Part 77 (1/2)
”Besides,” continued Anne of Austria, ”the Lord never gives the goods of this world but for a season; the Lord--as correctives to honor and riches--the Lord has placed sufferings, sickness, and death; and no one,” added she, with a melancholy smile, which proved she made the application of the funeral precept to herself, ”no rave It results, therefore, that the young gather the abundant harvest prepared for them by the old”
Louis listened with increased attention to the words which Anne of Austria, no doubt, pronounced with a view to console hi earnestly at hiselse to announce to , my son; only you cannot have failed to remark that his eminence the cardinal is very ill”
Louis looked at hissome emotion in her voice, some sorrow in her countenance The face of Anne of Austria appeared a little changed, but that was fros of quite a personal character
Perhaps the alteration was caused by the cancer which had begun to consu; ”yes, M de Mazarin is very ill”
”And it would be a great loss to the kingdom if God were to summon his eminence away Is not that your opinion as well as mine, my son?” said the queen
”Yes, do; ”but the peril does not see” The king had scarcely ceased speaking when an usher lifted the tapestry, and stood with a paper in his hand, waiting for the king to speak to hi
”A e from M de Mazarin,” replied the usher
”Give it to ; and he took the paper But at the reat noise in the gallery, the ante-chamber, and the court
”Ah, ah,” said Louis XIV, who doubtless knew theof that triple noise ”How could I say there was but one king in France! I was ht thus, the door opened, and the superintendent of finances, Fouquet, appeared before his nominal master It was he who made the noise in the ante-chamber, it was his horse that made the noise in the courtyard In addition to all this, a loud e, which did not die away till some time after he had passed
It was thisas he passed, and dying away behind hi, as you fancy,” said Anne of Austria to her son; ”he is only athese words, a bitter feeling gave to these words of the queen a , calhtest wrinkle He nodded, therefore, faiven to him by the usher Fouquet perceived this movement, and with a politeness at once easy and respectful, advanced towards the queen, so as not to disturb the king Louis had opened the paper, and yet he did not read it He listened to Fouquet paying thecompliments to the queen upon her hand and arm Anne of Austria's frown relaxed a little, she even al, instead of reading, was looking at hi his conversation with the queen, faced the king
”You know, Monsieur Fouquet,” said Louis, ”how ill M Mazarin is?”
”Yes, sire, I know that,” said Fouquet; ”in fact, he is very ill I was at my country-house of Vaux when the news reachedthat I left at once”
”You left Vaux this evening, o, yes, youra watch, richly ornamented with dia, still able to restrain his anger, but not to conceal his astonishment
”I understand you, sire Your majesty doubts my word, and you have reason to do so; but I have really coland three pairs of very fast horses, as I had been assured They were placed at distances of four leagues apart, and I tried theht me from Vaux to the Louvre in an hour and a half, so your majesty sees I have not been cheated” The queen- like secret envy But Fouquet caught her thought ”Thus, s, not for subjects; for kings ought never to yield to any one in anything”
The king looked up
”And yet,” interrupted Anne of Austria, ”you are not a king, that I know of, M Fouquet”
”Truly not, madame; therefore the horses only await the orders of his majesty to enter the royal stables; and if I allowedto the king anything that was not positively wonderful”
The king became quite red
”You know, Monsieur Fouquet,” said the queen, ”that at the court of France it is not the custo”
Louis started