ars, high-born dames and private soldiers, use the very same
language, all equally tame, colourless, and devoid of character. The
spirited and varied dialogue in which his romances abound, illustrates and
brings out the qualities and characteristics of his actors, and is not
used for the sole purpose of making a chapter out of what would be better
told in a page. In many instances, indeed, it would be difficult for him
to tell his story, by the barest narrative, in fewer words than he does by
pithy and pointed dialogue.

As the sole means of placing his life in comparative safety, Henry abjures
the Protestant faith, and remains in a sort of honourable captivity at the
court of France, suspected by Charles and detested by Catharine, to whom
Rene the Florentine, her astrologer and poisoner, has predicted that the
now powerless prince of Navarre shall one day reign over France. Some days
have passed, the massacres have nearly ceased, and the body of Admiral de
Coligny, discovered amongst a heap of slain, has been suspended to the
gibbet at Montfaucon. Charles IX., always greedy of spectacles of blood,
proposes to pay a visit to the corpse of his dead enemy, whom had called
his father, and affectionately embraced, upon their last meeting previous
to the attempted assassination of the admiral by Maurevel, an attempt
instigated by Charles himself. We will give the account of this visit in
the words of M. Dumas.

It was two in the afternoon, when a long train of cavaliers and ladies,
glittering with gold and jewels, appeared in the Rue St Denis, displaying
itself in the sun between the sombre lines of houses, like some huge
reptile with sparkling scales. Nothing that exists at the present day can
give an adequate idea of the splendour of this spectacle. The rich silken
costumes, of the most brilliant colours, which were in vogue during the
reign of Francis I., had not yet been replaced by the dark and graceless
attire that became the fashion in Henry III.'s time. The costume of the
reign of Charles IX. was perhaps less rich, but more elegant than that of
the preceding epoch.

In the rear, and on either side of this magnificent procession, came the
pages, esquires, gentlemen of low degree, dogs and horses, giving the
royal train the appearance of a small army. The cavalcade was followed by
a vast number of the populace.

That morning, in presence of Catharine and the Duke of Guise, and of Henry
of Navarre, Charles the Ninth