"Sire, the affair is settled."



"What! is it all over?" said the king.

"Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a



touch of the 'question.'"

The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but



looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who

muttered in a low tone: "I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance



of my wife."

"Silence!" cried the king. "Some one is here who will wear out my



patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution," he continued,

addressing the grand provost. "You will answer with your own body for



that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted,

and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty



provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats

they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall



be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de

Saint-Vallier," said the king, looking fixedly at the count, "I know



about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do you

hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of lese-



majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and

weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a



long journey."

The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he



added:--

"You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government



of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take

charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth



I shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I

married her to you."



Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father's arm as if to

thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was



laughing to himself in his sleeve.

CHAPTER IV



THE HIDDEN TREASURE

Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and



he was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life.

This taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a



passion for the "incognito," one of the greatest pleasures of princes,

--a sort of momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little



real life into their existence, made insipid by the lack of

opposition. Louis XI., however, played the incognito openly. On these



occasions he was always the good fellow, endeavoring to please the

people of the middle classes, whom he made his allies against



feudality. For some time past he had found no opportunity to "make

himself populace" and espouse the domestic interests of some man



"engarrie" (an old word still used in Tours, meaning engaged) in

litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the anxieties of Maitre



Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of the Comtesse de

Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to his daughter:--



"Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now

amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve



hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!" he continued, looking at the

seigneurs who were serving him. "Notre Dame! with a sum like that what



absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank

the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification



ready-made for this kingdom."

When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the



grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel de

Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de Saint-



Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life.

"Monsieur," said the king, "I told you to start at once. Say farewell



to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by

an escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they



will be in Venice before you get there."

Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret



instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of

men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in



haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made

deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin



the unravelling of the melancholycomedy, lasting now for eight years,

in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his



quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of

the robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his



royal master without uneasiness.

• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• neglect [ni´glekt] vt.&n.疏忽；忽视；忽略 (初中英语单词)


• jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)


• gesture [´dʒestʃə] n.手势 v.打手势 (初中英语单词)


• injure [´indʒə] vt.伤害，损害，毁坏 (初中英语单词)


• innocent [´inəsənt] a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词)


• gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)


• confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)


• oblige [ə´blaidʒ] vt.责成；迫使；使感激 (初中英语单词)


• coldly [´kəuldli] ad.冷淡地 (初中英语单词)


• punish [´pʌniʃ] vt.(惩)罚；痛击；折磨 (初中英语单词)


• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)


• nephew [´nevju:, ´nɛfju] n.侄子；外甥 (初中英语单词)


• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)


• abruptly [ə´brʌptli] ad.突然地；粗鲁地 (初中英语单词)


• ornament [´ɔ:nəmənt] n.装饰(物) vt.装饰 (初中英语单词)


• monsieur [mə´sjə:] n.先生 (初中英语单词)


• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)


• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• sentence [´sentəns] n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• criminal [´kriminəl] a.犯罪的 n.罪犯 (初中英语单词)


• frequent [´fri:kwənt] a.常见的，频繁的 (初中英语单词)


• inquiry [in´kwaiəri] n.询问；质询；调查 (初中英语单词)


• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)


• silently [´sailəntli] ad.寂静地；沉默地 (初中英语单词)


• goodness [´gudnis] n.优良；美德；精华 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• mingle [´miŋgəl] v.(使)混合；交往 (初中英语单词)


• majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)


• existence [ig´zistəns] n.存在；生存；生活 (初中英语单词)


• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)


• eagerly [´i:gəli] ad.渴望地，急切地 (初中英语单词)


• conquer [´kɔŋkə] v.征服；克服；抑制 (初中英语单词)


• frontier [´frʌntiə] n.国境；边疆；边界 (初中英语单词)


• lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉；代理；副手 (初中英语单词)


• ambassador [æm´bæsədə] n.大使 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• boldly [´bəuldli] ad.大胆地；醒目地 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• so-called [´sou ´kɔ:ld] a.所谓的，号称的 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• stifle [´staifəl] vt.(使)窒息，闷死 (高中英语单词)


• threshold [´θreʃhəuld] n.门槛；入门；开端 (高中英语单词)


• cruelty [´kru:əlti] n.残忍；残酷行为 (高中英语单词)


• venice [´venis] n.威尼斯 (高中英语单词)


• severely [si´viəli] ad.剧烈地；严格地 (高中英语单词)


• openly [´əupənli] ad.公开地；直率地 (高中英语单词)


• allies [´ælaiz, ə´laiz] n.协约国 (高中英语单词)


• escort [´eskɔ:t] n.伴随者；警卫(队) (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• comedy [´kɔmidi] n.喜剧；喜剧场面 (高中英语单词)


• lasting [´lɑ:stiŋ] a.持久的；永远的 (高中英语单词)


• flattering [´flætəriŋ] a.谄媚的；奉承的 (高中英语单词)


• cautious [´kɔ:ʃəs] a.小心的；谨慎的 (英语四级单词)


• nobleman [´nəublmən] n.贵族 (英语四级单词)


• virtuous [´və:tjuəs] a.道德的；善良的 (英语四级单词)


• tiptoe [´tiptəu] n.脚尖 vi.踮着脚走 (英语四级单词)


• audacity [ɔ:´dæsiti] n.大胆；卤莽；无礼 (英语四级单词)


• burgher [´bə:gə] n.市民，公民 (英语四级单词)


• immensely [i´mensli] ad.极大地，无限地 (英语四级单词)


• lighting [´laitiŋ] n.照明，发光 (英语四级单词)


• staircase [´steəkeis] n.楼梯 =stairway (英语四级单词)


• momentary [´məuməntəri] a.瞬息间的 (英语四级单词)


• scottish [´skɔtiʃ, ´skɑtiʃ] a.&n.苏格兰人(的) (英语四级单词)


• uneasiness [ʌn´i:zinis] n.不安，担忧；不自在 (英语四级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• haughtily [´hɔ:tili] ad.傲慢地，高傲地 (英语六级单词)


• liking [´laikiŋ] n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 (英语六级单词)


• countess [´kauntis] n.伯爵夫人；女伯爵 (英语六级单词)


• espouse [i´spauz] vt.拥护，支持；娶 (英语六级单词)


• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)