“Signore,” he replied vehemently to Bassompierre, who vainly attempted to console him, “I am lost; Signore, I am ruined; Signore, I am miserable.  I regret my daughter, and shall do so while I live; but I could support this affliction did I not see before me the utter ruin of myself, my wife, my son, and my whole house, in the obstinacy of Leonora.  Were you not aware of my whole history I should perhaps be less frank, but you know that when I arrived in France, far from owning a single sou, my debts amounted to eight hundred crowns; now we possess more than a million in money, with landed property and houses in France, three hundred thousand crowns at Florence, and a similar sum in Rome.  I do not speak of the fortune accumulated by my wife; but surely we may be satisfied to exist for the remainder of our lives upon the proceeds of our past favour.  Had you not been well informed as to my previous life I might seek to disguise it from you, but you cannot have forgotten that you saw me at Florence steeped in debauchery, frequently in prison, more than once in exile, generally without resources, and continually lost in disorder and excess.  Here, on the contrary, I have acquired alike honour, wealth, and favour, and I would fain disappoint my enemies by leaving the country without disgrace; but the Marechale is impracticable; and were it not that I should be guilty of ingratitude in separating my fortunes from those of a woman to whom I owe all that I possess, I would forthwith leave the country and secure my own safety and that of my son.” [242]

The allusion made by Concini to the growing ambition of the Prince de Conde was unfortunately not destitute of foundation; and suspicions were rapidly gaining ground that he meditated nothing less than a transfer of the crown of France to his own brow, on the pretext that the marriage of Henri IV with the Tuscan Princess was invalid, his former wife being still alive, and his hand, moreover, solemnly pledged to the Marquise de Verneuil.  On more than one occasion, when he had feasted his friends, their glasses had been emptied amid cries of Barre a bas; a toast which was interpreted as intended to signify the suppression of the bar-sinister which the shield of Conde bore between its three fleurs-de-lis.[243] Neither Sully, who had recently returned to Court, nor the Duc de Guise could be induced to join in so criminal a faction; and the former had no sooner been informed of the dangerous position of the King than, dissatisfied as he was with the treatment which he had personally received, he demanded an audience of the young sovereign and his mother, in order to warn them of their peril.  In vain, however, did Marie, touched by this proof of loyal devotedness, urge him to suggest a remedy.

“I am no longer in office, Madame,” he replied proudly; “and you have your chosen counsellors about you.  I have done my duty, and leave it to others to do theirs.”

He then made his parting obeisance, and had already reached the door of the apartment, leaving the Queen-mother in a state of agitation and alarm which she made no effort to disguise, when, suddenly pausing upon the threshold, he once more turned towards her, saying impressively: