"
Moreover he received word at that moment that an exempt of the
guards and a force of soldiers were already at the gates of the
Arsenal, that others had been sent to the Temple, where the
powder was stored, and others again to the treasurer of the
Exchequer to stop all the money there.
"Convey to the Queen my duty and service," he bade the messenger,
"and assure her that until she acquaints me with her orders I
shall continue assiduously to attend the affairs of my office."
And with that he went to shut himself up in the Bastille, whither
he was presently followed by a stream of her Majesty's envoys,
all bidding him to the Louvre. But Sully, ill as he was, and now
utterly prostrated by all that he had endured, put himself to bed
and made of his indisposition a sufficient excuse.
Yet on the morrow he allowed himself to be persuaded to obey her
summons, receiving certain assurances that he had no ground for
any apprehensions. Moreover, he may by now have felt a certain
security in the esteem in which the Parisians held him. An
attempt against him in the Louvre itself would prove that the
blow that had killed his master was not the independent act of a
fanatic, as it was being represented; and vengeance would follow
swiftly upon the heads of those who would thus betray themselves
of having made of that poor wretch's fanaticism an instrument to
their evil ends.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164