“As much so as I am to you.”

“And, after all, what did he do? — Failed!”

“He failed, I admit; but always through his own fault; and, for the sake of purchasing — not his life — for the life of the king’s brother is sacred and inviolable — but his liberty, he sacrificed the lives of all his friends, one after another. And so, at this day, he is a very blot on history, the detestation of a hundred noble families in this kingdom.”

“I understand, monsieur; either by weakness or treachery, my uncle slew his friends.”

“By weakness; which, in princes, is always treachery.”

“And cannot a man fail, then, from incapacity and ignorance?