queen's paying me the six hundred thousand francs that I had
disbursed to Bohmer at the purchase of the necklace, and that she
must be content with paying the interest of this sum, thirty
thousand francs. The queen requested me to be satisfied for the
present with this arrangement, and to be sure of her favor. I
trusted the words of the countess once more, took fresh courage, and
sent word to the queen that I should always count myself happy to
conform to her arrangements, and be her devoted servant. The
countess dismissed me, saying that she would bring the money on the
morrow. In the mean time, something occurred that awakened all my
doubts and all my anxieties afresh. I visited the Duchess de
Polignac, and while I was with her, there was handed her a note from
the queen. I requested the duchess, in case the billet contained no
secret, to show it to me, that I might see the handwriting of the
queen. The duchess complied with my request, and--"

The cardinal was silent, and deep inward excitement made his face
pale. He bowed his head, folded his hands, and his lips moved in
whispered prayer.

The judges, as well as the spectators, remained silent. No one was
able to break the solemn stillness by an audible breath-by a single
movement.

At length, after a long pause, when the cardinal had raised his head
again, the president asked gently: "And so your eminence saw the
note of the queen, and was it not the same writing as the letters
which you had received?"

"No, it was not the same!" cried the cardinal, with pain. "No, it