'Sire,' said De Breteuil, 'if your majesty has taken that resolution, we have but one course open to us.' 'The queen has been urging me,' said the king; 'and, if it were not against my conscience, I would yield to her.' 'Then your majesty must allow us to tender our resignation,' said De Breteuil. 'This is really very hard,' the king exclaimed. 'Have you only one scheme, and that a bloody one? Why not try conciliation?' 'Sire, we have judged what is the only course open to us to propose; if your majesty rejects that, it is our duty to withdraw.' 'I am very sorry,' muttered the king; 'but it cannot be helped, I fear. Oh that we had come to an end of these troubles!' When the ministers retired they shook hands. The three days' ministry was at an end. 'I am off,' said De Broglie; 'I shall not jeopardise my neck in France any longer.' 'And I follow you,' said the Count d'Artois. 'I shall take refuge in Belgium,' said Berthier. 'And I--' observed Foulon; 'I shall prepare to die--take a pinch of snuff.' CHAPTER XXXIV. Madame Plomb returned to her husband's house, and was greeted by the hounds with exultant barks and gambols. Her confinement had made her more crazy than ever, and Gabrielle had insisted on attending her to the door, and would have remained with her, in spite of her own fears, had not Madame Berthier refused to permit it. 'No, my dear,' said the poor lady; 'suppose the wolf be here in bed with a great frilled nightcap on; and when you go up to him, mistaking him for me, and say, "Oh, what great eyes you have!" he answers, "To see you the better, my dear;" and when you say, "Oh, what white teeth you have!" he rushes out upon you roaring, "To eat you the better, my dear--" That will never do; we must kill the wolf first, then you shall stay with me.' 'Madame,' said Gustave, 'your honoured husband is at Versailles.' 'At Versailles, is he? Pray, what is he doing there?' 'Madame,' answered the porter, 'he is one of his gracious majesty's new ministers.' 'Then his gracious majesty is going to eat up the people,' said the poor lady. 'Gustave, have the dogs been good?' 'They have been devils, madame,' exclaimed the porter, shaking his fist at them. 'They have leaped and barked all day long, and all night long as well. How is a person to sleep, if at his ear are chained fiends whose throats are never tired of emitting frightful howls? Ah, you ruffians!' he cried, again shaking his fist; 'I will scoop out your eyes, and pour boiling lead down your throats. I will heat the poker red hot and make you swallow it; I will take the skin off you with a file, that I will, sacr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-é.' 'Where is Adolphe?' asked madame. 'Alas! the good Adolphe is at the point of death.' 'What! here?' 'No, madame, he is no longer in M. Berthier's service.' 'In whose service is he, then?' 'In that of your most illustrious father.' 'Pray, when did he change his place?' 'About a month ago, madame.'