Through all the long corridors and frescoed passages of the monster palace there was a subdued hum and rustle, with a low muffled stir of preparation, for the rising of the k

r coats straightened themselves up and brought their halberds to attention, while the young officer, who had been looking wistfully out of the window at so

turned from within, the door revolved noiselessly upon its hinges, and

s, while his whole clean-shaven face and high-arched brow

he door. The speaker, who was Monsieur Bontems, head valet de Chambre, gave a sign to th

," said he, with a mixture of fam

ontems. How has

irab

is his

rdl

not rous

t the little round watch which gave the law to the

ds at the m

de Br

u will

ours I atte

was alone last night after the petit coucher. He bade me to say that Monsieur

all d

ome from her-you under

de Mai

es. Should she send a note, you will take it and deliv

all be

as is possible enough-the other

de Mon

y, you will gently bar her way, with courteous words, you understan

ood, Bo

have but thr

tted a man who, if he was a valet, was at least the king of valets, by being the valet of the king. Close by t

of the oven here

who bore in front of him an enamel

er of the

e, s

ver of th

e, s

rned the handle once more, and

he room to break in bright blurs of light upon the primrose-tinted wall. A large arm-chair stood by the side of the burnt-out fire, shadowed over by the huge marble mantel-piece, the back of which was carried up twining

ome five feet in width all round between the enclosure and the bedside. Within this enclosure, or ruelle, stood a small round table, covered over with a white napkin, upon which lay a silver

ils, and stood, watch in hand, waiting for the exact instant when the iron routine of the court demanded that the monarch should be roused. Beneath him, from under the costly green coverlet of Oriental silk, half buried in the fluffy Valenci

rm your Majesty that it is

d kissed a little dark reliquary which he drew from under his night-dress. Then he sat

to the officer of the gu

, si

is on

main guard, and Captain d

ed my horse at Fontainebleau. I remember

's rug and couch, and in an instant had whipped them off into an ante-chamber, another had carried away the en cas meal and the silver taper-stand; while a third drew back the great curtains of stamped velvet and let a flood of light into

lurking gleam of mischievous humour. He was richly clad in plum-coloured velvet, with a broad band of blue silk; across his breast, and the glittering edge of the order of St. Louis protruding from under it. His companion was a man of forty, swarthy, dignified, and solemn, in a plain but rich dress of black silk, with slashes of gold at the neck and sleeves. As the pair faced

temples. He still, however, retained much of the beauty of his youth, tempered by the dignity and sternness which increased with his years. His dark eyes were full of expression, and his clear-cut features were the delight of the sculptor and the painter. His firm and yet sensitive mouth and his thick, well-arched brows gave an air of authority and power to his face, while the more subdued expression which was habitual to

pale youth clad in black velvet, limping heavily with his left leg, and his little brother, the young Comte de Toulouse, both of them the illegitimate sons of Madame de Montespan and the king. Behind them, again, was the first valet of the wa

is little white feet dangling from beneath it-a perilous position for any man to assume, were it not that he had so heart-felt a sense of his own dignity that he could not realise that under any circumstances it might be compromised in the eyes of others. So he sat, the master of France, yet the slave to every puff of wind, for a wandering draught had set him shivering and shaking. Monsieur de St. Quentin, the noble barber, flung a purple dressing-gown over the r

t face. "I am conscious of a smell of scent. Surely none of you would venture to bri

of innocence. The faithful Bontems, however, with his stealthy s

e, the smell comes

ittle ruddy-cheeked lad, f

et my coat with her casting-bottle when we all played together at Marly yeste

fles me! Open the lower casement, Bontems. No; never heed, now that h

re; all

fter the accustomed time. To work, sir; and

isted in arranging them, while a third drew the night-gown over the shoulders, and handed the royal shirt, which had been warming before the fire. His diamond-buckled shoes, his gaiters, and his scarlet inner vest were successively fastened by noble courtiers, each keenly jealous of his own privilege, and over the vest was placed the blue ribbon with the cross of the Holy Ghost in diamonds, and that of St. Louis tied with red. To one to whom the sight was new, it might have seemed strange to see the little man, listless, passive

elped to make the epoch the most illustrious of French history. Here, close by the king, was the harsh but energetic Louvois, all-powerful now since the death of his rival Colbert, discussing a question of military organisation with two officers, the one a tall and stately soldier, the other a strange little figure, undersized and misshapen, but bearing the insignia of a marshal of France, and owning a name which was of evil omen over the Dutch frontier, for Luxembourg was looked upon already as the successor of Conde, even as his companion Vauban was of Turenne. Beside them, a small white-haired clerical with a kindly face, Pere la Chaise, confessor to the king, was whispering his views upon Jansenism to the portly Bossuet, the eloquent Bishop of Meaux, and to th

whisper, nodding his head in the direction of the royal

is head. "I am to be at Madame De Maintenon's room at three to

ou not think that madame herself might

She has brains, she has heart,

has one gif

tha

ge

m like thirty? What an eye! What an arm! And beside

hat is ano

n incident, a wom

an older man his ear. Over forty, it is the clev

tact will hold the field against nine-and-thirty with beauty. Well, when your la

that you are

we shal

you ar

what

e a little ser

d w

de Montespan

e may soon be

her copper hair, it was in every man's mouth that Montespan had had her day. Yet Fontanges is six feet unde

al. This is no slip of a country girl

sed forever by sermons, or to spend his days at the feet of a lady of that age, watching her at her tapestry-work, and fondling her poodle, when all the fairest fac

n that her sun is setting. H

a w

r de Vivonne, has bee

ossi

t is a

d w

very m

hom had

n of the guard. He had his o

y this morning, then. By my faith, if the marquise has the spirit with which f

rts are no easy

n those to which the court is accustomed. Ha! the king catches sight of him, and Louvois beckons to him

a cage of birds of gay plumage. He was clad in a sombre-coloured suit which had become usual at court since the king had put aside frivolity and Fontanges, but the sword which hung from his waist was no fancy rapier, but a good brass-hilted blade in a stained leather-sheath, which showed every sign of having seen hard se

is years since I have seen him, but I remember his face well," said h

indeed Louis de Buade, Comte de Fronte

nobleman stooped his head, and kissed the white hand which was extended to him

sire, would be col

upon our province, and if we have recalled you, it is chiefly that we would fain hear from your own lips how all things go

have done their best, though indeed they are both rather ready to aband

ed Louis, glancing, with a twinkle

ing upon those of the next, it is indeed the duty of a good p

long as your Majesty did me the honour to intrust those affairs no my own guidance, I would brook

d Louis sharply. "I had as

in the East to Sault la Marie, and even the great plains of the Dakotas, who have all taken the cross as their token. Marquette has passed down the

aise, "that in leaving the truth there, th

ages with their nails gone, their fingers torn out, a cinder where their eye should be, and the scars of the pine splinters as thick upon their bodies as the fleurs-delis on yonder curtain. Yet, with a month

ried Louis hotly. "You allow th

ked for tr

have se

regim

ere. I have no bet

is neede

d you not raise force enough to punish these rascally murderers o

d man restrained himself. "Your Majesty will learn best whether I am a soldier or not," said he, "by asking those who have seen

s have not be

the running caribou at two hundred paces, and travel three leagues to your one. And then when you have at last reached their villages, and burned their empty wigwams and a few acres of maize fields, what the better are you then? You can but travel back again to your own land with a cloud of unseen men lurki

hastily," said Louis. "We shall l

ll be joy down the long St. Lawrence, in white hearts and in red, when it is k

h, for Canada has been a heavy cost to

is so vast, sire, so rich, so beautiful! Where are there such hills, such forests, such rivers? And it is all for us if we will but take it. Who is there to stand in our way? A few nations of scattered Indians and a thin strip of English farmers and fishermen. Turn your thoughts there, sire, and in a few years you wou

nd he had leaned forward in his chair, with flashing e

this gift of Indian eloquence of which we have heard. But

art. Especially

to send them packing. They have a city ther

. They took it

have I not heard of

on, s

ice so that his words might be audible only to the count, Louvois, and the royal circle, "what force

and disease, and barren lands, and Indian wars, but they have thriven and multiplied until the woods thin away in front of them like ice in the sun, and their church bells are heard where but yesterday the wolves were howling. They are peaceful folk,

lves. The matter may stand until our council. Reverend father, it has struck the hour of chapel, and all else may wait until we have paid out duties to heaven." Taking a missal from the hands of an attendant,