Fortune favoured their curiosity. From a gallery in the royal palace, they were so favoured as to see the King, solacing himself with familiar pleasures; the queen-mother, at her own table; nor were they discovered even by Monsieur de Cadenat, who had so lately visited England as ambassador, and who must well have known their features. Towards the evening, by an apparent chance, though, as Sir Henry Wotton observes, “underlined with a Providence,” the travellers had a full view of the young queen, and of Henrietta Maria, the future queen of England. These princesses were, with the ladies of the Court, practising a dance and masque, but the diversion appears to have been held in private. The travellers, however, hearing two gentlemen talk of going to witness it, pressed in after them, and were admitted by the Duc de Montbazon, the Queen’s Chamberlain, from courtesy to strangers, when, at the same time, many of the French, who wished to be spectators, were rejected. “Note here,” observes Wotton, “even with the point of a diamond, by what oblique steps and imaginable preparatives the High Disposer of princes’ affections doth sometimes conceive the secrets of his will.” It was afterwards found that the young face which Vandyck has so often depicted on his canvas, surrounded as it was by maturer beauties, made an impression upon the imagination of Charles which only required certain circumstances to be heightened into love.[421] Footnote 421: Reliquiæ Wottonianæ. Anne of Austria, nevertheless, bore away the palm in the eyes of Buckingham, and even of his princely charge. Whilst they remained at Paris, the King wrote to them to the following effect:— “Sweett boyes: the newes of youre going is allreaddie so blowin abroade as I am forced for youre safetie to poste this bearare after you who will give you his best advyce and attendance in youre journey. God blesse youe both, my sweete babes, and sende you a safe and happye returne. “JAMES.”[422] Footnote 422: Harleian MSS., 6987. On their part, the travellers thus wrote:— “SIR, “Since the closing of our last, we have been at Court againe (and, that we might not nowe hold you in paine, we assure you that we have not been knowen), where we saw the young queene, littell Monsieure and Madame, at her practising of a maske that is intended by the Queene to be presented to the Kinge, and in it there danced the Queene and Madame, with as mannie as made up nineteen faire dancing ladies, amongst which the Queene is the handsomest, which hath wrought in me a great desire to see her sister. So, in haste, going to bed, we humblie take our leaves, and rest