been distinctly refused, it was so coldly
conceded that her pride had hitherto prevented her from availing herself
of an indulgence thus reluctantly accorded; but aware at the present
moment that she could so materially serve the King as to ensure a more
gracious reception than she might previously have anticipated, she
resolved to seize the opportunity; and accordingly, greatly to the
surprise, not only of the whole Court, but of the monarch himself, she
arrived in Paris without having intimated her intention, lest the
permission should be revoked.

For five-and-twenty years the last survivor of the illustrious house of
Valois had existed in obscurity and poverty among the mountains and
precipices of the inhospitable province of Auvergne, apparently
forgetting for a time that world by which she had been so readily
forgotten; but Marguerite began at length to yearn for a restoration of
her privileges as a member of the great human family. She could not have
chosen a more judicious moment in which to hazard so extreme a step; as
in addition to the respect which, despite all her vices, she could still
command as the descendant of a long line of sovereigns, she had latterly
established many claims upon the gratitude of the King. It was
impossible for him not to feel, and that deeply, the generous
self-abnegation with which she had lent herself to the dissolution of
their ill-omened marriage, when not only his own happiness, but that of
the whole nation, required the sacrifice; nor could he fail to remember
that while those upon whom he lavished alike his affection and his
treasure, had constantly laboured to embitter his domestic life, and to
undermine the dignity of his Queen, the repudiated wife had never once
evinced the slightest disposition to withhold from her the deference and
respect to which she was entitled.

Thus then, when her near approach to the capital was suddenly announced
to him, Henry lost not a moment in hastening, with his royal consort and
a brilliant retinue, to receive her before she could reach the gates;
and gave orders that the palace of Madrid in the Bois de Boulogne should
immediately be prepared in a befitting manner for her residence. Nor was
Marie de Medicis less willing than himself to welcome the truant
Princess, to whom she was aware that she owed many obligations; and the
meeting was consequently a cordial one on both sides. After the usual
ceremonies had been observed, Marguerite, aba