disregarded by the Parisians, whereon his Majesty sent the Provost of the Court into the city with orders to throw into jail all persons whom he might find transgressing the law. There were several arrests both of men and women, and a great commotion was the consequence, amounting almost to an insurrection. ‘Were they to be arrested by the Provost as if they were highwaymen or burglars? They had their own judges and magistrates to punish offending citizens. If the Provost[185] continued to interfere it should cost him his life.’ It seemed likely that the people would be as good as their word, so the magistrates of the city came to the King and informed him of what was going on; at first he took them roundly to task for their laches in allowing these salutary laws to fall into abeyance, telling them that it was through their negligence he had been driven to other means of enforcing them; he then hurried to Paris, went straight to the prison and set free all who had been arrested on this charge, paying out of his own purse the jailor’s dues for each prisoner. Since then the law has been more strictly enforced. Cardinal de Birague[186] is dead, at the age, if I mistake not, of more than eighty years; the Court followed its usual fashion, and gave a magnificent funeral at death to one whom it loved not during his life. He held the title of Chancellor of France, but the duties of his office were discharged by a deputy; he was a man who loved fair dealing, and consequently a good friend and supporter of the Queen Dowager of France, your Imperial Majesty’s sister; his successor[187] is his exact opposite in character, disposition, and intentions. Orange is scheming to recover Zutphen, a city of Gueldres, which has been taken by the Spaniards. The Count of Gueldres is suspected of having a secret understanding with Parma; there is a report that he has been sent as a prisoner to Zealand with his children. At Ghent also a conspiracy[188] of some nobles against the city authorities has been detected through Imbize, who for a long time was an exile in the Palatinate; this discovery has placed them all in imminent danger; among the number is Ryhove, who was ambassador at Constantinople. However the others may fare, Champagny, who was the prime mover and soul of the plot, can hardly hope to save his head. December 4, 1583. LETTER XXX. Nothing of importance, as far as I know, has happened since I last wrote, unless it be that some men were caught at Alençon’s quarters, with arms in their hands, under suspicious circumstances; it was thought that they were waiting to assassinate some one. Alençon was strongly impressed with the idea that they were cut-throats hired to murder him. At last, after a careful investigation, it was discovered that it was not his life they designed to take, but Fervaques’; moreover, it was ascertained that the man who set them on was at open feud with the latter, on account of some injury he had received at his hands.