The name of Anne of Austria was on the lips of many; but, with all the license of the time, they dared not give utterance to it. And, besides, as the last speaker finished, a yell broke forth that drowned every other sound; and showed by its force, which partook almost of ferocity, in what manner the memory of the Cardinal was yet held. The instant comparative silence was obtained a fellow sung, from a popular satire upon the late prime minister—
‘He trick’d the vengeance of the Fronde,—
All in the world, and those beyond.
A bas! à bas le Cardinal!
He trick’d the headsman by his death—
The devil, by his latest breath,
Who for his perjured soul did call,
But found that he had none at all,
A bas! à bas le Cardinal!’
The throng chorused the last words with great emphasis; and then in a few minutes were once more tranquil. The charged cloud had got rid of its thunder, and the storm abated.
The physician, who was upon the platform, took little notice of the clamour. At its commencement, he glared round upon the assembly for a few seconds, and then once more bent his eyes upon the table before him. His assistant continued, as soon as he could make himself audible—
‘Ohé! masters! a philtre for your eyes that will make them work upon others at a distance. Here is one that will infect the spirit of the other with sickness at heart; here is a second that will instil love also by the glance of the eye that is washed with it.’
They were little phials containing a small quantity of coloured fluid. The price was small, and they were eagerly purchased by the multitude. But for every one of the second, they purchased a dozen of the first.
‘Art thou sure of its operation?’ asked a looker-on.
‘Glances of love and malice shoot subtly,’ replied the fool; ‘and my master can draw subtle spirits from simple things that shall work upon each other at some distance. But your own spirits, with the aid of this philtre, are more subtle than they.’
‘A proof! a proof!’ cried a young man at the extremity of the carrefour.
‘The philtre is not for such as you,’ cried the mountebank. ‘You have youth, and a well-favoured aspect; you have a strong arm, a gay coat, and a trusty rapier. What would man require more?’