sh
to authorize a strange operation upon the person of the king; Ambroise
Pare is preparing to cut open his head. I, as the king's mother and a
member of the council of the regency,--I protest against what appears to
me a crime of _lese-majeste_. The king's physicians advise an injection
through the ear, which seems to me as efficacious and less dangerous
than the brutal operation proposed by Pare."

When the company in the hall heard these words a smothered murmur rose
from their midst; the cardinal allowed the chancellor to enter the
bedroom and then he closed the door.

"I am lieutenant-general of the kingdom," said the Duc de Guise; "and I
would have you know, Monsieur le chancelier, that Ambroise, the king's
surgeon, answers for his life."

"Ah! if this be the turn that things are taking!" exclaimed Ambroise
Pare. "I know my rights and how I should proceed." He stretched his arm
over the bed. "This bed and the king are mine. I claim to be sole master
of this case and solely responsible. I know the duties of my office; I
shall operate upon the king without the sanction of the physicians."

"Save him!" said the cardinal, "and you shall be the richest man in
France."

"Go on!" cried Mary Stuart, pressing the surgeon's hand.

"I cannot prevent it," said the chancellor; "but I shall record the
protest of the queen-mother."

"Robertet!" called the Duc de Guise.

When Robertet entered, the lieutenant-general pointed to the chancellor.

"I appoint you chancellor of France in the place of that traitor," he
said. "Monsieur de Maille, take Monsieur de l'Hopital and put him in the
prison of the Prince de Conde. As for you, madame," he added, turning
to Catherine; "your protest will not be received; you ought to be aware
that any such protest must be supported by sufficient force. I act as
the faithful subject and loyal servant of king Francois II., my master.
Go on, Antoine," he added, looking at the surgeon.

"Monsieur de Guise," said l'Hopital; "if you employ violence either upon
the king or upon the chancellor of France, remember that enough of
the nobility of France are in that hall to rise and arrest you as a
traitor."

"Oh! my lords," cried the great surgeon; "if you continue these
arguments you will soon proclaim Charles IX!--for king Francois is about
to die."

Catherine de' Medici, absolutely impassive, gazed from the window.

"Well, then, we shall employ force to make ourselves masters of this
room,"