"Indeed it will," said Theodore; "we shall have made the conquest of a profound philosopher and a valiant soldier,--a mighty brain and a strong arm, a winner of battles and a sower of ideas. You are right; it is really a great day." CHAPTER VIII WHEREIN MARY STUART'S LOVELINESS FLITS ACROSS THE COURSE OF THE STORY WITH AS TRANSIENT A GLEAM AS IT CASTS UPON THE HISTORY OF FRANCE When Gabriel, accompanied by Coligny, reached the portals of the Louvre, he was overwhelmed by the first words that reached his ears. The king did not receive that day! The admiral, notwithstanding he held that high rank and was the nephew of Montmorency, was too gravely suspected of heresy to have much credit at court. As for Gabriel d'Exmès, the captain of the Guards, the ushers of the royal suite had had ample time to forget his face and his name. The two friends were rewarded for their trouble only by being permitted to pass beyond the outer doors. Within it was still worse. They wasted more than an hour in parleying and bribing and threatening. As rapidly as they succeeded in inducing one halberdier to allow them to pass, another barred their way. All the varieties of dragon, more or less formidable, which watch over the safety of kings seemed to be multiplied tenfold to impede their passage. But when by sheer persistence they had succeeded in penetrating as far as the great gallery which led to the king's closet, they found it impossible to go farther; the orders were too strict. The king, closeted with the constable and Madame de Poitiers, had given express instructions that he was not to be disturbed on any pretext. It was necessary that Gabriel should wait till evening if he wished for an audience. Waiting, weary waiting, when he believed that he was about to reach the goal which he had been striving for through so much difficulty and suffering! The few hours still to be passed seemed to Gabriel more terrible and more to be dreaded than all the perils which he had hitherto defied and overcome. Without listening to the kind words with which the admiral sought to console him, and to urge patience upon him, he stood at the window looking gloomily at the rain which had begun to fall from the sombre sky, a prey to anger and anguish, restlessly feeling the point of his sword. How to overturn and pass by the stupid guards who prevented him from making his way to the king's apartment, and perhaps to his father's liberty? Such thoughts filled his brain, when suddenly the curtain before the door of the royal antechamber was lifted, and a fair and blooming figure seemed to the saddened youth to light up the gray, rainy atmosphere. The little queen-dauphine, Mary Stuart, was passing through the gallery. Gabriel, as if by instinct, uttered a cry, and stretched out his arms toward her. "Oh, Madame!" he said, hardly conscious of what he was doing. Mary Stuart turned, recognized Gabriel and the admiral, and came up to them with her ever-ready smile.