But she had had the spirit to refuse to purchase the collar, in
consequence of the enormous price which the jewellers demanded. She
had, however, subsequently regretted her refusal, and the princely
set of gems, the like of which did not exist in Europe, had awakened
the most intense desire on the part of the queen to possess it. She
wanted to purchase it secretly, without the knowledge of the king,
and to pay for it gradually out of the savings of her own purse. But
just then the jewellers Bohmer and Bassenge had it in view to send
the necklace to Constantinople for the Sultan, who wanted to present
it to the best-loved of his wives.

But before completing the sale, the crown jewellers made one more
application to the queen, declaring that if she would consent to
take the necklace, they would be content with any conditions of
payment. In the mean time, the private treasury of the queen was
empty. The severe winter had induced much suffering and misfortune,
and the queen had given all her funds to the poor. But as she
earnestly desired to purchase the necklace, she would give her grand
almoner a special mark of her favor in granting to him the
commission of purchasing it in her name. He should receive a paper
from the queen's own hand authorizing the purchase, yet he should
keep this to himself, and show it only to the court jewellers at the
time of the purchase. The first payment of six hundred thousand
francs the cardinal was to pay from his own purse, the remaining
million the queen would pay in instalments of one hundred thousand
francs each, at the expiration of every three months. In the next
three months, the six hundred thousand francs advanced by the
cardinal should be refunded.

The cardinal felt himself highly flattered by this token of the