Chicot the Jester | Page 5

it is
quite touching; it might be Euryale and Nisus, Damon and Pythias,
Castor and----. But where is Pollux?"
"Pollux is married, so that Castor is left alone."
"What can they be doing?"
"I bet they are inventing some new starch."
"No, gentlemen," said Quelus, "we are talking of the chase."
"Really, Signor Cupid," said Bussy; "it is very cold for that. It will chap
your skin."
"Monsieur," replied Maugiron, politely, "we have warm gloves, and
doublets lined with fur."
"Ah! that reassures me," said Bussy; "do you go soon?"
"To-night, perhaps."
"In that case I must warn the king; what will he say to-morrow, if he
finds his friends have caught cold?"
"Do not give yourself that trouble, monsieur," said Quelus, "his majesty

knows it."
"Do you hunt larks?" asked Bussy, with an impertinent air.
"No, monsieur, we hunt the boar. We want a head. Will you hunt with
us, M. Bussy?"
"No, really, I cannot. To-morrow I must go to the Duc d'Anjou for the
reception of M. de Monsoreau, to whom monseigneur has just given
the place of chief huntsman."
"But, to-night?"
"Ah! To-night, I have a rendezvous in a mysterious house of the
Faubourg St. Antoine."
"Ah! ah!" said D'Epernon, "is the Queen Margot here, incognito, M. de
Bussy?"
"No, it is some one else."
"Who expects you in the Faubourg St. Antoine?"
"Just so, indeed I will ask your advice, M. de Quelus."
"Do so, although I am not a lawyer, I give very good advice."
"They say the streets of Paris are unsafe, and that is a lonely place.
Which way do you counsel me to take?"
"Why, I advise you to take the ferry-boat at the Pré-aux-Clercs, get out
at the corner, and follow the quay until you arrive at the great Châtelet,
and then go through the Rue de la Tixanderie, until you reach the
faubourg. Once at the corner of the Rue St. Antoine, if you pass the
Hôtel des Tournelles without accident, it is probable you will arrive
safe and sound at your mysterious house."
"Thanks for your route, M. de Quelus, I shall be sure to follow it." And
saluting the five friends, he went away.

As Bussy was crossing the last saloon where Madame de St. Luc was,
her husband made a sign to her. She understood at once, and going up,
stopped him.
"Oh! M. de Bussy," said she, "everyone is talking of a sonnet you have
made."
"Against the king, madame?"
"No, in honor of the queen; do tell it to me."
"Willingly, madame," and, offering his arm to her, he went off,
repeating it.
During this time, St. Luc drew softly near his friends, and heard Quelus
say:
"The animal will not be difficult to follow; thus then, at the corner of
the Hôtel des Tournelles, opposite the Hôtel St. Pol."
"With each a lackey?" asked D'Epernon.
"No, no, Nogaret, let us be alone, and keep our own secret, and do our
own work. I hate him, but he is too much a gentleman for a lackey to
touch."
"Shall we go out all six together?"
"All five if you please," said St. Luc.
"Ah! it is true, we forgot your wife."
They heard the king's voice calling St. Luc.
"Gentlemen," said he, "the king calls me. Good sport, au revoir."
And he left them, but instead of going straight to the king, he ran to
where Bussy stood with his wife.

"Ah! monsieur, how hurried you seem," said Bussy. "Are you going
also to join the chase; it would be a proof of your courage, but not of
your gallantry."
"Monsieur, I was seeking you."
"Really."
"And I was afraid you were gone. Dear Jeanne, tell your father to try
and stop the king, whilst I say a few words tête-à-tête to M. Bussy."
Jeanne went.
"I wish to say to you, monsieur," continued St. Luc, "that if you have
any rendezvous to-night, you would do well to put it off, for the streets
are not safe, and, above all, to avoid the Hôtel des Tournelles, where
there is a place where several men could hide. This is what I wished to
say; I know you fear nothing, but reflect."
At this moment they heard Chicot's voice crying, "St. Luc, St. Luc, do
not hide yourself, I am waiting for you to return to the Louvre."
"Here I am, sire," cried St. Luc, rushing forward. Near Chicot stood the
king, to whom one page was giving his ermine mantle, and another a
velvet mask lined with satin.
"Sire," said St. Luc, "I will have the honor of lighting your majesties to
your litters."
"No," said Henri, "Chicot goes one way, and I another. My friends are
good-for-nothings, who have run away and left me to return alone