myself no farther, especially as he was not a man I loved or
could trust; and in the end he had to retire with such comfort as
I had already given him.

In itself, and on the surface, the thing seemed to be a trifle,
unworthy of the serious consideration of any man. But in so far
as it touched the King's person and movements, I was inclined to
view it in another light; and this the more, as I still had fresh
in my memory the remarkable manner in which Father Cotton, the
Jesuit, had given me a warning by a word about a boxwood fire.
After a moment's thought, therefore, I summoned Boisrueil, one of
my gentlemen, who had an acknowledged talent for collecting
gossip; and I told him in a casual way that M. de Perrot had been
with me.

"He has not been at Court for a week," he remarked.

"Indeed?" I said.

"He applied for the post of Assistant Deputy Comptroller of
Buildings for his nephew, and took offence when it was given to
Madame de Sourdis' Groom of the Chambers."

"Ha!" I said; "a dangerous malcontent."

Boisrueil smiled. "He has lived a week out of the sunshine of
his Majesty's countenance, your excellency. After that, all
things are possible."

This was my own estimate of the man, whom I took to be one of