"How grim and silent the Palace appears, all
shuttered as if it were a house of the dead! Somehow it reminds me of
Mayence himself. I had pictured him occupying a house of gloom like
that."
"Do you think we are in any danger?" asked the girl. "The people seem
very boisterous."
"Oh, no danger at all. This mob is in the greatest good-humor. Listen to
their heart-stirring cheers! The people have been fed; that is the
reason of it."
"Is that why they cheer? It sounds to me like an ovation to the
Archbishop! Listen to them: 'Long live Mayence! God bless the
Archbishop!' There is no terror in those shouts."
Nevertheless his Lordship of Mayence had taken every precaution. The
shutters of his Palace were tightly closed, and along the whole front of
the edifice a double line of soldiers was ranged under the silent
command of their officers. They stood still and stiffly as stone-graven
statues in front of a Cathedral. The cheers rang unceasingly. Then,
suddenly, as if the sinister Palace opened one eye, shutters were turned
away from a great window giving upon the portico above the door.
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