Mazarin for her, and lodged in a place of safety. She possessed the most
magnificent jewels in France, and especially pearls of a size so large,
that they made the king sigh every time he saw them, because the pearls
of his crown were like millet-seed compared to them. Anne of Austria had
neither beauty nor charms any longer at her disposal. She gave out,
therefore, that her wealth was great, and as an inducement for others to
visit her apartments, she let it be known that there were good gold
crowns to be won at play, or that handsome presents were likely to be
made on days when all went well with her: or windfalls, in the shape of
annuities which she had wrung from the king by entreaty, and which she
determined to do to maintain her credit. And, in the first place, she
tried these means upon Madame, because, to gain her consent was of more
importance than anything else. Madame, notwithstanding the bold
confidence with which her wit and beauty inspired her, blindly ran head
foremost into the net which had been stretched out to catch her.
Enriched by degrees by these presents and transfers of property, she
took a fancy to these inheritances by anticipation. Anne of Austria
adopted the same means toward Monsieur, and even toward the king
himself. She instituted lotteries in her apartments. The day on which
the present chapter opens, invitations had been issued for a late supper
in the queen-mother's apartments, as she intended that two beautiful
diamond bracelets of exquisite workmanship should be put into lottery.
The medallions were antique cameos of the greatest value; the diamonds,
in point of intrinsic value, did not represent a very considerable
amount, but the originality and rarity of the workmanship were such,
that every one at court not only wished to possess the bracelets, but
even to see the queen herself wear them; for, on the days she wore
them, it was considered as a favor to be admitted to admire them in
kissing her hands. The courtiers had, even with regard to this subject,
adopted various expressions of gallantry to establish the aphorism, that
the bracelets would have been priceless in value if they had not been
unfortunate enough to be placed in contact with arms as beautiful as the
queen's. This compliment had been honored by a translation into all the
languages of Europe, and numerous were the verses in Latin and French
which had been circulated on the subject. The day that Anne of Austria
had select