neur le Vicomte de Turenne has retaken the towns of Lorraine; and
here are his private conversations--"

"Oh! pass over them; they can not be dangerous. He is ever a good and
honest man, in no way mixing himself up with politics; so that some one
gives him a little army to play at chess with, no matter against whom, he
is content. We shall always be good friends."

"The Long Parliament still endures in England. The Commons pursue their
project; there are massacres in Ireland. The Earl of Strafford is
condemned to death."

"To death! Horrible!"

"I will read: 'His Majesty Charles I has not had the courage to sign the
sentence, but he has appointed four commissioners.'"

"Weak king, I abandon thee! Thou shalt have no more of our money. Fall,
since thou art ungrateful! Unhappy Wentworth!"

A tear rose in the eyes of Richelieu as he said this; the man who had but
now played with the lives of so many others wept for a minister abandoned
by his prince. The similarity between that position and his own affected
him, and it was his own case he deplored in the person of the foreign
minister. He ceased to read aloud the despatches that he opened, and his
confidant followed his example. He examined with scrupulous attention the
detailed accounts of the most minute and secret actions of each person of
any importance-accounts which he always required to be added to the
official despatches made by his able spies. All the despatches to the
King passed through his hands, and were carefully revised so as to reach
the King amended to the state in which he wished him to read them. The
private notes were all carefully burned by the monk after the Cardinal
had ascertained their contents. The latter, however, seemed by no means
satisfied, and he was walking quickly to and fro with gestures expressive
of anxiety, when the door opened, and a thirteenth courier entered. This
one seemed a boy hardly fourteen years old; he held under his arm a
packet sealed with black for the King, and gave to the Cardinal only a
small letter, of which a stolen glance from Joseph could collect but four
words. The Cardinal started, tore the billet into a thousand pieces, and,
bending down to the ear of the boy, spoke to him for a long time; all
that Joseph heard was, as the messenger went out:

"Take good heed to this; not until twelve hours from this time."

During this aside of the Cardinal, Joseph was occupied in concealing an
infinite number of libels f