A kind of grunt, proceeding from the corner of the room interrupted Joyeuse, who looked round astonished.
"It is nothing, Joyeuse," said the king, laughing, "only a dog asleep on the footstool. You say, then, that Du Bouchage grew sad?--"
"Sad as death, sire. It seems he has met with some woman of an extraordinary disposition. However, one sometimes succeeds as well with this sort of women as with others, if you only set the right way to work."
"You would not have been embarrassed, libertine!"
"You understand, sire, that no sooner had he made me his confidant, than I undertook to save him."
"No; but he has more hope of making her so. For the future, instead of sighing with the lady, we mean to amuse her in every possible way. To-night I stationed thirty Italian musicians under her balcony."
"Ah! ma foi! music would not have amused me when I was in love with Madame de Conde."
"No; but you were in love, sire; and she is as cold as an icicle."
"Diable! I do not say that she will come at once and throw herself into the arms of Du Bouchage, but she will be pleased at all this being done for herself alone. If she do not care for this, we shall have plays, enchantments, poetry--in fact, all the pleasures of the earth, so that, even if we do not bring gayety back to her, I hope we shall to Du Bouchage."
"Well, I hope so; but since it would be so trying to him to leave Paris, I hope you are not also, like him, the slave of some passion?"
"Oh! I thought you were in love with a beautiful lady?"
"Yes, sire, so I was; but imagine that this evening, after having given my lesson to Du Bouchage, I went to see her, with my head full of his love story, and, believing myself almost as much in love as he, I found a trembling frightened woman, and thinking I had disturbed her somehow, I tried to reassure her, but it was useless. I interrogated her, but she did not reply. I tried to embrace her, and she turned her head away. I grew angry, and we quarreled: and she told me she should never be at home to me any more."'
"Pardieu, sire! I took my hat and cloak, bowed, and went out, without once looking back."
"The more so, sire, that I thought I heard her sigh."
"Well, my friend, this rupture is for your good."