be only disgraced, you will not be the cause of it."

"Your place, M. Colbert," the duchesse hastened to say, "must be quite a
marked place. Do you perceive any one between the king and yourself,
after the fall of M. Fouquet?"

"I do not understand," said he.

"You will understand. To what does your ambition aspire?"

"I have none."

"It was useless then to overthrow the surintendant, Monsieur Colbert.
That is idle."

"I had the honor to tell you, Madame--"

"Oh! yes, I know, all about the interest of the king--but, if you
please, we will speak of your own."

"Mine! that is to say the affairs of his majesty."

"In short, are you, or are you not ruining M. Fouquet? Answer without
evasion."

"Madame, I ruin nobody."

"I cannot then comprehend why you should purchase of me the letters of
M. Mazarin concerning M. Fouquet. Neither can I conceive why you have
laid those letters before the king."

Colbert, half stupefied, looked at the duchesse with an air of
constraint.

"Madame," said he, "I can less easily conceive how you, who received the
money, can reproach me on that head."

"That is," said the old duchesse, "because we must will that which we
wish for, unless we are not able to obtain what we wish."

"_Will!_" said Colbert, quite confounded by such coarse logic.

"You are not able, hein! Speak."

"I am not able, I allow, to destroy certain influences near the king."

"Which combat for M. Fouquet? What are they? Stop, let me help you."

"Do, madame."

"La Valliere?"

"Oh! very little influence; no knowledge of business, and small means.
M. Fouquet has paid his court to her."

"To defend him would be to accuse herself, would it not?"

"I think it would."

"There is still another influence, what do you say to that?"

"Is it considerable?"

"The queen-mother, perhaps?"

"Her majesty, the queen-mother, has for M. Fouquet a weakness very
prejudicial to her son."

"Never believe that," said the old duchess, smiling.

"Oh!" said Colbert, with incredulity, "I have often experienced it."

"Formerly?"

"Very recently, madame, at Vaux. It was she who prevented the king from
having M. Fouquet arrested."

"People do not always entertain the same opinions, my dear monsieur.
That which the queen may have wished recently, she would not, perhaps,
to-day."

"And why not?" said Colbert, astonished.

"Oh! the reason is of very little consequence."

"On the contrary, I think it is of great co