“You may say by two,” interrupted Gondi, laughing.

“It is, however, of great importance,” continued old Guise, amid the tumultuous young men, “to take a name to which the people may attach themselves; that of War for the Public Welfare has been made use of; Princes of Peace only lately.  It is necessary to find one.”

“Well, the War of the King,” said Cinq-Mars.

“Ay, the War of the King!” cried Gondi and all the young men.

“Moreover,” continued the old seigneur, “it is essential to gain the approval of the theological faculty of the Sorbonne, which heretofore sanctioned even the ‘hautgourdiers’ and the ’sorgueurs’,—­[Names of the leaguers.]—­and to put in force its second proposition—­that it is permitted to the people to disobey the magistrates, and to hang them.”

“Eh, Chevalier!” exclaimed Gondi; “this is not the question.  Let Monsieur le Grand speak; we are thinking no more of the Sorbonne at present than of your Saint Jacques Clement.”

There was a laugh, and Cinq-Mars went on: 

“I wished, gentlemen, to conceal nothing from you as to the projects of Monsieur, those of the Duke de Bouillon, or my own, for it is just that a man who stakes his life should know at what game; but I have placed before you the least fortunate chances, and I have not detailed our strength, for there is not one of you but knows the secret of it.  Is it to you, Messieurs de Montresor and de Saint-Thibal, I need tell the treasures that Monsieur places at our disposal?  Is it to you, Monsieur d’Aignou, Monsieur de Mouy, that I need tell how many gentlemen are eager to join your companies of men-at-arms and light-horse, to fight the Cardinalists; how many in Touraine and in Auvergne, where lay the lands of the House of D’Effiat, and whence will march two thousand seigneurs, with their vassals?

“Baron de Beauvau, shall I recall the zeal and valor of the cuirassiers whom you brought to the unhappy Comte de Soissons, whose cause was ours, and whom you saw assassinated in the midst of his triumph by him whom with you he had defeated?  Shall I tell these gentlemen of the joy of the Count-Duke of Olivares at the news of our intentions, and the letters of the Cardinal-Infanta to the Duke de Bouillon?  Shall I speak of Paris to the Abbe de Gondi, to D’Entraigues, and to you, gentlemen, who are daily witnesses of her misery, of her indignation, and her desire to break forth?  While all foreign nations demand peace, which the Cardinal de Richelieu still destroys by his want of faith (as he has done in violating the treaty of Ratisbon), all orders of the State groan under his violence, and dread that colossal ambition which aspires to no less than the temporal and even spiritual throne of France.”

A murmur of approbation interrupted Cinq-Mars.  There was then silence for a moment; and they heard the sound of wind instruments, and the measured tread of the dancers.

This noise caused a momentary diversion and a smile in the younger portion of the assembly.