of Broussel and whom I had
great difficulty to prevent defending Monsieur de Comminges."

"The devil!" said Porthos; "and his guardian, what would he have said to
that?"

"Do you hear?" interrupted D'Artagnan; "become a Frondist, my friend,
belong to the Fronde, and remember that I fill the count's place in
everything;" and he jingled his money.

"Will you come?" said he to Porthos.

"Where?" asked Porthos, filling a second glass of wine.

"To present our respects to the cardinal."

Porthos swallowed the second glass with the same grace with which he
had imbibed the first, took his beaver and followed D'Artagnan. As
for Raoul, he remained bewildered with what he had seen, having been
forbidden by D'Artagnan to leave the room until the tumult was over.

45. The Beggar of St. Eustache.

D'Artagnan had calculated that in not going at once to the Palais Royal
he would give Comminges time to arrive before him, and consequently
to make the cardinal acquainted with the eminent services which he,
D'Artagnan, and his friend had rendered to the queen's party in the
morning.

They were indeed admirably received by Mazarin, who paid them numerous
compliments, and announced that they were more than half on their way to
obtain what they desired, namely, D'Artagnan his captaincy, Porthos his
barony.

D'Artagnan would have preferred money in hand to all that fine talk, for
he knew well that to Mazarin it was easy to promise and hard to perform.
But, though he held the cardinal's promises as of little worth, he
affected to be completely satisfied, for he was unwilling to discourage
Porthos.

Whilst the two friends were with the cardinal, the queen sent for him.
Mazarin, thinking that it would be the means of increasing the zeal of
his two defenders if he procured them personal thanks from the queen,
motioned them to follow him. D'Artagnan and Porthos pointed to their
dusty and torn dresses, but the cardinal shook his head.

"Those costumes," he said, "are of more worth than most of those which
you will see on the backs of the queen's courtiers; they are costumes of
battle."

D'Artagnan and Porthos obeyed. The court of Anne of Austria was full
of gayety and animation; for, after having gained a victory over the
Spaniard, it had just gained another over the people. Broussel had been
conducted out of Paris without further resistance, and was at this time
in the prison of Saint Germain; while Blancmesnil, who was