his second interview, as follows.

"His Majesty," says he, "received me in the council chamber, and was so
good as to repeat once more in the presence of all his ministers that he
was very much pleased with my services, but that there was one thing
about me he should like to correct. I begged His Majesty to tell me what
the fault was, and I should try to get rid of it at, the peril of my
life."

"'It is your religion,' said the king. 'I should like to have you become
a good Catholic, so that I might be able to grant you favours and enable
you to serve me better.' His Majesty added that I ought to seek
instruction, and that then I should one day recognise what a great
benefit he desired to bring within my reach.

"I answered that I would esteem myself happy if at the cost of my life I
could prove the burning zeal with which I was filled for the service of
the greatest of earthly kings, but that I should be unworthy of the least
of his favours if I obtained it by hypocrisy or by anything of which my
conscience did not approve, but that I was grateful for the goodness
which made him anxious for my salvation. I told him also that I had
already taken every opportunity of receiving instruction, and had tried
to put aside the prejudices arising from my birth, such as often hindered
people from recognising the truth, with the result that I had at one time
almost lost all sense of religion, until God, taking pity on me, had
opened my eyes and brought me out of that deplorable condition, making me
see that the faith in which I had been born was the only one for me.
'And I can assure your Majesty,' I added, 'that many of the Languedoc
bishops who ought, it seems to me, to try to make us Catholics, are the
instruments which Providence uses to prevent us from becoming so. For
instead of attracting us by gentleness and good example, they ceaselessly
subject us to all kinds of persecutions, as if to convince us that God is
punishing us for our cowardice in giving up a religion which we know to
be good, by delivering us up to pastors who, far from labouring to assure
our salvation, use all their efforts to drive us to despair."

"At this the king shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Enough, do not say
any more.' I asked for his blessing as the king and father of all his
subjects. The king burst out laughing, and told me that M. de Chamillard
would give me his orders."

In virtue of this intimation d'Aygaliers went next day to the