“Well, since the best motives are liable to misconstruction, the queen saw in your refusal nothing but a refusal — a distinct refusal she had also much to complain of you during the lifetime of the late cardinal; yes, her majesty the queen — — ”

Rochefort smiled contemptuously.

“Since I was a faithful servant, my lord, to Cardinal Richelieu during his life, it stands to reason that now, after his death, I should serve you well, in defiance of the whole world.”

“With regard to myself, Monsieur de Rochefort,” replied Mazarin, “I am not, like Monsieur de Richelieu, all-powerful. I am but a minister, who wants no servants, being myself nothing but a servant of the queen’s. Now, the queen is