Anne of Austria, whom nothing at that moment occupied except the occasional cruel throbbings in her bosom, looked pleased and delighted, and although she perfectly realized the king's impatience, tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly resuming the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his own reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment.

Everything seemed to combine--not alone the little teasing attentions of the queen, but also the queen-mother's interruptions--to make the king's position almost insupportable; for he knew not how to control the restless longings of his heart.

At first, he complained of the heat--a complaint merely preliminary to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent Maria Theresa guessing his real object.

Understanding the king's remark literally, she began to fan him with her ostrich plumes.

But the heat passed away, and the king then complained of cramps and stiffness in his legs, and as the carriages at that moment stopped to change horses, the queen said:--"Shall I get out with you?
I too feel tired of sitting.