derive from the presence of her son, she dismissed the messenger as
calmly and as haughtily as though she had still been Regent of
the kingdom.

De Luynes and his adherents felt that hitherto nothing had been gained;
and they next determined to enlist the services of her confessor, the
Jesuit Suffren, who had, as they were aware, great influence over her
mind. Suffren declared himself ready to do all in his power to meet the
wishes of the King and his ministers, and to induce his royal penitent
to submit patiently to her captivity, should he be convinced that in so
acting he was fulfilling his duty towards both parties; and for the
purpose of a thorough understanding on this point, he suggested that an
accredited person should be named with whom he might enter into a
negotiation. De Luynes immediately appointed for this office another
Jesuit called Séguerand, and the two ecclesiastics accordingly met to
discuss the terms upon which Suffren was to offer the desired advice to
the Queen-mother; but he had no sooner ascertained that an unqualified
concession was demanded on her part without any reciprocal pledge upon
that of her enemies, than he conscientiously declined to give her any
such counsel, and the parties separated without coming to an
understanding.

This failure no sooner reached the ears of Arnoux, the King's confessor,
than he volunteered to renew the negotiation, under the impression that
he should be more successful than his colleague; an offer which was
eagerly accepted by De Luynes, who procured for him an autograph letter
from Louis XIII, which he was instructed to deliver personally into the
hands of Marie. In this letter the King stated that having been informed
of the wish of the Queen-mother to make a pilgrimage to some holy
places, he hastened to express his gratification at the intelligence;