D'Artagnan, the King Maker — page 174: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Rebellion Begets Rebels. 163 “You met no obstacles to your seeing the King of France?” ‘I saw him several times, truly. There were no diffi- culties, but the site of the interviews was not agreeable to a quiet man like me.” ‘Really, ill-chosen, you. say?” “King Louis was always out ‘hunting!’ The duke exchanged a glance signifying “I told you so!” with his lady. ‘And, somehow, I have an antipathy to dogs and hawks—they will snap at me!” “They know a good thing when they see it! But he listened to you in spite of that distraction?” “As well as he could, between firing of a gun on a rest, and fleshing, in bucks, the knife to which he seldom gave a rest!” “Since you bandy words, I foretell that he refused my offer, if I mounted the Portuguese throne, to so worry my neighbor that ne would not worry his next to the north, for a lifetime—at least, for my lifetime!” “Well, he neither refused nor accepted. He said that, as a wedded man, you would understand that he would not offend his queen by rending her brother’s and his brother’s (by court etiquette) kingdom asunder! He added that he could not see the event—he positively would not see it—but he would wink if your grace suc- cessfully attempted it! The gracious king would wink!” “Mere words—anything more, if not better?” “He said that he had killed a stag ‘of ten,’ and would “Have it mounted in silver and sent me on a platter of Palissy pottery 1 “How did your grace know that?” cried Palama, opening his eyes widely. The duke laughed toward his lady grimly. “T have an astrologist-soothsayer,”’ said he, “who looks into the To-Come deeper than that!’ “Further, he referred me 'to his First Minister.”’ “Ah, not like master, like man! Did the Duke of Richelieu hear you with as much courtesy as his king ?”’ “There was courtesy enough! Here was no longer a shredded conversation between antlers, tusks and fangs! CONAMIE DOOKS (€(0)