下载辰思小说免费APP
ChapterXXIII:
TheKing\'sGratitude。
Thetwomenwereonthepointofdartingtowardseachotherwhentheysuddenlyandabruptlystopped，asamutualrecognitiontookplace，andeachutteredacryofhorror。
"Haveyoucometoassassinateme，monsieur？"saidtheking，whenherecognizedFouquet。
"Thekinginthisstate！"murmuredtheminister。
NothingcouldbemoreterribleindeedthantheappearanceoftheyoungprinceatthemomentFouquethadsurprisedhim;hisclotheswereintatters;hisshirt，openandtorntorags，wasstainedwithsweatandwiththebloodwhichstreamedfromhislaceratedbreastandarms。？Haggard，ghastlypale，hishairindisheveledmasses，LouisXIV。presentedthemostperfectpictureofdespair，distress，angerandfearcombinedthatcouldpossiblybeunitedinonefigure。？Fouquetwassotouched，soaffectedanddisturbedbyit，thatherantowardshimwithhisarmsstretchedoutandhiseyesfilledwithtears。？Louisheldupthemassivepieceofwoodofwhichhehadmadesuchafurioususe。
"Sire，"
saidFouquet，inavoicetremblingwithemotion，"doyounotrecognizethemostfaithfulofyourfriends？"
"A
friend—you！"repeatedLouis，gnashinghisteethinamannerwhichbetrayedhishateanddesireforspeedyvengeance。
"Themostrespectfulofyourservants，"addedFouquet，throwinghimselfonhisknees。？Thekinglettherudeweaponfallfromhisgrasp。？Fouquetapproachedhim，kissedhisknees，andtookhiminhisarmswithinconceivabletenderness。
"Myking，mychild，"hesaid，"howyoumusthavesuffered！"
Louis，recalledtohimselfbythechangeofsituation，lookedathimself，andashamedofthedisorderedstateofhisapparel，ashamedofhisconduct，andashamedoftheairofpityandprotectionthatwasshowntowardshim，drewback。？Fouquetdidnotunderstandthismovement;hedidnotperceivethattheking\'sfeelingofpridewouldneverforgivehimforhavingbeenawitnessofsuchanexhibitionofweakness。
"Come，sire，"hesaid，"youarefree。"
"Free？"
repeatedtheking。？"Oh！yousetmeatliberty，then，afterhavingdaredtoliftupyourhandagainstme。"
"Youdonotbelievethat！"exclaimedFouquet，indignantly;"youcannotbelievemetobeguiltyofsuchanact。"
Andrapidly，warmlyeven，herelatedthewholeparticularsoftheintrigue，thedetailsofwhicharealreadyknowntothereader。？Whiletherecitalcontinued，Louissufferedthemosthorribleanguishofmind;andwhenitwasfinished，themagnitudeofthedangerhehadrunstruckhimfarmorethantheimportanceofthesecretrelativetohistwinbrother。
"Monsieur，"
hesaid，suddenlytoFouquet，"thisdoublebirthisafalsehood;itisimpossible—youcannothavebeenthedupeofit。"
"Sire！"
"Itisimpossible，Itellyou，thatthehonor，thevirtueofmymothercanbesuspected，andmyfirstministerhasnotyetdonejusticeonthecriminals！"
"Reflect，sire，beforeyouarehurriedawaybyanger，"repliedFouquet。？"Thebirthofyourbrother—"
"I
haveonlyonebrother—andthatisMonsieur。？Youknowitaswellasmyself。？Thereisaplot，Itellyou，beginningwiththegovernoroftheBastile。"
"Becareful，sire，forthismanhasbeendeceivedaseveryoneelsehasbytheprince\'slikenesstoyourself。"
"Likeness？？Absurd！"
"ThisMarchialimustbesingularlylikeyourmajesty，tobeabletodeceiveeveryone\'seye，"Fouquetpersisted。
"Ridiculous！"
"Donotsayso，sire;
thosewhohadpreparedeverythinginordertofaceanddeceiveyourministers，yourmother，yourofficersofstate，themembersofyourfamily，mustbequiteconfidentoftheresemblancebetweenyou。"
"Butwherearethesepersons，then？"murmuredtheking。
"AtVaux。"
"AtVaux！andyousufferthemtoremainthere！"
"Mymostinstantdutyappearedtometobeyourmajesty\'srelease。？Ihaveaccomplishedthatduty;andnow，whateveryourmajestymaycommand，shallbedone。？Iawaityourorders。"
Louisreflectedforafewmoments。
"MusterallthetroopsinParis，"hesaid。
"Allthenecessaryordersaregivenforthatpurpose，"repliedFouquet。
"Youhavegivenorders！"exclaimedtheking。
"Forthatpurpose，yes，sire;yourmajestywillbeattheheadoftenthousandmeninlessthananhour。"
TheonlyreplythekingmadewastotakeholdofFouquet\'shandwithsuchanexpressionoffeeling，thatitwasveryeasytoperceivehowstronglyhehad，untilthatremark，maintainedhissuspicionsoftheminister，notwithstandingthelatter\'sintervention。
"Andwiththesetroops，"hesaid，"weshallgoatonceandbesiegeinyourhousetherebelswhobythistimewillhaveestablishedandintrenchedthemselvestherein。"
"I
shouldbesurprisedifthatwerethecase，"repliedFouquet。
"Why？"
"Becausetheirchief—theverysouloftheenterprise—havingbeenunmaskedbyme，thewholeplanseemstometohavemiscarried。"
"Youhaveunmaskedthisfalseprincealso？"
"No，Ihavenotseenhim。"
"Whomhaveyouseen，then？"
"Theleaderoftheenterprise，notthatunhappyyoungman;thelatterismerelyaninstrument，destinedthroughhiswholelifetowretchedness，Iplainlyperceive。"
"Mostcertainly。"
"ItisM。l\'Abb？d\'Herblay，Ev阸uedeVannes";
"Yourfriend？"
"Hewasmyfriend，sire，"repliedFouquet，nobly。
"Anunfortunatecircumstanceforyou，"saidtheking，inalessgeneroustoneofvoice。
"Suchfriendships，sire，hadnothingdishonorableinthemsolongasIwasignorantofthecrime。"
"Youshouldhaveforeseenit。"
"IfIamguilty，Iplacemyselfinyourmajesty\'shands。"
"Ah！？MonsieurFouquet，itwasnotthatI
meant，"returnedtheking，sorrytohaveshownthebitternessofhisthoughtinsuchamanner。？"Well！？Iassureyouthat，notwithstandingthemaskwithwhichthevillaincoveredhisface，Ihadsomethinglikeavaguesuspicionthathewastheveryman。？Butwiththischiefoftheenterprisetherewasamanofprodigiousstrength，theonewhomenacedmewithaforcealmostherculean;whatishe？"
"ItmustbehisfriendtheBaronduVallon，formerlyoneofthemusketeers。"
"ThefriendofD\'Artagnan？thefriendoftheComtedelaF鑢e？？Ah！"exclaimedtheking，ashepausedatthenameofthelatter，"wemustnotforgettheconnectionthatexistedbetweentheconspiratorsandM。deBragelonne。"
"Sire，sire，donotgotoofar。？M。delaF鑢eisthemosthonorablemaninFrance。？BesatisfiedwiththosewhomIdeliveruptoyou。"
"Withthosewhomyoudeliveruptome，yousay？？Verygood，foryouwilldeliverupthosewhoareguiltytome。"
"Whatdoesyourmajestyunderstandbythat？"inquiredFouquet。
"I
understand，"repliedtheking，"thatweshallsoonarriveatVauxwithalargebodyoftroops，thatwewilllayviolenthandsuponthatnestofvipers，andthatnotasoulshallescape。"
"Yourmajestywillputthesementodeath！"criedFouquet。
"Totheverymeanestofthem。"
"Oh！
sire。"
"Letusunderstandoneanother，MonsieurFouquet，"saidtheking，haughtily。？"Wenolongerliveintimeswhenassassinationwastheonlyandthelastresourcekingsheldinreservationatextremity。？No，Heavenbepraised！？Ihaveparliamentswhositandjudgeinmyname，andIhavescaffoldsonwhichsupremeauthorityiscarriedout。"
Fouquetturnedpale。？"Iwilltakethelibertyofobservingtoyourmajesty，thatanyproceedingsinstitutedrespectingthesematterswouldbringdownthegreatestscandaluponthedignityofthethrone。？TheaugustnameofAnneofAustriamustneverbeallowedtopassthelipsofthepeopleaccompaniedbyasmile。"
"Justicemustbedone，however，monsieur。"
"Good，sire;butroyalbloodmustnotbesheduponascaffold。"
"Theroyalblood！youbelievethat！"criedthekingwithfuryinhisvoice，stampinghisfootontheground。？"Thisdoublebirthisaninvention;andinthatinvention，particularly，doIseeM。
d\'Herblay\'scrime。？ItisthecrimeI
wishtopunishratherthantheviolence，ortheinsult。"
"Andpunishitwithdeath，sire？"
"Withdeath;yes，monsieur，Ihavesaidit。"
"Sire，"
saidthesurintendant，withfirmness，asheraisedhisheadproudly，"yourmajestywilltakethelife，ifyouplease，ofyourbrotherPhilippeofFrance;
thatconcernsyoualone，andyouwilldoubtlessconsultthequeen—motheruponthesubject。？Whatevershemaycommandwillbeperfectlycorrect。？Idonotwishtomixmyselfupinit，notevenforthehonorofyourcrown，butIhaveafavortoaskofyou，andIbegtosubmitittoyou。"
"Speak，"
saidtheking，innolittledegreeagitatedbyhisminister\'slastwords。？"Whatdoyourequire？"
"ThepardonofM。d\'HerblayandofM。duVallon。"
"Myassassins？"
"Tworebels，sire，thatisall。"
"Oh！？Iunderstand，then，youaskmetoforgiveyourfriends。"
"Myfriends！"saidFouquet，deeplywounded。
"Yourfriends，certainly;butthesafetyofthestaterequiresthatanexemplarypunishmentshouldbeinflictedontheguilty。"
"IwillnotpermitmyselftoremindyourmajestythatIhavejustrestoredyoutoliberty，andhavesavedyourlife。"
"Monsieur！"
"IwillnotallowmyselftoremindyourmajestythathadM。d\'Herblaywishedtocarryouthischaracterofanassassin，hecouldveryeasilyhaveassassinatedyourmajestythismorningintheforestofSenart，andallwouldhavebeenover。"？Thekingstarted。
"A
pistol—bulletthroughthehead，"pursuedFouquet，"andthedisfiguredfeaturesofLouisXIV。，whichnoonecouldhaverecognized，wouldbeM。
d\'Herblay\'scompleteandentirejustification。"
Thekingturnedpaleandgiddyatthebareideaofthedangerhehadescaped。
"IfM。d\'Herblay，"
continuedFouquet，"hadbeenanassassin，hehadnooccasiontoinformmeofhisplaninordertosucceed。？Freedfromtherealking，itwouldhavebeenimpossibleinallfuturitytoguessthefalse。？AndiftheusurperhadbeenrecognizedbyAnneofAustria，hewouldstillhavebeen—herson。？Theusurper，asfarasMonsieurd\'Herblay\'sconsciencewasconcerned，wasstillakingofthebloodofLouisXIII。？Moreover，theconspirator，inthatcourse，wouldhavehadsecurity，secrecy，impunity。？Apistol—bulletwouldhaveprocuredhimallthat。？ForthesakeofHeaven，sire，grantmehisforgiveness。"
Theking，insteadofbeingtouchedbythepicture，sofaithfullydrawninalldetails，ofAramis\'sgenerosity，felthimselfmostpainfullyandcruellyhumiliated。？Hisunconquerablepriderevoltedattheideathatamanhadheldsuspendedattheendofhisfingerthethreadofhisroyallife。？EverywordthatfellfromFouquet\'slips，andwhichhethoughtmostefficaciousinprocuringhisfriend\'spardon，seemedtopouranotherdropofpoisonintothealreadyulceratedheartofLouisXIV。？Nothingcouldbendorsoftenhim。？AddressinghimselftoFouquet，hesaid，"Ireallydon\'tknow，monsieur，whyyoushouldsolicitthepardonofthesemen。？Whatgoodisthereinaskingthatwhichcanbeobtainedwithoutsolicitation？"
"Idonotunderstandyou，sire。"
"Itisnotdifficult，either。？WhereamI
now？"
"IntheBastile，sire。"
"Yes;inadungeon。？Iamlookeduponasamadman，amInot？"
"Yes，sire。"
"AndnooneisknownherebutMarchiali？"
"Certainly。"
"Well;
changenothinginthepositionofaffairs。？LetthepoormadmanrotbetweentheslimywallsoftheBastile，andM。
d\'HerblayandM。duVallonwillstandinnoneedofmyforgiveness。？Theirnewkingwillabsolvethem。"
"Yourmajestydoesmeagreatinjustice，sire;andyouarewrong，"repliedFouquet，dryly;"Iamnotchildenough，norisM。d\'Herblaysillyenough，tohaveomittedtomakeallthesereflections;andifIhadwishedtomakeanewking，asyousay，IhadnooccasiontohavecomeheretoforceopenthegatesanddoorsoftheBastile，tofreeyoufromthisplace。？Thatwouldshowawantofevencommonsense。？Yourmajesty\'smindisdisturbedbyanger;otherwiseyouwouldbefarfromoffending，groundlessly，theveryoneofyourservantswhohasrenderedyouthemostimportantserviceofall。"
Louisperceivedthathehadgonetoofar;thatthegatesoftheBastilewerestillcloseduponhim，whilst，bydegrees，thefloodgatesweregraduallybeingopened，behindwhichthegenerous—heartedFouquethadrestrainedhisanger。？"Ididnotsaythattohumiliateyou，Heavenknows，monsieur，"hereplied。？"Onlyyouareaddressingyourselftomeinordertoobtainapardon，andIansweraccordingtomyconscience。？Andso，judgingbymyconscience，thecriminalswespeakofarenotworthyofconsiderationorforgiveness。"
Fouquetwassilent。
"WhatIdoisasgenerous，"addedtheking，"aswhatyouhavedone，forIaminyourpower。？Iwillevensayitismoregenerous，inasmuchasyouplacebeforemecertainconditionsuponwhichmyliberty，mylife，maydepend;andtorejectwhichistomakeasacrificeofboth。"
"Iwaswrong，certainly，"repliedFouquet。？"Yes，—Ihadtheappearanceofextortingafavor;Iregretit，andentreatyourmajesty\'sforgiveness。"
"Andyouareforgiven，mydearMonsieurFouquet，"saidtheking，withasmile，whichrestoredthesereneexpressionofhisfeatures，whichsomanycircumstanceshadalteredsincetheprecedingevening。
"Ihavemyownforgiveness，"repliedtheminister，withsomedegreeofpersistence;
"butM。d\'Herblay，andM。duVallon？"
"Theywillneverobtaintheirs，aslongasIlive，"repliedtheinflexibleking。？"Domethekindnessnottospeakofitagain。"
"Yourmajestyshallbeobeyed。"
"Andyouwillbearmenoill—willforit？"
"Oh！no，sire;forIanticipatedtheevent。"
"Youhad\'anticipated\'thatIshouldrefusetoforgivethosegentlemen？"
"Certainly;
andallmymeasuresweretakeninconsequence。"
"Whatdoyoumeantosay？"criedtheking，surprised。
"M。
d\'Herblaycame，asmaybesaid，todeliverhimselfintomyhands。？M。d\'Herblaylefttomethehappinessofsavingmykingandmycountry。？IcouldnotcondemnM。d\'Herblaytodeath;norcouldI，ontheotherhand，exposehimtoyourmajesty\'sjustifiablewrath;itwouldhavebeenjustthesameasifI
hadkilledhimmyself。"
"Well！andwhathaveyoudone？"
"Sire，I
gaveM。d\'Herblaythebesthorsesinmystablesandfourhours\'startoverallthoseyourmajestymight，probably，dispatchafterhim。"
"Beitso！"murmuredtheking。？"Butstill，theworldiswideenoughandlargeenoughforthosewhomImaysendtoovertakeyourhorses，notwithstandingthe\'fourhours\'start\'whichyouhavegiventoM。d\'Herblay。"
"Ingivinghimthesefourhours，sire，IknewIwasgivinghimhislife，andhewillsavehislife。"
"Inwhatway？"
"Afterhavinggallopedashardaspossible，withthefourhours\'start，beforeyourmusketeers，hewillreachmych鈚eauofBelle—Isle，whereIhavegivenhimasafeasylum。"
"Thatmaybe！？ButyouforgetthatyouhavemademeapresentofBelle—Isle。"
"Butnotforyoutoarrestmyfriends。"
"Youtakeitbackagain，then？"
"Asfarasthatgoes—yes，sire。"
"Mymusketeersshallcaptureit，andtheaffairwillbeatanend。"
"Neitheryourmusketeers，noryourwholearmycouldtakeBelle—Isle，"saidFouquet，coldly。？"Belle—Isleisimpregnable。"
Thekingbecameperfectlylivid;alightningflashseemedtodartfromhiseyes。？Fouquetfeltthathewaslost，butheasnotonetoshrinkwhenthevoiceofhonorspokeloudlywithinhim。？Heboretheking\'swrathfulgaze;thelatterswallowedhisrage，andafterafewmoments\'silence，said，"ArewegoingtoreturntoVaux？"
"Iamatyourmajesty\'sorders，"repliedFouquet，withalowbow;"butIthinkthatyourmajestycanhardlydispensewithchangingyourclothesprevioustoappearingbeforeyourcourt。"
"WeshallpassbytheLouvre，"saidtheking。？"Come。"？Andtheylefttheprison，passingbeforeBaisemeaux，wholookedcompletelybewilderedashesawMarchialioncemoreleave;and，inhishelplessness，toreoutthemajorportionofhisfewremaininghairs。？Itwasperfectlytrue，however，thatFouquetwroteandgavehimanauthorityfortheprisoner\'srelease，andthatthekingwrotebeneathit，"Seenandapproved，Louis";apieceofmadnessthatBaisemeaux，incapableofputtingtwoideastogether，acknowledgedbygivinghimselfaterribleblowontheforeheadwithhisownfist。
ChapterXXIV:
TheFalseKing。
Inthemeantime，usurpedroyaltywasplayingoutitspartbravelyatVaux。？Philippegaveordersthatforhispetitleverthegrandesentr閑s，alreadypreparedtoappearbeforetheking，shouldbeintroduced。？HedeterminedtogivethisordernotwithstandingtheabsenceofM。d\'Herblay，whodidnotreturn—
ourreadersknowthereason。？Buttheprince，notbelievingthatabsencecouldbeprolonged，wished，asallrashspiritsdo，totryhisvalorandhisfortunefarfromallprotectionandinstruction。？Anotherreasonurgedhimtothis—AnneofAustriawasabouttoappear;theguiltymotherwasabouttostandinthepresenceofhersacrificedson。？Philippewasnotwilling，ifhehadaweakness，torenderthemanawitnessofitbeforewhomhewasboundthenceforthtodisplaysomuchstrength。？Philippeopenedhisfoldingdoors，andseveralpersonsenteredsilently。？Philippedidnotstirwhilsthisvaletsdechambredressedhim。？Hehadwatched，theeveningbefore，allthehabitsofhisbrother，andplayedthekinginsuchamannerastoawakennosuspicion。？Hewasthuscompletelydressedinhuntingcostumewhenhereceivedhisvisitors。？HisownmemoryandthenotesofAramisannouncedeverybodytohim，firstofallAnneofAustria，towhomMonsieurgavehishand，andthenMadamewithM。deSaint—Aignan。？Hesmiledatseeingthesecountenances，buttrembledonrecognizinghismother。？Thatstillsonobleandimposingfigure，ravagedbypain，pleadedinhisheartthecauseofthefamousqueenwhohadimmolatedachildtoreasonsofstate。？Hefoundhismotherstillhandsome。？HeknewthatLouisXIV。lovedher，andhepromisedhimselftoloveherlikewise，andnottoproveascourgetoheroldage。？Hecontemplatedhisbrotherwithatendernesseasilytobeunderstood。？Thelatterhadusurpednothing，hadcastnoshadesathwarthislife。？Aseparatetree，heallowedthestemtorisewithoutheedingitselevationormajesticlife。？Philippepromisedhimselftobeakindbrothertothisprince，whorequirednothingbutgoldtoministertohispleasures。？HebowedwithafriendlyairtoSaint—Aignan，whowasallreverencesandsmiles，andtremblingheldouthishandtoHenrietta，hissister—in—law，whosebeautystruckhim;buthesawintheeyesofthatprincessanexpressionofcoldnesswhichwouldfacilitate，ashethought，theirfuturerelations。
"Howmuchmoreeasy，"thoughthe，"itwillbetobethebrotherofthatwomanthanhergallant，ifsheevincestowardsmeacoldnessthatmybrothercouldnothaveforher，butwhichisimposeduponmeasaduty。"？Theonlyvisithedreadedatthismomentwasthatofthequeen;hisheart—hismind—hadjustbeenshakenbysoviolentatrial，that，inspiteoftheirfirmtemperament，theywouldnot，perhaps，supportanothershock。？Happilythequeendidnotcome。？Thencommenced，onthepartofAnneofAustria，apoliticaldissertationuponthewelcomeM。
FouquethadgiventothehouseofFrance。？Shemixeduphostilitieswithcomplimentsaddressedtotheking，andquestionsastohishealth，withlittlematernalflatteriesanddiplomaticartifices。
"Well，myson，"saidshe，"areyouconvincedwithregardtoM。
Fouquet？"
"Saint—Aignan，"
saidPhilippe，"havethegoodnesstogoandinquireafterthequeen。"
Atthesewords，thefirstPhilippehadpronouncedaloud，theslightdifferencethattherewasbetweenhisvoiceandthatofthekingwassensibletomaternalears，andAnneofAustrialookedearnestlyatherson。？Saint—Aignanlefttheroom，andPhilippecontinued:
"Madame，IdonotliketohearM。Fouquetill—spokenof，youknowIdonot—andyouhaveevenspokenwellofhimyourself。"
"Thatistrue;thereforeIonlyquestionyouonthestateofyoursentimentswithrespecttohim。"
"Sire，"
saidHenrietta，"I，onmypart，havealwayslikedM。Fouquet。？Heisamanofgoodtaste，—asuperiorman。"
"A
superintendentwhoisneversordidorniggardly，"addedMonsieur;
"andwhopaysingoldalltheordersIhaveonhim。"
"Everyoneinthisthinkstoomuchofhimself，andnobodyforthestate，"saidtheoldqueen。？"M。Fouquet，itisafact，M。Fouquetisruiningthestate。"
"Well，mother！"repliedPhilippe，inratheralowerkey，"doyoulikewiseconstituteyourselfthebucklerofM。Colbert？"
"Howisthat？"repliedtheoldqueen，rathersurprised。
"Why，intruth，"repliedPhilippe，"youspeakthatjustasyouroldfriendMadamedeChevreusewouldspeak。"
"WhydoyoumentionMadamedeChevreusetome？"saidshe，"andwhatsortofhumorareyouinto—daytowardsme？"
Philippecontinued:"IsnotMadamedeChevreusealwaysinleagueagainstsomebody？？HasnotMadamedeChevreusebeentopayyouavisit，mother？"
"Monsieur，youspeaktomenowinsuchamannerthatIcanalmostfancyIamlisteningtoyourfather。"
"MyfatherdidnotlikeMadamedeChevreuse，andhadgoodreasonfornotlikingher，"saidtheprince。？"Formypart，Ilikehernobetterthanhedid，andifshethinkspropertocomehereassheformerlydid，tosowdivisionsandhatredsunderthepretextofbeggingmoney—why—"
"Well！
what？"saidAnneofAustria，proudly，herselfprovokingthestorm。
"Well！"
repliedtheyoungmanfirmly，"IwilldriveMadamedeChevreuseoutofmykingdom—andwithherallwhomeddlewithitssecretsandmysteries。"
Hehadnotcalculatedtheeffectofthisterriblespeech，orperhapshewishedtojudgetheeffectofit，likethosewho，sufferingfromachronicpain，andseekingtobreakthemonotonyofthatsuffering，touchtheirwoundtoprocureasharperpang。？AnneofAustriawasnearlyfainting;hereyes，openbutmeaningless，ceasedtoseeforseveralseconds;shestretchedoutherarmstowardsherotherson，whosupportedandembracedherwithoutfearofirritatingtheking。
"Sire，"
murmuredshe，"youaretreatingyourmotherverycruelly。"
"Inwhatrespect，madame？"repliedhe。？"IamonlyspeakingofMadamedeChevreuse;doesmymotherpreferMadamedeChevreusetothesecurityofthestateandofmyperson？？Well，then，madame，ItellyouMadamedeChevreusehasreturnedtoFrancetoborrowmoney，andthatsheaddressedherselftoM。Fouquettosellhimacertainsecret。"
"A
certainsecret！"criedAnneofAustria。
"Concerningpretendedrobberiesthatmonsieurlesurintendanthadcommitted，whichisfalse，"addedPhilippe。？"M。
Fouquetrejectedherofferswithindignation，preferringtheesteemofthekingtocomplicitywithsuchintriguers。？ThenMadamedeChevreusesoldthesecrettoM。Colbert，andassheisinsatiable，andwasnotsatisfiedwithhavingextortedahundredthousandcrownsfromaservantofthestate，shehastakenastillbolderflight，insearchofsurersourcesofsupply。？Isthattrue，madame？"
"Youknowall，sire，"saidthequeen，moreuneasythanirritated。
"Now，"
continuedPhilippe，"Ihavegoodreasontodislikethisfury，whocomestomycourttoplantheshameofsomeandtheruinofothers。？IfHeavenhassufferedcertaincrimestobecommitted，andhasconcealedthemintheshadowofitsclemency，IwillnotpermitMadamedeChevreusetocounteractthejustdesignsoffate。"
Thelatterpartofthisspeechhadsoagitatedthequeen—mother，thathersonhadpityonher。？Hetookherhandandkissedittenderly;shedidnotfeelthatinthatkiss，giveninspiteofrepulsionandbitternessoftheheart，therewasapardonforeightyearsofsuffering。？Philippeallowedthesilenceofamomenttoswallowtheemotionsthathadjustdevelopedthemselves。？Then，withacheerfulsmile:
"Wewillnotgoto—day，"saidhe，"Ihaveaplan。"？And，turningtowardsthedoor，hehopedtoseeAramis，whoseabsencebegantoalarmhim。？Thequeen—motherwishedtoleavetheroom。
"Remainwhereyouare，mother，"saidhe，"IwishyoutomakeyourpeacewithM。Fouquet。"
"I
bearM。Fouquetnoill—will;Ionlydreadedhisprodigalities。"
"Wewillputthattorights，andwilltakenothingofthesuperintendentbuthisgoodqualities。"
"Whatisyourmajestylookingfor？"saidHenrietta，seeingtheking\'seyesconstantlyturnedtowardsthedoor，andwishingtoletflyalittlepoisonedarrowathisheart，supposinghewassoanxiouslyexpectingeitherLaValli鑢eoraletterfromher。
"Mysister，"saidtheyoungman，whohaddivinedherthought，thankstothatmarvelousperspicuityofwhichfortunewasfromthattimeabouttoallowhimtheexercise，"mysister，Iamexpectingamostdistinguishedman，amostablecounselor，whomIwishtopresenttoyouall，recommendinghimtoyourgoodgraces。？Ah！comein，then，D\'Artagnan。"
"Whatdoesyourmajestywish？"saidD\'Artagnan，appearing。
"WhereismonsieurthebishopofVannes，yourfriend？"
"Why，sire—"
"I
amwaitingforhim，andhedoesnotcome。？Lethimbesoughtfor。"
