and laid on the couch in his closet, and from
there taken to the bed in his chamber. As he lay there some one gave him
holy water, and M. de Vic, a councillor of state, put to his mouth the
cross of his order, and directed his thoughts to God. All this was lost
on the king. He lay motionless and insensible. All around him were in
tears. The grief of the queen was unconsolable. All Paris was weeping.
The monarch against whom the Parisians had so bitterly fought they now
mourned as they would have done for their dearest friend.

The surgeons wanted to dress the king's wounds. Milon, the chief
physician, who sat weeping at the bedside, waved them aside. A faint
sigh died away on the king's lips. "It is all over," said Milon, sadly.
"He is gone."

What followed may be told in a few words. The old adage, "The king is
dead; long live the king!" was the thought of practical men of affairs.
Sully, whom the news of the assassination had raised in haste from his
sick-bed, put himself quickly at the head of some forty horse and rode
towards the palace. Guise and Bassompierre had come to the door, to see
what was passing outside, as he rode up.

"Gentlemen," he said to them, with tearful eyes, "if the service you
vowed to the king be impressed upon your souls as deeply as it ought to
be with all good Frenchmen, swear this moment to keep towards the king's
son and heir the same allegiance that you showed him, and to spend your
lives and your blood in avenging his death."

"Sir," answered Bassompierre, "it is for us to cause this oath to be
taken by others; we have no need to be exhorted thereto."

Leaving them, Sully rode to the Bastille, which he took possession of,
and sent out soldiers to seize and carry off all the bread that could be
found in the market and at the shops of the bakers. He despatched a
messenger also, in the greatest haste, to his son-in-law, M. de Rohan,
then in command of a force of six thousand Swiss, bidding him to march
with all speed upon Paris.

Henry IV. was dead. His son was his legitimate successor. But the murder
of Henry III. had been followed by a contest for the throne. That of
Henry IV. might be. Sully felt it necessary to take precautions,
although the king was hardly cold in death. The king dies; the kingship
survives; prudent men, on whom the peace of a people depend, prepare
without delay; the Duke de Sully was such a man. His precautions,
however, were not needed. No one thought of oppo