Here was the problem. Barkilphedro set himself to solve it. This problem solved, he might go further.
Divers chances served Barkilphedro—his tenacity at the watch above all.
Anne was, on her husband's side, slightly related to the new Queen of Prussia, wife of the king with the hundred chamberlains. She had her portrait painted on enamel, after the process of Turquet of Mayerne. This Queen of Prussia had also a younger illegitimate sister, the Baroness Drika.
One day, in the presence of Barkilphedro, Anne asked the Russian ambassador some question about this Drika.
"They say she is rich?"
"Very rich."
"She has palaces?"
"More magnificent than those of her sister, the queen."
"Whom will she marry?"
"A great lord, the Count Gormo."