Part 114 (1/2)
”Ten ti to offer you my compliments,” said Colbert, with a vicious siving me so little; but he promised to make it one, havingthe expectation of the king, the superintendent paid you, did he?”
”In the sa's expectation, you refused to pay ed you to wait And you say that M Fouquet paid you your five thousand livres?”
”Yes, as you ht have done; but he did even better than that, M
Colbert”
”And what did he do?”
”He politely counted , his coffers were always full”
”The suiven you twenty thousand livres instead of five thousand?”
”Yes, monsieur”
”And what for?”
”In order to spare me three visits to the money-chest of the superintendent, so that I have the twenty thousand livres in o aithout standing in need of you, having conan slapped his hand upon his pocket, with a laugh which disclosed to Colbert thirty-two nificent teeth, as white as teeth of twenty-five years old, and which seee: ”Serve up to us thirty-two little Colberts, and ill chew thely”
The serpent is as brave as the lion, the hawk as courageous as the eagle, that cannot be contested It can only be said of animals that are decidedly cowardly, and are so called, that they will be brave only when they have to defend thehtened at the thirty-two teeth of D'Artagnan He recovered, and suddenly,--”Monsieur,”
said he, ”ht to do”
”What do you nan
”I mean that your note--will you let ly; here it is”
Colbert seized the paper with an eagerness which the musketeer did not remark without uneasiness, and particularly without a certain degree of regret at having trusted him with it ”Well, ht, I conan the su a quarter of the pension I have nan, affecting cal only owed you five thousand livres; why has iven to you?”
”Because there was ive me more; that does not concern anybody”
”It is natural,” said Colbert with a proud ease, ”that you should be ignorant of the usages of state-finance; but, monsieur, when you have a thousand livres to pay, what do you do?”
”I never have a thousand livres to pay,” replied D'Artagnan
”Once more,” said Colbert, irritated--”once more, if you had any suht?”
”That only proves one thing,” said D'Artagnan; ”and that is, that you have your own particular customs in finance, and M Fouquet has his own”
”Mine, monsieur, are the correct ones”