-stammered La Mole.

"Do as I say! And you, Maitre Rene, watch that we are not interrupted."

Rene did as Coconnas asked.

"By Heaven, monsieur," said Marguerite, "you are a clever man. I am
listening to you. What have you to say?"

"I have to say to you, madame, that the shadow of my friend--for he is a
shadow, and he proves it by not uttering a single little word--I say,
that this shadow begs me to use the faculty which material bodies
possess of speaking so as to be understood, and to say to you: Lovely
shadow, the gentleman thus disembodied has lost his whole body and all
his breath by the cruelty of your eyes. If this were really you, I
should ask Maitre Rene to plunge me in some sulphurous pit rather than
use such language to the daughter of King Henry II., to the sister of
King Charles IX., to the wife of the King of Navarre. But shades are
freed from all earthly pride and they are never angry when men love
them. Therefore, pray your body, madame, to love the soul of this poor
La Mole a little--a soul in trouble, if ever there was one; a soul first
persecuted by friendship, which three times thrust into him several
inches of cold steel; a soul burnt by the fire of your eyes--fire a
thousand times more consuming than all the flames of hell. So have pity
on this poor soul! Love a little what was the handsome La Mole; and if
you no longer possess speech, ah! bestow a gesture, bestow a smile upon
him. My friend's soul is a very intelligent soul, and will comprehend
everything. Be kind to him, then; or, by Heaven! I will run my sword
through Rene's body in order that, by virtue of the power which he
possesses over spirits, he may force yours, which he has already so
opportunely evoked, to do all a shade so amiably disposed as yours
appears to be should do."

At this burst of eloquence delivered by Coconnas as he stood in front of
the queen like AEneas descending into Hades, Marguerite could not refrain
from a hearty burst of laughter, yet, preserving the silence which on
such an occasion may be the supposed characteristic of a royal shade,
she presented her hand to Coconnas. He took it daintily in his, and,
calling to La Mole, said:

"Shade of my friend, come hither instantly!"

La Mole, amazed, overcome, silently obeyed.

"'T is well," said Coconnas, taking him by the back of the head; "and
now bring the shadow of your handsome brown countenance into contact
with the white and vaporous hand before you."

A