At the very moment when the queen quitted the convent to goto the Palais Royal, a young man dismounted at the gate ofthis royal abode and announced to the guards that he hadsomething of importance to communicate to Cardinal Mazarin.Although the cardinal was often tormented by fear, he wasmore often in need of counsel and information, and he wastherefore sufficiently accessible. The true difficulty ofbeing admitted was not to be found at the first door, andeven the second was passed easily enough; but at the thirdwatched, besides the guard and the doorkeepers, the faithfulBernouin, a Cerberus whom no speech could soften, no wand,even of gold, could charm.

It was therefore at the third door that those who solicitedor were bidden to an audience underwent their formalinterrogatory.

The young man having left his horse tied to the gate in thecourt, mounted the great staircase and addressed the guardin the first chamber.

"Cardinal Mazarin?" said he.

"Pass on," replied the guard.

The cavalier entered the second hall, which was guarded bythe musketeers and doorkeepers.

"Have you a letter of audience?" asked a porter, advancingto the new arrival.

"I have one, but not one from Cardinal Mazarin."

"Enter, and ask for Monsieur Bernouin," said the porter,opening the door of the third room. Whether he only held hisusual post or whether it was by accident, Monsieur Bernouinwas found standing behind the door and must have heard allthat had passed.

"You seek me, sir," said he. "From whom may the letter beyou bear to his eminence?"

"From General Oliver Cromwell," said the new comer. "Be sogood as to mention this name to his eminence and to bring meword whether he will receive me - yes or no."

Saying which, he resumed the proud and sombre bearingpeculiar at that time to Puritans. Bernouin cast aninquisitorial glance at the person of the young man andentered the cabinet of the cardinal, to whom he transmittedthe messenger's words.

"A man bringing a letter from Oliver Cromwell?" saidMazarin. "And what kind of a man?"

"A genuine Englishman, your eminence. Hair sandy-red - morered than sandy; gray-blue eyes - more gray than blue; andfor the rest, stiff and proud."

"Let him give in his letter."

"His eminence asks for the letter," said Bernouin, passingback into the ante-chamber.

"His eminence cannot see the letter without the bearer ofit," replied the young man; "but to convince you that I amreally the bearer of a letter, see, here it is; and kindlyadd," continued he, "that I am not a simple messenger, butan envoy extraordinary."

Bernouin re-entered the cabinet, returning in a few seconds."Enter, sir," said he.

The young man appeared on the threshold of the minister'scloset, in one hand holding his hat, in the other theletter. Mazarin rose. "Have you, sir," asked he, "a letteraccrediting you to me?"

"There it is, my lord," said the young man.

Mazarin took the letter and read it thus:

"Mr. Mordaunt, one of my secretaries, will remit this letterof introduction to His Eminence, the Cardinal Mazarin, inParis. He is also the bearer of a second confidentialepistle for his eminence.

"Oliver Cromwell.

"Very well, Monsieur Mordaunt," said Mazarin, "give me thissecond letter and sit down."

The young man drew from his pocket a second letter,presented it to the cardinal, and took his seat. Thecardinal, however, did not unseal the letter at once, butcontinued to turn it again and again in his hand; then, inaccordance with his usual custom and judging from experiencethat few people could hide anything from him when he beganto question them, fixing his eyes upon them at the sametime, he thus addressed the messenger:

"You are very young, Monsieur Mordaunt, for this difficulttask of ambassador, in which the oldest diplomatists oftenfail."

"My lord, I am twenty-three years of age; but your eminenceis mistaken in saying that I am young. I am older than youreminence, although I possess not your wisdom. Years ofsuffering, in my opinion, count double, and I have sufferedfor twenty years."

"Ah, yes, I understand," said Mazarin; "want of fortune,perhaps. You are poor, are you not?" Then he added tohimself: "These English Revolutionists are all beggars andill-bred."

"My lord, I ought to have a fortune of six millions, but ithas been taken from me."

"You are not, then, a man of the people?" said Mazarin,astonished.

"If I bore my proper title I should be a lord. If I bore myname you would have heard one of the most illustrious namesof England."

"What is your name, then?" asked Mazarin.

"My name is Mordaunt," replied the young man, bowing.

Mazarin now understood that Cromwell's envoy desired toretain his incognito. He was silent for an instant, andduring that time he scanned the young man even moreattentively than he had done at first. The messenger wasunmoved.

"Devil take these Puritans," said Mazarin aside; "they arecarved from granite." Then he added aloud, "But you haverelations left you?"

"I have one remaining. Three times I presented myself to askhis support and three times he ordered his servants to turnme away."

"Oh, mon Dieu! my dear Mr. Mordaunt," said Mazarin, hopingby a display of affected pity to catch the young man in asnare, "how extremely your history interests me! You knownot, then, anything of your birth - you have never seenyour mother?"

"Yes, my lord; she came three times, whilst I was a child,to my nurse's house; I remember the last time she came aswell as if it were to-day."

"You have a good memory," said Mazarin.

"Oh! yes, my lord," said the young man, with such peculiaremphasis that the cardinal felt a shudder run through everyvein.

"And who brought you up?" he asked again.

"A French nurse, who sent me away when I was five years oldbecause no one paid her for me, telling me the name of arelation of whom she had heard my mother often speak."

"What became of you?"

"As I was weeping and begging on the high road, a ministerfrom Kingston took me in, instructed me in the Calvinisticfaith, taught me all he knew himself and aided me in myresearches after my family."

"And these researches?"

"Were fruitless; chance did everything."

"You discovered what had become of your mother?"

"I learned that she had been assassinated by my relation,aided by four friends, but I was already aware that I hadbeen robbed of my wealth and degraded from my nobility byKing Charles I."

"Oh! I now understand why you are in the service ofCromwell; you hate the king."

"Yes, my lord, I hate him!" said the young man.

Mazarin marked with surprise the diabolical expression withwhich the young man uttered these words. Just as,ordinarily, faces are colored by blood, his face seemed dyedby hatred and became livid.

"Your history is a terrible one, Mr. Mordaunt, and touchesme keenly; but happily for you, you serve an all-powerfulmaster; he ought to aid you in your search; we have so manymeans of gaining information."

"My lord, to a well-bred dog it is only necessary to showone end of a track; he is certain to reach the other."

"But this relation you mentioned - do you wish me to speakto him?" said Mazarin, who was anxious to make a friendabout Cromwell's person.

"Thanks, my lord, I will speak to him myself. He will treatme better the next time I see him."

"You have the means, then, of touching him?"

"I have the means of making myself feared."

Mazarin looked at the young man, but at the fire which shotfrom his glance he bent his head; then, embarrassed how tocontinue such a conversation, he opened Cromwell's letter.

The young man's eyes gradually resumed their dull and glassyappearance and he fell into a profound reverie. Afterreading the first lines of the letter Mazarin gave a sideglance at him to see if he was watching the expression ofhis face as he read. Observing his indifference, he shruggedhis shoulders, saying:

"Send on your business those who do theirs at the same time!Let us see what this letter contains."

We here present the letter verbatim:

"To his Eminence, Monseigneur le Cardinal Mazarini:

"I have wished, monseigneur, to learn your intentionsrelating to the existing state of affairs in England. Thetwo kingdoms are so near that France must be interested inour situation, as we are interested in that of France. TheEnglish are almost of one mind in contending against thetyranny of Charles and his adherents. Placed by popularconfidence at the head of that movement, I can appreciatebetter than any other its significance and its probableresults. I am at present in the midst of war, and am aboutto deliver a decisive battle against King Charles. I shallgain it, for the hope of the nation and the Spirit of theLord are with me. This battle won by me, the king will haveno further resources in England or in Scotland; and if he isnot captured or killed, he will endeavor to pass over intoFrance to recruit soldiers and to refurnish himself witharms and money. France has already received Queen Henrietta,and, unintentionally, doubtless, has maintained a centre ofinextinguishable civil war in my country. But MadameHenrietta is a daughter of France and was entitled to thehospitality of France. As to King Charles, the question mustbe viewed differently; in receiving and aiding him, Francewill censure the acts of the English nation, and thus soessentially harm England, and especially the well-being ofthe government, that such a proceeding will be equivalent topronounced hostilities."

At this moment Mazarin became very uneasy at the turn whichthe letter was taking and paused to glance under his eyes atthe young man. The latter continued in thought. Mazarinresumed his reading:

"It is important, therefore, monseigneur, that I should beinformed as to the intentions of France. The interests ofthat kingdom and those of England, though taking now diversedirections, are very nearly the same. England needstranquillity at home, in order to consummate the expulsionof her king; France needs tranquillity to establish on solidfoundations the throne of her young monarch. You need, asmuch as we do, that interior condition of repose which,thanks to the energy of our government, we are about toattain.

"Your quarrels with the parliament, your noisy dissensionswith the princes, who fight for you to-day and to-morrowwill fight against you, the popular following directed bythe coadjutor, President Blancmesnil, and CouncillorBroussel - all that disorder, in short, which pervades theseveral departments of the state, must lead you to view withuneasiness the possibility of a foreign war; for in thatevent England, exalted by the enthusiasm of new ideas, willally herself with Spain, already seeking that alliance. Ihave therefore believed, monseigneur, knowing your prudenceand your personal relation to the events of the presenttime, that you will choose to hold your forces concentratedin the interior of the French kingdom and leave to her ownthe new government of England. That neutrality consistssimply in excluding King Charles from the territory ofFrance and in refraining from helping him - a stranger toyour country - with arms, with money or with troops.

"My letter is private and confidential, and for that reasonI send it to you by a man who shares my most intimatecounsels. It anticipates, through a sentiment which youreminence will appreciate, measures to be taken after theevents. Oliver Cromwell considered it more expedient todeclare himself to a mind as intelligent as Mazarin's thanto a queen admirable for firmness, without doubt, but toomuch guided by vain prejudices of birth and of divine right.

"Farewell, monseigneur; should I not receive a reply in thespace of fifteen days, I shall presume my letter will havemiscarried.

"Oliver Cromwell."

"Mr. Mordaunt," said the cardinal, raising his voice, as ifto arouse the dreamer, "my reply to this letter will be moresatisfactory to General Cromwell if I am convinced that allare ignorant of my having given one; go, therefore, andawait it at Boulogne-sur-Mer, and promise me to set outto-morrow morning."

"I promise, my lord," replied Mordaunt; "but how many daysdoes your eminence expect me to await your reply?"

"If you do not receive it in ten days you can leave."

Mordaunt bowed.

"That is not all, sir," continued Mazarin; "your privateadventures have touched me to the quick; besides, the letterfrom Mr. Cromwell makes you an important person asambassador; come, tell me, what can I do for you?"

Mordaunt reflected a moment and, after some hesitation, wasabout to speak, when Bernouin entered hastily and bendingdown to the ear of the cardinal, whispered:

"My lord, the Queen Henrietta Maria, accompanied by anEnglish noble, is entering the Palais Royal at this moment."

Mazarin made a bound from his chair, which did not escapethe attention of the young man and suppressed the confidencehe was about to make.

"Sir," said the cardinal, "you have heard me? I fix onBoulogne because I presume that every town in France isindifferent to you; if you prefer another, name it; but youcan easily conceive that, surrounded as I am by influences Ican only muzzle by discretion, I desire your presence inParis to be unknown."

"I go, sir," said Mordaunt, advancing a few steps to thedoor by which he had entered.

"No, not that way, I beg, sir," quickly exclaimed thecardinal, "be so good as to pass by yonder gallery, by whichyou can regain the hall. I do not wish you to be seenleaving; our interview must be kept secret."

Mordaunt followed Bernouin, who led him through the adjacentchamber and left him with a doorkeeper, showing him the wayout.