The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

CHAP ER XII

The intruder and his errand The astonishment of the conspira-
tors is he ern described. with the other se sat tons they expe.
rienced. Before the chapter closes im..ortant events wi Ibe
narrated.
IT would be quite impossible adequately to convey to
the mind of t:ie reader, by language only, the variety of
expression that flitted across the faces of the conspira-
tors as they stood in that spacious chamber. The bene-
diction " Peace be with you," appeared to produce any-
thing but the effect intended, for peace was far from the
breasts of all present. Every eye involuntarily turned
towards the side of the chamber a hence the voice was
heard, and an indefinable appearance of terror might have
might have been noticed upon every cou tenance. The
Queen herself, in spite of her usual presence of mind, and
in spite of the interest the revelations of .De Croissi was

exciting, made a sign for him to him to be silent, and
quickly arose from her seat. The wainscot opened, and
a figure appeared, which on stepping forward was imme-
diately recognised. It was the Coadjut"r.
He no longer wore the costume of a cavalier, i❑ which
be had appeared when Fabien first met him. His pre-
sent dress seemed more suitable to him. He was attired
in his ecclesiastical robes, and walked forward with a
stately air, bestowing his benediction with a peculiarly
graceful manner. His violet robe appeared to elevate
his naturally sort stature, and hide those misshapen legs
which were many a time the subject of jest amongst the
wits and wags about the court. But he had preserved
beneath his robes that appearance of penetration and of
malice—that sneering, mocking smile, which were the
true indices of his character. A singular motion of the
eye, which proceed d from a weak and overworked sight,
at all times gave his face a decisive and penetrating as-
pect ; but when he entered the oratory, and cast around
him an inquisitive glance, he seemed greatly to embar-
rass the courtiers, who endeavoured to with raw from his
observation.

Some turned away as if wishful not to be seen, others
blushed deeply, as though they were caught in the act of
committing a bad action, all giving unequivocal proofs of
disquietude and confusion.

These indications. of restlessness did not escape the eye
of Gondi, who smiled satirically, but dissimulating his
contempt for the group before him, .aluted the Queen
with all the forms and outward show of the most profound
respect.

Anne of Austria, in spite of her consummate art in
hiding her emotions, could not restrain from testifying
80111 e surprise._

" M. le Coadjutor is always the most welcome amongst
us," said she, with somewhat of forced gaiety, " but I
must confess that I was far from expecting a visit from
him at this present moment."
" What is there in my presence that should astonish
your Majesty ?" asked the Coadjutor, with an air of per-
fect serenity and calmness. "Is it not the hour when
your Majesty is pleased to receive your most hum-
ble servant whenever he desires to consult upon matters
of state ?"
" True," replied the Regent; " but I did not expect
to night that —"
" This night, as at all other times when your Majesty
does me the honour to grant ine an audience, I presented
myself at the wicket of the ('loister of St. Honore. Ga•
hour', your groom in waiting, attended me as usual, and
it is by some mistake perhaps, which I sincerely deplore
—since it has given your• grace offence—that he has in-
troduced me into your oratory, where I will admit I did
not anticipate the pleasure of meeting so goodly and nu-
merous a company. I humbly ask your grace's pardon
if there is any thing in my presence that displeases you,
but I hope the importance of the news I bring will prove
at► apology for my. intrusion."
" Do you bring me important news," said the Queen,
fixing upon him a searching look ; " in that case follow
me into a neighbouring closet."
" I bow to your Majesty's commands at all times ;
but I may as well remark that there is no necessity to
hide from these gentlemen an event which to-morrow
morning will be known throughout Par's ; especially as," •
continued he, smiling in his peculiar way, " if I do not
deceive myself, the news in my possession touches nearly
the motives which have assembled so many noble perso-
nages around your Majesty."...
. .

The discomfort of the nobles was not in the least
abated by this insinuation : the Queen herself was even
slightly alarmed.
" 1 cannot understand, Monsieur le Coadjutor," she
said, " that the secret deliberati, n of the officers of our
council can have come to your knowledge, and been re-
presented in the light of treason ?"
De Gondi was in no wise disturbed at this observation,
but replied—

" Your Majesty I hope will pardon me for the obser-
vation I am about to make," said the Coadjutor, with
something like an air of jocularity ; " but is it the cus-
tom to admit into your Majesty councils, in the presence
of your secretaries, and the keeper of the seals—one of
your maids of honour, and a young cavalier without dis-
tinction or any appointment at court ?"
As the Queen's embarassment appeared to increase,
he continued more seriously, " Mar ame, 1 am well ac-
quainted with the nature of the enterprise %hich has ori-
nated this meeting, and moreover I do not approve of it
and I refused to take any part in it when first it was
spoken of. I should not, however, have thought of re-
vealing it, although I do not believe the end wished to be
gained would have been attained by its execution. It was
sufficient for me to know that it met with your Majesty's
concurrence and approval. If then I have appeared here,
contrary to etiquette, in the midst of your deliberations,
unannounced, it is because the event that I have to com-
municate is of that nature that it will altogether anni-
hilate the project that has been here discussed. In short,
the Prince has been this evening informed of what is go-
ing forward, and the attempt that is about to be made on
his life, and he has quitted Paris with his brothers, and
the noblemen in his suite."

If a thunderbolt had fallen in the midst of the assem-
bly, it could not have produced upon the courtiers a mo-e
startling effect, than the intelligence of Conde's depar-
ture. Every one believed that he himself would be the
especial object of the Prince's anger. The knowledge
they possessed of the termination of similar intrigues,
made them at once conclude that sooner or later they
would be sacrificed to the merciless revenge of him they
would have destroyed. They stood perplexed and spirit-
less, without daring even at first to give vent to their
mutual fears. De Croissi especially, who had been from
the first one of the active movers in the scheme, and
whose t-eachery towards the Prince aggravated, if any-
thing, his position—believed himself lost without redemp-
tion, and he cast around him a look of despair, as if to
search tor some one to drag v.•ith him in his fall. Fabien
and Elizabeth alone rejoiced at an event which, in ren-
dering the plot impossible to be executed, appeared to
them at once as effecting the salvation of the life of one
the most remarkable men of his time

The Queen seemed lost in reflection, as if she care-
fully weighed in her mind, whether this event would prove
fatal or not to her interests.

" He has then departed ? he has then given place to
me," said she, after some minutes thougEt, and with an
air of satisfied pride : " the great Conde, as they persist
in calling him, has fled before a woman. How delighted
the Cardinal will be !"

Perceiving that her words were eagerly listened to,
she turned towards Paul de Gondi, and enquired with an
air of interest—

" There is much good and much evil in what you tell
me, sir ;_ hut since you have been so well and so quickly
informed of the truth, can you not tell me where the
Prince has retired ? Without doubt he has departed for
Guyenne to commence a civil war ?"
" 1 hope, madam, that the state will not suffer such
cruel extremities. If I can believe certain reports that
have reached me, M. le Prince has only gone to his cha-
teau of Saint Maur near Paris, and it is his intention day
by day to attend Parliament with a sufficient escort, where
he is determined to seek venoance against his enemies."
The mischievous prelate accompanied these words
with that sly twitching of his eyes, of which we have
spokes, and which indicating at once that what he had
said was intended to augment the disquietude of the con-
ispirato, s. Their countenances seemed so chapfa.llen that
the Queen appeared to take pity upon their sufferings.
" My faithful adherents need not unnecessarily alarm
themselves," said she, in a cold and constrained voice,
which gave the lie to her words; " it is possible that,
compelled by necessity, I can come to some arrange-
ment with the rebel Prince ; but I am not so weak as to
sacrifice my friends—they may tear my heart by sepa-
rating me from my dear Cardinal—but," continued the
Queen, " before we debate upon the probable result of
this event, it would be as well to know who has revealed
the affair to the Prince ; and I command Mons. le Co-
adjutor to state from whom lie obtained his informa-
tion ?"
Paul de Gondi replied, seemingly well considering
every word—
" Madame, before any thing else is said, I think it 13
my duty to let you know a fact that will diminish that
tender solicitude which your Majesty I know entertains
for your faithful councillors, and which perhaps," added
he, with an ironical gravity, " will contribute somewhat
to their comfort and peace of mind. It is that the Prince,
although well informed as to the plot generally, does not
know the name of a single person enleagued against him;
and the suspicions which he has conceived will not be
sufficient to furnish him with foundations on which to rest
a solemn accusation before the Parliament."
This avowal which the mischievous ecclesiastic doled
out so tardily, and which he seemed delighted to with-
hold as long as possible, appeared at once to impart con-
fidence to the courtiers—they breathed again freely, and
held up their heads in the pride of security--their eyes
again sparkled, while their speech returned with the
certainty that the danger was not so great as they had
imagined."
" If that is the case, sir," said De Croissi, " in an

animated tone, " how is it that the Prince has been in-
formed of our project only in part? He must have em-
p oved some one to penetrate into her Majesty's secrets."
Skilful as was the Coadjutor, and ready as he was at
all times in reply, this suddenly-put question appeared to
embarrass him not a little. He hesitated. De Croissi, who
at once saw the advantage he had obtained, was tempted
to gain his point by a single blow.
" M adame," said he, with firmness ; " come what
will—whatever be my lot—l will yet give your Majesty
a proof of my zeal and devotion. M. le Coadjutor avows
himself that he has been for some time acquainted with
the whole truth, and I must now let your Majesty know
from whom he obtains all the secret projects rf the court,
thus enabling him either to rpveal them or to render them
abortive. Will your Majesty be pleased to recollect
what I was about to say at the moment M. le Coadjutor
entered the oratory. Oh ! madame, you have warmed a
serpent at your noble heart, and that maiden in whom
you have placed so much confidence"—
Anne of Austria cast a wrathful look upon Elizabeth,
who trembled with fear.
" Speak, sir, speak- out; explain yourself," said she,
scarcely able to restrain her rising passion.
" Well, Madame, do you not recollect who it was that
placed Mlle. de Mon tglat near your Majesty ?"
"Certainly, it was the Duchess de Chevreuse ; what
then ?"

"Madame and Mlle. de Chevreuse," continued Croissi,
pointing ironically to Paul de Gondi, " are, as is well
known to all Paris, the dearest friends of Mons. le Co-
adjutor, and as Madame de Chevreuse is the protectress
of Mlle. de Montglat"—
He stopped. The Regent stamped her foot with rage.
" Speak out, sir—explain—l command you."
Well, madame, I have no hesitation in declarir.g to
your Majesty, that Mlle. de Montglat has betrayed to
the Duchess de Chevreuse all your Majesty's secrets
that she could contrive to obtain possession of, while
Madame de Chevreuse, on her part, details them to M. le
Coadjutor. A conversation which I accidentally heard
between the Countess de Montglat and the Duchess left
me no doubt on the subject, and it is the knowledge of
this mystery that has given me so much authority over
Mlle. de Montglat ; and which I fully hoped would have
served us in the matter that we had in hand —this enter-
prise of Mons. D'Hocquincourt. Your Majesty can now
account for the far-sightedness of Mons. le Coadjutor."
The Regent grew livid with rage.

(To be continued.)

HINTS FOR HUNDREDS.—No. I.
(For the Liverpool Standard.)

" Esti auton kinaito? " —DEmosTusNas.

"ANY THING NEW?"
(Concluded from our last.)

But in the resolution I had formed, of secluding my-
self in the country, and avoiding the news-craving mon-
gers, I could not altogether escape from my enemy. For
we had the annoyance brought to our fire-side, and our
domestic and social enjoyments were not permitted to be
exempt from the tax that was to be imposed upon them,
and which served to warn us that there can be no happi.
ness here without some alloy, no sweets without some
bitter ingredients mingled in our cup of joy. For the first
salutation at the breakfast table, no matter how addressed,
or how irrelevant was the reply, was sure to enunciated by
my brother, after the following manner—" You have been
long in dressing, Charles," says his spouse; " tea or cof-
fee, dear?" " Anything new, love, this morning ?" to
which sensible enquiry no answer is given, but in the
shape of a cup of coffee. " Ham, or tongue? Charley,"
I would then ask. " How are you, Toni ? what have you
new ?" to which I replied with slices of tongue and ham,
dreading to ask him any more questions, and then we
waited in silence, until he chose to broach some subject,
and chatted gaily and pleasantly, as though we had never
heard the annoying enquiry. New eggs I never rturst
name. But then we had the same ordeal to go through
at dinner, after dinner, on awakening from his nap ; at
tea, and on all occasions, when any thing at any of these
meals were profferred to him, the answer was invariably
prefaced by the enquiry from you, if you had any thing, if
there was any thing—new. Yet let it be remarked that
this is not a characteristic of my brother, only, for I have
remarked is as existing in all the men of his acquaintance,
and oft have I blushed. and felt indignant and ashamed,
when, in his drawing-room, I have noticed a male visitor
taking his se-it at the side of a lady, (and if a young lady
and a stranger, then has my sympathy been more strongly
excited)—and the first remark that such visitor has made,
has been, " Well, Miss Emma, what have you new, this
evening ?" to which the lady could not know how to reply,
hut, only by her blushes, which strongly indicated how
she estimated a❑ enquiry, which she could not but regard
as most rude and offensive. But I have also seen this in-
quiry answered by a smile, and a direction of the eyes to
the ample foldings of a new rich satin dress ; and then, all
parties seemed mutually to understand each other; and
" Oh, yes, I see, you've got a new dress—beautiful, I ad-
mire it much," &c., was the reply. But then this must
have been addressed to, and answered by, one familiar to
such enquiries, and would be lightly regarded ; and had
and intolerable as this " ruling passion" is, when exhi-
bited in the streets, among men, and " where merchants
most do congre:ate," I contend it is intolerable, offen-
sive, and insulting, when introduced into the drawing
room, and made in the presence of, and addressed to,
ladies. _ _ _

Dr. Johnson used to say that none but a tool or an
idiot would tell you, if you had the means of judging
yourself, that the day was " hot " or " cold," the weather
" fine" or otherwise ; and that this stupid mode of salu-
tation, was only applicable to, or could with propriety be
used by, the colliers, or miners, who were immured under
ground six days of the week, arid on the seventh, only,
could have access to the open air, and witness the light
and feel the genial warmth of the sun. What would have
been the ,age's feelings, had he visited Liverpool, at the
present day—l trove it would not have been long ere some
one would have felt the weight of his sturdy arm, and
thus found any appropriate answer to their enquiry for
" something new.
In a small watering-place in the North-Riding of York-
shire, where I remember accompanying my father many
years ago, the usual salutation was, " Any thing fresh,
this morning ?" and the answer generally given, as the
case might be, was, " No, sir; the cobles have not yet
got in ; " or, " Yes, sir ; the cobles have just got in, and
there's plenty of fresh cod, haddocks, and ling, some fine
lobsters, and some nice fresh crabs." Now, as we had
visited this place for the only purposes of obtainingfresh
sea-breezes and eating fresh fish, the question was a sen-
sible one, and the answer appropriate, rational, and to
the point.
I must not omit to name one little event, which did
occur during my visit to Liverpool, and which gave me
the most heartfelt pleasure, and on which I gloated with
savage joy, and which served me often in good need as a
never-failing answer to satisfy my brother's inquiry for
"something new." It was this. Having made an even-
ing call on a neighbour. we were ushered into his dining.
room, and there found the old gentleman snugly cushioned
in his leather chair, his lady at the table, with her daugh-
ter, profitably, I dare say, employed, as all ladies deem
themselves to be, when piles of worsted of various colours
are heaped around them. After making our respects to
the ladies, my brother turned to the old gentleman, and.
as usual, accosted him with, "Well, sir, whit have you
got new to-day ? " " Oh, nothing—l think." " La!
papa, how can you say so? You've got some new wine,
to-day." " Yes, Charlotte dear," replied mamma, " you
are right. We have got some new—quite new wine, sir ;"
and, turning to me, "Do you like new w ne, sir? New
wine, now, to you, will be quite a treat; you'll get no
new wine in India, you know; you can't. Ring the bell,
Charlotte." The bell was rung. " John, bring in a
bottle of the new wine; you shall have some of our new
wine." I replied, " New wine does not agree with me.
lam an invalid, you know, my dear madam. lam much
obliged to you, but—my brother do justice to your
kindness, as he is always inquiring for, and- is very fond
of. " something new." " Is he ? Then, here it is. No
excuse; sit down; help yourself; don't spare it; we 'ye
plenty more in the cellar • I shall be offended if you do."
Oh ! the look that was then given me by my poor bro-
ther, who is fastidious to a fault about his wines! How
I did enjoy his misery ! He had got at last something
" new ,
—" quite new" ; and, in spi e of his assertion
that one glass was quite sufficient, I whispered to the
lady, and assured her that he was only saying so from
politeness, and from a desire to spare her new" wine.
At this she arose, and, with redoubled energy, pressed,
filled and filled, again and again, his glass. I assured her
we had no engagement, and that we had come with the
intention of spending the evening with them ; and that,
in order to allow my brother to enjoy what I knew he
relished so much, if she would permit me I would take a
glass of brandy, with some of their nice cold water, and
thus my brother need not hurry himself on my account.
" Excellent, captain! bow kind and considerate of you!
friendly, very friendly ; yes, indeed it is. Charlotte, the
best old brandy, dear. There, now, don't hurry." No,
indeed I did not. I bad got him on the hook, the tenter-
hooks, at last; and never was a poor devil of a fish so
played with before. Oh ! how he did storm and sputter
and swear, when he got out of the house at last, and
vowed he would never forgive or forget the trick I had
played upon him*; and I took care he did not forget it,
for whenever he afterwards was wont to ask if I had
" any thing new," I invariably replied that / had not,
but Charlotte hid ; and this was quite sufficient to bring
him to a rational mode of converse.
Now this characteristic, this trait, this ruling passion
of your townsmen, which I have thus endeavoured to il-
lustrate, will, I humbly opine, as I said before, serve as
the key to unlock the mystery which for some time ren-
dered it serdifficult for me and others to account for the
want of uniformity, the studied irregularity, in the style
and the materials of the " better huuses in your town.
For who, of those who are thus so incessantly hunting
after, arid so cravingly desiring for, " something new,'
would he satisfied to have his house to be exactly like that
of his neighbours? No ; in that there would be nothing
" new." Is his neighbour's house of stone, then " Mine
must be of brick. I'll have something new." Is his
cemented and painted white, " I'll have mine painted
yellow." " Who would buy that piece of ground? It
has been to be let' to my knowledge for this last twelve
months. I'll have a piece fifteen or twenty yards further
along—a new piece of ground." Then the architect is
urged for a design " something new"; the founder for a
new pattern for the iron railing ; the painter for new imi-
tations of oak, mahogany, or ash : and, as each is paid
for his fancy designs, they make it their business to fur-
nish what is required at the pecuniary expense of their
employers, though at the expense of the professional cre-
dit, taste, and skill of the employed.
Do you, Mr. Editor, think this an exaggerated descrip-
tion of an everyday occurrence—the result merely of a