"Never was punishment more condign! The wily prelate! He schemed to supplant us in our amorous manoeuvres! Why, the fellow plotted the marriage of your grandson to the Spanish princess, in order to snatch him from the voluptuous life in which we kept him, and thereby withdraw him from your domination! And what happened to the tonsured schemer? The current of the Chalaronne washed his corpse down the stream, while the Spanish woman, upon whom he reckoned in order to evict you and, by means of her, to rule Thierry and through Thierry Burgundy, that Spanish woman has been repudiated by your grandson, she went back to her own country only six months after her wedding, and we have appropriated her dower. Finally, Thierry died this year of a dysentery," added the hag with a horrid smile, "and so you now are absolute mistress and sovereign Queen of this country of Burgundy, seeing that Sigebert, the eldest son of Thierry, your great-grandson, is now only eleven years old. We must prevent these kinglets from dying out, else Fredegonde's surviving son would fall heir to their kingdoms. All that is needed is that they vegetate, in order that you may reign in their stead. Well, madam, they vegetate. But all this takes us far away from the young female slave whom you wish to buy from Samuel."
"On the contrary, Chrotechilde, the review leads us directly to the slave."
"In what manner?"
"There can no longer be any doubt about it; age is softening your brains; formerly so quick to grasp my purposes, it is now fully a quarter of an hour that you have been giving me distressful proofs of your waning intellect."
"I, madam?"
"Yes; in former days, instead of asking me what I intended doing with one of Samuel's slaves, you would have guessed on the spot. I have been able to convince myself at leisure of the senility of your understanding—it is sad, Chrotechilde."
"As sad to me as to you, madam. But deign to explain yourself, I pray you. For me to hear is to obey."
"What! Dullard! You know that I have the guardianship of my great-grandchildren, and yet you stupidly ask me what I propose to do with one of the two pretty slaves! Do you now understand?"
"Oh! Yes! I now begin to understand, madam; but yet your reproaches were unmerited. You forget that Sigebert is not yet eleven."
"All the better! The debauch will begin so much earlier."