ardly a pin's
difference between them. The king luxuriates in the most pleasing
memories. Your cause is won."

Notwithstanding the low tone in which De Maintenon spoke, the king
appeared to have heard what she said. A fleeting blush passed across
his face; his eye wandered past De Maintenon; he read the petition
which Madelon had presented to him, and then said mildly and kindly, "I
am quite ready to believe, my dear child, that you are convinced of
your lover's innocence; but let us hear what the _Chambre Ardente_ has
got to say to it." With a gentle wave of the hand he dismissed the
young girl, who was weeping as if her heart would break.

To her dismay De Scuderi observed that the recollection of La Valliere,
however beneficial it had appeared to be at first, had occasioned the
king to alter his mind as soon as De Maintenon mentioned her name.
Perhaps the king felt he was being reminded in a too indelicate way of
how he was about to sacrifice strict justice to beauty, or perhaps he
was like the dreamer, when, on somebody's shouting to him, the lovely
dream-images which he was about to clasp, quickly vanish away. Perhaps
he no longer saw _his_ La Valliere before his eyes, but only thought of
S[oe]ur Louise de la Misericorde (Louise the Sister of Mercy),--the
name La Valliere had assumed on joining the Carmelite nuns--who worried
him with her pious airs and repentance. What else could they now do but
calmly wait for the king's decision?

Meanwhile Count Miossens' deposition before the _Chambre Ardente_ had
become publicly known; and as it frequently happens that the people
rush so readily from one extreme to another, so on this occasion he
whom they had at first cursed as a most abominable murderer and had
threatened to tear to pieces, they now pitied, even before he ascended
the scaffold, as the innocent victim of barbarous justice. Now his
neighbours first began to call to mind his exemplary walk of life, his
great love for Madelon, and the faithfulness and touching submissive
affection which he had cherished for the old goldsmith. Considerable
bodies of the populace began to appear in a threatening manner before
La Regnie's palace and to cry out, "Give us Olivier Brusson; he is
innocent;" and they even stoned the windows, so that La Regnie was
obliged to seek shelter from the enraged mob with the _Marechaussee_.

Several days passed, and Mademoiselle heard not the least intelligence
about Olivier Brusson's trial