Page:Louise de la Valliere text.djvu/189

LOUISE DE LA VALLIERB. 179 notwithstanding the king's repeated hints. D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking a piece of money out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's hands, saying: "That is the medal your majesty alludes to." The king looked at it, and with a glance which, ever since he had become his own master, had been always soaring in its gaze, observed an insulting device representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this inscription: "7w conspectu meo stetit sol.'" "In my presence the sun stands still," exclaimed the king furiously. "Ah! you will hardly deny it now, I suppose." "And the sun," said D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels of the cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every direction with this motto, ^'JVec pluribus impar." Louis' anger, increased by the bitterness of his own per- sonal sufferings, hardly required this additional circum- stance to foment it. Every one saw, from the kindling passion in the king's eyes, that an explosion was most im- minent. A look from Colbert kept back the storm from bursting forth. The ambassador ventured to frame excuses by saying that the vanity of nations was a matter of little consequence; that Holland was proud that, with such limited resources, she had maintained her rank as a great nation, even against powerful monarchs, and that if a little smoke had intoxicated his countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed, and would excuse this intoxication. The king seemed as if he would be glad of some one's advice; he looked at Colbert, who remained impassible; then at D'Ar- tagnan, who simply shrugged his shoulders, a movement which was like the opening of the floodgates, whereby the king's anger, which he had restrained for so long a period, now burst forth. As no one knew what direction his anger might take, all preserved a dead silence. The second am- bassador took advantage of it to begin his excuses also. While he was speaking, and while the king, who had again gradually returned to his own personal reflections, listened to the voice, full of nervous anxiety, with the air of an absent man listening to the murmuring of a cascade, D'Ar- tagnan, on whose left hand St. Aignan was standing, ap- proached the latter, and, in a voice which was loud enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you heard the news?" "What news?" said St. Aignau. "About La Valliere."