ince returned to the apartment, the Queen placed this
letter in his hands; and glancing at his travelling-garb, said in a
faltering voice: "So soon, Maestro? But you are right, and I may the
earlier look for your return."

Alas! once more the persecuted Princess suffered her sanguine
temperament to delude her into hope; but by one of those singular
coincidences which appear almost fabulous, Rubens had scarcely taken
leave of his family, and was about to enter the carriage that awaited
him, when a courier in the livery of the Governor of the Low Countries
galloped into the yard, and demanded to be ushered into the presence of
the Queen. Startled and alarmed by so unexpected an apparition, Rubens
had no alternative but to obey; and the messenger no sooner found
himself standing before Marie de Medicis, than, with a profound
reverence, he placed a letter in her hands, and with a second
salutation retired.

The Queen-mother hastily tore open the packet, of which these were the
contents:--

"Madame la Reine--We hereby inform you that the city of Antwerp cannot
afford you a befitting asylum, and that you would do better to take up
your residence at Cologne.

"Upon which, we pray God to keep you under His holy and efficient
guard.--I, the Governor of the Low Countries,

"DON FRANCISCO DE MELLO." [230]

Marie de Medicis sank back upon her seat, and silently held the
insulting letter towards Rubens.

"There is indeed no time to lose, Madame," exclaimed the artist, as he
glanced rapidly over its contents. "The spies of the Cardinal have
tracked you hither, and you must quit Flanders without delay. Dare I
hope that, in this emergency, your Majesty will deign to occupy a house
which I possess at Cologne, until my return from Paris?"

"Rubens, you are my preserver!" faltered the wretched Queen. "Do with me
as you will. You will meet your recompense in Heaven."

A few hours subsequently two carriages drove from the courtyard of
Rubens; the first contained Marie de Medicis and two of her ladies, and
took the way to Cologne; while the second, which was occupied by Rubens,
drove towards Paris.

On the 12th of October the Queen-mother reached her final resting-place,
and received permission to reside within the city; but this was the only
concession accorded to her; and in one of the most ancient and gloomy
streets in the immediate vicinity of the Cloth-market and the Church of
Saint Margaret, she took possession of a Gothic