Part 40 (2/2)
”Lord de Winter”
”Lord de Winter!” exclaimed the queen, ”the friend of my husband Oh, bid hier, whose hand she seized affectionately, whilst he knelt down and presented a letter to her, contained in a case of gold
”Ah! s which we have not seen for a long ti, our husband and ain, unable to reply frohter retired into the e letter: ”Dear Wife,--We have now reached the moment of decision I have concentrated here at Naseby camp all the resources Heaven has left me, and I write to you in haste from thence Here I await the arle for the last tile; if beaten, I am lost I shall try, in the latter case (alas! in our position, one ain the coast of France But can they, will they receive an unhappy king, ill bring such a sad story into a country already agitated by civil discord? Your wisdouides The bearer of this letter will tell you, madame, what I dare not trust to pen and paper and the risks of transit He will explain to you the steps that I expect you to pursue I charge hi for my children and with the sentiments of my soul for yourself, nature, not of ”Charles, King,” but of ”Charles--still king”
”And let hi,” cried the queen ”Let him be conquered, exiled, proscribed, provided he still lives Alas! in these days the throne is too dangerous a place for me to wish him to retain it Butfro's position? Is it as hopeless as he thinks?”
”Alas! ood a heart that he cannot understand hatred; is so loyal that he does not suspect treason! England is torn in twain by a spirit of disturbance which, I greatly fear, blood alone can exorcise”
”But Lord Montrose,” replied the queen, ”I have heard of his great and rapid successes of battles gained I heard it said that he was ”
”Yes, madame; but on the frontier he was met by Lesly; he had tried victory by s Now victory has abandoned hied to disperse the reuised as a servant He is at Bergen, in Norway”
”Heaven preserve him!” said the queen ”It is at least a consolation to know that some who have so often risked their lives for us are safe And now,is, tell ed on the part of my royal husband”
”Well, then,wishes you to try and discover the dispositions of the king and queen toward hi is but a child and the queen a wo”
”Does he desire to play the part in France that Croland?”
”Oh, no! He is a subtle, conscienceless Italian, who though he very likely dreams of crime, dares not commit it; and unlike Cromwell, who disposes of both Houses, Mazarin has had the queen to support hile with the parlia pursued by parlialy
”If I judge for , and will even, perhaps, act against us The presence of hter and myself in France is already irkso My lord,” added Henrietta, with a ed to say that we have passed the winter in the Louvre without money, without linen, al from bed because anted fire”
”Horrible!” cried De Winter; ”the daughter of Henry IV, and the wife of King Charles! Wherefore did you not apply, then, madame, to the first person you saw from us?”
”Such is the hospitality shown to a queen by thedee between the Prince of Wales and Mademoiselle d'Orleans was spoken of,” said De Winter
”Yes, for an instant I hoped it was so The young people felt a mutual esteem; but the queen, who at first sanctioned their affection, changed her ed the fahter to think any more about the union Oh,her tears, ”it is better to fight as the king has done, and to die, as perhaps he will, than live in beggary like e! Do not despair! The interests of the French crown, endangered at thisnation Mazarin, as a statesman, will understand the politic necessity”
”Are you sure,” said the queen doubtfully, ”that you have not been forestalled?”
”By whom?”
”By the Joices, the Prinns, the Cromwells?”
”By a tailor, a coachmaker, a brewer! Ah! I hope, otiations with such men!”
”Ah! what is he himself?” asked Mada--of the queen”
”Well, let us hope he will do so for the sake of their honor,” said the queen ”A true friend's eloquence is so powerful, my lord, that you have reassured o to the minister; and yet,” she added, ”suppose he should refuse and that the king loses the battle?”
”His hness the Prince of Wales now is”
”And can his ht?”
”Alas! no, madame,” answered De Winter; ”but the case is provided for and I am come to France to seek allies”
”Allies!” said the queen, shaking her head
”Madaood old friends of for”
”Come then, my lord,” said the queen, with the painful doubt that is felt by those who have suffered much; ”come, and may Heaven hear you”
37 Cromwell's Letter
At the very o to the Palais Royal, a young ate of this royal abode and announced to the guards that he had so of ih the cardinal was often tormented by fear, he was more often in need of counsel and information, and he was therefore sufficiently accessible The true difficulty of being admitted was not to be found at the first door, and even the second was passed easily enough; but at the third watched, besides the guard and the doorkeepers, the faithful Bernouin, a Cerberus whoold, could charm
It was therefore at the third door that those who solicited or were bidden to an audience underwent their for left his horse tied to the gate in the court, uard in the first chamber
”Cardinal Mazarin?” said he
”Pass on,” replied the guard
The cavalier entered the second hall, which was guarded by the musketeers and doorkeepers