o Navarre's English
mercenaries at midnight on 31st July, and gives a dramatic story of
the discovery of the plot and slaying of the provost by Jean Maillart,
his friend and associate. We supplement his version from the Chronicle
of St. Denis: on the last day of July, Marcel and his suite repaired
to the bastille of St. Denis and ordered the guards to surrender the
keys to Charles of Navarre's treasurer. Maillart, who had been won
over by the Dauphin, had preceded him. The guard refused to hand over
the keys and an angry altercation ensued between the former friends.
Maillart mounted horse, seized a royal banner, sped to the Halles and
to the cry of "Montjoie St. Denis!" called the royal partizans to
arms: a similar appeal was made by Pepin des Essards. Meanwhile Marcel
had reached the bastille of St. Antoine, where he was met by Maillart
and the royal partizans. "Stephen, Stephen!" cried the latter, "what
dost thou here at this hour?" "I am here," answered the provost, "to
guard the city whose governor I am." "_Par Dieu_," retorted Maillart,
"thou art here for no good," and turning to his followers, said,
"Behold the keys which he holds to the destruction of the city." Each
gave the other the lie. "Good people," protested Marcel, "why would
you do me ill? All I wrought was for your good as well as mine."
Maillart for answer smote at him, crying, "Traitor, _a mort, a mort_!"
There was a stubborn fight, and Maillart felled the provost by a blow
with his axe; six of the provost's companions were slain, and the
remainder haled to prison. Next day the Dauphin entered Paris in
triumph, and the popular leaders were executed on the Place de Greve.
The provost's body was dragged to the court of the church of St.
Catherine du Val des Ecoliers, naked, that it might be seen of all, on
the very spot where the bodies of the Marshal of Champagne and the
Duke of Normandy had been flung six months before: after a long
exposure it was cast into the Seine. All the reforms were revoked by
the king, but the remembrance of the time when the merchants and
people of Paris had dared to speak to their royal lord face to face of
justice and good government, was never obliterated.

[Footnote 82: The royal war-cry, "Montjoie St. Denis," was uttered
when the king took the Oriflamme from the altar at St. Denis.]

[Footnote 83: During John the Good's reign, the province of Dauphiny
had been added to the French crown, and the king's eldest son took t