"Death to the Huguenots!"
"Burn the houses!"
"Long live the Duke of Guise!"
"Throw them from the windows!"
"Kill the whole brood!"
Very soon the street was dotted with dead bodies. The unhappy people, roused from sleep by the yells of the mob, could offer but little resistance; they were slain in their beds, or escaped from the murderers only to be killed in the streets.
But every one did not die tamely. At one spot we saw about a dozen of our comrades, some only half dressed, standing shoulder to shoulder, with their backs to the wall and holding the mob at bay. At this sight Felix, wrapping his mantle round his left arm and drawing his sword, ran toward them, crying defiantly, "Coligny! Coligny! For the Admiral!"
It was a daring venture, and yet no more, dangerous than remaining in the crowd, where we must shortly have been discovered.
"Coligny! Coligny!" shouted the fighters by the wall, and the very sound of the name inspired them with fresh courage. One of the ruffians pushed at Felix with his pike, but he, with a vigorous stroke, clave him from the shoulder, and our comrades cheered again as the rascal fell.
"This way, Bellièvre," they cried; "this way, Le Blanc! Where is the Admiral?"