The bishop had hardly disappeared from Geneva when the insignia of ducal power disappeared also. Eight years before this, Charles III. had caused the white cross of Savoy, carved in marble, to be placed on the Château de l'Ile, 'at which the friends of liberty were much grieved.'—'I have placed my arms in the middle of the city as a mark of sovereignty,' he had said haughtily, 'and have had them carved in hard stone. Let the people efface them if they dare!' On the morning of the 6th of August (five days after the bishop's flight), some people who were passing near the castle perceived to their great astonishment that the ducal arms had disappeared.... A crowd soon gathered to the spot, and a lively discussion arose. Who did it? was the general question. 'Oh!' replied some, 'the stone has accidentally fallen into the river;' but although the water was clear, no one could see it. 'It was you,' said the duke's partisans to the huguenots, 'and you have hidden it somewhere.' Bonivard, who stood thoughtful in the midst of the crowd, said at last: 'I know the culprit.'—'Who is it? who is it?' 'St. Peter,' he replied. 'As patron of Geneva, he is unwilling that a secular prince should have any ensign of authority in his city!' This incident, the authors of which were never known, made a great impression, and the most serious persons exclaimed: 'Truly, it is a visible sign, announcing to us a secret and mysterious decision of the Most High. What the hand of God hath thrown down, let not hand of man set up again!'[760]