"Now, Sir President," he continued, turning to a man of dignified appearance, who, habited as a high law officer, occupied one of the principal places of the assembly,--"now, Sir President, since I can make myself heard, I demand distinctly whether you or any of your fellow-deputies have, at your conference with Mazarin and the Court, made any provision whatever for the security and remuneration of the generals and other officers who have sacrificed so much in the cause of the Parliament and the people?" "Before I reply to any particular questions," answered the President, "I will, with the permission of the Parliament, read the _procès verbal_ of our proceedings at the conference at Ruel. Then having seen what we have really done, the chambers will be enabled to judge whether they can approve of the treaty of peace we have concluded." "You had no power, you had no power," shouted forty or fifty voices at once,--"you had no power to conclude anything! Your authority expired four or five days ago! There is no peace; we will have no peace! The deputies have gone beyond their powers; they have abandoned disgracefully our generals and our friends!" In vain the Chief President attempted to read the paper which he had in his hand. Every time he opened his mouth his words were drowned in murmurs and reproaches; and, even when he abandoned the endeavour and sat down, it was clear that the rest of the assembly only waited for some new word to break forth again into tumult and invective. All solemnity, all dignity, was laid aside: the turbulence had not even the impressiveness derived from being terrible: it was simply ridiculous; and the only image presented to the mind by the whole scene was a body of fishwomen scolding in a market. After the silence of perhaps a minute which ensued, a little pale young man, who seemed to be slightly deformed, and who I afterwards found was the Prince de Conti, rose near the head of the hall, and said, in a mild and sweet-toned voice, that he did wonder that the deputies from the Parliament had thought fit to conclude a peace with the Court, without consulting himself and the generals of the army. Another person, who was afterwards addressed as the Duke de Bouillon, with a broad, unmeaning countenance, which, however, lighted up in an extraordinary manner when he began to speak, followed the Prince de Conti in addressing the Parliament:-- "Gentlemen," he said, "since you have thought fit to conclude a peace with the Court, and allowed the Cardinal Mazarin, whose enmity I have so highly provoked in your service, to remain prime minister, the only favour and reward that I shall require of you is, to obtain me a passport, as speedily as possible, to quit the country with my family."