"Have you any news of De Montmorency?"
"None at all. I have tried in vain to learn something thus far. He could not have taken the most direct road, and he may be even now at the gates of the city. If Ambroise Paré is not successful in his operation, farewell to our fortune."
At this moment the physicians who had been summoned by Catherine de Médicis entered.
The queen-mother herself led them to the bedside of the king, whose suffering and groaning had begun again.
The physicians examined the royal patient, each in turn, and then retired to a corner to consult. Chapelain proposed a poultice to draw out the foreign matter; but the others declared in favor of injecting a certain medicated water into the ear.
They were just agreeing on the last-named method when Ambroise Paré entered, accompanied by Gabriel. After having examined into the king's condition, he joined his professional brethren.
Ambroise Paré, surgeon to the Duc de Guise, whose professional renown was already established, was now an authority to be reckoned with. The physicians told him what they had resolved to do.
"The remedy proposed is inadequate, I am sure," said Ambroise Paré, aloud; "but we must make haste, for the brain will be filled sooner than I thought."
"Oh, hasten, then, in Heaven's name!" cried Mary Stuart, who had overheard.
The queen-mother and the two Guises thereupon drew near the physicians, and joined their group.