[559] The Bulletin de la Soc. de l'hist. du prot. francais, ix. (1860) 217-219, published from MSS. in the Library of the British Museum, the letter of Charles the Ninth to the first president of the Parisian parliament, dated "du chateau de Bolongne, ce premier jour d'aoust," enclosing the formula. The pretext is "afin d'oster tout ce doubte et differend qui regne aujourd'huy parmi nos subjectz." The president is to associate with himself the seigneur de Nantouillet, provost of the city, and the seigneur de Villeroy, "prevot des marchands." [560] Bulletin, etc., ix. (1860) 218, 219; Jean de Serres, iii. 175, etc. [561] Jean de Serres (Comm. de statu rel. et reipublicae, iii. 174-183) inserts the reply of the Protestants to the proposed oath, article by article. [562] Built by Francis I., and so named because constructed on the plan of the palace in which he lived when a captive in Spain. [563] It is true the writer carefully avoids mentioning the cardinal's name, but there is no difficulty in discovering that he is intended. [564] "Uti nimirum detur opera ut vires penes Regem sint, primoresque religionis illius occupentur, omnes conveniendi rationes illis demantur: ut ad illas angustias redacti, quemadmodum facillimum erit, possit hujusmodi colluvies regi regnoque adversaria, plane pessundari, omnesque adeo reliquiae profligari: quoniam semen profecto esset in dies egerminaturum, nisi ea ratio observaretur, cujus a vicinis nostris adeo luculenta exempla demonstrentur." Jean de Serres, iii. 187. [565] The letter is given entire, with the exception of some matters of no general interest, in the valuable chronicle of this period, by Jean de Serres (s. l. 1571), iii. 185-190. [566] "Haec sunt propemodum ipsa illius verba, quae conatus sum memoriae mandare, ut possem ad te de rerum omnium statu certius perscribere." Ib., iii. 188. [567] "Et quoniam tunc vehementius quam assuevisset, rem illam mihi commemoravit, et fortasse regis domini sui, qui ibi tunc erat, mandatu, volui hac de causa te istarum rerum facere certiorem." [568] This letter, which was also intercepted by the Huguenots, is preserved by Jean de Serres, iii. 184, 185. It bears unmistakable marks of authenticity. [569] Conde himself alludes to these words of Charles the Ninth to his mother, in his letter of August 23d. Referring to the king's aversion to a resort to violence, he says: "Quod mihi repetitis literis saepissime demonstrasti, et nuper quidem Reginae matri, ex eo sermone quem cum illa habebas, quo significabas quantum odiosa tibi esset turbarum renovatio cum nimirum illam orabas, daret operam ut omnia pacificarentur, efficeretque ne rursus ad bella civilia rediretur, quae non possent non extremum exitium afferre." Jean de Serres, iii, 193. [570] Letter _apud_ J. de Serres, iii. 188-190. [571] De Thou, iii. 136; Castelnau, liv. vii., c. 1, where the sum is erroneously trebled; Davila, bk. iv., p. 130. See also Soldan, ii., 324, and Von Polenz, ii. 365.