do this, at the expiration
of the appointed time all the subjects of the king are called upon to
hunt him down."

At the same time, men-at-arms were levied in sufficient numbers to
escort safely into the city all those who would bring