The noblest and purest characters of the time—Coligny, Condé, the Chancellor Olivier—had not succeeded in keeping clear of the contagion.
Therefore the Duc de Guise did not despise the Prince de Condé; he rather admired him. But he said to himself, smiling, that he was at least as good an actor as the other. Taking a step forward, he slowly removed his glove, and cast it beside that of the prince.
There was a murmur of surprise; and the first impression was that he proposed to answer Monsieur de Condé's defiant challenge.
But in that case he would not have been the subtle politician he prided himself on being.
In a loud, firm voice, and as if really convinced by the prince's demeanor, he said,—
"I approve Monsieur le Prince de Condé's words, and support him in them; and I am so devotedly his humble servant, having the honor to be his kinsman, that I here offer myself as his second, and will assist him in his just defence against all comers."
Le Balafré, with these words, let his inquiring glance rove boldly upon all those who stood around.
The Prince de Condé could only lower his own. He felt himself more thoroughly worsted than if he had been overthrown in the lists.
"Will no one," continued the Duc de Guise, "take up either the Prince de Condé's glove or mine?"
No one stirred, of course.