principal nobility, with the exception of the
Comte de Soissons, attended by their several retainers, were already
mounted when she descended to the court of the palace, and were
awaiting her without the gates, when considerable excitement was created
by the Duc d'Epernon, who, detaching himself from his followers, rode to
the side of her carriage. As no Prince of the Blood had ever assumed
this privilege, not even the Guises, lofty as were their pretensions, a
general murmur arose among the assembled nobles; but M. d'Epernon,
regardless of this demonstration of displeasure, and aware that he had
already obtained considerable influence over the mind of the Queen,
retained his position, to the extreme indignation of the other
Princes.[42]

The Regent and her retinue first proceeded to the Archbishop's palace,
whence the procession was formed to the cathedral. At its head walked
the Princes of the Blood then present at the Court, and the principal
nobles, with the exception of the Prince de Conti and the Comte de
Soissons, who supported the Queen, whom they upheld by each placing a
hand beneath her arms. The Dowager Princess of Conde, the Princesse de
Conti, and the Comtesse de Soissons bore her mourning train, which was
seven French ells in length; and after them came Madame and the ex-Queen
Marguerite, both habited in the deepest black; who were in their turn
followed by all the great ladies of the Court and household.[43] At the
conclusion of the service, the Regent returned to the Louvre; and in the
afternoon, attended as she had been on the previous occasion, she
proceeded to perform her devotions in the church of St. Victor, amid
the respectful salutations of the assembled populace.

The grief of the citizens still continued unabated, but it was apparent
that a struggle for pre-eminence had already commenced among the higher
class. The Regent, whose affliction was as brief as it had been violent,
seemed suddenly endowed with a new nature. Her ambition grew with her
responsibility, and instead of participating in political questions as
she had previously done with undisguised reluctance, she entered eagerly
into public affairs, and sought earnestly to establish her authority; an
attempt in which she was seconded by the principal ministers of state,
who at once felt that by supporting her power they were consolidating
their own.

M. de Conde, the first Prince of the Blood, was still in Italy; his
brother the Prince