Infanta, we hope, when walking beneath
these trees, will cease to regret the shade of
the Escurial."

"Sire," said Colbert gravely, "the Queen
mourns a much greater loss—that of your
Majesty's affections."

"Parbleu ! " exclaimed Lauzun, gaily ; "in
order to lose anything, one must first have
possessed it. Now, if I don't mistake"—

"Silence! M. Le Duc. M. De Colbert, my
marriage was the work of Mazarin—quite
sufficient to guarantee that the heart was not
consulted."

The minister bowed, without replying.

"As to you, M. De Lauzun," continued the
King, "beware, henceforward, how you forget
that Maria Theresa is Queen of France, and
that the nature of our feelings towards her
is not to be made a subject of discussion."

"Sire, forgive my"—

"Enough !" interrupted Louis, approaching
a man, who, unmindful of the King's presence,
had taken off his coat, in order the more
easily to prune a tall flowering shrub.

This was the celebrated gardener, Le Nôtre.
Absorbed in some unpleasant train of thought,
he had not heeded the approach of visitors,
and continued to mutter and grumble to
himself, while diligently using the pruning-knife.

"What ! are we out of humour ? " asked
Louis.

Without resuming his coat, the gardener
cried eagerly—"Sire, justice ! This morning,
the Queen Dowager's maids of honour came
hither, and, in spite of my remonstrances,
did an infinity of mischief. See this American
magnolia, the only one your Majesty
possesses. Well, Sire, they cut off its finest
blossoms : neither oranges nor roses could
escape them. Happily I succeeded in hiding
from them my favourite child—my beautiful
rose-tree, which I have nursed with so much
care, and which will live for fifty years, provided
care be taken not to allow it to produce
more than one rose in the season." Then,
pointing to the plant of which he spoke, Le
Nôtre continued : " 'Tis the hundred-leaved
rose, Sire ! Hitherto I have saved it from
pillage; but I protest to your Majesty, if
such conduct be renewed"—

"Come, come !" interposed the Monarch,
"we must not be too hard on young girls.
They are like butterflies, and love flowers."

"Morbleu ! Sire, butterflies don't break
boughs, and eat oranges!"

Louis deigned to smile at his gardener's
repartee. "Tell us," he said, "who were the
culprits ?"

"All the ladies, Sire ! Yet, no. I am
wrong. There was one young creature, as
fresh and lovely as this very rose, who did
not imitate her companions. The poor child
even tried to comfort me, while the others
were tearing my flowers : they called her
Louise."

"It was Mademoiselle de la Vallière," said
Lauzun, "the young person whom your
Majesty remarked yesterday in attendance on
Madame Henriette."

"She shall have her reward," said Louis.
"Let Mademoiselle de la Vallière be the only
maid of honour invited to the ball to be given
here to-night."

"A ball ! Ah, my poor flowers!" cried
Le Nôtre, clasping his hands in despair.

Colbert ventured to remind his Majesty
that he had promised to give an audience that
evening to two architects, Claude Perrault
and Libéral Bruant; of whom, the first was
to bring designs for the Observatory; the
second, a plan for the Hôtel des Invalides.

"Receive these gentlemen yourself," replied
the King ; "while we are dancing, M. de
Colbert will labour for our glory ; posterity
will never be the wiser ! Only, in order to
decorate these bare walls, have the goodness
to send to the manufactory of the Gobelins,
which you have just established, for some of
the beautiful tapestry which you praise so
highly."

Accordingly, to the utter despair of Le
Nôtre, the ball took place in the greenhouses,
metamorphosed, as if by magic, into a vast
gallery, illumined by a thousand lustres,
sparkling amid flowers and precious stones.
Each fragrant orange-tree bore wax-lights
amid its branches, and many lovely faces
gleamed amongst the flowery thickets; while
bright eyes watched the footsteps of the
mighty master of the revel. The cutting
north-east wind blew outside; poor wretches
shivered on the pavement; but what did that
matter while the court danced and laughed
amid trees and flowers, and breathed the soft
sweet summer air ?

Maria Theresa did not mingle in the scene:
timid and retiring, the young Queen fled from
the noisy gaiety of the court, and usually
remained with her aunt, the Queen Mother.
On this occasion, therefore, the ball was
presided over by Madame Henriette, and by
Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons. The
gentle La Vallière kept, modestly, in the
back-ground, until espied by the King,
beneath the magnolia, which her companions
had so recklessly despoiled of its flowers, and
which had cost them their exclusion from
the fête.

The next moment the hand of Louise
trembled in that of her Sovereign; for Louis
the Fourteenth had chosen the maid of
honour for his partner in the dance. At the
close of the evening, Le Nôtre, who had received
private orders, brought forward his favourite
rose-tree, transplanted into a richly-gilded
vase. The poor man looked like a criminal
approaching the place of execution. He laid
the flower on a raised step near the throne;
and on the front of its vase everyone read the
words which had formerly set Olympus in a
flame—"To the most beautiful !"

Many rival belles grew pale when they
heard the Duc de Lauzun ordered by Louis