st went straight to the queen-mother.

"The papers of Lasagne, the secretary of the Prince de Conde, have been
communicated to you, and you now know that the Bourbons are endeavoring
to dethrone your son."

"I know all that," said Catherine.

"Well, then, will you give orders to arrest the king of Navarre?"

"There is," she said with dignity, "a lieutenant-general of the
kingdom."

At this instant Francois II. groaned piteously, complaining aloud of the
terrible pains in his ear. The physician left the fireplace where he was
warming himself, and went to the bedside to examine the king's head.

"Well, monsieur?" said the Duc de Guise, interrogatively.

"I dare not take upon myself to apply a blister to draw the abscess.
Maitre Ambroise has promised to save the king's life by an operation,
and I might thwart it."

"Let us postpone the treatment till to-morrow morning," said Catherine,
coldly, "and order all the physicians to be present; for we all know the
calumnies to which the death of kings gives rise."

She went to her son and kissed his hand; then she withdrew to her own
apartments.

"With what composure that audacious daughter of a shop-keeper alluded
to the death of the dauphin, poisoned by Montecuculi, one of her own
Italian followers!" said Mary Stuart.

"Mary!" cried the little king, "my grandfather never doubted her
innocence."

"Can we prevent that woman from coming here to-morrow?" said the queen
to her uncles in a low voice.

"What will become of us if the king dies?" returned the cardinal, in a
whisper. "Catherine will shovel us all into his grave."

Thus the question was plainly put between Catherine de' Medici and the
house of Lorraine during that fatal night. The arrival of the Connetable
de Montmorency and the Chancelier de l'Hopital were distinct indications
of rebellion; the morning of the next day would therefore be decisive.

XII. DEATH OF FRANCOIS II

On the morrow the queen-mother was the first to enter the king's
chamber. She found no one there but Mary Stuart, pale and weary, who
had passed the night in prayer beside the bed. The Duchesse de Guise
had kept her mistress company, and the maids of honor had taken turns
in relieving one another. The young king slept. Neither the duke nor the
cardinal had yet appeared. The priest, who was bolder than the soldier,
had, it was afterward said, put forth his utmost energy during the
night to induce his brother to make himself ki