"Oh, a mere trifle; six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de Mazarin; and the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too highly priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that M. Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and appropriated them to his own purposes." "In an irrefutable manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes sparkled with delight. "Perfectly so; would you like to read the letters?" "With all my heart! Copies, of course?" "Of course, the copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a small packet of papers, flattened by her velvet bodice. "Read," she said. Colbert eagerly snatched the papers and devoured them. "Excellent!" he said. "It is clear enough, is it not?" "Yes, madame, yes; M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet, who must have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what money?" "Exactly--what money; if we come to terms, I will join to these six letters a seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars." Colbert reflected. "And the originals of these letters?" "A useless question to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur Colbert, whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or empty." "Very good, madame." "Is it concluded?" "No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has given any attention." "Name it?" "M. Fouquet can be utterly ruined, under the circumstances you have detailed, only by means of legal proceedings." "Well?" "A public scandal, for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings nor the scandal can be commenced against him." "Why not?" "Because he is procureur-general of the parliament; because, too, in France, all public administrations, the army, justice itself, and commerce, are intimately connected by ties of good fellowship, which people call _esprit de corps_. In such a case, madame, the parliament will never permit its chief to be dragged before a public tribunal; and never, even if he be dragged there by royal authority, never, I say, will he be condemned." "Well, Monsieur Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that." "I am aware of that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it consequently diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me. What good can a proof of crime be to me, without the possibility of obtaining a condemnation?" "Even if he be only suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of surintendant." "Is that all!" exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were momentarily lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance. "Ah, ah! Monsieur Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I did not think you were so impressionable. Very good; in that case, since you need more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of the matter at all." "Yes, madame, we will go on talking of it; only as the value of your commodities has decreased, you must lower your pretensions." "You are bargaining, then?"