Charles again, in the summer of 1571, earnestly solicited the admiral to repair to court. The letter of invitation, written with his own band, was entrusted to Teligny, the admiral's sou-in-law. It was backed by warm solicitations from Montmorenei, the admiral's near relation, and the Marshal de Co..., his intimate friend. Coliguy'e apprehensions at length gave way, and in September of the same year he repaired to Blois, where Charles held his court. His reception was apparently the most cordial and respectful : he was restored to all his honours and dignities, and loaded with presents. The Icing called him " Father," and in a tone of affection added, "We have you at last, and you shall not escape us." This apparent favour of the king towards the admiral continued without interruption for many months. When abecut from court, Charles maintained a correspondence with him by letters ; and iu their private conversation he at least affected to unbosom himself without reserve to his new friend; cautioned him against his mother and her Italian favourites, spoke disparagingly of his brother Anjou, and in giving the character of his marshals, freely described their faults and censured their vices. Coligny was completely won by this frank demeanour of the young king, and employed his influence to induce the other Huguenot chiefs to repair to court. Though re peatedly warned of his danger his confidence was unshaken. "Rather," said he, "than renew the horrors of civil war, I would be dragged a corpse through the streets of Paris." The marriage of Henry of Navarre with Margaret, the king's sister, was celebrated with great pomp on Monday the 18th of August 1572. Moat of the Protestant nobility and gentry, with the admiral at their head, attended on the occasion; and as their prejudices would not let them enter a church where mass was celebrated, the ceremony was performed in a temporary building near the cathedral of Nitre Dame. Tho Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were passed in all sorts of festivities. On Friday the 22nd, Coligny attended a council at the Louvre, and went afterwards with the king to the tennia-court, where Charles and the Duke of Ouiae played a game against two Huguenot gentlemen. As ho walked slowly home, reading a paper, an arquebuss was discharged at him from the upper window of a house occupied by a dependant of the Duke of Guise. One ball shattered his hand, another lodged in his right arm. The king was still playing at tennis with the Duke of Guise when the news of this attack reached him. He throw down his racket—exclaiming "Shall I never have peace!" and retired apparently dejected to his apartment. Ho joined the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condd in their lamentations, and promised, with threats of vengeance, to punish the guilty.
The admiral's wounds were declared on the 23rd not to be danger oue, lie expressed a wish to see the king. Charles visited the wounded man, accompanied by his mother and a train of courtiers. Coligny requested to speak with the king alone, and Charles commanded his mother and brother to remain at a distance. Catherine afterwards acknowledged that these were the most painful moments she ever experienced. "Her consciousness of guilt, the interest with which Charles listened to the admiral, the crowds of armed men in constant motion through the house, their looks end whispers and gestures, all conspired to fill her with terror. Unable to remain ally longer in such a situation, she Interrupted the conference, by pretending that silence and repose wore necessary for the recovery of the admiral. During
her return in the same carriage with the king, she employed every artifice to draw from him the particulars of the conversation. lie dis closed sufficient to add to her alarm." This passage, which we have extracted from Lingard's history, is confirmed in the main by tho narrative of the St. Bartholomew, attributed to the Duke of Anjou, afterwards Henri III., who had a large share in its design and execution. He tells us that as the admiral began to speak earnestly, Catherine came up and drew the king away, but not till she had heard the admiral advise him not to let his mother and brother have so much of his authority.
Ou the first news of the admiral's wound the Huguenots repaired in crowds to his residence, and offered their services, with menacing language against the Guises—the suspected assassins. A royal guard was placed to protect the house of Coligny from popular violence ; and under a similar pretext of regard for his safety, the Catholics were ordered to evacuate and the Protestants to occupy the quarter in which he resided.
The attempt at assassination was not the work of the Guises : it was planned by the Duke of Anjou, the Duchess of Nemours, and the queen-mother. The father of the Duke of Guise, and first husband of the Duchess of Nemours, was assassinated by a Huguenot fanatic, who alleged that he committed the crime under the sanction of the admiral ; and since that event Coligny always felt that his life was in danger from one who, whether justly or unjustly, regarded him as the murderer of his father. The attempt at assassination having failed, the conspirators met on the morning of Saturday the 23rd, in secret conference. Baffled revenge and the dread of vindictive retaliation augmented the ferocity of their counsels. On Saturday after dinner, the hour for which at that time was noon, the queen-mother was seen to enter the king's chamber : Anjou and some lords of the Catholic party joined her there soon afterwards. According to Charles's account of this meeting, as reported by his sister Margaret, he was then suddenly informed of a treasonable conspiracy on the part of the Huguenots against himself and family; was told that the admiral and his friends were at that moment plotting his destruction, and that if he did not promptly anticipate the designs of his enemies, and if he waited till next morning, he and his family might be sacrificed. Under this impression, ho states, he gave a reluctant hurried consent to the proposition of his counsellors, exclaiming, as he left the room, that he hoped not a single Huguenot would be left alive to reproach him with the deed. The plan of the massacre had been previously arranged, and its execution instrusted to tho Dukes of Guise, Anjou, and Aumale, Montpcnsier, and Marshal Tavannes.
It wanted two hours of tho appointed time: all was still at the Louvre. A short time before the signal was given, Charles, his mother, and Anjou repaired to an open balcony, and awaited the result in breathless silence. This awful suspense was broken by the report of a pistol. Charles shook with horror—his frame trembled, his resolution failed him, and cold drops stood upon his brow. But the die was cast—the bell of a neighbouring church tolled—and the work of slaughter commenced.