small body of cavalry had been seen
from the walls in the early part of the day.

Such arguments and such falsehoods were admirably adapted to his
hearers, who swore to carry out the Duke's orders with secrecy and
despatch. "It is the will of our lord the King," continued Henry of
Guise, "that every good citizen should take up arms to purge the city of
that rebel Coligny and his heretical followers. The signal will be given
by the great bell of the Palace of Justice. Then let every true Catholic
tie a white band on his arm and put a white cross in his cap, and begin
the vengeance of God." Finding upon inquiry that Le Charron, the provost
of the merchants, was too weak and tender-hearted for the work before
him, the Duke suggested that the municipality should temporarily confer
his power on the ex-provost Marcel, a man of very different stamp.

About four in the afternoon Anjou rode through the crowded streets in
company with his bastard brother Angouleme. He watched the aspect of the
populace, and let fall a few insidious expressions in no degree
calculated to quiet the turbulent passions of the citizens. One account
says he distributed money, which is not probable, his afternoon ride
being merely a sort of reconnaissance. The journals of the Hotel de
Ville still attest the anxiety of the court--of Catherine and her
fellow-conspirator--that the massacre should be sweeping and complete.
"Very late in the evening"--it must have been after dark, for the King
went to lie down at eight, and did not rise until ten--the provost was
sent for. At the Louvre he found Charles, the Queen-mother, and the Duke
of Anjou, with other princes and nobles, among whom we may safely
include Guise, De Retz, and Tavannes. The King now repeated to him the
story of the Huguenot plot which had already been whispered abroad by
Guise of Anjou, and bade him shut the gates of the city, so that no one
could pass in or out, and take possession of the keys. He was also to
draw up all the boats on the river bank and chain them together, to
remove the ferry, to muster under arms the able-bodied men of each ward
under their proper officers, and hold them in readiness at the usual
mustering-places to receive the orders of his majesty. The city
artillery, which does not appear to have been as formidable as the word
would imply, was to be stationed at the Greve to protect the Hotel de
Ville or for any other duty required of it. With these instructions the
p