st of her maids of honor, for the purpose of taking one of the
balls out of it. The eager expectation, amid all these tediously slow
preparations, was rather that of avidity than of curiosity. Saint-Aignan
bent toward Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente to whisper to her, "Since we
have each a number, let us unite our two chances. The bracelet shall be
yours if I win, and if you are successful, deign to give me but one look
of your beautiful eyes."

"No," said Athenais, "if you win the bracelet, keep it; every one for
himself."

"You are without any pity," said Saint-Aignan, "and I will punish you
by a quatrain:--

"'Beautiful Iris, to my vow
You are too opposed--'"

"Silence," said Athenais, "you will prevent me hearing the winning
number."

"Number one," said the young girl who had drawn the mother-of-pearl from
the Spanish leather bag.

"The king!" exclaimed the queen-mother.

"The king has won!" repeated the queen, delightedly.

"Oh! the king! your dream!" said Madame, joyously, in the ear of Anne of
Austria.

The king was the only one who did not exhibit any satisfaction. He
merely thanked Fortune for what she had done for him, in addressing a
slight salutation to the young girl who had been chosen as her proxy.
Then, receiving from the hands of Anne of Austria, amid the eager desire
of the whole assembly, the casket inclosing the bracelets, he said, "Are
these bracelets really beautiful, then?"

"Look at them," said Anne of Austria, "and judge for yourself."

The king looked at them, and said, "Yes, indeed, an admirable medallion.
What perfect finish!"

"What perfect finish!" repeated Madame.

Queen Maria-Theresa easily saw, and that, too, at the very first glance,
that the king would not offer the bracelets to her; but, as he did not
seem either the least degree in the world disposed to offer them to
Madame, she felt almost satisfied, or nearly so. The king sat down. The
most intimate among the courtiers approached, one by one, for the
purpose of admiring more closely the beautiful piece of workmanship,
which soon, with the king's permission, was handed about from person to
person. Immediately, every one, connoisseurs or not, uttered various
exclamations of surprise, and overwhelmed the king with congratulations.
There was, in fact, something for everybody to admire--the brilliants
for some, and the cutting for others. The ladies present visibly
displayed their impatience to see such a treasure