filled her coffers with gold out of the public treasury,
while the brave soldiers of Montcalm starved for the want of their pay.
She gave fetes and banquets while the English were thundering at the
gates of the capital. She foresaw the eventual fall of Bigot and the
ruin of the country, and resolved that, since she had failed in getting
himself, she would make herself possessor of all that he had.

The fate of Bigot was a warning to public peculators and oppressors. He
returned to France soon after the surrender of the Colony, with Cadet,
Varin, Penisault, and others of the Grand Company, who were now useless
tools, and were cast aside by their court friends. The Bastille opened
its iron doors to receive the godless and wicked crew, who had lost the
fairest Colony of France, the richest jewel in her crown. Bigot and the
others were tried by a special commission, were found guilty of the most
heinous malversations of office, and sentenced to make full restitution
of the plunder of the King's treasures, to be imprisoned until their
fines and restitutions were paid, and then banished from the kingdom
forever.

It is believed that, by favor of La Pompadour, Bigot's heavy sentence
was commuted, and he retained a sufficiency of his ill-gotten wealth
to enable him, under a change of name, to live in ease and opulence at
Bordeaux, where he died.

Angelique had no sympathy for Bigot in his misfortunes, no regrets save
that she had failed to mould him more completely to her own purposes,
flattering herself that had she done so, the fortunes of the war and the
fate of the Colony might have been different. What might have been, had
she not ruined herself and her projects by the murder of Caroline, it
were vain to conjecture. But she who had boldly dreamed of ruling king
and kingdom by the witchery of her charms and the craft of her subtle
intellect, had to content herself with the name of De Pean and the shame
of a lawless connection with the Intendant.

She would fain have gone to France to try her fortunes when the Colony
was lost, but La Pompadour forbade her presence there, under pain of
her severest displeasure. Angelique raved at the inhibition, but was too
wise to tempt the wrath of the royal mistress by disobeying her mandate.
She had to content herself with railing at La Pompadour with the energy
of three furies, but she never ceased, to the end of her life, to boast
of the terror which her charms had exercised over the