The Prevost unfolded the paper and read, "'_Aujourd'hui_,' &c.--Ah! yes, all in form.--'The King having learned that the crimes of the Sieur Claude de Blenau, Count de Blenau, and Seigneur de Blancford, are not so heavy as at first appeared, and having investigated--&c. has ordained and does ordain--out of his great grace, &c.--that the sentence of death be changed and commuted to perpetual banishment, &c.--And if after sixteen days from the date hereof, he be found within the kingdoms of France and Navarre,' &c.--You understand, Monsieur le Comte.--Well, Sir, I congratulate you. Here is the King's name; 'Louis,' _et plus bas_, 'Richelieu'--Will you come and take some refreshment at my poor lodgings?" De Blenau was glad to accept the invitation, for his mind was too much confused to fix upon any plan of action at the moment. His resolution had borne him strongly up at the time when all hope seemed lost; but now the sudden change overpowered him; and amidst the acclamations of the multitude, he suffered himself to be conducted in silence to the house of the Prevost; where he was soon after discovered by his Page, Henri de La Mothe. We shall now pass quickly over the means which he took to procure money for the expenses of the journey before him, merely saying that, through the kindness of the Prevost, he was soon furnished with the necessary funds for proceeding; and accordingly set out from Lyons the second morning after that, the events of which we have described. Two powerful reasons induced De Blenau to turn his steps towards Spain: in the first place, it was much nearer than either Germany or Flanders, which were the only other countries where he could hope for perfect security; and, in the next place, his road to the frontier passed not only close to his own estates, but skirted the property of Madame de Beaumont, and he was not without hopes of meeting there some that were the dearest to him of the earth; for he learned from Henri de La Mothe, that the vengeance of the implacable Richelieu had extended to Pauline, and her mother, who had been ordered once more to quit the Court of France, as a punishment for having conveyed information to him in the Bastille. Philip the Woodman was not forgotten in De Blenau's new arrangements; and under the pretence of charging him with a letter back to St. Germain's, in case Madame de Beaumont should not be in Languedoc, the young Count seduced him into a promise of accompanying him to Argentière. His real motive, however, was, to recompense the Woodman's services, on arriving at his own property, in a manner which the scanty state of his finances prevented him from doing at Lyons.