Vicomte De Bragelonne Chapter X - The Arithmetic of M. de Mazarin

In which the young king visits Cardinal Mazarin in his chamber to request aid for his exiled brother, only to be met with a meticulous reckoning of royal finances that reveals the vast sums required and the improbability of such generosity. The cardinal’s pragmatic calculations and guarded counsel underscore the sobering realities that weigh upon the thrones of France and England alike.