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Rh THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE. 31o "So be it." said Louis faintly, for, as Mazarin had said, the name of Colbert was quite unknown to him, and lie thought the enthusiasm of the cardinal partook of the delirium of a dying man. The cardinal sank back on his pillow. ''For the present, adieu, sire — adieu," murmured Maz- arin. "I am tired, and I have yet a rough journey to per- form before I present myself to my new Master. Adieu, sire." The young king felt the tears rise to his eyes; he bent over the dying man, already half a corpse, and then pre- cipitately retired. CHAPTER XLIX. THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF COLBERT. The whole night was passed in anguish, common to the dying man and the king; the dying man expected his de- liverance, the king expected his liberty. Louis did not go to bed. An hour after leaving the chamber of the cardinal he learned that the dying man, recovering a little strength, had insisted upon being dressed, farded, and painted, and seeing the embassadors. Like Augustus, he no doubt con- sidered the world to be a great theater, and was desirous of playing out the last act of the comedy. Anne of Austria reappeared no more in the cardinal's apartments; she had nothing more to do there. Propriety was the pretext for her absence. On his part, the cardinal did not ask for her; the advice the queen had given her son rankled in his heart. Toward midnight, still painted, Mazarin's mortal agony came on. He had revised his testament, and as this testament was the exact expression of his will, and as he feared that some interested influence might take advantage of his weakness to make him change something in that tes- tament, he had given orders to Colbert, who walked up and down the corridor which led to the cardinal's bedchamber, like the most vigilant of sentinels. The king, shut up in his ownapartment,dispatched his nurse every hour to Mazarin's chamber, with orders to bring him back the exact bulletin of the cardinal's state. After having heard that Mazarin was dressed, painted, and had seen the embassadors, Louis heard that prayers for the dying were commenced for the cardinal. At one o'clock in the morning, Uuenaud had