herself in those disastrous days on the death of her father ii the rebellion of was so unexpected that she had been forced to fly had she then gained a few days during which she could have rallied her she would without doubt have remained queen of after such a crushing blow as the loss of her kingdom many expected that she would make no attempt to regain her throne but they did not know the imperious spirit of the woman in england she had incessantly for the of but finding him too firmly established to to she had accepted s offer to replace her on the throne and had risked her personal safety in the desperate attempt owing to the treachery of the conspiracy had proved and by the merest miracle she escaped from the grasp of her enemies still she used as the instrument of a new attempt and was now in the capital itself making one final effort to regain her cruel she was in many ways in london in all things but no one could fail to admire her spirit her genius for and her powers of endurance after suffering all these crushing here she was as hopeful as ever over a council of her few remaining followers many of her had perished in the fight at villa and the paradise her right hand was now in prison and powerless to help her was too honest for not clever enough so she had to manage all things with the assistance of the cardinal indeed had it not been for that ingenious this second attempt would also have failed in spite of her efforts to bend circumstances to her will however was a tower of strength and controlled the of the provinces the princess having been absent for nearly two years from was but a shadow to many of the and they looked to for their instructions the cardinal loved to control everything in this manner his palace was the centre of the web whither all threads from all parts of messengers in the guise of were incessantly arriving they came to the palace for and having thus escaped the vigilance of method there delivered their messages to the car he them to and together they conferred over matters important to the cause the cardinal was very anxious for the restoration of he admired the brilliant intellect of yet at the same time foresaw clearly that in down with the republic power she would not be an easy person with whom to deal the late king had been a mere in the hands of the church but was as as the cardinal himself and obstinate beyond words in fact it seemed to as though the struggle between and would be succeeded by a contest between church and state however he had committed himself too far to draw back and besides despite s inclinations could do more with a queen than with a president so he pushed on matters as rapidly as possible now the crisis was approaching and this council was being held in the chamber to receive who was expected to make his appearance shortly there were about a dozen men present including many of the leading nobility of principally from the provinces as the citizens of inclined more to the republic in truth from a point of view it would have been wiser to have raised the royal standard in the provinces but in this instance the capital offered particular advantages for securing so had decided to strike her last blow for the throne in the very jaws of danger your eminence is certain that will come asked with an anxious glance at the clock i have no doubts about it your majesty replied the cardinal probably he is waiting now but i do not wish to introduce him here until the council has fully decided what is to be done in london the matter is decided already exclaimed the princess this man is to be she added turning to you have the gold pointed to a large box at the end of the room beside which stood it is there madame four hundred thousand in gold excellent this time we will not fail once we secure and my return to the throne can be proclaimed to morrow at the cathedral said the with a smile of satisfaction i have taken care that all those devoted to your majesty will be there alas there are many dead at villa who would have been there said with a touch of regret for those who had fallen in her but this is not the time to sorrow for their fate when i have regained my and punished my enemies then will i raise a monument to those who have died for their queen there was a burst of applause from those present at the expression of this noble sentiment introduced by the princess all present save the cardinal and believed that she meant what she said but they knew it was merely clap trap to please her the majority present felt that she was indeed a sovereign who could thus with her subjects but in after years they had reason to change their opinion was pleased at the sensation produced by her speech and would h ve down with the republic gone on speaking but at that moment the electric bell rang sharply said the cardinal in a joyous tone i will go and prepare him to meet this honorable company he left the room with his usual dignified walk while those behind remained in a state of great anxiety everything turned on and if he declined to be bought there would be a repetition of the scenes at the villa there was no escape this time as well knew and sitting back in her chair with an artificial smile on her lips she passed through agonies during the absence of the it was the most critical 