immediately behind her; and she had no sooner done so than, accompanied by M. de Saint-Geran, the captain of the King’s Guard, he left the hall.  In an instant afterwards both officers re-appeared, followed by a company of halberdiers, who silently took up their position in the rear of the sovereign and his mother; and the Queen no sooner saw the gleam of their lances than she caused it to be intimated to the President Jeannin that she desired to address the meeting.

When her purpose was communicated to the assembly silence was by degrees restored; and then the clear, full voice of Marie de Medicis was heard to the furthest recesses of the vast apartment.

“Nobles and gentlemen,” she said with a gesture of quiet dignity, “as Regent of France I have also a right to speak on an occasion of this importance; for since the death of Henry the Great, my lord and husband, it is I who have constantly borne the burthen of the Crown.  You know, one and all, how many obstacles I have had to oppose, how many intrigues to frustrate, how many dangers to overcome.  An intestine war throughout the kingdom; disaffection alike in Paris and in the provinces; and amid all these struggles for the national welfare, I had to combat a still more gnawing anxiety.  I had to watch over the safety of the King my son, and that of the other Children of France; and never, gentlemen, for one hour, did my dignity as a Queen cause me to forget my tenderness as a mother.  I might have been sustained in this daily struggle—­I might have found strong arms and devoted hearts to share in my toils, and in my endeavours—­but that these have too often failed me, I need scarcely say.  Thus, then, if any among you complain of the past, they accuse me, for the King my son having delegated his authority to myself can have incurred no blame, nor do I wish to transfer it to another.  Every enterprise which I have undertaken has had the glory and prosperity of France as its sole aim and object.  If I have at times been mistaken in my estimate of the measures calculated to ensure so desirable a result, I have at least never persisted in my error; I have surrounded myself with able and conscientious counsellors; MM. de Villeroy and de Jeannin were chosen by the most ancient and noble families in the kingdom—­the Cardinal de la Valette and the Bishop of Lucon-Richelieu are my advisers—­the estimable Miron, Provost of Paris, in conjunction with Barbin represent the tiers-etat—­while as regards the people, I have ever been careful to mete out justice to them with an equal hand.”

Marie paused for an instant, and she had no sooner done so than loud shouts echoed through the cloistral arches, as the crowd vociferously and almost unanimously responded, “You have—­you have.  Long live the Queen!”