I would ask you to ride with me, but I leave the city in pursuit of the Count of Montgomery, who is rumoured to have escaped.

There will be much for you to see on this happy Sunday.

But stay! You are not attended, and our streets are none too safe for strangers.

Presently the Huguenots will counterfeit our white cross, and blunders may be made by the overzealous." He unclasped the jewel which hung at the end of his chain.

It was a little Agnus of gold and enamel, surmounting a lozenge-shaped shield charged with an eagle.
"Take this," he said, "and return it to me when the work is over.