'"
The queen was no longer able to master her deep emotion. She who had
had the courage to display a proud and defiant mien to her enemies
and assailants, could not conceal the intensity of her feeling when
hearing words of such devotion, and uttered a cry, then choked with
emotion, and at length burst into a torrent of tears. Equally
astonished and ashamed, she covered her face with her hands, but the
tears gushed out between her white tapering fingers, and would not
be withheld. They had been so long repressed behind those proud
eyelids, that now, despite the queen's will, they forced their way
with double power and intensity.
But only for a moment did the proud-spirited queen allow herself to
be overcome by the gentle and deeply-moved woman; she quickly
collected herself and raised her head.
"I thank you, sir, I thank you," she said, breathing more freely,
"you have done me good, and these tears, though not the first which
grief and anger have extorted, are the first for a long time which
have sprung from what is almost joy. Who knows whether I shall ever
be able to shed such tears again! And who knows," she continued,
with a deep sigh, "whether I do not owe these tears more to your
wish to do me good, than to true and real gains? I bethink me now--
you say all good citizens of Paris repeat my words, all the well-
disposed are satisfied with my decision.
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