On the 16th of January, 1589, while the parliament was about to choose deputies, for a mission to the king, at Blois, Bussi, who had surrounded the hall with troops, suddenly entered, attended by some of his armed followers, and began to read a list of the proscribed members, among whom were the two presidents. On hearing this, the whole of the members simultaneously declared, that they would share the fate of their chiefs. Bussi took them at their word, and they were led away to the Bastile, where they were soon joined by some of their colleagues, who, suspecting what would happen, had not quitted their homes, but whose caution had failed to ensure their safety. All those who were not on Bussi’s list were, however, liberated in the course of the same evening, and a part of the others were allowed to return to their homes, on their friends becoming answerable for them. Having thus got rid of the persons who were obnoxious to them, the Leaguers remodelled the parliament, in such a manner as to render it subservient to their purposes. The most distinguished of the parliamentary members who were kept in hold were Achille de Harlay, Nicholas Potier de Blancmesnil, Louis Seguier, and James Gillot. The personal and mental courage of Harlay qualified him well for the stormy times in which he lived. To the influence of fear he seems to have been scarcely accessible. To the merit of unchangeable loyalty he added the rarer merit of opposing the rash and oppressive edicts of the sovereign. His legal knowledge was profound, and his integrity without a stain. He was born in 1536, and he sprung from a family which had distinguished itself, for more than two centuries, on the seat of justice or in the field of battle. At the age of forty-six, he succeeded his father-in-law, Christopher de Thou, as president of the parliament of Paris.