These were his first words, spoken when, as all believed, he had been mortally wounded.  The, message of mercy came, however, too late; for two of the gentlemen present, by an irresistible impulse, had run the assassin through with their rapiers.  The halberdiers rushed upon him immediately after wards, so that he fell pierced in thirty-two vital places.  The Prince, supported by his friends, walked to his chamber, where he was put to bed, while the surgeons examined and bandaged the wound.  It was most dangerous in appearance, but a very strange circumstance gave more hope than could otherwise have been entertained.  The flame from the pistol had been so close that it had actually cauterized the wound inflicted by the ball.  But for this, it was supposed that the flow of blood from the veins which had been shot through would have proved fatal before the wound could be dressed.  The Prince, after the first shock, had recovered full possession of his senses, and believing himself to be dying, he expressed the most unaffected sympathy for the condition in which the Duke of Anjou would be placed by his death.  “Alas, poor Prince!” he cried frequently; “alas, what troubles will now beset thee!” The surgeons enjoined and implored his silence, as speaking might cause the wound to prove immediately fatal.  He complied, but wrote incessantly.  As long as his heart could beat, it was impossible for him not to be occupied with his country.

Lion Petit, a trusty Captain of the city guard, forced his way to the chamber, it being, absolutely necessary, said the honest burgher, for him to see with his own eyes that the Prince was living, and report the fact to the townspeople otherwise, so great was the excitement, it was impossible to say what might be the result.  It was in fact believed that the Prince was already dead, and it was whispered that he had been assassinated by the order of Anjou.  This horrible suspicion was flying through the city, and producing a fierce exasperation, as men talked of the murder of Coligny, of Saint Bartholomew, of the murderous propensities of the Valois race.  Had the attempt taken place in the evening, at the birth-night banquet of Anjou, a horrible massacre would have been the inevitable issue.  As it happened, however, circumstances soon, occurred to remove, the suspicion from the French, and to indicate the origin of the crime.  Meantime, Captain Petit was urged by the Prince, in writing, to go forth instantly with the news that he yet survived, but to implore the people, in case God should call him to Himself, to hold him in kind remembrance, to make no tumult, and to serve the Duke obediently and faithfully.