ancellor; Marshals St. Andre and Brissac;
Admiral Coligny; Marillac, Archbishop of Vienne; Morvilliers, Bishop of
Orleans; Montluc, Bishop of Valence; and the other members of the privy
council. In front of these, the members of the Order of St. Michael, and
the rest of the notables, occupied lower benches.[887]

[Sidenote: Chancellor L'Hospital's speech.]

The session opened with brief speeches delivered by Francis and his
mother, setting forth the object of this extraordinary convocation, but
referring their auditors to the chancellor and to the king's uncles for
further explanations. Chancellor L'Hospital was less concise. He
entertained the assembly with a lengthy comparison of the political
malady to a bodily disease,[888] pronouncing the cure to be easy, if
only the cause could be detected. He closed by assigning a somewhat
singular reason for summoning but two of the three orders of the state.
The presence of the _people_, he said, was in no wise necessary,
_inasmuch as the king's sole object was to relieve the third estate_.
Because, forsooth, the poor people--bowed down to the earth with taxes
and burdens, which the _noblesse_ would not touch with one of their
fingers--was the party chiefly interested in the results of the present
deliberations, it was quite unessential that its complaints or requests
should be heard! The Duke of Guise and his brother, the cardinal, next
laid before the assembly an account of their administration of the army
and finances; and the first day's session ended with the pleasant
announcement that the royal revenues annually fell short of the regular
expenses by the sum--very considerable for those days--of two and
one-half millions of livres.

[Sidenote: Coligny speaks and presents two petitions.]

When next the notables met, two days later, the king formally proposed a
free discussion of the subject in hand. The youngest member of the privy
council was about to speak, when Gaspard de Coligny arose, and,
advancing to the throne, twice bowed humbly to the king. By the royal
orders, he said, he had lately visited Normandy and investigated the
origin of the recent commotions. He had satisfied himself that they were
owing to no ill-will felt toward the crown; but only to the extreme and
illegal violence with which the inhabitants had been treated for
religion's sake. He had, therefore, believed it to be his duty to listen
to the requests of the persecuted, who offered to prove that th