partments of Henri II., in which after supper
the courtiers had been paying court to the two queens, Catherine de'
Medici and Elizabeth of Austria, and to their son and husband King
Charles IX.

In those days the majority of the burghers and great lords supped at
six, or at seven o'clock, but the more refined and elegant supped at
eight or even nine. This repast was the dinner of to-day. Many persons
erroneously believe that etiquette was invented by Louis XIV.; on the
contrary it was introduced into France by Catherine de' Medici, who made
it so severe that the Connetable de Montmorency had more difficulty in
obtaining permission to enter the court of the Louvre on horseback than
in winning his sword; moreover, that unheard-of distinction was granted
to him only on account of his great age. Etiquette, which was, it
is true, slightly relaxed under the first two Bourbon kings, took an
Oriental form under the Great Monarch, for it was introduced from the
Eastern Empire, which derived it from Persia. In 1573 few persons had
the right to enter the courtyard of the Louvre with their servants and
torches (under Louis XIV. the coaches of none but dukes and peers were
allowed to pass under the peristyle); moreover, the cost of obtaining
entrance after supper to the royal apartments was very heavy. The
Marechal de Retz, whom we have just seen, perched on a gutter, offered
on one occasion a thousand crowns of that day, six thousand francs of
our present money, to the usher of the king's cabinet to be allowed to
speak to Henri III. on a day when he was not on duty. To an historian
who knows the truth, it is laughable to see the well-known picture of
the courtyard at Blois, in which the artist has introduced a courtier on
horseback!

On the present occasion, therefore, none but the most eminent personages
in the kingdom were in the royal apartments. The queen, Elizabeth
of Austria, and her mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici, were seated
together on the left of the fireplace. On the other side sat the
king, buried in an arm-chair, affecting a lethargy consequent on
digestion,--for he had just supped like a prince returned from hunting;
possibly he was seeking to avoid conversation in presence of so many
persons who were spies upon his thoughts. The courtiers stood erect and
uncovered at the end of the room. Some talked in a low voice;
others watched the king, awaiting the bestowal of a look or a word.
Occasionally one was called