whose
duty it is, that these forty millions are a fortune to him."

"It is precisely, madame, because these forty millions would be a
fortune that I will say to the king, 'Sire, if it be not decent for a
king to accept from a subject six horses, worth twenty thousand livres,
it would be disgraceful for him to owe a fortune to another subject,
more or less scrupulous in the choice of the materials which contributed
to the building up of that fortune.'"

"It ill becomes you, monsieur, to give your king a lesson," said Anne
of Austria; "better procure for him forty millions to replace those you
make him lose."

"The king shall have them whenever he wishes," said the superintendent
of finances, bowing.

"Yes, by oppressing the people," said the queen.

"And were they not oppressed, madame," replied Fouquet, "when they were
made to sweat the forty millions given by this deed? Furthermore, his
majesty has asked my opinion, I have given it; if his majesty ask my
concurrence, it will be the same."

"Nonsense! accept, my son, accept," said Anne of Austria. "You are above
reports and interpretations."

"Refuse, sire," said Fouquet. "As long as a king lives, he has no other
measure but his conscience,--no other judge than his own desires; but
when dead, he has posterity, which applauds or accuses."

"Thank you, mother," replied Louis, bowing respectfully to the queen.
"Thank you, Monsieur Fouquet," said he, dismissing the superintendent
civilly.

"Do you accept?" asked Anne of Austria, once more.

"I shall consider of it," replied he, looking at Fouquet.

CHAPTER 48. Agony

The day that the deed of gift had been sent to the king, the cardinal
caused himself to be transported to Vincennes. The king and the court
followed him thither. The last flashes of this torch still cast splendor
enough around to absorb all other lights in its rays. Besides, as it
has been seen, the faithful satellite of his minister, young Louis
XIV., marched to the last minute in accordance with his gravitation. The
disease, as Guenaud had predicted, had become worse; it was no longer an
attack of gout, it was an attack of death; then there was another thing
which made that agony more agonizing still,--and that was the agitation
brought into his mind by the donation he had sent to the king, and
which, according to Colbert, the king ought to send back unaccepted
to the cardinal. The cardinal had, as we have said, great faith in the
pr