“ In August 1661 Louis XIV., already set upon his destruction, was entertained at Vaux with a fête rivalled in magnificence by only one or two in French history, at which Molière’s Les Fâcheux was produced for the first time. The splendour of the entertainment sealed Fouquet’s fate. The king, however, was afraid to act openly against so powerful a minister. By crafty devices Fouquet was induced to sell his office of procureur général, thus losing the protection of its privileges, and he paid the price of it into the treasury. ”