e. The
paper, however, which he had rejected, containing the emphatic
recantation of every article of the Protestant faith, was sent to the
Pope with the forged signature of the king.

The final act of renunciation was public, and was attended with much
dramatic pomp, in the great church of St. Denis. It was Sunday, the
twenty-fifth of July, 1593. The immense cathedral was richly
decorated. Flowers were scattered upon the pavements, and garlands and
banners festooned the streets and the dwellings.

At eight o'clock in the morning Henry presented himself before the
massive portals of the Cathedral. He was dressed in white satin, with
a black mantle and chapeau. The white plume, which both pen and pencil
have rendered illustrious, waved from his hat. He was surrounded by a
gorgeous retinue of nobles and officers of the crown. Several
regiments of soldiers, in the richest uniform, preceded and followed
him as he advanced toward the church. Though a decree had been issued
strictly prohibiting the populace from being present at the ceremony,
an immense concourse thronged the streets, greeting the monarch with
enthusiastic cries of "_Vive le roi!_"

[Illustration: THE ACT OF ABJURING PROTESTANTISM.]

The Archbishop of Bourges was seated at the entrance of the church in
a chair draped with white damask. The Cardinal of Bourbon, and several
bishops glittering in pontifical robes, composed his brilliant
retinue. The monks of St. Denis were also in attendance, clad in their
sombre attire, bearing the cross, the Gospels, and the holy water.
Thus the train of the exalted dignitary of the Church even eclipsed in
splendor the suite of the king.

As Henry approached the door of the church, the archbishop, as if to
repel intrusion, imperiously inquired,

"Who are you?"

"I am the king," Henry modestly replied.

"What do you desire?" demanded the archbishop.

"I ask," answered the king, "to be received into the bosom of the
Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion."

"Do you desire this _sincerely_?" rejoined the archbishop.

"I do," the king replied. Then kneeling at the feet of the prelate, he
pronounced the following oath:

"I protest and swear, in the presence of Almighty God, to
live and die in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion;
to protect and defend it against all its enemies at the
hazard of my blood and life, renouncing all heresies contrary
to it."

The king then placed a copy of t