truck, and the king forthwith
passed into his large cabinet.

As the clock was striking nine the ambassadors entered, and as it
finished, the two queens and Madame made their appearance. There were
three ambassadors from Holland, and two from Spain. The king glanced at
them, and then bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered,--an
entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a different
sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however numerous they might
be, and from whatever country they came; and so, setting everything
aside, the king made a sign of interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the
latter answered by a most decisive negative. The king almost entirely
lost his courage; but as the queens, the members of the nobility who
were present, and the ambassadors, had their eyes fixed upon him, he
overcame his emotion by a violent effort, and invited the latter to
speak. Whereupon one of the Spanish deputies made a long oration, in
which he boasted the advantages which the Spanish alliance would offer.

The king interrupted him, saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is
best for France must be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."

This remark, and particularly the peremptory tone in which it was
pronounced, made the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the
cheeks of the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their
pride of relationship and nationality by this reply.

The Dutch ambassador then began to address himself to the king, and
complained of the injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against
the government of his country.

The king interrupted him, saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that
you should come with any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason
to be dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."

"Complain, sire, and in what respect?"

The king smiled bitterly. "Will you blame me, monsieur," he said, "if
I should happen to entertain suspicions against a government which
authorizes and protects international impertinence?"

"Sire!"

"I tell you," resumed the king, exciting himself by a recollection of
his own personal annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that
Holland is a land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all
who malign me."

"Oh, sire!"

"You wish for proofs, perhaps? Very good; they can be had easily enough.
Whence proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which represent me
as a monarch wit