The remains of this old building will still show, to the eyes of an archaeologist, how magnificent it was at a period when the houses of the burghers were commonly built of wood rather than stone, a period when noblemen alone had the right to build manors,—­a significant word.  Having served as the dwelling of the king at a period when the court displayed much pomp and luxury, the hotel Groslot must have been the most splendid house in Orleans.  It was here, on the place de l’Estape, that the Guises and the king reviewed the burgher guard, of which Monsieur de Cypierre was made the commander during the sojourn of the king.  At this period the cathedral of Sainte-Croix, afterward completed by Henri IV.,—­who chose to give that proof of the sincerity of his conversion,—­was in process of erection, and its neighborhood, heaped with stones and cumbered with piles of wood, was occupied by the Guises and their retainers, who were quartered in the bishop’s palace, now destroyed.

The town was under military discipline, and the measures taken by the Guises proved how little liberty they intended to leave to the States-general, the members of which flocked into the town, raising the rents of the poorest lodgings.  The court, the burgher militia, the nobility, and the burghers themselves were all in a state of expectation, awaiting some coup-d’Etat; and they found themselves not mistaken when the princes of the blood arrived.  As the Bourbon princes entered the king’s chamber, the court saw with terror the insolent bearing of Cardinal de Lorraine.  Determined to show his intentions openly, he remained covered, while the king of Navarre stood before him bare-headed.  Catherine de’ Medici lowered her eyes, not to show the indignation that she felt.  Then followed a solemn explanation between the young king and the two chiefs of the younger branch.  It was short, for that the first words of the Prince de Conde Francois II. interrupted him, with threatening looks: 

“Messieurs, my cousins, I had supposed the affair of Amboise over; I find it is not so, and you are compelling us to regret the indulgence which we showed.”

“It is not the king so much as the Messieurs de Guise who now address us,” replied the Prince de Conde.

“Adieu, monsieur,” cried the little king, crimson with anger.  When he left the king’s presence the prince found his way barred in the great hall by two officers of the Scottish guard.  As the captain of the French guard advanced, the prince drew a letter from his doublet, and said to him in presence of the whole court:—­

“Can you read that paper aloud to me, Monsieur de Maille-Breze?”

“Willingly,” said the French captain:—­

  “’My cousin, come in all security; I give you my royal word that
  you can do so.  If you have need of a safe conduct, this letter
  will serve as one.’”

“Signed?” said the shrewd and courageous hunchback.