he could boast in after-life that he owed the two great cardinals who
had governed France nothing that they could have refused. It was true
that Richelieu had left him his abbacy; but he could not refuse it to
one of De Grammont's rank. From Mazarin he had gained nothing except
what he had won at play.

After Mazarin's death the Chevalier intended to secure the favour of the
king, Louis XIV., to whom, as he rejoiced to find, court alone was now
to be paid. He had now somewhat rectified his distinctions between right
and wrong, and was resolved to have no regard for favour unless
supported by merit; he determined to make himself beloved by the
courtiers of Louis, and feared by the ministers; to dare to undertake
anything to do good, and to engage in nothing at the expense of
innocence. He still continued to be eminently successful in play, of
which he did not perceive the evil, nor allow the wickedness; but he was
unfortunate in love, in which he was equally unscrupulous and more rash
than at the gaming-table.

Among the maids of honour of Anne of Austria was a young lady named Anne
Lucie de la Mothe Houdancourt. Louis, though not long married, showed
some symptoms of admiration for this _débutante_ in the wicked ways of
the court.

Gay, radiant in the bloom of youth and innocence, the story of this
young girl presents an instance of the unhappiness which, without guilt,
the sins of others bring upon even the virtuous. The queen-dowager, Anne
of Austria, was living at St. Germains when Mademoiselle de la Mothe
Houdancourt was received into her household. The Duchess de Noailles, at
that time _Grande Maitresse_, exercised a vigilant and kindly rule over
the maids of honour; nevertheless, she could not prevent their being