"Alas!" sighed the king, who heard nothing except what bore directly upon the subject of his solicitude. "Might we not say, further," added Diane, "that although chance has not been friendly to Monsieur de Montmorency's magnificent efforts, and fortune has declared against him, he is at least entirely without personal ambition; he recognizes no other interest save that of his country, in whose cause he has sacrificed everything,--his life, which he was among the first to put in jeopardy; his liberty, of which he was so long deprived; and his property, which is all gone." "Indeed!" said Charles de Lorraine, with an air of amazement. "Yes, your Eminence," Diane repeated; "there is no doubt about that,--Monsieur de Montmorency is ruined." "Ruined! Do you mean it?" said the cardinal. "He is so entirely without means," continued the unblushing favorite, "that I was just on the point of appealing to his Majesty to aid this loyal servant in his distress." The king made no reply, so absorbed was he. "Yes, Sire," Diane said, addressing him directly in order to attract his attention, "I most earnestly beg you to come to the assistance of your faithful constable, whose pecuniary resources have been exhausted to the last sou by the price of his ransom and the great expense of the war contracted in your Majesty's service. Sire, are you listening to me?" "Excuse me, Madame," said Henri; "I seem hardly able this evening to fix my attention upon any subject. The thought of a possible disaster at Calais occupies my mind entirely, as you can well understand." "That is just the reason," Diane replied, "why your Majesty, in my opinion, ought to treat gently and befriend the man who has done his best beforehand to minimize the effects of this calamity, if it must befall." "But we are as much in need of money ourselves as the constable," said the king. "How about this new tax which has been levied?" asked Diane. "The funds produced by that," said the cardinal, "are to be appropriated to the payment and maintenance of the troops." "In that event," was Diane's rejoinder, "the better part of them should go to the leader of the troops." "Very well, the leader is at Calais?" replied the cardinal. "No, indeed, he is here in Paris, at the Louvre," retorted Diane. "Pray, Madame, do you desire that failure and defeat should be rewarded?" "That would be much better, Monsieur le Cardinal, than that mad recklessness should be encouraged." "Enough of this!" the king interposed; "do you not see that your quarrelling tires and annoys me? Do you know, Madame, and Monsieur de Lorraine, the quatrain which I came across recently in my book of Hours?" "A quatrain?" Diane and Charles de Lorraine repeated with one breath. "If my memory serves me," said Henri, "it was this:--"