peace until the Guises and the Queen-Mother are swept out of the
country. The king is but a cat's-paw."

"True," cried another. "His mother rules him completely."

"And the Guises rule her!"

"Not at all," said the first man, "she is ruled by her own fears.
Catherine wants all the power in her own hands, and she is afraid of the
Prince's influence. That is the root of the evil."

"She has too many Spaniards and Italians around her," said Bellièvre;
"France is drained dry by foreigners. A plague on the leeches!"

"Bravo, Felix, that is well said; but if this rumour is really true, it
is time we were doing something. A hundred sworders would make little
impression on an army."

"Trust our chiefs! The Admiral will be here in an hour or two. I shall
be surprised if we are not out of Noyers by this time to-morrow."

Bellièvre and I were in bed when the Admiral arrived, but the next
morning we discovered that preparations were being made for almost
instant departure. We numbered about a hundred and fifty horsemen, and
by ourselves could have made a spirited fight; but we were hampered by
the presence of our leaders' wives and children, and more than one man
shook his head doubtfully at the thought of meeting the king's troops. I
asked my comrade where we were going, and he replied that there were as
many different opinions as horsemen. "But for my part," said he, "I
believe our destination is La Rochelle. That has always been the