Myunknownfriendevidentlydivinedallthatwas
passinginmymind，forsheobserved，
“Iperceivethatmyrecitalappearstoyouimprobable；one
particularwhichIwillstatemayperhapsovercomeyour
incredulity。
Areyounotinthehabit，madam，oftakingevery
eveningmixedwithalargeproportionoforange-
flowerwater？“
“Iam，“repliedI。
“Thisday，“continuedmyinformant，“youwillreceivefourbottles
oforange-flowerwatercontainedinaboxbearingtheusual
appearancesofhavingcomefromtheperfumers’，butitissent
byotherhands，andtheliquorcontainedintheflasksismingled
withadeadlypoison。“
Theselastwordsmademetremble。
“Youmustcompleteyourkind
offices，“criedItomyvisitor，“bybringingmeacquaintedwith
thepersonfromwhomyouhavederivedyourintelligence:that
individualmustbeacquaintedwiththewholeoftheplot；and，
believeme，Iwillnotbeunmindfulofeitherofyou。“
“Stayoneinstant，“repliedthelady，withoutevincingtheslightest
emotion；“themanwhowasmyinformantisassuredlyawareofthe
namesofthoseconcernedintheconspiracy，buthehascharged
menottostatewhoheisbutuponcertainconditions；a
recommendationIshallmostcertainlyattendto。“
“Beassured，“interruptedI，“thatyourdemandsshallbeacceded
to；youshallyourselffixthepriceofyourentiredisclosureof
everyfactconnectedwiththebusiness。“
“Itwillnotbeanexorbitantone，“repliedthelady；“merely
600，000francs，tobeequallydividedbetweenthefriendyou
desiretoknowandmyself；forthissum，whichisnotavery
largeone，youmaycommandtheservicesofbothofus。
Oneword
more，madam，andIamgone。
ObserveastrictsilenceuponallI
havetoldyou；or，ifyoumusthaveacounsellorinsuchperilous
circumstances，confidemerelyinsometriedfriend；saytheduc
d’Aiguillonorthechancellor，orbothshouldyoudeemitnecessary；
buthaveacarehowyouadmitathirdtoaparticipationofthe
affair；youcouldscarcelyselectanotherpersonwithoutchoosing
onealreadycorruptedbyyourenemies。
Itissaidthattheyare
incorrespondencewitheventhosepersonsimmediatelyaboutthe
personoftheking。
Adieu，madam；Iwillseeyouatyourown
apartmentsthedayafterto-morrow，whenItrustyouwillhave
ready100，000francs，onaccountofthe600，000Ihavestipulatedfor。“
Sosaying，shecurtsiedandleftme，overcomewithsurprise。
A
thousandfearfulideaspresseduponmybrain，andmyheartsickened
atthelongtrainofgloomyimageswhichpresentedthemselves。
I
hadhadsufficientproofssincemyelevationofthedeadlyhatred
bornemebythosewhommygoodfortunehadrenderedmyenemies:
yet，hitherto，mystrongestapprehensionshadneverbeendirected
toanythingmoreterriblethanbeingsupplantedinthefavorofthe
king，orbeingconfinedinmychateauduLucienne。
Thehorrible
ideasofmurder，poison，orassassinationbyanymeans，hadnever
presentedthemselvestome。
AllatonceIrecollectedtheyoung
maninthegardenoftheTuileries；hispredictionsofmyfuture
greatnesshadbeenaccomplished。
Hehadalsoannouncedtome
fearfulvicissitudes，andhadthreatenedtoappeartomewhen
thesecatastropheswereabouttooccur。
Doubtlesshewouldkeep
hisword；nowwasthetimeforsodoing，andItimidlyglanced
aroundasIcaughtthesoundofaslightrustleamongthebranches，
fullyexpectingtoseemyyoungprophet；butthefigurewhichmet
myeyewasthatofmadamedeMirepoix，who，tiredofwaiting，
hadcometorejoinme。
’What！
“saidshe，“areyoualone？
Ididnotobserveyourvisitor
leaveyou。
Didshevanishintoair？“
“Verypossibly，“answeredI。
“Sothen，“repliedthemarechale，“sheprovedafairy，orsome
beneficent，afterall？“
“Ifshewereaspirit，“saidI，“itcertainlywasnottothebetter
sortshebelonged。“
“Haveacare，“criedthemarechale；“Ihavealreadyformeda
thousandconjecturesastowhatthiswomanhasbeentelling。“
“Andallyoursuppositions，“repliedI，“wouldfallshortofthe
reality。
Listen，mydearmarechale，“addedI，rising，andtaking
herarmtoproceedhomewards，“Ihavebeenstrictlyprohibited
fromadmittinganycounsellorbuttheducd’Aiguillonandthe
chancellor；stillIcanhavenoreserveswithyou，whoIknow，
fromtheregardyoubearbothtothekingandmyself，willadvise
metothebestofyourpower。“
Aswewalkedtowardsthechateau，Iexplainedtomycompanion
thejointconspiracyoftheJesuitsandancientmembersofthe
parliamentagainsttheking’slifeandmyown。
WhenIhadceased
speaking，shereplied，
“Allthisisverypossible；despairmayconducttheJesuitsand
parliamentarianstothegreatestextremities；butstillthis
mysteriousfemalemaybenothingmorethananimpostor。
Atany
rate，Iamanxioustolearnwhethertheboxshedescribedhasbeen
leftatyourhouse；ifso，itwillbeastrongcorroboration，if
not，aconvincingproofofthefalsehoodofwhatsheasserts。“
Wehadbythistimereachedthebottomofthestaircasewhich
conductedtomyapartments；weascendedthestairsrapidly，and
thefirstpersonImetintheanteroomwasHenriette。
“Henriette，“saidI，“hasanythingbeenbroughtformeduring
myabsence？“
“Nothingexceptaboxoforange-flowerwaterfromMichelthe
perfumer’s，whichIpresumeyouordered，madam。“
Aglanceofmutualsurpriseandconsternationpassedbetweenthe
marechaleandmyself。
Weenteredmychamber，wheremadamede
Mirepoixopenedthefatalbox；itcontainedthefourbottles
exactlyashadbeendescribed。
Weregardedeachotherinprofound
silence，notdaringtocommunicateourreflections。
However，it
wasrequisitetotakesomesteps，and，catchingupapen，Ihastily
wrotethefollowingbillettotheducd’Aiguillon，
“MONSIEURLEDUC，——Whatevermaybetheaffairs
withwhichyouareatpresentoccupied，Iprayof
youtothrowthemaside，andhastentomeinstantly
uponreceiptofthis。
Nothingcanequalinimportance
thesubjectuponwhichIwishtoseeyou；Icannot
nowexplainmyselffully，butpreparefornewsof
themosthorribledescription，anditreferstothe
safetyandpreservationofthemostvaluablelife
inthekingdom。
Icannotdelaytimebywriting
more；Icanonlybeseechofyounottoloseone
momentinobeyingthissummons。
Adieu；failnot
tocomeandbringmebackthisnote。“
Thedukehastenedtomefullofterrorandalarm。
“Yourletterhasreallyfrightenedme，“saidhe；“whatcanbethe
matter？
Surelythelifeofhismajestyisnotindanger？“
“Tootrulyisit，“answeredI；“butsitdown，andyoushallknow
alltheaffair。
Themarechaleisalreadyawareofthematter
andneednotwithdraw。“
Thedukelistenedwithextremeattentiontotherecitalofmy
interviewinthegrovesurroundingtheBathsofApollo，aswell
astotheaccountofthediscourseIhadheldtherewiththe
strangefemale。
Iendeavouredtorelatetheconversationas
minutelyandaccuratelyaspossible，butstillthedukesought
furtherparticulars。
Heinquiredthestyleofcountenance，dress，
manner，andtoneofvoicepossessedbythe。
One
mighthavesupposed，bytheclosenessofhisquestions，thathe
alreadyfanciedhehadidentifiedthismysteriouspersonage:he
thenexaminedthebox，whichstoodonthetable，andremarked，
“Thisisaveryseriousaffair，norcanIundertakethemanagement
ofitalone；itinvolvesatoogreatresponsibility。
Spiteofthe
lady’sassertions，Iamconfidentthefullestconfidencemight
beplacedinalltheministers。
However，Iwillfirsthavea
conferencewithM。deSaint-Florentinandthechancellor，in
whosepresenceIwillsendforthelieutenantofpolice；andthe
contentsofthesebottlesshallbeimmediatelyanalyzed。“
Theduke，withoutquittingme，wroteimmediatelytohistwo
colleaguesaswellastoM。deSartines，requestingthislatter
torepairtomyapartmentwithoutdelay。
Oneoftheministers
summonedbyM。d’AiguillonwasnotatthatmomentatVersailles，
havingleftatanearlyhourinthemorningforParis。
Neither
henorM。deSartinescouldpossiblybewithusbeforeeight
o’clockintheevening；itwasthereforeagreedtoadjournour
conferencetilltheirarrival。
MeanwhileM。d’Aiguillon，the
marechale，andmyself，remainedinastateofthemostcruel
anxiety。
Thedukefirstblamedmefornothavingcausedthe
womantobearrested，andafterwardsheconfessedtothemarechale，
thatperhapsitwasbettertheconspiracyshouldbeallowedtime
toripenintomaturity。
Daringthistimetheliquidcontained
inthefourbottleswasbeingdecomposed:M。Quesnay，first
physician，Messrs。
ThiebaultandVarennes，visitingphysicians，
M。delaMartiniere，counsellorofstate，surgeontohismajesty，
aswellasMessrs。