ith hope.

"Humph!" said Aramis to D'Artagnan; "the present is but a sad one, for
that cypress shades a tomb."

"Yes, and the tomb is that of Raoul de Bragelonne," said D'Artagnan
aloud; "of Raoul, who sleeps under that cross with his father."

A groan resounded behind them. They saw a woman fall fainting to the
ground. Mademoiselle de la Valliere had seen all, and heard all.

"Poor woman!" muttered D'Artagnan, as he helped the attendants to carry
back to her carriage she who from that time was to suffer.

That evening D'Artagnan was seated at the king's table, near M. Colbert
and M. le Duc d'Almeda. The king was very gay. He paid a thousand little
attentions to the queen, a thousand kindnesses to Madame, seated at his
left hand, and very sad. It might have been supposed to be that calm
time when the king used to watch the eyes of his mother for the avowal
or disavowal of what he had just done.

Of mistresses there was no question at this dinner. The king addressed
Aramis two or three times, calling him M. l'Ambassadeur, which increased
the surprise already felt by D'Artagnan at seeing his friend the rebel
so marvelously well received at court.

The king, on rising from table, gave his hand to the queen, and made a
sign to Colbert, whose eye watched that of his master. Colbert took
D'Artagnan and Aramis on one side. The king began to chat with his
sister, while Monsieur, very uneasy, entertained the queen with a
preoccupied air, without ceasing to watch his wife and brother from the
corner of his eye. The conversation between Aramis, D'Artagnan, and
Colbert turned upon indifferent subjects. They spoke of preceding
ministers; Colbert related the feats of Mazarin, and required those of
Richelieu to be related to him. D'Artagnan could not overcome his
surprise at finding this man, with heavy eyebrows and a low forehead,
contain so much sound knowledge and cheerful spirits. Aramis was
astonished at that lightness of character which permitted a serious man
to retard with advantage the moment for a more important conversation,
to which nobody made any allusion, although all three interlocutors felt
the imminence of it. It was very plain from the embarrassed appearance
of Monsieur how much the conversation of the king and Madame annoyed
him. The eyes of Madame were almost red; was she going to complain? Was
she going to commit a little scandal in open court? The king took her on
one side, and in a tone so tender that it