m, and Moliere
wrote several little interludes for the special amusement of the prince,
which were afterward the ground-work of some of his best comedies. The
prince was so pleased with the comedian, that he invited him to become
his secretary. He declined, but whether from love of comedy, or fear of
the prince, we do not know. The prince possessed an awful temper, and
actually killed his former secretary by throwing the tongs at him.

Paris at length became more quiet, and Moliere turned his steps toward
it. He obtained the protection of the king's brother, was introduced to
the king, and obtained permission to establish himself in the capital.
There was a rival theater at the Hotel de Bourgogue, at which
Corneille's tragedies were played. Moliere and his company acted before
Louis XIV. and his mother, in the Louvre. The play was that of
"Nicomede," and the success was very great. The play was a tragedy, but
Moliere knew very well that they could not rival the other
tragedy-theater, in that line; and he therefore introduced the custom
that night of concluding a tragedy with a farce. The farce acted was one
of his own, and was so well received that the custom was ever after
kept up. The company finally settled down in the Palais Royal, which the
king had granted them.

The next poem which Moliere wrote and brought out, was aimed at a
society of men, including many of the most talented in Paris, called the
"_Society of the Hotel de Rambouillet_." The peculiarities of this
society were too ridiculous to describe at this day, and Moliere's
comedy, which was aimed at them, was wonderfully successful. Paris at
once was in an uproar of laughter, and in the midst of the piece an old
man rose in the theater, crying out, "Courage, Moliere; this is a true
comedy!"

The next piece was entitled "_Sganarelle_," and although it was quite
successful, it was inferior to those which preceded it. Moliere now
tried tragedy, but with no success. It was not his _forte_. He returned
to comedy, and brought out a piece entitled "_L'Ecoledes Maris_," which
achieved a brilliant success.

At this time Foquet was the minister of finance, and gave a fete in
honor of the king; indeed he entertained the king at his villa. He was
in some respects another Cardinal Wolsey, in his magnificence and
recklessness of display. Foquet loved a beautiful girl, who rejected
him. He discovered that the girl loved the king, and that the passion
was reciprocate