The clamor prevented the king talking with the confessor, who read his prayer-book.
At St. Denis Gate the king lifted his head, for the uproar was marked by a change in the shouts. A dozen young men, sword in hand, rushed through the retinue and shouted:
"Rescue! This way, those who would save the king!"
One Baron de Batz, an adventurer, had engaged three thousand bravoes to make this attempt, but only a handful responded when he sounded the signal-cry. This forlorn hope of royalty, meeting no reply, retreated and slipped away in the confusion.
The incident was of such slight importance that the carriage did not stop; it was at its journey's end when it did.
One of the three brothers Sanson, the Paris executioners, came to open the door.
Laying his hand on the abbe's knee, the king said, in the tone of a master:
"Gentlemen, I recommend this gentleman to you. Take care of him after my death, for he has done nobody harm."
He threw off his coat, not to be touched by the headsman. One had a rope to bind his hands, but he said he would not submit to it. A hand-to-hand fight would rob the victim of all the merit of six months' calmness, courage, and resignation, so the confessor advised him to yield, particularly as one of the Sansons, moved with pity, offered to substitute a handkerchief.
He held out his hands resignedly, saying: