of his power
into exile; but diplomacy accomplished what soldiers could not, and
after an absence of a year he returned, and established himself so
securely that he held his office to the day of his death.

Under Mazarin's direction and skilful intriguing at home and abroad, the
influence of France was largely increased beyond her own borders, and
the way was paved for triumphs to be achieved after he had himself
passed away. In the family, as it were, of such a statesman and such an
intriguer, were passed the earliest years of the life of Louis XIV. As
the skilful diplomat had overcome the people and the nobility, changing
them from the bitterest foes to at least the semblance of friends, so
the hatred of the young king was buried under his respect for the vast
ability of the minister.

Louis was brought up in the midst of political storms and in the turmoil
of civil war. Mazarin was avaricious, and carried his economical notions
in household matters to a ridiculous extent, limiting the young king's
wardrobe, furniture, garments for underwear and bed use, so that some of
the latter did not half cover the limbs of the growing boy, and he was
compelled to sleep on a bed covered with ragged sheets. He was a bright
boy, and being a king, he realized that he was not supported in the
style that became his exalted condition. He was inclined to military
recreations and to athletic exercises. He came very early to an
understanding of what was necessary to support his character as the
ruler of a great nation, and as a boy he cultivated the graces of social
life, and was always a gentleman. He was a good horseman, and delighted
in this exercise.

The civil war had "hunted him from pillar to post," and it was not till
he was a dozen years old that he was permanently settled down in Paris.
All these events of his early life had left a powerful impression upon
his mind. It was the custom for the children of honor and the king to
exchange little presents among themselves. One of these gifts to the
juvenile monarch was a golden cannon drawn by a flea, which seemed to
indicate a knowledge of his tastes. Another present was a case of
surgical instruments, containing all the implements, but weighing only a
few grains; and doubtless it suggested the horrors of the battle-field.
Another present was a miniature sword of agate, ornamented with gold and
rubies. These were all given to him by the same young noble; in return
for them Louis w