"He meant to have the power of doing mischief or not as he pleased," replied De Vitry; "with twenty thousand men, sire, while you had certain enemies and uncertain friends before you, he might have proved a dangerous comrade on the march whenever he chose to turn traitor, which he will do, depend upon it, at the slightest reverse. A man who can shut up his own nephew and ward, with the poor lad's wife and child, in the castle of Pavia, and feed them all three upon slow poison till there is no strength left in any of them, cannot be well trusted, sire." "Has he done that," exclaimed the young king, with his cheek flushing and his eyes all in a blaze; "has he done that?" "I have it from the very best authority," replied the other. "I cannot speak from my own knowledge; for they would not let me into the castle; but I have been told so by those who know; and if he were not afraid of letting you see what is going on in that dark old fortress, why should he not assign you the magnificent rooms, where so many Lombard kings and Roman emperors have sat, and put the gates in possession of your troops? The house he has had prepared for your majesty is fine enough; but it is but a citizen's house, after all; and, depend upon it, there are things within the walls of the castle he would not have you see with your own eyes." "He shall find himself mistaken," said the young king--"he shall find himself mistaken. I will see, and that at once. How many men have we with us now, De Vitry?" "Some four hundred, I should guess, sire," replied the officer; "but there are a thousand more in the little guard-house square at the gates, ready to escort your majesty to your dwelling." "That is right! that is right!" said Charles, with a smile; "let us put our horses to a quicker pace, good friend. We will be upon the worthy regent's heels before he expects us." In three-quarters of an hour, Charles and his escort had reached the gates of Pavia. There was bustle and some disarray among the Lombard soldiers on guard; for the monarch had appeared before he was expected; but they hurried forth from the guard-houses to salute him as he passed, and the French men-at-arms and soldiers in the little square were up and arrayed in a minute. At the entrance of the street leading from the Milan gate into the heart of the city--a street which the reader may well remember, from its gloomy aspect, specially if he have entered Pavia on a rainy day--a gallant party of horsemen, dressed in the robes of peace, advanced to meet the King of France, and, after due salutation, told him they had been sent by the regent to conduct him to his dwelling.