obles, and burghers
rivalled each other in the grace, elegance, and richness of their
dwellings (witness Varangeville, the splendid manor-house of Ango, and
the mansion, called that of Hercules, in Paris), exists to this day,
though in a state to fill archaeologists and lovers of the Middle Ages
with despair. It would be difficult, however, to go to Orleans and not
take notice of the Hotel-de-Ville which stands on the place de l'Estape.
This hotel-de-ville, or town-hall, is the former Bailliage, the
mansion of Groslot, the most illustrious house in Orleans, and the most
neglected.

The remains of this old building will still show, to the eyes of an
archaeologist, how magnificent it was at a period when the houses of the
burghers were commonly built of wood rather than stone, a period when
noblemen alone had the right to build _manors_,--a significant word.
Having served as the dwelling of the king at a period when the court
displayed much pomp and luxury, the hotel Groslot must have been the
most splendid house in Orleans. It was here, on the place de l'Estape,
that the Guises and the king reviewed the burgher guard, of which
Monsieur de Cypierre was made the commander during the sojourn of the
king. At this period the cathedral of Sainte-Croix, afterward completed
by Henri IV.,--who chose to give that proof of the sincerity of his
conversion,--was in process of erection, and its neighborhood, heaped
with stones and cumbered with piles of wood, was occupied by the Guises
and their retainers, who were quartered in the bishop's palace, now
destroyed.

The town was under military discipline, and the measures taken by
the Guises proved how little liberty they intended to leave to the
States-general, the members of which flocked into the town, raising
the rents of the poorest lodgings. The court, the burgher militia,
the nobility, and the burghers themselves were all in a state of
expectation, awaiting some _coup-d'Etat_; and they found themselves not
mistaken when the princes of the blood arrived. As the Bourbon princes
entered the king's chamber, the court saw with terror the insolent
bearing of Cardinal de Lorraine. Determined to show his intentions
openly, he remained covered, while the king of Navarre stood before
him bare-headed. Catherine de' Medici lowered her eyes, not to show the
indignation that she felt. Then followed a solemn explanation between
the young king and the two chiefs of the younger branch. It was s