, muttered my name in whispers. In my uncertainty, however, what
this portended I drew no comfort from it; and before I had found time to
weigh it thoroughly the door through which Turenne and Rosny had entered
opened again. The pages and gentlemen who stood about it hastened to
range themselves on either side. An usher carrying a white wand came
rapidly down the room, here and there requesting the courtiers to stand
back where the passage was narrow. Then a loud voice without cried, 'The
King, gentlemen! the King!' and one in every two of us stood a-tiptoe to
see him enter.

But there came in only Henry of Navarre, wearing a violet cloak and cap.

I turned to La Varenne and with my head full of confusion, muttered
impatiently, 'But the king, man! Where is the king?'

He grinned at me, with his hand before his mouth. 'Hush!' he whispered.
''Twas a jest we played on you! His late Majesty died at daybreak this
morning. This is the king.'

'This! the King of Navarre?' I cried; so loudly that some round us
called 'Silence!'

'No, the King of France, fool!' he replied. 'Your sword must be sharper
than your wits, or I have been told some lies!'

I let the gibe pass and the jest, for my heart was beating so fast and
painfully that I could scarcely preserve my outward composure. There was
a mist before my eyes, and a darkness which set the lights at defiance.
It was in vain I tried to think what this might mean--to me. I could not
put two thoughts together, and while I still questioned what reception
I might expect, and who in this new state of things were my friends, the
king stopped before me.

'Ha, M. de Marsac!' he cried cheerfully, signing to those who stood
before me to give place. 'You are the gentleman who rode so fast to warn
me the other morning. I have spoken to M. de Turenne about you, and he
is willing to overlook the complaint he had against you. For the rest,
go to my closet, my friend. Go! Rosny knows my will respecting you.'

I had sense enough left to kneel and kiss his hand; but it was in
silence, which he knew how to interpret. He had moved on and was
speaking to another before I recovered the use of my tongue, or the wits
which his gracious words had scattered. When I did so, and got on my
feet again I found myself the centre of so much observation and the
object of so many congratulations that I was glad to act upon the hint
which La Varenne gave me, and hurry away to the closet.

Here, though I