into the Court;
the King paid a farewell visit to his dogs, his birds, and his wife; and
then, desiring that the Queen and her ladies should follow him on the
morrow, he left orders that the Louvre should be minutely searched
throughout, in order to ascertain beyond all possibility of doubt that
no gunpowder had been concealed within the edifice for the purpose of
effecting his destruction; after which he sprang into his coach, with an
undisguised cheerfulness which left no doubt that his affected respect
and attachment for his mother were by no means incompatible with a
hearty sense of relief at his emancipation from her control.[307]

The Marechale d'Ancre had been committed to the Bastille on the 29th of
April, lightly dressed, despoiled of all her ornaments, and without the
most trifling pecuniary resource; so thoroughly destitute, indeed, of
the common necessaries of life that she was indebted to Madame Persan,
the wife of the lieutenant of the fortress, for a couple of changes of
body-linen. Even the Prince de Conde, who was professedly her enemy, was
deeply moved when he ascertained her pitiable condition. "It was not to
Leonora that political crimes should be attributed," he said, with an
indignation which did honour to his heart; "but to the insatiable
ambition of her husband."

Her only attendants were an Italian maid and her apothecary, whose
constant care was required from the precarious state both of her bodily
and mental health; but she nevertheless maintained a self-command and
composure which astonished all by whom she was approached. She uttered
no complaint; exhibited no resentment; and in reply to the condolences
of her gaolers, simply replied: "I must have patience; my enemies are
powerful, the Queen-mother is absent, and no doubt I shall be compelled
to leave France. I will retire with my son to Florence; we have still
the means of subsistence, and I must endeavour to forget the past."

Some days subsequently her women succeeded in conveying to her a few
changes of apparel and two hundred crowns in money; but when, on the
11th of May, she was transferred to the prison of the Conciergerie,
these effects were in their turn stolen from her, and she once more
found herself totally penniless. In addition to this misfortune she was
apprised that she could no longer be permitted to retain her attendants,
as the regulations of a felon prison did not admit of such an
indulgence; and on hearing this, she sa