"I have; he is safe now in prison."
"Very good. And now, Monsieur Le Commandant, if you will have the kindness to send me to my room—"
"Monsieur Le Commandant, you reign here now," said the other. "My authority is over since you have come, and you have only to give your orders."
"At any rate, mon ami, you must remain in power till I get some rest and sleep," said Cazeneau.
Rest, food, and, above all, a good night's sleep, had a very favorable effect upon Cazeneau, and on the following morning, when the commandant waited on him, he congratulated him on the improvement in his appearance. Cazeneau acknowledged that he felt better, and made very pointed inquiries about Mimi, which led to the recital of the circumstances of Claude's arrest in Mimi's presence. Whatever impression this may have made upon the hearer, he did not show it, but preserved an unchanged demeanor.
A conversation of a general nature now followed, turning chiefly upon affairs in France.
"You had a long voyage," remarked the commandant.
"Yes; and an unpleasant one. We left in March, but it seems longer than that; for it was in February that I left Versailles, only a little while after the death of his eminence."
"I fancy there will be a great change now in the policy of the government."
"O, of course. The peace policy is over. War with England must be. The king professes now to do like his predecessor, and govern without a minister; but we all know what that means. To do without a minister is one thing for Louis Quatorze, but another thing altogether for Louis Quinze. The Duchesse de Chateauroux will be minister—for the present. Then we have D'Aguesseau, D'Argenson, and Maurepas. O, there'll be war at once. I dare say it has already been declared. At any rate, it's best to act on that principle."