Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

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The Three Musketeers

by Alexandre Dumas [Pere]

March, 1998 [Etext #1257]

Project Gutenberg Etext of The Three Musketeers, by Dumas [Pere]

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The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas

Typed By:

John P. Roberts III

Roger Labbe

Scott David Gray

Sue Asscher

Anita Martin

The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas

Contents

Author's Preface

1. THE THREE PRESENTS OF D'ARTAGNAN THE ELDER

2. THE ANTECHAMBER OF M. DE TREVILLE

3. THE AUDIENCE

4. THE SHOULDER OF ATHOS, THE BALDRIC OF PORTHOS AND THE

HANDKERCHIEF OF ARAMIS

5. THE KING'S MUSKETEERS AND THE CARDINAL'S GUARDS

6. HIS MAJESTY KING LOUIS XIII

7. THE INTERIOR OF "THE MUSKETEERS"

8. CONCERNING A COURT INTRIGUE

9. D'ARTAGNAN SHOWS HIMSELF

10. A MOUSETRAP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

11. IN WHICH THE PLOT THICKENS

12. GEORGE VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

13. MONSIEUR BONACIEUX

14. THE MAN OF MEUNG

15. MEN OF THE ROBE AND MEN OF THE SWORD

16. M. SEGUIER, KEEPER OF THE SEALS, LOOKS MORE THAN ONCE FOR THE BELL,

IN ORDER TO RING IT, AS HE DID BEFORE

17. BONACIEUX AT HOME

18. LOVER AND HUSBAND

19. PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

20. THE JOURNEY

21. THE COUNTESS DE WINTER

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

22. THE BALLET OF LA MERLAISON

23. THE RENDEZVOUS

24. THE PAVILION

25. PORTHOS

26. ARAMIS AND HIS THESIS

27. THE WIFE OF ATHOS

28. THE RETURN

29. HUNTING FOR THE EQUIPMENTS

30. D'ARTAGNAN AND THE ENGLISHMAN

31. ENGLISH AND FRENCH

32. A PROCURATOR'S DINNER

33. SOUBRETTE AND MISTRESS

34. IN WHICH THE EQUIPMENT OF ARAMIS AND PORTHOS IS TREATED OF

35. A GASCON A MATCH FOR CUPID

36. DREAM OF VENGEANCE

37. MILADY'S SECRET

38. HOW, WITHOUT INCOMMODING HIMSELF, ATHOS PROCURED HIS EQUIPMENT

39. A VISION

40. A TERRIBLE VISION

41. THE SEIGE OF LA ROCHELLE

42. THE ANJOU WINE

43. THE SIGN OF THE RED DOVECOT

44. THE UTILITY OF STOVEPIPES

45. A CONJUGAL SCENE

46. THE BASTION SAINT-GERVAIS

47. THE COUNCIL OF THE MUSKETEERS

48. A FAMILY AFFAIR

49. FATALITY

50. CHAT BETWEEN BROTHER AND SISTER

51. OFFICER

52. CAPTIVITY: THE FIRST DAY

53. CAPTIVITY: THE SECOND DAY

54. CAPTIVITY: THE THIRD DAY

55. CAPTIVITY: THE FOURTH DAY

56. CAPTIVITY: THE FIFTH DAY

57. MEANS FOR CLASSICAL TRAGEDY

58. ESCAPE

59. WHAT TOOK PLACE AT PORTSMOUTH

60. IN FRANCE

61. THE CARMELITE CONVENT AT BETHUNE

62. TWO VARIETIES OF DEMONS

63. THE DROP OF WATER

64. THE MAN IN THE RED CLOAK

65. TRIAL

66. EXECUTION

67. CONCLUSION

EPILOGUE

The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

In which it is proved that, notwithstanding their names' ending

in OS and IS, the heroes of the story which we are about to have

the honor to relate to our readers have nothing mythological

about them.

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

A short time ago, while making researches in the Royal Library

for my History of Louis XIV, I stumbled by chance upon the

Memoirs of M. d'Artagnan, printed--as were most of the works of

that period, in which authors could not tell the truth without

the risk of a residence, more or less long, in the Bastille--at

Amsterdam, by Pierre Rouge. The title attracted me; I took them

home with me, with the permission of the guardian, and devoured

them.

It is not my intention here to enter into an analysis of this

curious work; and I shall satisfy myself with referring such of

my readers as appreciate the pictures of the period to its pages.

They will therein find portraits penciled by the hand of a

master; and although these squibs may be, for the most part,

traced upon the doors of barracks and the walls of cabarets, they

will not find the likenesses of Louis XIII, Anne of Austria,

Richelieu, Mazarin, and the courtiers of the period, less

faithful than in the history of M. Anquetil.

But, it is well known, what strikes the capricious mind of the

poet is not always what affects the mass of readers. Now, while

admiring, as others doubtless will admire, the details we have to

relate, our main preoccupation concerned a matter to which no one

before ourselves had given a thought.

D'Artagnan relates that on his first visit to M. de Treville,

captain of the king's Musketeers, he met in the antechamber three

young men, serving in the illustrious corps into which he was

soliciting the honor of being received, bearing the names of

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

We must confess these three strange names struck us; and it

immediately occurred to us that they were but pseudonyms, under

which d'Artagnan had disguised names perhaps illustrious, or else

that the bearers of these borrowed names had themselves chosen

them on the day in which, from caprice, discontent, or want of

fortune, they had donned the simple Musketeer's uniform.

From the moment we had no rest till we could find some trace in

contemporary works of these extraordinary names which had so

strongly awakened our curiosity.

The catalogue alone of the books we read with this object would

fill a whole chapter, which, although it might be very

instructive, would certainly afford our readers but little

amusement. It will suffice, then, to tell them that at the

moment at which, discouraged by so many fruitless investigations,

we were about to abandon our search, we at length found, guided

by the counsels of our illustrious friend Paulin Paris, a

manuscript in folio, endorsed 4772 or 4773, we do not recollect

which, having for title, "Memoirs of the Comte de la Fere,

Touching Some Events Which Passed in France Toward the End of the

Reign of King Louis XIII and the Commencement of the Reign of

King Louis XIV."

It may be easily imagined how great was our joy when, in turning

over this manuscript, our last hope, we found at the twentieth

page the name of Athos, at the twenty-seventh the name of

Porthos, and at the thirty-first the name of Aramis.

The discovery of a completely unknown manuscript at a period in

which historical science is carried to such a high degree

appeared almost miraculous. We hastened, therefore, to obtain

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

permission to print it, with the view of presenting ourselves

someday with the pack of others at the doors of the Academie des

Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, if we should not succeed--a very

probable thing, by the by--in gaining admission to the Academie

Francaise with our own proper pack. This permission, we feel

bound to say, was graciously granted; which compels us here to

give a public contradiction to the slanderers who pretend that we

live under a government but moderately indulgent to men of

letters.

Now, this is the first part of this precious manuscript which we

offer to our readers, restoring it to the title which belongs to

it, and entering into an engagement that if (of which we have no

doubt) this first part should obtain the success it merits, we

will publish the second immediately.

In the meanwhile, as the godfather is a second father, we beg the

reader to lay to our account, and not to that of the Comte de la

Fere, the pleasure or the ENNUI he may experience.

This being understood, let us proceed with our history.

1 THE THREE PRESENTS OF D'ARTAGNAN THE ELDER

On the first Monday of the month of April, 1625, the market town

of Meung, in which the author of ROMANCE OF THE ROSE was born,

appeared to be in as perfect a state of revolution as if the

Huguenots had just made a second La Rochelle of it. Many

citizens, seeing the women flying toward the High Street, leaving

their children crying at the open doors, hastened to don the

cuirass, and supporting their somewhat uncertain courage with a

musket or a partisan, directed their steps toward the hostelry of

the Jolly Miller, before which was gathered, increasing every

minute, a compact group, vociferous and full of curiosity.

In those times panics were common, and few days passed without

some city or other registering in its archives an event of this

kind. There were nobles, who made war against each other; there

was the king, who made war against the cardinal; there was Spain,

which made war against the king. Then, in addition to these

concealed or public, secret or open wars, there were robbers,

mendicants, Huguenots, wolves, and scoundrels, who made war upon

everybody. The citizens always took up arms readily against

thieves, wolves or scoundrels, often against nobles or Huguenots,

sometimes against the king, but never against cardinal or Spain.

It resulted, then, from this habit that on the said first Monday

of April, 1625, the citizens, on hearing the clamor, and seeing

neither the red-and-yellow standard nor the livery of the Duc de

Richelieu, rushed toward the hostel of the Jolly Miller. When

arrived there, the cause of the hubbub was apparent to all.

A young man--we can sketch his portrait at a dash. Imagine to

yourself a Don Quixote of eighteen; a Don Quixote without his

corselet, without his coat of mail, without his cuisses; a Don

Quixote clothed in a wooden doublet, the blue color of which had

faded into a nameless shade between lees of wine and a heavenly

azure; face long and brown; high cheek bones, a sign of sagacity;

the maxillary muscles enormously developed, an infallible sign by

which a Gascon may always be detected, even without his cap--and

our young man wore a cap set off with a sort of feather; the eye

open and intelligent; the nose hooked, but finely chiseled. Too

big for a youth, too small for a grown man, an experienced eye

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

might have taken him for a farmer's son upon a journey had it not

been for the long sword which, dangling from a leather baldric,

hit against the calves of its owner as he walked, and against the

rough side of his steed when he was on horseback.

For our young man had a steed which was the observed of all

observers. It was a Bearn pony, from twelve to fourteen years

old, yellow in his hide, without a hair in his tail, but not

without windgalls on his legs, which, though going with his head

lower than his knees, rendering a martingale quite unnecessary,

contrived nevertheless to perform his eight leagues a day.

Unfortunately, the qualities of this horse were so well concealed

under his strange-colored hide and his unaccountable gait, that

at a time when everybody was a connoisseur in horseflesh, the

appearance of the aforesaid pony at Meung--which place he had

entered about a quarter of an hour before, by the gate of

Beaugency--produced an unfavorable feeling, which extended to his

rider.

And this feeling had been more painfully perceived by young

d'Artagnan--for so was the Don Quixote of this second Rosinante

named--from his not being able to conceal from himself the

ridiculous appearance that such a steed gave him, good horseman

as he was. He had sighed deeply, therefore, when accepting the

gift of the pony from M. d'Artagnan the elder. He was not

ignorant that such a beast was worth at least twenty livres; and

the words which had accompanied the present were above all price.

"My son," said the old Gascon gentleman, in that pure Bearn

PATOIS of which Henry IV could never rid himself, "this horse was

born in the house of your father about thirteen years ago, and

has remained in it ever since, which ought to make you love it.

Never sell it; allow it to die tranquilly and honorably of old

age, and if you make a campaign with it, take as much care of it

as you would of an old servant. At court, provided you have ever

the honor to go there," continued M. d'Artagnan the elder, "--an

honor to which, remember, your ancient nobility gives you the

right--sustain worthily your name of gentleman, which has been

worthily borne by your ancestors for five hundred years, both for

your own sake and the sake of those who belong to you. By the

latter I mean your relatives and friends. Endure nothing from

anyone except Monsieur the Cardinal and the king. It is by his

courage, please observe, by his courage alone, that a gentleman

can make his way nowadays. Whoever hesitates for a second

perhaps allows the bait to escape which during that exact second

fortune held out to him. You are young. You ought to be brave

for two reasons: the first is that you are a Gascon, and the

second is that you are my son. Never fear quarrels, but seek

adventures. I have taught you how to handle a sword; you have

thews of iron, a wrist of steel. Fight on all occasions. Fight

the more for duels being forbidden, since consequently there is

twice as much courage in fighting. I have nothing to give you,

my son, but fifteen crowns, my horse, and the counsels you have

just heard. Your mother will add to them a recipe for a certain

balsam, which she had from a Bohemian and which has the

miraculous virtue of curing all wounds that do not reach the

heart. Take advantage of all, and live happily and long. I have

but one word to add, and that is to propose an example to you--

not mine, for I myself have never appeared at court, and have

only taken part in religious wars as a volunteer; I speak of

Monsieur de Treville, who was formerly my neighbor, and who had

the honor to be, as a child, the play-fellow of our king, Louis

XIII, whom God preserve! Sometimes their play degenerated into

battles, and in these battles the king was not always the

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

stronger. The blows which he received increased greatly his

esteem and friendship for Monsieur de Treville. Afterward,

Monsieur de Treville fought with others: in his first journey to

Paris, five times; from the death of the late king till the young

one came of age, without reckoning wars and sieges, seven times;

and from that date up to the present day, a hundred times,

perhaps! So that in spite of edicts, ordinances, and decrees,

there he is, captain of the Musketeers; that is to say, chief of

a legion of Caesars, whom the king holds in great esteem and whom

the cardinal dreads--he who dreads nothing, as it is said. Still

further, Monsieur de Treville gains ten thousand crowns a year;

he is therefore a great noble. He began as you begin. Go to him

with this letter, and make him your model in order that you may

do as he has done."

Upon which M. d'Artagnan the elder girded his own sword round his

son, kissed him tenderly on both cheeks, and gave him his

benediction.

On leaving the paternal chamber, the young man found his mother,

who was waiting for him with the famous recipe of which the

counsels we have just repeated would necessitate frequent

employment. The adieux were on this side longer and more tender

than they had been on the other--not that M. d'Artagnan did not

love his son, who was his only offspring, but M. d'Artagnan was a

man, and he would have considered it unworthy of a man to give

way to his feelings; whereas Mme. d'Artagnan was a woman, and

still more, a mother. She wept abundantly; and--let us speak it

to the praise of M. d'Artagnan the younger--notwithstanding the

efforts he made to remain firm, as a future Musketeer ought,

nature prevailed, and he shed many tears, of which he succeeded

with great difficulty in concealing the half.

The same day the young man set forward on his journey, furnished

with the three paternal gifts, which consisted, as we have said,

of fifteen crowns, the horse, and the letter for M. de Treville--

the counsels being thrown into the bargain.

With such a VADE MECUM d'Artagnan was morally and physically an

exact copy of the hero of Cervantes, to whom we so happily

compared him when our duty of an historian placed us under the

necessity of sketching his portrait. Don Quixote took windmills

for giants, and sheep for armies; d'Artagnan took every smile for

an insult, and every look as a provocation--whence it resulted

that from Tarbes to Meung his fist was constantly doubled, or his

hand on the hilt of his sword; and yet the fist did not descend

upon any jaw, nor did the sword issue from its scabbard. It was

not that the sight of the wretched pony did not excite numerous

smiles on the countenances of passers-by; but as against the side

of this pony rattled a sword of respectable length, and as over

this sword gleamed an eye rather ferocious than haughty, these

passers-by repressed their hilarity, or if hilarity prevailed

over prudence, they endeavored to laugh only on one side, like

the masks of the ancients. D'Artagnan, then, remained majestic

and intact in his susceptibility, till he came to this unlucky

city of Meung.

But there, as he was alighting from his horse at the gate of the

Jolly Miller, without anyone--host, waiter, or hostler--coming to

hold his stirrup or take his horse, d'Artagnan spied, though an

open window on the ground floor, a gentleman, well-made and of

good carriage, although of rather a stern countenance, talking

with two persons who appeared to listen to him with respect.

d'Artagnan fancied quite naturally, according to his custom, that

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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers.txt

he must be the object of their conversation, and listened. This

time d'Artagnan was only in part mistaken; he himself was not in

question, but his horse was. The gentleman appeared to be

enumerating all his qualities to his auditors; and, as I have

said, the auditors seeming to have great deference for the

narrator, they every moment burst into fits of laughter. Now, as

a half-smile was sufficient to awaken the irascibility of the

young man, the effect produced upon him by this vociferous mirth

may be easily imagined.

Nevertheless, d'Artagnan was desirous of examining the appearance

of this impertinent personage who ridiculed him. He fixed his

haughty eye upon the stranger, and perceived a man of from forty

to forty-five years of age, with black and piercing eyes, pale

complexion, a strongly marked nose, and a black and well-shaped

mustache. He was dressed in a doublet and hose of a violet

color, with aiguillettes of the same color, without any other

ornaments than the customary slashes, through which the shirt

appeared. This doublet and hose, though new, were creased, like

traveling clothes for a long time packed in a portmanteau.

d'Artagnan made all these remarks with the rapidity of a most

minute observer, and doubtless from an instinctive feeling that

this stranger was destined to have a great influence over his

future life.

Now, as at the moment in which d'Artagnan fixed his eyes upon the

gentleman in the violet doublet, the gentleman made one of his

most knowing and profound remarks respecting the Bearnese pony,

his two auditors laughed even louder than before, and he himself,

though contrary to his custom, allowed a pale smile (if I may

allowed to use such an expression) to stray over his countenance.

This time there could be no doubt; d'Artagnan was really

insulted. Full, then, of this conviction, he pulled his cap down

over his eyes, and endeavoring to copy some of the court airs he

had picked up in Gascony among young traveling nobles, he

advanced with one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other

resting on his hip. Unfortunately, as he advanced, his anger

increased at every step; and instead of the proper and lofty

speech he had prepared as a prelude to his challenge, he found

nothing at the tip of his tongue but a gross personality, which

he accompanied with a furious gesture.

"I say, sir, you sir, who are hiding yourself behind that

shutter--yes, you, sir, tell me what you are laughing at, and we

will laugh together!"

The gentleman raised his eyes slowly from the nag to his

cavalier, as if he required some time to ascertain whether it

could be to him that such strange reproaches were addressed;

then, when he could not possibly entertain any doubt of the

matter, his eyebrows slightly bent, and with an accent of irony

and insolence impossible to be described, he replied to

d'Artagnan, "I was not speaking to you, sir."

"But I am speaking to you!" replied the young man, additionally

exasperated with this mixture of insolence and good manners, of

politeness and scorn.

The stranger looked at him again with a slight smile, and

retiring from the window, came out of the hostelry with a slow

step, and placed himself before the horse, within two paces of

d'Artagnan. His quiet manner and the ironical expression of his

countenance redoubled the mirth of the persons with whom he had

been talking, and who still remained at the window.

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D'Artagnan, seeing him approach, drew his sword a foot out of the

scabbard.

"This horse is decidedly, or rather has been in his youth, a

buttercup," resumed the stranger, continuing the remarks he had

begun, and addressing himself to his auditors at the window,

without paying the least attention to the exasperation of

d'Artagnan, who, however placed himself between him and them.

"It is a color very well known in botany, but till the present

time very rare among horses."

"There are people who laugh at the horse that would not dare to

laugh at the master," cried the young emulator of the furious

Treville.

"I do not often laugh, sir," replied the stranger, "as you may

perceive by the expression of my countenance; but nevertheless I

retain the privilege of laughing when I please."

"And I," cried d'Artagnan, "will allow no man to laugh when it

displeases me!"

"Indeed, sir," continued the stranger, more calm than ever;

"well, that is perfectly right!" and turning on his heel, was

about to re-enter the hostelry by the front gate, beneath which

d'Artagnan on arriving had observed a saddled horse.

But, d'Artagnan was not of a character to allow a man to escape

him thus who had the insolence to ridicule him. He drew his

sword entirely from the scabbard, and followed him, crying,

"Turn, turn, Master Joker, lest I strike you behind!"

"Strike me!" said the other, turning on his heels, and surveying

the young man with as much astonishment as contempt. "Why, my

good fellow, you must be mad!" Then, in a suppressed tone, as if

speaking to himself, "This is annoying," continued he. "What a

godsend this would be for his Majesty, who is seeking everywhere

for brave fellows to recruit for his Musketeers!"

He had scarcely finished, when d'Artagnan made such a furious

lunge at him that if he had not sprung nimbly backward, it is

probable he would have jested for the last time. The stranger,

then perceiving that the matter went beyond raillery, drew his

sword, saluted his adversary, and seriously placed himself on

guard. But at the same moment, his two auditors, accompanied by

the host, fell upon d'Artagnan with sticks, shovels and tongs.

This caused so rapid and complete a diversion from the attack

that d'Artagnan's adversary, while the latter turned round to

face this shower of blows, sheathed his sword with the same

precision, and instead of an actor, which he had nearly been,

became a spectator of the fight--a part in which he acquitted

himself with his usual impassiveness, muttering, nevertheless, "A

plague upon these Gascons! Replace him on his orange horse, and

let him begone!"

"Not before I have killed you, poltroon!" cried d'Artagnan,

making the best face possible, and never retreating one step

before his three assailants, who continued to shower blows upon

him.

"Another gasconade!" murmured the gentleman. "By my honor, these

Gascons are incorrigible! Keep up the dance, then, since he will

have it so. When he is tired, he will perhaps tell us that he

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has had enough of it."

But the stranger knew not the headstrong personage he had to do

with; d'Artagnan was not the man ever to cry for quarter. The

fight was therefore prolonged for some seconds; but at length

d'Artagnan dropped his sword, which was broken in two pieces by

the blow of a stick. Another blow full upon his forehead at the

same moment brought him to the ground, covered with blood and

almost fainting.

It was at this moment that people came flocking to the scene of

action from all sides. The host, fearful of consequences, with

the help of his servants carried the wounded man into the

kitchen, where some trifling attentions were bestowed upon him.

As to the gentleman, he resumed his place at the window, and

surveyed the crowd with a certain impatience, evidently annoyed

by their remaining undispersed.

"Well, how is it with this madman?" exclaimed he, turning round

as the noise of the door announced the entrance of the host, who

came in to inquire if he was unhurt.

"Your excellency is safe and sound?" asked the host.

"Oh, yes! Perfectly safe and sound, my good host; and I wish to

know what has become of our young man."

"He is better," said the host, "he fainted quite away."

"Indeed!" said the gentleman.

"But before he fainted, he collected all his strength to

challenge you, and to defy you while challenging you."

"Why, this fellow must be the devil in person!" cried the

stranger.

"Oh, no, your Excellency, he is not the devil," replied the host,

with a grin of contempt; "for during his fainting we rummaged his

valise and found nothing but a clean shirt and eleven crowns--

which however, did not prevent his saying, as he was fainting,

that if such a thing had happened in Paris, you should have cause

to repent of it at a later period."

"Then," said the stranger coolly, "he must be some prince in

disguise."

"I have told you this, good sir," resumed the host, "in order

that you may be on your guard."

"Did he name no one in his passion?"

"Yes; he struck his pocket and said, 'We shall see what Monsieur

de Treville will think of this insult offered to his protege.'"

"Monsieur de Treville?" said the stranger, becoming attentive,

"he put his hand upon his pocket while pronouncing the name of

Monsieur de Treville? Now, my dear host, while your young man

was insensible, you did not fail, I am quite sure, to ascertain

what that pocket contained. What was there in it?"

"A letter addressed to Monsieur de Treville, captain of the

Musketeers."

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"Indeed!"

"Exactly as I have the honor to tell your Excellency."

The host, who was not endowed with great perspicacity, did not

observe the expression which his words had given to the

physiognomy of the stranger. The latter rose from the front of

the window, upon the sill of which he had leaned with his elbow,

and knitted his brow like a man disquieted.

"The devil!" murmured he, between his teeth. "Can Treville have

set this Gascon upon me? He is very young; but a sword thrust is

a sword thrust, whatever be the age of him who gives it, and a

youth is less to be suspected than an older man," and the

stranger fell into a reverie which lasted some minutes. "A weak

obstacle is sometimes sufficient to overthrow a great design.

"Host," said he, "could you not contrive to get rid of this

frantic boy for me? In conscience, I cannot kill him; and yet,"

added he, with a coldly menacing expression, "he annoys me.

Where is he?"

"In my wife's chamber, on the first flight, where they are

dressing his wounds."

"His things and his bag are with him? Has he taken off his

doublet?"

"On the contrary, everything is in the kitchen. But if he annoys

you, this young fool--"

"To be sure he does. He causes a disturbance in your hostelry,

which respectable people cannot put up with. Go; make out my

bill and notify my servant."

"What, monsieur, will you leave us so soon?"

"You know that very well, as I gave my order to saddle my horse.

Have they not obeyed me?"

"It is done; as your Excellency may have observed, your horse is

in the great gateway, ready saddled for your departure."

"That is well; do as I have directed you, then."

"What the devil!" said the host to himself. "Can he be afraid of

this boy?" But an imperious glance from the stranger stopped him

short; he bowed humbly and retired.

"It is not necessary for Milady* to be seen by this fellow,"

continued the stranger. "She will soon pass; she is already

late. I had better get on horseback, and go and meet her. I

should like, however, to know what this letter addressed to

Treville contains."

*We are well aware that this term, milady, is only properly used

when followed by a family name. But we find it thus in the manuscript,

and we do not choose to take upon ourselves to alter it.

And the stranger, muttering to himself, directed his steps toward

the kitchen.

In the meantime, the host, who entertained no doubt that it was

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the presence of the young man that drove the stranger from his

hostelry, re-ascended to his wife's chamber, and found d'Artagnan

just recovering his senses. Giving him to understand that the

police would deal with him pretty severely for having sought a

quarrel with a great lord--for the opinion of the host the

stranger could be nothing less than a great lord--he insisted

that notwithstanding his weakness d'Artagnan should get up and

depart as quickly as possible. D'Artagnan, half stupefied,

without his doublet, and with his head bound up in a linen cloth,

arose then, and urged by the host, began to descend the stairs;

but on arriving at the kitchen, the first thing he saw was his

antagonist talking calmly at the step of a heavy carriage, drawn

by two large Norman horses.

His interlocutor, whose head appeared through the carriage

window, was a woman of from twenty to two-and-twenty years. We

have already observed with what rapidity d'Artagnan seized the

expression of a countenance. He perceived then, at a glance,

that this woman was young and beautiful; and her style of beauty

struck him more forcibly from its being totally different from

that of the southern countries in which d'Artagnan had hitherto

resided. She was pale and fair, with long curls falling in

profusion over her shoulders, had large, blue, languishing eyes,

rosy lips, and hands of alabaster. She was talking with great

animation with the stranger.

"His Eminence, then, orders me--" said the lady.

"To return instantly to England, and to inform him as soon as the

duke leaves London."

"And as to my other instructions?" asked the fair traveler.

"They are contained in this box, which you will not open until

you are on the other side of the Channel."

"Very well; and you--what will you do?"

"I--I return to Paris."

"What, without chastising this insolent boy?" asked the lady.

The stranger was about to reply; but at the moment he opened his

mouth, d'Artagnan, who had heard all, precipitated himself over

the threshold of the door.

"This insolent boy chastises others," cried he; "and I hope that

this time he whom he ought to chastise will not escape him as

before."

"Will not escape him?" replied the stranger, knitting his brow.

"No; before a woman you would dare not fly, I presume?"

"Remember," said Milady, seeing the stranger lay his hand on his

sword, "the least delay may ruin everything."

"You are right," cried the gentleman; "begone then, on your part,

and I will depart as quickly on mine." And bowing to the lady,

sprang into his saddle, while her coachman applied his whip

vigorously to his horses. The two interlocutors thus separated,

taking opposite directions, at full gallop.

"Pay him, booby!" cried the stranger to his servant, without

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checking the speed of his horse; and the man, after throwing two

or three silver pieces at the foot of mine host, galloped after

his master.

"Base coward! false gentleman!" cried d'Artagnan, springing

forward, in his turn, after the servant. But his wound had

rendered him too weak to support such an exertion. Scarcely had

he gone ten steps when his ears began to tingle, a faintness

seized him, a cloud of blood passed over his eyes, and he fell in

the middle of the street, crying still, "Coward! coward! coward!"

"He is a coward, indeed," grumbled the host, drawing near to

d'Artagnan, and endeavoring by this little flattery to make up

matters with the young man, as the heron of the fable did with

the snail he had despised the evening before.

"Yes, a base coward," murmured d'Artagnan; "but she--she was very

beautiful."

"What she?" demanded the host.

"Milady," faltered d'Artagnan, and fainted a second time.

"Ah, it's all one," said the host; "I have lost two customers,

but this one remains, of whom I am pretty certain for some days

to come. There will be eleven crowns gained."

It is to be remembered that eleven crowns was just the sum that

remained in d'Artagnan's purse.

The host had reckoned upon eleven days of confinement at a crown

a day, but he had reckoned without his guest. On the following

morning at five o'clock d'Artagnan arose, and descending to the

kitchen without help, asked, among other ingredients the list of

which has not come down to us, for some oil, some wine, and some

rosemary, and with his mother's recipe in his hand composed a

balsam, with which he anointed his numerous wounds, replacing his

bandages himself, and positively refusing the assistance of any

doctor, d'Artagnan walked about that same evening, and was almost

cured by the morrow.

But when the time came to pay for his rosemary, this oil, and the

wine, the only expense the master had incurred, as he had

preserved a strict abstinence--while on the contrary, the yellow

horse, by the account of the hostler at least, had eaten three

times as much as a horse of his size could reasonably supposed to

have done--d'Artagnan found nothing in his pocket but his little

old velvet purse with the eleven crowns it contained; for as to

the letter addressed to M. de Treville, it had disappeared.

The young man commenced his search for the letter with the

greatest patience, turning out his pockets of all kinds over and

over again, rummaging and rerummaging in his valise, and opening

and reopening his purse; but when he found that he had come to

the conviction that the letter was not to be found, he flew, for

the third time, into such a rage as was near costing him a fresh

consumption of wine, oil, and rosemary--for upon seeing this hotheaded

youth become exasperated and threaten to destroy

everything in the establishment if his letter were not found, the

host seized a spit, his wife a broom handle, and the servants the

same sticks they had used the day before.

"My letter of recommendation!" cried d'Artagnan, "my letter of

recommendation! or, the holy blood, I will spit you all like

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ortolans!"

Unfortunately, there was one circumstance which created a

powerful obstacle to the accomplishment of this threat; which

was, as we have related, that his sword had been in his first

conflict broken in two, and which he had entirely forgotten.

Hence, it resulted when d'Artagnan proceeded to draw his sword in

earnest, he found himself purely and simply armed with a stump of

a sword about eight or ten inches in length, which the host had

carefully placed in the scabbard. As to the rest of the blade,

the master had slyly put that on one side to make himself a

larding pin.

But this deception would probably not have stopped our fiery

young man if the host had not reflected that the reclamation

which his guest made was perfectly just.

"But, after all," said he, lowering the point of his spit, "where

is this letter?"

"Yes, where is this letter?" cried d'Artagnan. "In the first

place, I warn you that that letter is for Monsieur de Treville,

and it must be found, he will not know how to find it."

His threat completed the intimidation of the host. After the

king and the cardinal, M. de Treville was the man whose name was

perhaps most frequently repeated by the military, and even by

citizens. There was, to be sure, Father Joseph, but his name was

never pronounced but with a subdued voice, such was the terror

inspired by his Gray Eminence, as the cardinal's familiar was

called.

Throwing down his spit, and ordering his wife to do the same with

her broom handle, and the servants with their sticks, he set the

first example of commencing an earnest search for the lost

letter.

"Does the letter contain anything valuable?" demanded the host,

after a few minutes of useless investigation.

"Zounds! I think it does indeed!" cried the Gascon, who reckoned

upon this letter for making his way at court. "It contained my

fortune!"

"Bills upon Spain?" asked the disturbed host.

"Bills upon his Majesty's private treasury," answered d'Artagnan,

who, reckoning upon entering into the king's service in

consequence of this recommendation, believed he could make this

somewhat hazardous reply without telling of a falsehood.

"The devil!" cried the host, at his wit's end.

"But it's of no importance," continued d'Artagnan, with natural

assurance; "it's of no importance. The money is nothing; that

letter was everything. I would rather have lost a thousand

pistoles than have lost it." He would not have risked more if he

had said twenty thousand; but a certain juvenile modesty

restrained him.

A ray of light all at once broke upon the mind of the host as he

was giving himself to the devil upon finding nothing.

"That letter is not lost!" cried he.

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"What!" cried d'Artagnan.

"No, it has been stolen from you."

"Stolen? By whom?"

"By the gentleman who was here yesterday. He came down into the

kitchen, where your doublet was. He remained there some time

alone. I would lay a wager he has stolen it."

"Do you think so?" answered d'Artagnan, but little convinced, as

he knew better than anyone else how entirely personal the value

of this letter was, and was nothing in it likely to tempt

cupidity. The fact was that none of his servants, none of the

travelers present, could have gained anything by being possessed

of this paper.

"Do you say," resumed d'Artagnan, "that you suspect that

impertinent gentleman?"

"I tell you I am sure of it," continued the host. "When I

informed him that your lordship was the protege of Monsieur de

Treville, and that you even had a letter for that illustrious

gentleman, he appeared to be very much disturbed, and asked me

where that letter was, and immediately came down into the

kitchen, where he knew your doublet was."

"Then that's my thief," replied d'Artagnan. "I will complain to

Monsieur de Treville, and Monsieur de Treville will complain to

the king." He then drew two crowns majestically from his purse

and gave them to the host, who accompanied him, cap in hand, to

the gate, and remounted his yellow horse, which bore him without

any further accident to the gate of St. Antoine at Paris, where

his owner sold him for three crowns, which was a very good price,

considering that d'Artagnan had ridden him hard during the last

stage. Thus the dealer to whom d'Artagnan sold him for the nine

livres did not conceal from the young man that he only gave that

enormous sum for him on the account of the originality of his

color.

Thus d'Artagnan entered Paris on foot, carrying his little packet

under his arm, and walked about till he found an apartment to be

let on terms suited to the scantiness of his means. This chamber

was a sort of garret, situated in the Rue des Fossoyeurs, near

the Luxembourg.

As soon as the earnest money was paid, d'Artagnan took possession

of his lodging, and passed the remainder of the day in sewing

onto his doublet and hose some ornamental braiding which his

mother had taken off an almost-new doublet of the elder M.

d'Artagnan, and which she had given her son secretly. Next he

went to the Quai de Feraille to have a new blade put to his

sword, and then returned toward the Louvre, inquiring of the

first Musketeer he met for the situation of the hotel of M. de

Treville, which proved to be in the Rue du Vieux-Colombier; that

is to say, in the immediate vicinity of the chamber hired by

d'Artagnan--a circumstance which appeared to furnish a happy

augury for the success of his journey.

After this, satisfied with the way in which he had conducted

himself at Meung, without remorse for the past, confident in the

present, and full of hope for the future, he retired to bed and

slept the sleep of the brave.

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This sleep, provincial as it was, brought him to nine o'clock in

the morning; at which hour he rose, in order to repair to the

residence of M. de Treville, the third personage in the kingdom, in the

paternal estimation.

2 THE ANTECHAMBER OF M. DE TREVILLE

M. de Troisville, as his family was still called in Gascony, or

M. de Treville, as he has ended by styling himself in Paris, had

really commenced life as d'Artagnan now did; that is to say,

without a sou in his pocket, but with a fund of audacity,

shrewdness, and intelligence which makes the poorest Gascon

gentleman often derive more in his hope from the paternal

inheritance than the richest Perigordian or Berrichan gentleman

derives in reality from his. His insolent bravery, his still

more insolent success at a time when blows poured down like hail,

had borne him to the top of that difficult ladder called Court

Favor, which he had climbed four steps at a time.

He was the friend of the king, who honored highly, as everyone

knows, the memory of his father, Henry IV. The father of M. de

Treville had served him so faithfully in his wars against the

league that in default of money--a thing to which the Bearnais

was accustomed all his life, and who constantly paid his debts

with that of which he never stood in need of borrowing, that is

to say, with ready wit--in default of money, we repeat, he

authorized him, after the reduction of Paris, to assume for his

arms a golden lion passant upon gules, with the motto FIDELIS ET

FORTIS. This was a great matter in the way of honor, but very

little in the way of wealth; so that when the illustrious

companion of the great Henry died, the only inheritance he was

able to leave his son was his sword and his motto. Thanks to

this double gift and the spotless name that accompanied it, M. de

Treville was admitted into the household of the young prince

where he made such good use of his sword, and was so faithful to

his motto, that Louis XIII, one of the good blades of his

kingdom, was accustomed to say that if he had a friend who was

about to fight, he would advise him to choose as a second,

himself first, and Treville next--or even, perhaps, before

himself.

Thus Louis XIII had a real liking for Treville--a royal liking, a

self-interested liking, it is true, but still a liking. At that

unhappy period it was an important consideration to be surrounded

by such men as Treville. Many might take for their device the

epithet STRONG, which formed the second part of his motto, but

very few gentlemen could lay claim to the FAITHFUL, which

constituted the first. Treville was one of these latter. His

was one of those rare organizations, endowed with an obedient

intelligence like that of the dog; with a blind valor, a quick

eye, and a prompt hand; to whom sight appeared only to be given

to see if the king were dissatisfied with anyone, and the hand to

strike this displeasing personage, whether a Besme, a Maurevers,

a Poltiot de Mere, or a Vitry. In short, up to this period

nothing had been wanting to Treville but opportunity; but he was

ever on the watch for it, and he faithfully promised himself that

he would not fail to seize it by its three hairs whenever it came

within reach of his hand. At last Louis XIII made Treville the

captain of his Musketeers, who were to Louis XIII in devotedness,

or rather in fanaticism, what his Ordinaries had been to Henry

III, and his Scotch Guard to Louis XI.

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On his part, the cardinal was not behind the king in this

respect. When he saw the formidable and chosen body with which

Louis XIII had surrounded himself, this second, or rather this

first king of France, became desirous that he, too, should have

his guard. He had his Musketeers therefore, as Louis XIII had

his, and these two powerful rivals vied with each other in

procuring, not only from all the provinces of France, but even

from all foreign states, the most celebrated swordsmen. It was

not uncommon for Richelieu and Louis XIII to dispute over their

evening game of chess upon the merits of their servants. Each

boasted the bearing and the courage of his own people. While

exclaiming loudly against duels and brawls, they excited them

secretly to quarrel, deriving an immoderate satisfaction or

genuine regret from the success or defeat of their own

combatants. We learn this from the memoirs of a man who was

concerned in some few of these defeats and in many of these

victories.

Treville had grasped the weak side of his master; and it was to

this address that he owed the long and constant favor of a king

who has not left the reputation behind him of being very faithful

in his friendships. He paraded his Musketeers before the

Cardinal Armand Duplessis with an insolent air which made the

gray moustache of his Eminence curl with ire. Treville

understood admirably the war method of that period, in which he

who could not live at the expense of the enemy must live at the

expense of his compatriots. His soldiers formed a legion of

devil-may-care fellows, perfectly undisciplined toward all but

himself.

Loose, half-drunk, imposing, the king's Musketeers, or rather M.

de Treville's, spread themselves about in the cabarets, in the

public walks, and the public sports, shouting, twisting their

mustaches, clanking their swords, and taking great pleasure in

annoying the Guards of the cardinal whenever they could fall in

with them; then drawing in the open streets, as if it were the

best of all possible sports; sometimes killed, but sure in that

case to be both wept and avenged; often killing others, but then

certain of not rotting in prison, M. de Treville being there to

claim them. Thus M. de Treville was praised to the highest note

by these men, who adored him, and who, ruffians as they were,

trembled before him like scholars before their master, obedient

to his least word, and ready to sacrifice themselves to wash out

the smallest insult.

M. de Treville employed this powerful weapon for the king, in the

first place, and the friends of the king--and then for himself

and his own friends. For the rest, in the memoirs of this

period, which has left so many memoirs, one does not find this

worthy gentleman blamed even by his enemies; and he had many such

among men of the pen as well as among men of the sword. In no

instance, let us say, was this worthy gentleman accused of

deriving personal advantage from the cooperation of his minions.

Endowed with a rare genius for intrigue which rendered him the

equal of the ablest intriguers, he remained an honest man. Still

further, in spite of sword thrusts which weaken, and painful

exercises which fatigue, he had become one of the most gallant

frequenters of revels, one of the most insinuating lady's men,

one of the softest whisperers of interesting nothings of his

day; the BONNES FORTUNES of de Treville were talked of as those

of M. de Bassompierre had been talked of twenty years before, and

that was not saying a little. The captain of the Musketeers was

therefore admired, feared, and loved; and this constitutes the

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zenith of human fortune.

Louis XIV absorbed all the smaller stars of his court in his own

vast radiance; but his father, a sun PLURIBUS IMPAR, left his

personal splendor to each of his favorites, his individual value

to each of his courtiers. In addition to the leeves of the king

and the cardinal, there might be reckoned in Paris at that time

more than two hundred smaller but still noteworthy leeves. Among

these two hundred leeves, that of Treville was one of the most

sought.

The court of his hotel, situated in the Rue du Vieux-Colombier,

resembled a camp from by six o'clock in the morning in summer and

eight o'clock in winter. From fifty to sixty Musketeers, who

appeared to replace one another in order always to present an

imposing number, paraded constantly, armed to the teeth and ready

for anything. On one of those immense staircases, upon whose

space modern civilization would build a whole house. Ascended and

descended the office seekers of Paris, who ran after any sort of

favor--gentlemen from the provinces anxious to be enrolled, and

servants in all sorts of liveries, bringing and carrying messages

between their masters and M. de Treville. In the antechamber,

upon long circular benches, reposed the elect; that is to say,

those who were called. In this apartment a continued buzzing

prevailed from morning till night, while M. de Treville, in his

office contiguous to this antechamber, received visits, listened

to complaints, gave his orders, and like the king in his balcony

at the Louvre, had only to place himself at the window to review

both his men and arms.

The day on which d'Artagnan presented himself the assemblage was

imposing, particularly for a provincial just arriving from his

province. It is true that this provincial was a Gascon; and

that, particularly at this period, the compatriots of d'Artagnan

had the reputation of not being easily intimidated. When he had

once passed the massive door covered with long square-headed

nails, he fell into the midst of a troop of swordsmen, who

crossed one another in their passage, calling out, quarreling,

and playing tricks one with another. In order to make one's way

amid these turbulent and conflicting waves, it was necessary to

be an officer, a great noble, or a pretty woman.

It was, then, into the midst of this tumult and disorder that our

young man advanced with a beating heat, ranging his long rapier

up his lanky leg, and keeping one hand on the edge of his cap,

with that half-smile of the embarrassed a provincial who wishes

to put on a good face. When he had passed one group he began to

breathe more freely; but he could not help observing that they

turned round to look at him, and for the first time in his life

d'Artagnan, who had till that day entertained a very good opinion

of himself, felt ridiculous.

Arrived at the staircase, it was still worse. There were four

Musketeers on the bottom steps, amusing themselves with the

following exercise, while ten or twelve of their comrades waited

upon the landing place to take their turn in the sport.

One of them, stationed upon the top stair, naked sword in hand,

prevented, or at least endeavored to prevent, the three others

from ascending.

These three others fenced against him with their agile swords.

D'Artagnan at first took these weapons for foils, and believed

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them to be buttoned; but he soon perceived by certain scratches

that every weapon was pointed and sharpened, and that at each of

these scratches not only the spectators, but even the actors

themselves, laughed like so many madmen.

He who at the moment occupied the upper step kept his adversaries

marvelously in check. A circle was formed around them. The

conditions required that at every hit the man touched should quit

the game, yielding his turn for the benefit of the adversary who

had hit him. In five minutes three were slightly wounded, one on

the hand, another on the ear, by the defender of the stair, who

himself remained intact--a piece of skill which was worth to him,

according to the rules agreed upon, three turns of favor.

However difficult it might be, or rather as he pretended it was,

to astonish our young traveler, this pastime really astonished

him. He had seen in his province--that land in which heads

become so easily heated--a few of the preliminaries of duels; but

the daring of these four fencers appeared to him the strongest he

had ever heard of even in Gascony. He believed himself

transported into that famous country of giants into which

Gulliver afterward went and was so frightened; and yet he had not

gained the goal, for there were still the landing place and the

antechamber.

On the landing they were no longer fighting, but amused

themselves with stories about women, and in the antechamber, with

stories about the court. On the landing d'Artagnan blushed; in

the antechamber he trembled. His warm and fickle imagination,

which in Gascony had rendered formidable to young chambermaids,

and even sometimes their mistresses, had never dreamed, even in

moments of delirium, of half the amorous wonders or a quarter of

the feats of gallantry which were here set forth in connection

with names the best known and with details the least concealed.

But if his morals were shocked on the landing, his respect for

the cardinal was scandalized in the antechamber. There, to his

great astonishment, d'Artagnan heard the policy which made all

Europe tremble criticized aloud and openly, as well as the

private life of the cardinal, which so many great nobles had been

punished for trying to pry into. That great man who was so

revered by d'Artagnan the elder served as an object of ridicule

to the Musketeers of Treville, who cracked their jokes upon his

bandy legs and his crooked back. Some sang ballads about Mme.

d'Aguillon, his mistress, and Mme. Cambalet, his niece; while

others formed parties and plans to annoy the pages and guards of

the cardinal duke--all things which appeared to d'Artagnan

monstrous impossibilities.

Nevertheless, when the name of the king was now and then uttered

unthinkingly amid all these cardinal jests, a sort of gag seemed

to close for a moment on all these jeering mouths. They looked

hesitatingly around them, and appeared to doubt the thickness of

the partition between them and the office of M. de Treville; but

a fresh allusion soon brought back the conversation to his

Eminence, and then the laughter recovered its loudness and the

light was not withheld from any of his actions.

"Certes, these fellows will all either be imprisoned or hanged,"

thought the terrified d'Artagnan, "and I, no doubt, with them;

for from the moment I have either listened to or heard them, I

shall be held as an accomplice. What would my good father say,

who so strongly pointed out to me the respect due to the

cardinal, if he knew I was in the society of such pagans?"

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We have no need, therefore, to say that d'Artagnan dared not join

in the conversation, only he looked with all his eyes and

listened with all his ears, stretching his five senses so as to

lose nothing; and despite his confidence on the paternal

admonitions, he felt himself carried by his tastes and led by his

instincts to praise rather than to blame the unheard-of things

which were taking place.

Although he was a perfect stranger in the court of M. de

Treville's courtiers, and this his first appearance in that

place, he was at length noticed, and somebody came and asked him

what he wanted. At this demand d'Artagnan gave his name very

modestly, emphasized the title of compatriot, and begged the

servant who had put the question to him to request a moment's

audience of M. de Treville--a request which the other, with an

air of protection, promised to transmit in due season.

D'Artagnan, a little recovered from his first surprise, had now

leisure to study costumes and physiognomy.

The center of the most animated group was a Musketeer of great

height and haughty countenance, dressed in a costume so peculiar

as to attract general attention. He did not wear the uniform

cloak--which was not obligatory at that epoch of less liberty but

more independence--but a cerulean-blue doublet, a little faded and

worn, and over this a magnificent baldric, worked in gold, which

shone like water ripples in the sun. A long cloak of crimson

velvet fell in graceful folds from his shoulders, disclosing in

front the splendid baldric, from which was suspended a gigantic

rapier. This Musketeer had just come off guard, complained of

having a cold, and coughed from time to time affectedly. It was

for this reason, as he said to those around him, that he had put

on his cloak; and while he spoke with a lofty air and twisted his

mustache disdainfully, all admired his embroidered baldric, and

d'Artagnan more than anyone.

"What would you have?" said the Musketeer. "This fashion is

coming in. It is a folly, I admit, but still it is the fashion.

Besides, one must lay out one's inheritance somehow."

"Ah, Porthos!" cried one of his companions, "don't try to make us

believe you obtained that baldric by paternal generosity. It was

given to you by that veiled lady I met you with the other Sunday,

near the gate St. Honor."

"No, upon honor and by the faith of a gentleman, I bought it with

the contents of my own purse," answered he whom they designated

by the name Porthos.

"Yes; about in the same manner," said another Musketeer, "that I

bought this new purse with what my mistress put into the old

one."

"It's true, though," said Porthos; "and the proof is that I paid

twelve pistoles for it."

The wonder was increased, though the doubt continued to exist.

"Is it not true, Aramis?" said Porthos, turning toward another

Musketeer.

This other Musketeer formed a perfect contrast to his

interrogator, who had just designated him by the name of Aramis.

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He was a stout man, of about two- or three-and-twenty, with an

open, ingenuous countenance, a black, mild eye, and cheeks rosy

and downy as an autumn peach. His delicate mustache marked a

perfectly straight line upon his upper lip; he appeared to dread

to lower his hands lest their veins should swell, and he pinched

the tips of his ears from time to time to preserve their delicate

pink transparency. Habitually he spoke little and slowly, bowed

frequently, laughed without noise, showing his teeth, which were

fine and of which, as the rest of his person, he appeared to take

great care. He answered the appeal of his friend by an

affirmative nod of the head.

This affirmation appeared to dispel all doubts with regard to the

baldric. They continued to admire it, but said no more about it;

and with a rapid change of thought, the conversation passed

suddenly to another subject.

"What do you think of the story Chalais's esquire relates?" asked

another Musketeer, without addressing anyone in particular, but

on the contrary speaking to everybody.

"And what does he say?" asked Porthos, in a self-sufficient tone.

"He relates that he met at Brussels Rochefort, the AME DAMNEE of

the cardinal disguised as a Capuchin, and that this cursed

Rochefort, thanks to his disguise, had tricked Monsieur de

Laigues, like a ninny as he is."

"A ninny, indeed!" said Porthos; "but is the matter certain?"

"I had it from Aramis," replied the Musketeer.

"Indeed?"

"Why, you knew it, Porthos," said Aramis. "I told you of it

yesterday. Let us say no more about it."

"Say no more about it? That's YOUR opinion!" replied Porthos.

"Say no more about it! PESTE! You come to your conclusions

quickly. What! The cardinal sets a spy upon a gentleman, has

his letters stolen from him by means of a traitor, a brigand, a

rascal-has, with the help of this spy and thanks to this

correspondence, Chalais's throat cut, under the stupid pretext

that he wanted to kill the king and marry Monsieur to the queen!

Nobody knew a word of this enigma. You unraveled it yesterday to

the great satisfaction of all; and while we are still gaping with

wonder at the news, you come and tell us today, "Let us say no

more about it.'"

"Well, then, let us talk about it, since you desire it," replied

Aramis, patiently.

"This Rochefort," cried Porthos, "if I were the esquire of poor

Chalais, should pass a minute or two very uncomfortably with me."

"And you--you would pass rather a sad quarter-hour with the Red

Duke," replied Aramis.

"Oh, the Red Duke! Bravo! Bravo! The Red Duke!" cried Porthos,

clapping his hands and nodding his head. "The Red Duke is

capital. I'll circulate that saying, be assured, my dear fellow.

Who says this Aramis is not a wit? What a misfortune it is you

did not follow your first vocation; what a delicious abbe you

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would have made!"

"Oh, it's only a temporary postponement," replied Aramis; "I

shall be one someday. You very well know, Porthos, that I

continue to study theology for that purpose."

"He will be one, as he says," cried Porthos; "he will be one,

sooner or later."

"Sooner." said Aramis.

"He only waits for one thing to determine him to resume his

cassock, which hangs behind his uniform," said another Musketeer.

"What is he waiting for?" asked another.

"Only till the queen has given an heir to the crown of France."

"No jesting upon that subject, gentlemen," said Porthos; "thank

God the queen is still of an age to give one!"

"They say that Monsieur de Buckingham is in France," replied

Aramis, with a significant smile which gave to this sentence,

apparently so simple, a tolerably scandalous meaning.

"Aramis, my good friend, this time you are wrong," interrupted

Porthos. "Your wit is always leading you beyond bounds; if

Monsieur de Treville heard you, you would repent of speaking

thus."

"Are you going to give me a lesson, Porthos?" cried Aramis, from

whose usually mild eye a flash passed like lightning.

"My dear fellow, be a Musketeer or an abbe. Be one or the other,

but not both," replied Porthos. "You know what Athos told you

the other day; you eat at everybody's mess. Ah, don't be angry,

I beg of you, that would be useless; you know what is agreed upon

between you, Athos and me. You go to Madame d'Aguillon's, and

you pay your court to her; you go to Madame de Bois-Tracy's, the

cousin of Madame de Chevreuse, and you pass for being far

advanced in the good graces of that lady. Oh, good Lord! Don't

trouble yourself to reveal your good luck; no one asks for your

secret-all the world knows your discretion. But since you possess

that virtue, why the devil don't you make use of it with respect

to her Majesty? Let whoever likes talk of the king and the

cardinal, and how he likes; but the queen is sacred, and if

anyone speaks of her, let it be respectfully."

"Porthos, you are as vain as Narcissus; I plainly tell you so,"

replied Aramis. "You know I hate moralizing, except when it is

done by Athos. As to you, good sir, you wear too magnificent a

baldric to be strong on that head. I will be an abbe if it suits

me. In the meanwhile I am a Musketeer; in that quality I say

what I please, and at this moment it pleases me to say that you

weary me."

"Aramis!"

"Porthos!"

"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" cried the surrounding group.

"Monsieur de Treville awaits Monsieur d'Artagnan," cried a

servant, throwing open the door of the cabinet.

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At this announcement, during which the door remained open,

everyone became mute, and amid the general silence the young man

crossed part of the length of the antechamber, and entered the

apartment of the captain of the Musketeers, congratulating

himself with all his heart at having so narrowly escaped the end

of this strange quarrel.

3 THE AUDIENCE

M. de Treville was at the moment in rather ill-humor,

nevertheless he saluted the young man politely, who bowed to the

very ground; and he smiled on receiving d'Artagnan's response,

the Bearnese accent of which recalled to him at the same time

his youth and his country--a double remembrance which makes a man

smile at all ages; but stepping toward the antechamber and making

a sign to d'Artagnan with his hand, as if to ask his permission

to finish with others before he began with him, he called three

times, with a louder voice at each time, so that he ran through

the intervening tones between the imperative accent and the angry

accent.

"Athos! Porthos! Aramis!"

The two Musketeers with whom we have already made acquaintance,

and who answered to the last of these three names, immediately

quitted the group of which they had formed a part, and advanced

toward the cabinet, the door of which closed after them as soon

as they had entered. Their appearance, although it was not quite

at ease, excited by its carelessness, at once full of dignity and

submission, the admiration of d'Artagnan, who beheld in these two

men demigods, and in their leader an Olympian Jupiter, armed with

all his thunders.

When the two Musketeers had entered; when the door was closed

behind them; when the buzzing murmur of the antechamber, to which

the summons which had been made had doubtless furnished fresh

food, had recommenced; when M. de Treville had three or four

times paced in silence, and with a frowning brow, the whole

length of his cabinet, passing each time before Porthos and

Aramis, who were as upright and silent as if on parade--he

stopped all at once full in front of them, and covering them from

head to foot with an angry look, "Do you know what the king said

to me," cried he, "and that no longer ago then yesterday

evening--do you know, gentlemen?"

"No," replied the two Musketeers, after a moment's silence, "no,

sir, we do not."

"But I hope that you will do us the honor to tell us," added

Aramis, in his politest tone and with his most graceful bow.

"He told me that he should henceforth recruit his Musketeers from

among the Guards of Monsieur the Cardinal."

"The Guards of the cardinal! And why so?" asked Porthos, warmly.

"Because he plainly perceives that his piquette* stands in need

of being enlivened by a mixture of good wine."

*A watered liquor, made from the second pressing of the grape.

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The two Musketeers reddened to the whites of their eyes.

d'Artagnan did not know where he was, and wished himself a

hundred feet underground.

"Yes, yes," continued M. de Treville, growing warmer as he spoke,

"and his majesty was right; for, upon my honor, it is true that

the Musketeers make but a miserable figure at court. The

cardinal related yesterday while playing with the king, with an

air of condolence very displeasing to me, that the day before

yesterday those DAMNED MUSKETEERS, those DAREDEVILS--he dwelt

upon those words with an ironical tone still more displeasing to

me--those BRAGGARTS, added he, glancing at me with his tigercat's

eye, had made a riot in the Rue Ferou in a cabaret, and

that a party of his Guards (I thought he was going to laugh in my

face) had been forced to arrest the rioters! MORBLEU! You must

know something about it. Arrest Musketeers! You were among

them--you were! Don't deny it; you were recognized, and the

cardinal named you. But it's all my fault; yes, it's all my

fault, because it is myself who selects my men. You, Aramis, why

the devil did you ask me for a uniform when you would have been

so much better in a cassock? And you, Porthos, do you only wear

such a fine golden baldric to suspend a sword of straw from it?

And Athos--I don't see Athos. Where is he?"

"Ill--very ill, say you? And of what malady?"

"It is feared that it may be the smallpox, sir," replied Porthos,

desirous of taking his turn in the conversation; "and what is

serious is that it will certainly spoil his face."

"The smallpox! That's a great story to tell me, Porthos! Sick

of the smallpox at his age! No, no; but wounded without doubt,

killed, perhaps. Ah, if I knew! S'blood! Messieurs Musketeers,

I will not have this haunting of bad places, this quarreling in

the streets, this swordplay at the crossways; and above all, I

will not have occasion given for the cardinal's Guards, who are

brave, quiet, skillful men who never put themselves in a

position to be arrested, and who, besides, never allow themselves

to be arrested, to laugh at you! I am sure of it--they would

prefer dying on the spot to being arrested or taking back a step.

To save yourselves, to scamper away, to flee--that is good for

the king's Musketeers!"

Porthos and Aramis trembled with rage. They could willingly have

strangled M. de Treville, if, at the bottom of all this, they had

not felt it was the great love he bore them which made him speak

thus. They stamped upon the carpet with their feet; they bit

their lips till the blood came, and grasped the hilts of their

swords with all their might. All without had heard, as we have

said, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis called, and had guessed, from M.

de Treville's tone of voice, that he was very angry about

something. Ten curious heads were glued to the tapestry and

became pale with fury; for their ears, closely applied to the

door, did not lose a syllable of what he said, while their mouths

repeated as he went on, the insulting expressions of the captain

to all the people in the antechamber. In an instant, from the

door of the cabinet to the street gate, the whole hotel was

boiling.

"Ah! The king's Musketeers are arrested by the Guards of the

cardinal, are they?" continued M. de Treville, as furious at

heart as his soldiers, but emphasizing his words and plunging

them, one by one, so to say, like so many blows of a stiletto,

into the bosoms of his auditors. "What! Six of his Eminence's

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Guards arrest six of his Majesty's Musketeers! MORBLEU! My part

is taken! I will go straight to the louvre; I will give in my

resignation as captain of the king's Musketeers to take a

lieutenancy in the cardinal's Guards, and if he refuses me,

MORBLEU! I will turn abbe."

At these words, the murmur without became an explosion; nothing

was to be heard but oaths and blasphemies. The MORBLUES, the

SANG DIEUS, the MORTS TOUTS LES DIABLES, crossed one another in

the air. D'Artagnan looked for some tapestry behind which he

might hide himself, and felt an immense inclination to crawl

under the table.

"Well, my Captain," said Porthos, quite beside himself, "the

truth is that we were six against six. But we were not captured

by fair means; and before we had time to draw our swords, two of

our party were dead, and Athos, grievously wounded, was very

little better. For you know Athos. Well, Captain, he endeavored

twice to get up, and fell again twice. And we did not

surrender--no! They dragged us away by force. On the way we

escaped. As

for Athos, they believed him to be dead, and left him very quiet

on the field of battle, not thinking it worth the trouble to

carry him away. That's the whole story. What the devil,

Captain, one cannot win all one's battles! The great Pompey lost

that of Pharsalia; and Francis the First, who was, as I have

heard say, as good as other folks, nevertheless lost the Battle

of Pavia."

"And I have the honor of assuring you that I killed one of them

with his own sword," said Aramis; "for mine was broken at the

first parry. Killed him, or poniarded him, sir, as is most

agreeable to you."

"I did not know that," replied M. de Treville, in a somewhat

softened tone. "The cardinal exaggerated, as I perceive."

"But pray, sir," continued Aramis, who, seeing his captain become

appeased, ventured to risk a prayer, "do not say that Athos is

wounded. He would be in despair if that should come to the ears

of the king; and as the wound is very serious, seeing that after

crossing the shoulder it penetrates into the chest, it is to be feared--"

At this instant the tapestry was raised and a noble and handsome

head, but frightfully pale, appeared under the fringe.

"Athos!" cried the two Musketeers.

"Athos!" repeated M. de Treville himself.

"You have sent for me, sir," said Athos to M. de Treville, in a

feeble yet perfectly calm voice, "you have sent for me, as my

comrades inform me, and I have hastened to receive your orders.

I am here; what do you want with me?"

And at these words, the Musketeer, in irreproachable costume,

belted as usual, with a tolerably firm step, entered the cabinet.

M. de Treville, moved to the bottom of his heart by this proof of

courage, sprang toward him.

"I was about to say to these gentlemen," added he, "that I forbid

my Musketeers to expose their lives needlessly; for brave men are

very dear to the king, and the king knows that his Musketeers are

the bravest on the earth. Your hand, Athos!"

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And without waiting for the answer of the newcomer to this proof

of affection, M. de Treville seized his right hand and pressed it

with all his might, without perceiving that Athos, whatever might

be his self-command, allowed a slight murmur of pain to escape

him, and if possible, grew paler than he was before.

The door had remained open, so strong was the excitement produced

by the arrival of Athos, whose wound, though kept as a secret,

was known to all. A burst of satisfaction hailed the last words

of the captain; and two or three heads, carried away by the

enthusiasm of the moment, appeared through the openings of the

tapestry. M. de Treville was about to reprehend this breach of

the rules of etiquette, when he felt the hand of Athos, who had

rallied all his energies to contend against pain, at length

overcome by it, fell upon the floor as if he were dead.

"A surgeon!" cried M. de Treville, "mine! The king's! The best! A

surgeon! Or, s'blood, my brave Athos will die!"

At the cries of M. de Treville, the whole assemblage rushed into

the cabinet, he not thinking to shut the door against anyone, and

all crowded round the wounded man. But all this eager attention

might have been useless if the doctor so loudly called for

had not chanced to be in the hotel. He pushed through the crowd,

approached Athos, still insensible, and as all this noise and

commotion inconvenienced him greatly, he required, as the first

and most urgent thing, that the Musketeer should be carried into

an adjoining chamber. Immediately M. de Treville opened and

pointed the way to Porthos and Aramis, who bore their comrade in

their arms. Behind this group walked the surgeon; and behind the

surgeon the door closed.

The cabinet of M. de Treville, generally held so sacred, became

in an instant the annex of the antechamber. Everyone spoke,

harangued, and vociferated, swearing, cursing, and consigning the

cardinal and his Guards to all the devils.

An instant after, Porthos and Aramis re-entered, the surgeon and

M. de Treville alone remaining with the wounded.

At length, M. de Treville himself returned. The injured man had

recovered his senses. The surgeon declared that the situation of

the Musketeer had nothing in it to render his friends uneasy, his

weakness having been purely and simply caused by loss of blood.

Then M. de Treville made a sign with his hand, and all retired

except d'Artagnan, who did not forget that he had an audience,

and with the tenacity of a Gascon remained in his place.

When all had gone out and the door was closed, M. de Treville, on

turning round, found himself alone with the young man. The event

which had occurred had in some degree broken the thread of his

ideas. He inquired what was the will of his persevering visitor.

d'Artagnan then repeated his name, and in an instant recovering

all his remembrances of the present and the past, M. de Treville

grasped the situation.

"Pardon me," said he, smiling, "pardon me my dear compatriot, but

I had wholly forgotten you. But what help is there for it! A

captain is nothing but a father of a family, charged with even a

greater responsibility than the father of an ordinary family.

Soldiers are big children; but as I maintain that the orders of

the king, and more particularly the orders of the cardinal,

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should be executed--"

D'Artagnan could not restrain a smile. By this smile M. de

Treville judged that he had not to deal with a fool, and changing

the conversation, came straight to the point.

"I respected your father very much," said he. "What can I do for

the son? Tell me quickly; my time is not my own."

"Monsieur," said d'Artagnan, "on quitting Tarbes and coming

hither, it was my intention to request of you, in remembrance of

the friendship which you have not forgotten, the uniform of a

Musketeer; but after all that I have seen during the last two

hours, I comprehend that such a favor is enormous, and tremble

lest I should not merit it."

"It is indeed a favor, young man," replied M. de Treville, "but

it may not be so far beyond your hopes as you believe, or rather

as you appear to believe. But his majesty's decision is always

necessary; and I inform you with regret that no one becomes a

Musketeer without the preliminary ordeal of several campaigns,

certain brilliant actions, or a service of two years in some

other regiment less favored than ours."

D'Artagnan bowed without replying, feeling his desire to don the

Musketeer's uniform vastly increased by the great difficulties

which preceded the attainment of it.

"But," continued M. de Treville, fixing upon his compatriot a

look so piercing that it might be said he wished to read the

thoughts of his heart, "on account of my old companion, your

father, as I have said, I will do something for you, young man.

Our recruits from Bearn are not generally very rich, and I have

no reason to think matters have much changed in this respect

since I left the province. I dare say you have not brought too

large a stock of money with you?"

D'Artagnan drew himself up with a proud air which plainly said,

"I ask alms of no man."

"Oh, that's very well, young man," continued M. de Treville,

"that's all very well. I know these airs; I myself came to Paris

with four crowns in my purse, and would have fought with anyone

who dared to tell me I was not in a condition to purchase the

Louvre."

D'Artagnan's bearing became still more imposing. Thanks to the

sale of his horse, he commenced his career with four more crowns

than M. de Treville possessed at the commencement of his.

"You ought, I say, then, to husband the means you have, however

large the sum may be; but you ought also to endeavor to perfect

yourself in the exercises becoming a gentleman. I will write a

letter today to the Director of the Royal Academy, and tomorrow

he will admit you without any expense to yourself. Do not refuse

this little service. Our best-born and richest gentlemen

sometimes solicit it without being able to obtain it. You will

learn horsemanship, swordsmanship in all its branches, and

dancing. You will make some desirable acquaintances; and from

time to time you can call upon me, just to tell me how you are getting

on, and to say whether I can be of further service to you."

D'Artagnan, stranger as he was to all the manners of a court,

could not but perceive a little coldness in this reception.

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"Alas, sir," said he, "I cannot but perceive how sadly I miss the

letter of introduction which my father gave me to present to

you."

"I certainly am surprised," replied M. de Treville, "that you

should undertake so long a journey without that necessary

passport, the sole resource of us poor Bearnese."

"I had one, sir, and, thank God, such as I could wish," cried

d'Artagnan; "but it was perfidiously stolen from me."

He then related the adventure of Meung, described the unknown

gentleman with the greatest minuteness, and all with a warmth and

truthfulness that delighted M. de Treville.

"This is all very strange," said M. de Treville, after meditating

a minute; "you mentioned my name, then, aloud?"

"Yes, sir, I certainly committed that imprudence; but why should

I have done otherwise? A name like yours must be as a buckler to

me on my way. Judge if I should not put myself under its

protection."

Flattery was at that period very current, and M. de Treville

loved incense as well as a king, or even a cardinal. He could

not refrain from a smile of visible satisfaction; but this smile

soon disappeared, and returning to the adventure of Meung, "Tell

me," continued he, "had not this gentlemen a slight scar on his

cheek?"

"Yes, such a one as would be made by the grazing of a ball."

"Was he not a fine-looking man?"

"Yes."

"Of lofty stature."

"Yes."

"Of complexion and brown hair?"

"Yes, yes, that is he; how is it, sir, that you are acquainted

with this man? If I ever find him again--and I will find him, I

swear, were it in hell!"

"He was waiting for a woman," continued Treville.

"He departed immediately after having conversed for a minute with

her whom he awaited."

"You know not the subject of their conversation?"

"He gave her a box, told her not to open it except in London."

"Was this woman English?"

"He called her Milady."

"It is he; it must be he!" murmured Treville. "I believed him

still at Brussels."

"Oh, sir, if you know who this man is," cried d'Artagnan, "tell

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me who he is, and whence he is. I will then release you from all

your promises--even that of procuring my admission into the

Musketeers; for before everything, I wish to avenge myself."

"Beware, young man!" cried Treville. "If you see him coming on

one side of the street, pass by on the other. Do not cast

yourself against such a rock; he would break you like glass."

"That will not prevent me," replied d'Artagnan, "if ever I find

him."

"In the meantime," said Treville, "seek him not--if I have a

right to advise you."

All at once the captain stopped, as if struck by a sudden

suspicion. This great hatred which the young traveler manifested

so loudly for this man, who--a rather improbable thing--had

stolen his father's letter from him--was there not some perfidy

concealed under this hatred? Might not this young man be sent by

his Eminence? Might he not have come for the purpose of laying a

snare for him? This pretended d'Artagnan--was he not an emissary

of the cardinal, whom the cardinal sought to introduce into

Treville's house, to place near him, to win his confidence, and

afterward to ruin him as had been done in a thousand other

instances? He fixed his eyes upon d'Artagnan even more earnestly

than before. He was moderately reassured however, by the aspect

of that countenance, full of astute intelligence and affected

humility. "I know he is a Gascon," reflected he, "but he may be

one for the cardinal as well as for me. Let us try him."

"My friend," said he, slowly, "I wish, as the son of an ancient

friend--for I consider this story of the lost letter perfectly

true--I wish, I say, in order to repair the coldness you may have

remarked in my reception of you, to discover to you the secrets

of our policy. The king and the cardinal are the best of

friends; their apparent bickerings are only feints to deceive

fools. I am not willing that a compatriot, a handsome cavalier,

a brave youth, quite fit to make his way, should become the dupe

of all these artifices and fall into the snare after the example

of so many others who have been ruined by it. Be assured that I

am devoted to both these all-powerful masters, and that my

earnest endeavors have no other aim than the service of the king,

and also the cardinal--one of the most illustrious geniuses that

France has ever produced.

"Now, young man, regulate your conduct accordingly; and if you

entertain, whether from your family, your relations, or even from

your instincts, any of these enmities which we see constantly

breaking out against the cardinal, bid me adieu and let us

separate. I will aid you in many ways, but without attaching you

to my person. I hope that my frankness at least will make you my

friend; for you are the only young man to whom I have hitherto

spoken as I have done to you."

Treville said to himself: "If the cardinal has set this young

fox upon me, he will certainly not have failed--he, who knows how

bitterly I execrate him--to tell his spy that the best means of

making his court to me is to rail at him. Therefore, in spite of

all my protestations, if it be as I suspect, my cunning gossip

will assure me that he holds his Eminence in horror."

It, however, proved otherwise. D'Artagnan answered, with the

greatest simplicity: "I came to Paris with exactly such

intentions. My father advised me to stoop to nobody but the

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king, the cardinal, and yourself--whom he considered the first

three personages in France."

D'Artagnan added M. de Treville to the others, as may be

perceived; but he thought this addition would do no harm.

"I have the greatest veneration for the cardinal," continued he,

"and the most profound respect for his actions. So much the

better for me, sir, if you speak to me, as you say, with

frankness--for then you will do me the honor to esteem the

resemblance of our opinions; but if you have entertained any

doubt, as naturally you may, I feel that I am ruining myself by

speaking the truth. But I still trust you will not esteem me the

less for it, and that is my object beyond all others."

M. de Treville was surprised to the greatest degree. So much

penetration, so much frankness, created admiration, but did not

entirely remove his suspicions. The more this young man was

superior to others, the more he was to be dreaded if he meant to

deceive him; "You are an honest youth; but at the present moment

I can only do for you that which I just now offered. My hotel

will be always open to you. Hereafter, being able to ask for me

at all hours, and consequently to take advantage of all

opportunities, you will probably obtain that which you desire."

"That is to say," replied d'Artagnan, "that you will wait until I

have proved myself worthy of it. Well, be assured," added he,

with the familiarity of a Gascon, "you shall not wait long." And

he bowed in order to retire, and as if he considered the future

in his own hands.

"But wait a minute," said M. de Treville, stopping him. "I

promised you a letter for the director of the Academy. Are you

too proud to accept it, young gentleman?"

"No, sir," said d'Artagnan; "and I will guard it so carefully

that I will be sworn it shall arrive at its address, and woe be

to him who shall attempt to take it from me!"

M. de Treville smiled at this flourish; and leaving his young man

compatriot in the embrasure of the window, where they had talked

together, he seated himself at a table in order to write the

promised letter of recommendation. While he was doing this,

d'Artagnan, having no better employment, amused himself with

beating a march upon the window and with looking at the

Musketeers, who went away, one after another, following them with

his eyes until they disappeared.

M. de Treville, after having written the letter, sealed it, and

rising, approached the young man in order to give it to him. But

at the very moment when d'Artagnan stretched out his hand to

receive it, M. de Treville was highly astonished to see his

protege make a sudden spring, become crimson with passion, and

rush from the cabinet crying, "S'blood, he shall not escape me

this time!"

"And who?" asked M. de Treville.

"He, my thief!" replied d'Artagnan. "Ah, the traitor!" and he

disappeared.

"The devil take the madman!" murmured M. de Treville, "unless,"

added he, "this is a cunning mode of escaping, seeing that he had

failed in his purpose!"

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4 THE SHOULDER OF ATHOS, THE BALDRIC OF PORTHOS AND THE

HANDKERCHIEF OF ARAMIS

D'Artagnan, in a state of fury, crossed the antechamber at three

bounds, and was darting toward the stairs, which he reckoned upon

descending four at a time, when, in his heedless course, he ran

head foremost against a Musketeer who was coming out of one of M.

de Treville's private rooms, and striking his shoulder violently,

made him utter a cry, or rather a howl.

"Excuse me," said d'Artagnan, endeavoring to resume his course,

"excuse me, but I am in a hurry."

Scarcely had he descended the first stair, when a hand of iron

seized him by the belt and stopped him.

"You are in a hurry?" said the Musketeer, as pale as a sheet.

"Under that pretense you run against me! You say. 'Excuse me,'

and you believe that is sufficient? Not at all my young man. Do

you fancy because you have heard Monsieur de Treville speak to us

a little cavalierly today that other people are to treat us as he

speaks to us? Undeceive yourself, comrade, you are not Monsieur

de Treville."

"My faith!" replied d'Artagnan, recognizing Athos, who, after the

dressing performed by the doctor, was returning to his own

apartment. "I did not do it intentionally, and not doing it

intentionally, I said 'Excuse me.' It appears to me that this is

quite enough. I repeat to you, however, and this time on my word

of honor--I think perhaps too often--that I am in haste, great

haste. Leave your hold, then, I beg of you, and let me go where

my business calls me."

"Monsieur," said Athos, letting him go, "you are not polite; it

is easy to perceive that you come from a distance."

D'Artagnan had already strode down three or four stairs, but at

Athos's last remark he stopped short.

"MORBLEU, monsieur!" said he, "however far I may come, it is not

you who can give me a lesson in good manners, I warn you."

"Perhaps," said Athos.

"Ah! If I were not in such haste, and if I were not running

after someone," said d'Artagnan.

"Monsieur Man-in-a-hurry, you can find me without running--ME,

you understand?"

"And where, I pray you?"

"Near the Carmes-Deschaux."

"At what hour?"

"About noon."

"About noon? That will do; I will be there."

"Endeavor not to make me wait; for at quarter past twelve I will

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cut off your ears as you run."

"Good!" cried d'Artagnan, "I will be there ten minutes before

twelve." And he set off running as if the devil possessed him,

hoping that he might yet find the stranger, whose slow pace could

not have carried him far.

But at the street gate, Porthos was talking with the soldier on

guard. Between the two talkers there was just enough room for a

man to pass. D'Artagnan thought it would suffice for him, and he

sprang forward like a dart between them. But d'Artagnan had

reckoned without the wind. As he was about to pass, the wind

blew out Porthos's long cloak, and d'Artagnan rushed straight

into the middle of it. Without doubt, Porthos had reasons for

not abandoning this part of his vestments, for instead of

quitting his hold on the flap in his hand, he pulled it toward

him, so that d'Artagnan rolled himself up in the velvet by a

movement of rotation explained by the persistency of Porthos.

D'Artagnan, hearing the Musketeer swear, wished to escape from

the cloak, which blinded him, and sought to find his way from

under the folds of it. He was particularly anxious to avoid

marring the freshness of the magnificent baldric we are

acquainted with; but on timidly opening his eyes, he found

himself with his nose fixed between the two shoulders of

Porthos--that is to say, exactly upon the baldric.

Alas, like most things in this world which have nothing in their

favor but appearances, the baldric was glittering with gold in

the front, but was nothing but simple buff behind. Vainglorious

as he was, Porthos could not afford to have a baldric wholly of

gold, but had at least half. One could comprehend the necessity

of the cold and the urgency of the cloak.

"Bless me!" cried Porthos, making strong efforts to disembarrass

himself of d'Artagnan, who was wriggling about his back; "you

must be mad to run against people in this manner."

"Excuse me," said d'Artagnan, reappearing under the shoulder of

the giant, "but I am in such haste--I was running after someone

and--"

"And do you always forget your eyes when you run?" asked Porthos.

"No," replied d'Artagnan, piqued, "and thanks to my eyes, I can

see what other people cannot see."

Whether Porthos understood him or did not understand him, giving

way to his anger, "Monsieur," said he, "you stand a chance of

getting chastised if you rub Musketeers in this fashion."

"Chastised, Monsieur!" said d'Artagnan, "the expression is

strong."

"It is one that becomes a man accustomed to look his enemies in

the face."

"Ah, PARDIEU! I know full well that you don't turn your back to

yours."

And the young man, delighted with his joke, went away laughing

loudly.

Porthos foamed with rage, and made a movement to rush after

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d'Artagnan.

"Presently, presently," cried the latter, "when you haven't your

cloak on."

"At one o'clock, then, behind the Luxembourg."

"Very well, at one o'clock, then," replied d'Artagnan, turning

the angle of the street.

But neither in the street he had passed through, nor in the one

which his eager glance pervaded, could he see anyone; however

slowly the stranger had walked, he was gone on his way, or

perhaps had entered some house. D'Artagnan inquired of everyone

he met with, went down to the ferry, came up again by the Rue de

Seine, and the Red Cross; but nothing, absolutely nothing! This

chase was, however, advantageous to him in one sense, for in

proportion as the perspiration broke from his forehead, his heart

began to cool.

He began to reflect upon the events that had passed; they were

numerous and inauspicious. It was scarcely eleven o'clock in the

morning, and yet this morning had already brought him into

disgrace with M. de Treville, who could not fail to think the

manner in which d'Artagnan had left him a little cavalier.

Besides this, he had drawn upon himself two good duels with two

men, each capable of killing three d'Artagnans-with two

Musketeers, in short, with two of those beings whom he esteemed

so greatly that he placed them in his mind and heart above all

other men.

The outlook was sad. Sure of being killed by Athos, it may

easily be understood that the young man was not very uneasy about

Porthos. As hope, however, is the last thing extinguished in the

heart of man, he finished by hoping that he might survive, even

though with terrible wounds, in both these duels; and in case of

surviving, he made the following reprehensions upon his own

conduct:

"What a madcap I was, and what a stupid fellow I am! That brave

and unfortunate Athos was wounded on that very shoulder against

which I must run head foremost, like a ram. The only thing that

astonishes me is that he did not strike me dead at once. He had

good cause to do so; the pain I gave him must have been

atrocious. As to Porthos--oh, as to Porthos, faith, that's a

droll affair!"

And in spite of himself, the young man began to laugh aloud,

looking round carefully, however, to see that his solitary laugh,

without a cause in the eyes of passers-by, offended no one.

"As to Porthos, that is certainly droll; but I am not the less a

giddy fool. Are people to be run against without warning? No!

And have I any right to go and peep under their cloaks to see

what is not there? He would have pardoned me, he would certainly

have pardoned me, if I had not said anything to him about that

cursed baldric--in ambiguous words, it is true, but rather drolly

ambiguous. Ah, cursed Gascon that I am, I get from one hobble

into another. Friend d'Artagnan," continued he, speaking to

himself with all the amenity that he thought due himself, "if you

escape, of which there is not much chance, I would advise you to

practice perfect politeness for the future. You must henceforth

be admired and quoted as a model of it. To be obliging and

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polite does not necessarily make a man a coward. Look at Aramis,

now; Aramis is mildness and grace personified. Well, did anybody

ever dream of calling Aramis a coward? No, certainly not, and

from this moment I will endeavor to model myself after him. Ah!

That's strange! Here he is!"

D'Artagnan, walking and soliloquizing, had arrived within a few

steps of the hotel d'Arguillon and in front of that hotel

perceived Aramis, chatting gaily with three gentlemen; but as he

had not forgotten that it was in presence of this young man that

M. de Treville had been so angry in the morning, and as a witness

of the rebuke the Musketeers had received was not likely to be at

all agreeable, he pretended not to see him. D'Artagnan, on the

contrary, quite full of his plans of conciliation and courtesy,

approached the young men with a profound bow, accompanied by a

most gracious smile. All four, besides, immediately broke off

their conversation.

D'Artagnan was not so dull as not to perceive that he was one too

many; but he was not sufficiently broken into the fashions of the

gay world to know how to extricate himself gallantly from a false

position, like that of a man who begins to mingle with people he

is scarcely acquainted with and in a conversation that does not

concern him. He was seeking in his mind, then, for the least

awkward means of retreat, when he remarked that Aramis had let

his handkerchief fall, and by mistake, no doubt, had placed his

foot upon it. This appeared to be a favorable opportunity to

repair his intrusion. He stooped, and with the most gracious air

he could assume, drew the handkerchief from under the foot of the

Musketeer in spite of the efforts the latter made to detain it,

and holding it out to him, said, "I believe, monsieur, that this

is a handkerchief you would be sorry to lose?"

The handkerchief was indeed richly embroidered, and had a coronet

and arms at one of its corners. Aramis blushed excessively, and

snatched rather than took the handkerchief from the hand of the

Gascon.

"Ah, ah!" cried one of the Guards, "will you persist in saying,

most discreet Aramis, that you are not on good terms with Madame

de Bois-Tracy, when that gracious lady has the kindness to lend

you one of her handkerchiefs?"

Aramis darted at d'Artagnan one of those looks which inform a man

that he has acquired a mortal enemy. Then, resuming his mild

air, "You are deceived, gentlemen," said he, "this handkerchief

is not mine, and I cannot fancy why Monsieur has taken it into

his head to offer it to me rather than to one of you; and as a

proof of what I say, here is mine in my pocket."

So saying, he pulled out his own handkerchief, likewise a very

elegant handkerchief, and of fine cambric--though cambric was

dear at the period--but a handkerchief without embroidery and

without arms, only ornamented with a single cipher, that of its

proprietor.

This time d'Artagnan was not hasty. He perceived his mistake;

but the friends of Aramis were not at all convinced by his

denial, and one of them addressed the young Musketeer with

affected seriousness. "If it were as you pretend it is," said

he, "I should be forced, my dear Aramis, to reclaim it myself;

for, as you very well know, Bois-Tracy is an intimate friend of

mine, and I cannot allow the property of his wife to be sported

as a trophy."

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"You make the demand badly," replied Aramis; "and while

acknowledging the justice of your reclamation, I refuse it on

account of the form."

"The fact is," hazarded d'Artagnan, timidly, "I did not see the

handkerchief fall from the pocket of Monsieur Aramis. He had his

foot upon it, that is all; and I thought from having his foot

from having his foot

upon it the handkerchief was his."

"And you were deceived, my dear sir," replied Aramis, coldly,

very little sensible to the reparation. Then turning toward that

one of the guards who had declared himself the friend of Bois-

Tracy, "Besides," continued he, "I have reflected, my dear

intimate of Bois-Tracy, that I am not less tenderly his friend

than you can possibly be; so that decidedly this handkerchief is

as likely to have fallen from your pocket as mine."

"No, upon my honor!" cried his Majesty's Guardsman.

"You are about to swear upon your honor and I upon my word, and

then it will be pretty evident that one of us will have lied.

Now, here, Montaran, we will do better than that--let each take a

half."

"Of the handkerchief?"

"Yes."

"Perfectly just," cried the other two Guardsmen, "the judgment of

King Solomon! Aramis, you certainly are full of wisdom!"

The young men burst into a laugh, and as may be supposed, the

affair had no other sequel. In a moment or two the conversation

ceased, and the three Guardsmen and the Musketeer, after having

cordially shaken hands, separated, the Guardsmen going one way

and Aramis another.

"Now is my time to make peace with this gallant man," said

d'Artagnan to himself, having stood on one side during the whole

of the latter part of the conversation; and with this good

feeling drawing near to Aramis, who was departing without paying

any attention to him, "Monsieur," said he, "you will excuse me, I

hope."

"Ah, monsieur," interrupted Aramis, "permit me to observe to you

that you have not acted in this affair as a gallant man ought."

"What, monsieur!" cried d'Artagnan, "and do you suppose--"

"I suppose, monsieur that you are not a fool, and that you knew

very well, although coming from Gascony, that people do not tread

upon handkerchiefs without a reason. What the devil! Paris is

not paved with cambric!"

"Monsieur, you act wrongly in endeavoring to mortify me," said

d'Artagnan, in whom the natural quarrelsome spirit began to speak

more loudly than his pacific resolutions. "I am from Gascony, it

is true; and since you know it, there is no occasion to tell you

that Gascons are not very patient, so that when they have begged

to be excused once, were it even for a folly, they are convinced

that they have done already at least as much again as they ought

to have done."

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"Monsieur, what I say to you about the matter," said Aramis, "is

not for the sake of seeking a quarrel. Thank God, I am not a

bravo! And being a Musketeer but for a time, I only fight when I

am forced to do so, and always with great repugnance; but this

time the affair is serious, for here is a lady compromised by

you."

"By US, you mean!" cried d'Artagnan.

"Why did you so maladroitly restore me the handkerchief?"

"Why did you so awkwardly let it fall?"

"I have said, monsieur, and I repeat, that the handkerchief did

not fall from my pocket."

"And thereby you have lied twice, monsieur, for I saw it fall."

"Ah, you take it with that tone, do you, Master Gascon? Well, I

will teach you how to behave yourself."

"And I will send you back to your Mass book, Master Abbe. Draw,

if you please, and instantly--"

"Not so, if you please, my good friend--not here, at least. Do

you not perceive that we are opposite the Hotel d'Arguillon,

which is full of the cardinal's creatures? How do I know that

this is not his Eminence who has honored you with the commission

to procure my head? Now, I entertain a ridiculous partiality for

my head, it seems to suit my shoulders so correctly. I wish to

kill you, be at rest as to that, but to kill you quietly in a

snug, remote place, where you will not be able to boast of your

death to anybody."

"I agree, monsieur; but do not be too confident. Take your

handkerchief; whether it belongs to you or another, you may

perhaps stand in need of it."

"Monsieur is a Gascon?" asked Aramis.

"Yes. Monsieur does not postpone an interview through prudence?"

"Prudence, monsieur, is a virtue sufficiently useless to

Musketeers, I know, but indispensable to churchmen; and as I am

only a Musketeer provisionally, I hold it good to be prudent. At

two o'clock I shall have the honor of expecting you at the hotel

of Monsieur de Treville. There I will indicate to you the best

place and time."

The two young men bowed and separated, Aramis ascending the

street which led to the Luxembourg, while d'Artagnan, perceiving

the appointed hour was approaching, took the road to the

Carmes-Deschaux, saying to himself, "Decidedly I can't draw back;

but at least, if I am killed, I shall be killed by a Musketeer."

5 THE KING'S MUSKETEERS AND THE CARDINAL'S GUARDS

D'Artagnan was acquainted with nobody in Paris. He went

therefore to his appointment with Athos without a second,

determined to be satisfied with those his adversary should

choose. Besides, his intention was formed to make the brave

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Musketeer all suitable apologies, but without meanness or

weakness, fearing that might result from this duel which

generally results from an affair of this kind, when a young and

vigorous man fights with an adversary who is wounded and

weakened--if conquered, he doubles the triumph of his antagonist;

if a conqueror, he is accused of foul play and want of courage.

Now, we must have badly painted the character of our adventure

seeker, or our readers must have already perceived that

d'Artagnan was not an ordinary man; therefore, while repeating to

himself that his death was inevitable, he did not make up his

mind to die quietly, as one less courageous and less restrained

might have done in his place. He reflected upon the different

characters of men he had to fight with, and began to view his

situation more clearly. He hoped, by means of loyal excuses, to

make a friend of Athos, whose lordly air and austere bearing

pleased him much. He flattered himself he should be able to

frighten Porthos with the adventure of the baldric, which he

might, if not killed upon the spot, relate to everybody a recital

which, well managed, would cover Porthos with ridicule. As to

the astute Aramis, he did not entertain much dread of him; and

supposing he should be able to get so far, he determined to

dispatch him in good style or at least, by hitting him in the

face, as Caesar recommended his soldiers do to those of Pompey,

to damage forever the beauty of which he was so proud.

In addition to this, d'Artagnan possessed that invincible stock

of resolution which the counsels of his father had implanted in

his heart: "Endure nothing from anyone but the king, the

cardinal, and Monsieur de Treville." He flew, then, rather than

walked, toward the convent of the Carmes Dechausses, or rather

Deschaux, as it was called at that period, a sort of building

without a window, surrounded by barren fields--an accessory to

the Preaux-Clercs, and which was generally employed as the place

for the duels of men who had no time to lose.

When d'Artagnan arrived in sight of the bare spot of ground which

extended along the foot of the monastery, Athos had been waiting

about five minutes, and twelve o'clock was striking. He was,

then, as punctual as the Samaritan woman, and the most rigorous

casuist with regard to duels could have nothing to say.

Athos, who still suffered grievously from his wound, though it

had been dressed anew by M. de Treville's surgeon, was seated on

a post and waiting for his adversary with hat in hand, his

feather even touching the ground.

"Monsieur," said Athos, "I have engaged two of my friends as

seconds; but these two friends are not yet come, at which I am

astonished, as it is not at all their custom."

"I have no seconds on my part, monsieur," said d'Artagnan; "for

having only arrived yesterday in Paris, I as yet know no one but

Monsieur de Treville, to whom I was recommended by my father, who

has the honor to be, in some degree, one of his friends."

Athos reflected for an instant. "You know no one but Monsieur de

Treville?" he asked.

"Yes, monsieur, I know only him."

"Well, but then," continued Athos, speaking half to himself, "if

I kill you, I shall have the air of a boy-slayer."

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"Not too much so," replied d'Artagnan, with a bow that was not

deficient in dignity, "since you do me the honor to draw a sword

with me while suffering from a wound which is very inconvenient."

"Very inconvenient, upon my word; and you hurt me devilishly, I

can tell you. But I will take the left hand--it is my custom in

such circumstances. Do not fancy that I do you a favor; I use

either hand easily. And it will be even a disadvantage to you; a

left-handed man is very troublesome to people who are not

prepared for it. I regret I did not inform you sooner of this

circumstance."

"You have truly, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, bowing again, "a

courtesy, for which, I assure you, I am very grateful."

"You confuse me," replied Athos, with his gentlemanly air; "let

us talk of something else, if you please. Ah, s'blood, how you

have hurt me! My shoulder quite burns."

"If you would permit me--" said d'Artagnan, with timidity.

"What, monsieur?"

"I have a miraculous balsam for wounds--a balsam given to me by

my mother and of which I have made a trial upon myself."

"Well?"

"Well, I am sure that in less than three days this balsam would

cure you; and at the end of three days, when you would be cured--

well, sir, it would still do me a great honor to be your man."

D'Artagnan spoke these words with a simplicity that did honor to

his courtesy, without throwing the least doubt upon his courage.

"PARDIEU, monsieur!" said Athos, "that's a proposition that

pleases me; not that I can accept it, but a league off it savors

of the gentleman. Thus spoke and acted the gallant knights of

the time of Charlemagne, in whom every cavalier ought to seek his

model. Unfortunately, we do not live in the times of the great

emperor, we live in the times of the cardinal; and three days

hence, however well the secret might be guarded, it would be

known, I say, that we were to fight, and our combat would be

prevented. I think these fellows will never come."

"If you are in haste, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, with the same

simplicity with which a moment before he had proposed to him to

put off the duel for three days, "and if it be your will to

dispatch me at once, do not inconvenience yourself, I pray you."

"There is another word which pleases me," cried Athos, with a

gracious nod to d'Artagnan. "That did not come from a man

without a heart. Monsieur, I love men of your kidney; and I

foresee plainly that if we don't kill each other, I shall

hereafter have much pleasure in your conversation. We will wait

for these gentlemen, so please you; I have plenty of time, and it

will be more correct. Ah, here is one of them, I believe."

In fact, at the end of the Rue Vaugirard the gigantic Porthos

appeared.

"What!" cried d'Artagnan, "is your first witness Monsieur

Porthos?"

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"Yes, that disturbs you?"

"By no means."

"And here is the second."

D'Artagnan turned in the direction pointed to by Athos, and

perceived Aramis.

"What!" cried he, in an accent of greater astonishment than

before, "your second witness is Monsieur Aramis?"

"Doubtless! Are you not aware that we are never seen one without

the others, and that we are called among the Musketeers and the

Guards, at court and in the city, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, or

the Three Inseparables? And yet, as you come from Dax or Pau--"

"From Tarbes," said d'Artagnan.

"It is probable you are ignorant of this little fact," said

Athos.

"My faith!" replied d'Artagnan, "you are well named, gentlemen;

and my adventure, if it should make any noise, will prove at

least that your union is not founded upon contrasts."

In the meantime, Porthos had come up, waved his hand to Athos,

and then turning toward d'Artagnan, stood quite astonished.

Let us say in passing that he had changed his baldric and

relinquished his cloak.

"Ah, ah!" said he, "what does this mean?"

"This is the gentleman I am going to fight with," said Athos,

pointing to d'Artagnan with his hand and saluting him with the

same gesture.

"Why, it is with him I am also going to fight," said Porthos.

"But not before one o'clock," replied d'Artagnan.

"And I also am to fight with this gentleman," said Aramis, coming

in his turn onto the place.

"But not until two o'clock," said d'Artagnan, with the same

calmness.

"But what are you going to fight about, Athos?" asked Aramis.

"Faith! I don't very well know. He hurt my shoulder. And you,

Porthos?"

"Faith! I am going to fight--because I am going to fight,"

answered Porthos, reddening.

Athos, whose keen eye lost nothing, perceived a faintly sly smile

pass over the lips of the young Gascon as he replied, "We had a

short discussion upon dress."

"And you, Aramis?" asked Athos.

"Oh, ours is a theological quarrel," replied Aramis, making a

sign to d'Artagnan to keep secret the cause of their duel.

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Athos indeed saw a second smile on the lips of d'Artagnan.

"Indeed?" said Athos.

"Yes; a passage of St. Augustine, upon which we could not agree,"

said the Gascon.

"Decidedly, this is a clever fellow," murmured Athos.

"And now you are assembled, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, "permit

me to offer you my apologies."

At this word APOLOGIES, a cloud passed over the brow of Athos, a

haughty smile curled the lip of Porthos, and a negative sign was

the reply of Aramis.

"You do not understand me, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, throwing

up his head, the sharp and bold lines of which were at the moment

gilded by a bright ray of the sun. "I asked to be excused in

case I should not be able to discharge my debt to all three; for

Monsieur Athos has the right to kill me first, which must much diminish

the face-value of your bill, Monsieur Porthos, and render

yours almost null, Monsieur Aramis. And now, gentlemen, I

repeat, excuse me, but on that account only, and--on guard!"

At these words, with the most gallant air possible, d'Artagnan

drew his sword.

The blood had mounted to the head of d'Artagnan, and at that

moment he would have drawn his sword against all the Musketeers

in the kingdom as willingly as he now did against Athos, Porthos,

and Aramis.

It was a quarter past midday. The sun was in its zenith, and the

spot chosen for the scene of the duel was exposed to its full

ardor.

"It is very hot," said Athos, drawing his sword in its turn, "and

yet I cannot take off my doublet; for I just now felt my wound

begin to bleed again, and I should not like to annoy Monsieur

with the sight of blood which he has not drawn from me himself."

"That is true, Monsieur," replied d'Artagnan, "and whether drawn

by myself or another, I assure you I shall always view with

regret the blood of so brave a gentleman. I will therefore fight

in my doublet, like yourself."

"Come, come, enough of such compliments!" cried Porthos.

"Remember, we are waiting for our turns."

"Speak for yourself when you are inclined to utter such

incongruities," interrupted Aramis. "For my part, I think what

they say is very well said, and quite worthy of two gentlemen."

"When you please, monsieur," said Athos, putting himself on

guard.

"I waited your orders," said d'Artagnan, crossing swords.

But scarcely had the two rapiers clashed, when a company of the

Guards of his Eminence, commanded by M. de Jussac, turned the

corner of the convent.

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"The cardinal's Guards!" cried Aramis and Porthos at the same

time. "Sheathe your swords, gentlemen, sheathe your swords!"

But it was too late. The two combatants had been seen in a

position which left no doubt of their intentions.

"Halloo!" cried Jussac, advancing toward them and making a sign

to his men to do so likewise, "halloo, Musketeers? Fighting

here, are you? And the edicts? What is become of them?"

"You are very generous, gentlemen of the Guards," said Athos,

full of rancor, for Jussac was one of the aggressors of the

preceding day. "If we were to see you fighting, I can assure you

that we would make no effort to prevent you. Leave us alone,

then, and you will enjoy a little amusement without cost to

yourselves."

"Gentlemen," said Jussac, "it is with great regret that I

pronounce the thing impossible. Duty before everything.

Sheathe, then, if you please, and follow us."

"Monsieur," said Aramis, parodying Jussac, "it would afford us

great pleasure to obey your polite invitation if it depended upon

ourselves; but unfortunately the thing is impossible--Monsieur de

Treville has forbidden it. Pass on your way, then; it is the

best thing to do."

This raillery exasperated Jussac. "We will charge upon you,

then," said he, "if you disobey."

"There are five of them," said Athos, half aloud, "and we are but

three; we shall be beaten again, and must die on the spot, for,

on my part, I declare I will never appear again before the

captain as a conquered man."

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis instantly drew near one another, while

Jussac drew up his soldiers.

This short interval was sufficient to determine d'Artagnan on the

part he was to take. It was one of those events which decide the

life of a man; it was a choice between the king and the

cardinal--the choice made, it must be persisted in. To fight,

that was to disobey the law, that was to risk his head, that was

to make at one blow an enemy of a minister more powerful than the

king himself. All this young man perceived, and yet, to his

praise we speak it, he did not hesitate a second. Turning

towards Athos and his friends, "Gentlemen," said he, "allow me to

correct your words, if you please. You said you were but three,

but it appears to me we are four."

"But you are not one of us," said Porthos.

"That's true," replied d'Artagnan; "I have not the uniform, but I

have the spirit. My heart is that of a Musketeer; I feel it,

monsieur, and that impels me on."

"Withdraw, young man," cried Jussac, who doubtless, by his

gestures and the expression of his countenance, had guessed

d'Artagnan's design. "You may retire; we consent to that. Save

your skin; begone quickly."

D'Artagnan did not budge.

"Decidedly, you are a brave fellow," said Athos, pressing the

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young man's hand.

"Come, come, choose your part," replied Jussac.

"Well," said Porthos to Aramis, "we must do something."

"Monsieur is full of generosity," said Athos.

But all three reflected upon the youth of d'Artagnan, and dreaded

his inexperience.

"We should only be three, one of whom is wounded, with the

addition of a boy," resumed Athos; "and yet it will not be the

less said we were four men."

"Yes, but to yield!" said Porthos.

"That IS difficult," replied Athos.

D'Artagnan comprehended their irresolution.

"Try me, gentlemen," said he, "and I swear to you by my honor

that I will not go hence if we are conquered."

"What is your name, my brave fellow?" said Athos.

"d'Artagnan, monsieur."

"Well, then, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan, forward!"

cried Athos.

"Come, gentlemen, have you decided?" cried Jussac for the third

time.

"It is done, gentlemen," said Athos.

"And what is your choice?" asked Jussac.

"We are about to have the honor of charging you," replied Aramis,

lifting his hat with one hand and drawing his sword with the

other.

"Ah! You resist, do you?" cried Jussac.

"S'blood; does that astonish you?"

And the nine combatants rushed upon each other with a fury which

however did not exclude a certain degree of method.

Athos fixed upon a certain Cahusac, a favorite of the cardinal's.

Porthos had Bicarat, and Aramis found himself opposed to two

adversaries. As to d'Artagnan, he sprang toward Jussac himself.

The heart of the young Gascon beat as if it would burst through

his side--not from fear, God he thanked, he had not the shade of

it, but with emulation; he fought like a furious tiger, turning

ten times round his adversary, and changing his ground and his

guard twenty times. Jussac was, as was then said, a fine blade,

and had had much practice; nevertheless it required all his skill

to defend himself against an adversary who, active and energetic,

departed every instant from received rules, attacking him on all

sides at once, and yet parrying like a man who had the greatest

respect for his own epidermis.

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This contest at length exhausted Jussac's patience. Furious at

being held in check by one whom he had considered a boy, he

became warm and began to make mistakes. D'Artagnan, who though

wanting in practice had a sound theory, redoubled his agility.

Jussac, anxious to put an end to this, springing forward, aimed a

terrible thrust at his adversary, but the latter parried it; and

while Jussac was recovering himself, glided like a serpent

beneath his blade, and passed his sword through his body. Jussac

fell like a dead mass.

D'Artagnan then cast an anxious and rapid glance over the field

of battle.

Aramis had killed one of his adversaries, but the other pressed

him warmly. Nevertheless, Aramis was in a good situation, and

able to defend himself.

Bicarat and Porthos had just made counterhits. Porthos had

received a thrust through his arm, and Bicarat one through his

thigh. But neither of these two wounds was serious, and they

only fought more earnestly.

Athos, wounded anew by Cahusac, became evidently paler, but did

not give way a foot. He only changed his sword hand, and fought

with his left hand.

According to the laws of dueling at that period, d'Artagnan was

at liberty to assist whom he pleased. While he was endeavoring

to find out which of his companions stood in greatest need, he

caught a glance from Athos. The glance was of sublime eloquence.

Athos would have died rather than appeal for help; but he could

look, and with that look ask assistance. D'Artagnan interpreted

it; with a terrible bound he sprang to the side of Cahusac,

crying, "To me, Monsieur Guardsman; I will slay you!"

Cahusac turned. It was time; for Athos, whose great courage

alone supported him, sank upon his knee.

"S'blood!" cried he to d'Artagnan, "do not kill him, young man, I

beg of you. I have an old affair to settle with him when I am

cured and sound again. Disarm him only--make sure of his sword.

That's it! Very well done!"

The exclamation was drawn from Athos by seeing the sword of

Cahusac fly twenty paces from him. D'Artagnan and Cahusac sprang

forward at the same instant, the one to recover, the other to

obtain, the sword; but d'Artagnan, being the more active, reached

it first and placed his foot upon it.

Cahusac immediately ran to the Guardsman whom Aramis had killed,

seized his rapier, and returned toward d'Artagnan; but on his way

he met Athos, who during his relief which d'Artagnan had procured

him had recovered his breath, and who, for fear that d'Artagnan

would kill his enemy, wished to resume the fight.

D'Artagnan perceived that it would be disobliging Athos not to

leave him alone; and in a few minutes Cahusac fell, with a sword

thrust through his throat.

At the same instant Aramis placed his sword point on the breast

of his fallen enemy, and forced him to ask for mercy.

There only then remained Porthos and Bicarat. Porthos made a

thousand flourishes, asking Bicarat what o'clock it could be, and

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offering him his compliments upon his brother's having just

obtained a company in the regiment of Navarre; but, jest as he

might, he gained nothing. Bicarat was one of those iron men who

never fell dead.

Nevertheless, it was necessary to finish. The watch might come

up and take all the combatants, wounded or not, royalists or

cardinalists. Athos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan surrounded Bicarat,

and required him to surrender. Though alone against all and with

a wound in his thigh, Bicarat wished to hold out; but Jussac, who

had risen upon his elbow, cried out to him to yield. Bicarat was

a Gascon, as d'Artagnan was; he turned a deaf ear, and contented

himself with laughing, and between two parries finding time to

point to a spot of earth with his sword, "Here," cried he,

parodying a verse of the Bible, "here will Bicarat die; for I

only am left, and they seek my life."

"But there are four against you; leave off, I command you."

"Ah, if you command me, that's another thing," said Bicarat. "As

you are my commander, it is my duty to obey." And springing

backward, he broke his sword across his knee to avoid the

necessity of surrendering it, threw the pieces over the convent

wall, and crossed him arms, whistling a cardinalist air.

Bravery is always respected, even in an enemy. The Musketeers

saluted Bicarat with their swords, and returned them to their

sheaths. D'Artagnan did the same. Then, assisted by Bicarat,

the only one left standing, he bore Jussac, Cahusac, and one of

Aramis's adversaries who was only wounded, under the porch of the

convent. The fourth, as we have said, was dead. They then rang

the bell, and carrying away four swords out of five, they took

their road, intoxicated with joy, toward the hotel of M. de

Treville.

They walked arm in arm, occupying the whole width of the street

and taking in every Musketeer they met, so that in the end it

became a triumphal march. The heart of d'Artagnan swam in

delirium; he marched between Athos and Porthos, pressing them

tenderly.

"If I am not yet a Musketeer," said he to his new friends, as he

passed through the gateway of M. de Treville's hotel, "at least I

have entered upon my apprenticeship, haven't I?"

6 HIS MAJESTY KING LOUIS XIII

This affair made a great noise. M. de Treville scolded his

Musketeers in public, and congratulated them in private; but as

no time was to be lost in gaining the king, M. de Treville

hastened to report himself at the Louvre. It was already too

late. The king was closeted with the cardinal, and M. de

Treville was informed that the king was busy and could not

receive him at that moment. In the evening M. de Treville

attended the king's gaming table. The king was winning; and as

he was very avaricious, he was in an excellent humor. Perceiving

M. de Treville at a distance--

"Come here, Monsieur Captain," said he, "come here, that I may

growl at you. Do you know that his Eminence has been making

fresh complaints against your Musketeers, and that with so much

emotion, that this evening his Eminence is indisposed? Ah, these

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Musketeers of yours are very devils--fellows to be hanged."

"No, sire," replied Treville, who saw at the first glance how

things would go, "on the contrary, they are good creatures, as

meek as lambs, and have but one desire, I'll be their warranty.

And that is that their swords may never leave their scabbards but

in your majesty's service. But what are they to do? The Guards

of Monsieur the Cardinal are forever seeking quarrels with them,

and for the honor of the corps even, the poor young men are

obliged to defend themselves."

"Listen to Monsieur de Treville," said the king; "listen to him!

Would not one say he was speaking of a religious community? In

truth, my dear Captain, I have a great mind to take away your

commission and give it to Mademoiselle de Chemerault, to whom I

promised an abbey. But don't fancy that I am going to take you

on your bare word. I am called Louis the Just, Monsieur de

Treville, and by and by, by and by we will see."

"Ah, sire; it is because I confide in that justice that I shall

wait patiently and quietly the good pleasure of your Majesty."

"Wait, then, monsieur, wait," said the king; "I will not detain

you long."

In fact, fortune changed; and as the king began to lose what he

had won, he was not sorry to find an excuse for playing

Charlemagne--if we may use a gaming phrase of whose origin we

confess our ignorance. The king therefore arose a minute after,

and putting the money which lay before him into his pocket, the

major part of which arose from his winnings, "La Vieuville," said

he, "take my place; I must speak to Monsieur de Treville on an

affair of importance. Ah, I had eighty louis before me; put down

the same sum, so that they who have lost may have nothing to

complain of. Justice before everything."

Then turning toward M. de Treville and walking with him toward

the embrasure of a window, "Well, monsieur," continued he, "you

say it is his Eminence's Guards who have sought a quarrel with

your Musketeers?"

"Yes, sire, as they always do."

"And how did the thing happen? Let us see, for you know, my dear

Captain, a judge must hear both sides."

"Good Lord! In the most simple and natural manner possible.

Three of my best soldiers, whom your Majesty knows by name, and

whose devotedness you have more than once appreciated, and who

have, I dare affirm to the king, his service much at heart--three

of my best soldiers, I say, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, had made

a party of pleasure with a young fellow from Gascony, whom I had

introduced to them the same morning. The party was to take place

at St. Germain, I believe, and they had appointed to meet at the

Carmes-Deschaux, when they were disturbed by de Jussac, Cahusac,

Bicarat, and two other Guardsmen, who certainly did not go there

in such a numerous company without some ill intention against the

edicts."

"Ah, ah! You incline me to think so," said the king. "There is

no doubt they went thither to fight themselves."

"I do not accuse them, sire; but I leave your Majesty to judge

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what five armed men could possibly be going to do in such a

deserted place as the neighborhood of the Convent des Carmes."

"Yes, you are right, Treville, you are right!"

"Then, upon seeing my Musketeers they changed their minds, and

forgot their private hatred for partisan hatred; for your Majesty

cannot be ignorant that the Musketeers, who belong to the king

and nobody but the king, are the natural enemies of the

Guardsmen, who belong to the cardinal."

"Yes, Treville, yes," said the king, in a melancholy tone; "and

it is very sad, believe me, to see thus two parties in France,

two heads to royalty. But all this will come to an end, Treville,

will come to an end. You say, then, that the Guardsmen sought a

quarrel with the Musketeers?"

"I say that it is probable that things have fallen out so, but I

will not swear to it, sire. You know how difficult it is to

discover the truth; and unless a man be endowed with that

admirable instinct which causes Louis XIII to be named the

Just--"

"You are right, Treville; but they were not alone, your

Musketeers. They had a youth with them?"

"Yes, sire, and one wounded man; so that three of the king's

Musketeers--one of whom was wounded--and a youth not only

maintained their ground against five of the most terrible of the

cardinal's Guardsmen, but absolutely brought four of them to

earth."

"Why, this is a victory!" cried the king, all radiant, "a

complete victory!"

"Yes, sire; as complete as that of the Bridge of Ce."

"Four men, one of them wounded, and a youth, say you?"

"One hardly a young man; but who, however, behaved himself so

admirably on this occasion that I will take the liberty of

recommending him to your Majesty."

"How does he call himself?"

"d'Artagnan, sire; he is the son of one of my oldest friends--the

son of a man who served under the king your father, of glorious

memory, in the civil war."

"And you say this young man behaved himself well? Tell me how,

Treville--you know how I delight in accounts of war and

fighting."

And Louis XIII twisted his mustache proudly, placing his hand

upon his hip.

"Sire," resumed Treville, "as I told you, Monsieur d'Artagnan is

little more than a boy; and as he has not the honor of being a

Musketeer, he was dressed as a citizen. The Guards of the

cardinal, perceiving his youth and that he did not belong to the

corps, invited him to retire before they attacked."

"So you may plainly see, Treville," interrupted the king, "it was

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they who attacked?"

"That is true, sire; there can be no more doubt on that head.

They called upon him then to retire; but he answered that he was

a Musketeer at heart, entirely devoted to your Majesty, and that

therefore he would remain with Messieurs the Musketeers."

"Brave young man!" murmured the king.

"Well, he did remain with them; and your Majesty has in him so

firm a champion that it was he who gave Jussac the terrible sword

thrust which has made the cardinal so angry."

"He who wounded Jussac!" cried the king, "he, a boy! Treville,

that's impossible!"

"It is as I have the honor to relate it to your Majesty."

"Jussac, one of the first swordsmen in the kingdom?"

"Well, sire, for once he found his master."

"I will see this young man, Treville--I will see him; and if anything

can be done--well, we will make it our business."

"When will your Majesty deign to receive him?"

"Tomorrow, at midday, Treville."

"Shall I bring him alone?"

"No, bring me all four together. I wish to thank them all at

once. Devoted men are so rare, Treville, by the back staircase.

It is useless to let the cardinal know."

"Yes, sire."

"You understand, Treville--an edict is still an edict, it is

forbidden to fight, after all."

"But this encounter, sire, is quite out of the ordinary

conditions of a duel. It is a brawl; and the proof is that there

were five of the cardinal's Guardsmen against my three Musketeers

and Monsieur d'Artagnan."

"That is true," said the king; "but never mind, Treville, come

still by the back staircase."

Treville smiled; but as it was indeed something to have prevailed

upon this child to rebel against his master, he saluted the king

respectfully, and with this agreement, took leave of him.

That evening the three Musketeers were informed of the honor

accorded them. As they had long been acquainted with the king,

they were not much excited; but d'Artagnan, with his Gascon

imagination, saw in it his future fortune, and passed the night

in golden dreams. By eight o'clock in the morning he was at the

apartment of Athos.

D'Artagnan found the Musketeer dressed and ready to go out. As

the hour to wait upon the king was not till twelve, he had made a

party with Porthos and Aramis to play a game at tennis in a

tennis court situated near the stables of the Luxembourg. Athos

invited d'Artagnan to follow them; and although ignorant of the

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game, which he had never played, he accepted, not knowing what to

do with his time from nine o'clock in the morning, as it then

scarcely was, till twelve.

The two Musketeers were already there, and were playing together.

Athos, who was very expert in all bodily exercises, passed with

d'Artagnan to the opposite side and challenged them; but at the

first effort he made, although he played with his left hand, he

found that his wound was yet too recent to allow of such

exertion. D'Artagnan remained, therefore, alone; and as he

declared he was too ignorant of the game to play it regularly

they only continued giving balls to one another without counting.

But one of these balls, launched by Porthos' herculean hand,

passed so close to d'Artagnan's face that he thought that if,

instead of passing near, it had hit him, his audience would have

been probably lost, as it would have been impossible for him to

present himself before the king. Now, as upon this audience, in

his Gascon imagination, depended his future life, he saluted

Aramis and Porthos politely, declaring that he would not resume

the game until he should be prepared to play with them on more

equal terms, and went and took his place near the cord and in the

gallery.

Unfortunately for d'Artagnan, among the spectators was one of his

Eminence's Guardsmen, who, still irritated by the defeat of his

companions, which had happened only the day before, had promised

himself to seize the first opportunity of avenging it. He

believed this opportunity was now come and addressed his

neighbor: "It is not astonishing that that young man should be

afraid of a ball, for he is doubtless a Musketeer apprentice."

D'Artagnan turned round as if a serpent had stung him, and fixed

his eyes intensely upon the Guardsman who had just made this

insolent speech.

"PARDIEU," resumed the latter, twisting his mustache, "look at me

as long as you like, my little gentleman! I have said what I

have said."

"And as since that which you have said is too clear to require

any explanation," replied d'Artagnan, in a low voice, "I beg you

to follow me."

"And when?" asked the Guardsman, with the same jeering air.

"At once, if you please."

"And you know who I am, without doubt?"

"I? I am completely ignorant; nor does it much disquiet me."

"You're in the wrong there; for if you knew my name, perhaps you

would not be so pressing."

"What is your name?"

"Bernajoux, at your service."

"Well, then, Monsieur Bernajoux," said d'Artagnan, tranquilly, "I

will wait for you at the door."

"Go, monsieur, I will follow you."

"Do not hurry yourself, monsieur, lest it be observed that we go

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out together. You must be aware that for our undertaking,

company would be in the way."

"That's true," said the Guardsman, astonished that his name had

not produced more effect upon the young man.

Indeed, the name of Bernajoux was known to all the world,

d'Artagnan alone excepted, perhaps; for it was one of those which

figured most frequently in the daily brawls which all the edicts

of the cardinal could not repress.

Porthos and Aramis were so engaged with their game, and Athos was

watching them with so much attention, that they did not even

perceive their young companion go out, who, as he had told the

Guardsman of his Eminence, stopped outside the door. An instant

after, the Guardsman descended in his turn. As d'Artagnan had no

time to lose, on account of the audience of the king, which was

fixed for midday, he cast his eyes around, and seeing that the

street was empty, said to his adversary, "My faith! It is

fortunate for you, although your name is Bernajoux, to have only

to deal with an apprentice Musketeer. Never mind; be content, I

will do my best. On guard!"

"But," said he whom d'Artagnan thus provoked, "it appears to me

that this place is badly chosen, and that we should be better

behind the Abbey St. Germain or in the Pre-aux-Clercs."

"What you say is full of sense," replied d'Artagnan; "but

unfortunately I have very little time to spare, having an

appointment at twelve precisely. On guard, then, monsieur, on

guard!"

Bernajoux was not a man to have such a compliment paid to him

twice. In an instant his sword glittered in his hand, and he

sprang upon his adversary, whom, thanks to his great

youthfulness, he hoped to intimidate.

But d'Artagnan had on the preceding day served his

apprenticeship. Fresh sharpened by his victory, full of hopes of

future favor, he was resolved not to recoil a step. So the two

swords were crossed close to the hilts, and as d'Artagnan stood

firm, it was his adversary who made the retreating step; but

d'Artagnan seized the moment at which, in this movement, the

sword of Bernajoux deviated from the line. He freed his weapon,

made a lunge, and touched his adversary on the shoulder.

d'Artagnan immediately made a step backward and raised his sword;

but Bernajoux cried out that it was nothing, and rushing blindly

upon him, absolutely spitted himself upon d'Artagnan's sword.

As, however, he did not fall, as he did not declare himself

conquered, but only broke away toward the hotel of M. de la

Tremouille, in whose service he had a relative, d'Artagnan was

ignorant of the seriousness of the last wound his adversary had

received, and pressing him warmly, without doubt would soon have

completed his work with a third blow, when the noise which arose

from the street being heard in the tennis court, two of the

friends of the Guardsman, who had seen him go out after

exchanging some words with d'Artagnan, rushed, sword in hand,

from the court, and fell upon the conqueror. But Athos, Porthos,

and Aramis quickly appeared in their turn, and the moment the two

Guardsmen attacked their young companion, drove them back.

Bernajoux now fell, and as the Guardsmen were only two against

four, they began to cry, "To the rescue! The Hotel de la

Tremouille!" At these cries, all who were in the hotel rushed

out and fell upon the four companions, who on their side cried

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aloud, "To the rescue, Musketeers!"

This cry was generally heeded; for the Musketeers were known to

be enemies of the cardinal, and were beloved on account of the

hatred they bore to his Eminence. Thus the soldiers of other

companies than those which belonged to the Red Duke, as Aramis

had called him, often took part with the king's Musketeers in

these quarrels. Of three Guardsmen of the company of M.

Dessessart who were passing, two came to the assistance of the

four companions, while the other ran toward the hotel of M. de

Treville, crying, "To the rescue, Musketeers! To the rescue!"

As usual, this hotel was full of soldiers of this company, who

hastened to the succor of their comrades. The MELEE became

general, but strength was on the side of the Musketeers. The

cardinal's Guards and M. de la Tremouille's people retreated into

the hotel, the doors of which they closed just in time to prevent

their enemies from entering with them. As to the wounded man, he

had been taken in at once, and, as we have said, in a very bad

state.

Excitement was at its height among the Musketeers and their

allies, and they even began to deliberate whether they should not

set fire to the hotel to punish the insolence of M. de la

Tremouille's domestics in daring to make a SORTIE upon the king's

Musketeers. The proposition had been made, and received with

enthusiasm, when fortunately eleven o'clock struck. D'Artagnan

and his companions remembered their audience, and as they would

very much have regretted that such an opportunity should be lost,

they succeeded in calming their friends, who contented themselves

with hurling some paving stones against the gates; but the gates

were too strong. They soon tired of the sport. Besides, those

who must be considered the leaders of the enterprise had quit the

group and were making their way toward the hotel of M. de

Treville, who was waiting for them, already informed of this

fresh disturbance.

"Quick to the Louvre," said he, "to the Louvre without losing an

instant, and let us endeavor to see the king before he is

prejudiced by the cardinal. We will describe the thing to him as

a consequence of the affair of yesterday, and the two will pass

off together."

M. de Treville, accompanied by the four young fellows, directed

his course toward the Louvre; but to the great astonishment of

the captain of the Musketeers, he was informed that the king had

gone stag hunting in the forest of St. Germain. M. de Treville

required this intelligence to be repeated to him twice, and each

time his companions saw his brow become darker.

"Had his Majesty," asked he, "any intention of holding this

hunting party yesterday?"

"No, your Excellency," replied the valet de chambre, "the Master

of the Hounds came this morning to inform him that he had marked

down a stag. At first the king answered that he would not go;

but he could not resist his love of sport, and set out after

dinner."

"And the king has seen the cardinal?" asked M. de Treville.

"In all probability he has," replied the valet, "for I saw the

horses harnessed to his Eminence's carriage this morning, and

when I asked where he was going, they told me, "To St. Germain.'"

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"He is beforehand with us," said M. de Treville. "Gentlemen, I

will see the king this evening; but as to you, I do not advise

you to risk doing so."

This advice was too reasonable, and moreover came from a man who

knew the king too well, to allow the four young men to dispute

it. M. de Treville recommended everyone to return home and wait

for news.

On entering his hotel, M. de Treville thought it best to be first

in making the complaint. He sent one of his servants to M. de la

Tremouille with a letter in which he begged of him to eject the

cardinal's Guardsmen from his house, and to reprimand his people

for their audacity in making SORTIE against the king's

Musketeers. But M. de la Tremouille--already prejudiced by his

esquire, whose relative, as we already know, Bernajoux was--

replied that it was neither for M. de Treville nor the Musketeers

to complain, but, on the contrary, for him, whose people the

Musketeers had assaulted and whose hotel they had endeavored to

burn. Now, as the debate between these two nobles might last a

long time, each becoming, naturally, more firm in his own

opinion, M. de Treville thought of an expedient which might

terminate it quietly. This was to go himself to M. de la

Tremouille.

He repaired, therefore, immediately to his hotel, and caused

himself to be announced.

The two nobles saluted each other politely, for if no friendship

existed between them, there was at least esteem. Both were men

of courage and honor; and as M. de la Tremouille--a Protestant,

and seeing the king seldom--was of no party, he did not, in

general, carry any bias into his social relations. This time,

however, his address, although polite, was cooler than usual.

"Monsieur," said M. de Treville, "we fancy that we have each

cause to complain of the other, and I am come to endeavor to

clear up this affair."

"I have no objection," replied M. de la Tremouille, "but I warn

you that I am well informed, and all the fault is with your

Musketeers."

"You are too just and reasonable a man, monsieur!" said Treville,

"not to accept the proposal I am about to make to you."

"Make it, monsieur, I listen."

"How is Monsieur Bernajoux, your esquire's relative?"

"Why, monsieur, very ill indeed! In addition to the sword thrust

in his arm, which is not dangerous, he has received another right

through his lungs, of which the doctor says bad things."

"But has the wounded man retained his senses?"

"Perfectly."

"Does he talk?"

"With difficulty, but he can speak."

"Well, monsieur, let us go to him. Let us adjure him, in the

name of the God before whom he must perhaps appear, to speak the

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truth. I will take him for judge in his own cause, monsieur, and

will believe what he will say."

M. de la Tremouille reflected for an instant; then as it was

difficult to suggest a more reasonable proposal, he agreed to it.

Both descended to the chamber in which the wounded man lay. The

latter, on seeing these two noble lords who came to visit him,

endeavored to raise himself up in his bed; but he was too weak,

and exhausted by the effort, he fell back again almost senseless.

M. de la Tremouille approached him, and made him inhale some

salts, which recalled him to life. Then M. de Treville,

unwilling that it should be thought that he had influenced the

wounded man, requested M. de la Tremouille to interrogate him

himself.

That happened which M. de Treville had foreseen. Placed between

life and death, as Bernajoux was, he had no idea for a moment of

concealing the truth; and he described to the two nobles the

affair exactly as it had passed.

This was all that M. de Treville wanted. He wished Bernajoux a

speedy convalescence, took leave of M. de la Tremouille, returned

to his hotel, and immediately sent word to the four friends that

he awaited their company at dinner.

M. de Treville entertained good company, wholly anticardinalst,

though. It may easily be understood, therefore, that the

conversation during the whole of dinner turned upon the two

checks that his Eminence's Guardsmen had received. Now, as

d'Artagnan had been the hero of these two fights, it was upon him

that all the felicitations fell, which Athos, Porthos, and Aramis

abandoned to him, not only as good comrades, but as men who had

so often had their turn that could very well afford him his.

Toward six o'clock M. de Treville announced that it was time to

go to the Louvre; but as the hour of audience granted by his

Majesty was past, instead of claiming the ENTREE by the back

stairs, he placed himself with the four young men in the

antechamber. The king had not yet returned from hunting. Our

young men had been waiting about half an hour, amid a crowd of

courtiers, when all the doors were thrown open, and his Majesty

was announced.

At his announcement d'Artagnan felt himself tremble to the very

marrow of his bones. The coming instant would in all probability

decide the rest of his life. His eyes therefore were fixed in a

sort of agony upon the door through which the king must enter.

Louis XIII appeared, walking fast. He was in hunting costume

covered with dust, wearing large boots, and holding a whip in his

hand. At the first glance, d'Artagnan judged that the mind of

the king was stormy.

This disposition, visible as it was in his Majesty, did not

prevent the courtiers from ranging themselves along his pathway.

In royal antechambers it is worth more to be viewed with an angry

eye than not to be seen at all. The three Musketeers therefore

did not hesitate to make a step forward. D'Artagnan on the

contrary remained concealed behind them; but although the king

knew Athos, Porthos, and Aramis personally, he passed before them

without speaking or looking--indeed, as if he had never seen them

before. As for M. de Treville, when the eyes of the king fell

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upon him, he sustained the look with so much firmness that it was

the king who dropped his eyes; after which his Majesty,

grumbling, entered his apartment.

"Matters go but badly," said Athos, smiling; "and we shall not be

made Chevaliers of the Order this time."

"Wait here ten minutes," said M. de Treville; "and if at the

expiration of ten minutes you do not see me come out, return to

my hotel, for it will be useless for you to wait for me longer."

The four young men waited ten minutes, a quarter of an hour,

twenty minutes; and seeing that M. de Treville did not return,

went away very uneasy as to what was going to happen.

M. de Treville entered the king's cabinet boldly, and found his

Majesty in a very ill humor, seated on an armchair, beating his

boot with the handle of his whip. This, however, did not prevent

his asking, with the greatest coolness, after his Majesty's

health.

"Bad, monsieur, bad!" replied the king; "I am bored."

This was, in fact, the worst complaint of Louis XIII, who would

sometimes take one of his courtiers to a window and say,

"Monsieur So-and-so, let us weary ourselves together."

"How! Your Majesty is bored? Have you not enjoyed the pleasures

of the chase today?"

"A fine pleasure, indeed, monsieur! Upon my soul, everything

degenerates; and I don't know whether it is the game which leaves

no scent, or the dogs that have no noses. We started a stag of

ten branches. We chased him for six hours, and when he was near

being taken--when St.-Simon was already putting his horn to his

mouth to sound the mort--crack, all the pack takes the wrong

scent and sets off after a two-year-older. I shall be obliged to

give up hunting, as I have given up hawking. Ah, I am an

unfortunate king, Monsieur de Treville! I had but one gerfalcon,

and he died day before yesterday."

"Indeed, sire, I wholly comprehend your disappointment. The

misfortune is great; but I think you have still a good number of

falcons, sparrow hawks, and tiercets."

"And not a man to instruct them. Falconers are declining. I

know no one but myself who is acquainted with the noble art of

venery. After me it will all be over, and people will hunt with

gins, snares, and traps. If I had but the time to train pupils!

But there is the cardinal always at hand, who does not leave me a

moment's repose; who talks to me about Spain, who talks to me

about Austria, who talks to me about England! Ah! A PROPOS of

the cardinal, Monsieur de Treville, I am vexed with you!"

This was the chance at which M. de Treville waited for the king.

He knew the king of old, and he knew that all these complaints

were but a preface--a sort of excitation to encourage himself--

and that he had now come to his point at last.

"And in what have I been so unfortunate as to displease your

Majesty?" asked M. de Treville, feigning the most profound

astonishment.

"Is it thus you perform your charge, monsieur?" continued the

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king, without directly replying to de Treville's question. "Is

it for this I name you captain of my Musketeers, that they should

assassinate a man, disturb a whole quarter, and endeavor to set

fire to Paris, without your saying a word? But yet," continued

the king, "undoubtedly my haste accuses you wrongfully; without

doubt the rioters are in prison, and you come to tell me justice

is done."

"Sire," replied M. de Treville, calmly, "on the contrary, I come

to demand it of you."

"And against whom?" cried the king.

"Against calumniators," said M. de Treville.

"Ah! This is something new," replied the king. "Will you tell

me that your three damned Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis,

and your youngster from Bearn, have not fallen, like so many

furies, upon poor Bernajoux, and have not maltreated him in such

a fashion that probably by this time he is dead? Will you tell

me that they did not lay siege to the hotel of the Duc de la

Tremouille, and that they did not endeavor to burn it?--which

would not, perhaps, have been a great misfortune in time of war,

seeing that it is nothing but a nest of Huguenots, but which is,

in time of peace, a frightful example. Tell me, now, can you

deny all this?"

"And who told you this fine story, sire?" asked Treville,

quietly.

"Who has told me this fine story, monsieur? Who should it be but

he who watches while I sleep, who labors while I amuse myself,

who conducts everything at home and abroad--in France as in

Europe?"

"Your Majesty probably refers to God," said M. de Treville; "for

I know no one except God who can be so far above your Majesty."

"No, monsieur; I speak of the prop of the state, of my only

servant, of my only friend--of the cardinal."

"His Eminence is not his holiness, sire."

"What do you mean by that, monsieur?"

"That it is only the Pope who is infallible, and that this

infallibility does not extend to cardinals."

"You mean to say that he deceives me; you mean to say that he

betrays me? You accuse him, then? Come, speak; avow freely that

you accuse him!"

"No, sire, but I say that he deceives himself. I say that he is

ill-informed. I say that he has hastily accused your Majesty's

Musketeers, toward whom he is unjust, and that he has not

obtained his information from good sources."

"The accusation comes from Monsieur de la Tremouille, from the

duke himself. What do you say to that?"

"I might answer, sire, that he is too deeply interested in the

question to be a very impartial witness; but so far from that,

sire, I know the duke to be a royal gentleman, and I refer the

matter to him--but upon one condition, sire."

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"What?"

"It is that your Majesty will make him come here, will

interrogate him yourself, TETE-A-TETE, without witnesses, and

that I shall see your Majesty as soon as you have seen the duke."

"What, then! You will bind yourself," cried the king, "by what

Monsieur de la Tremouille shall say?"

"Yes, sire."

"You will accept his judgment?"

"Undoubtedly."

"Any you will submit to the reparation he may require?"

"Certainly."

"La Chesnaye," said the king. "La Chesnaye!"

Louis XIII's confidential valet, who never left the door, entered

in reply to the call.

"La Chesnaye," said the king, "let someone go instantly and find

Monsieur de la Tremouille; I wish to speak with him this

evening."

"Your Majesty gives me your word that you will not see anyone

between Monsieur de la Tremouille and myself?"

"Nobody, by the faith of a gentleman."

"Tomorrow, then, sire?"

"Tomorrow, monsieur."

"At what o'clock, please your Majesty?"

"At any hour you will."

"But in coming too early I should be afraid of awakening your

Majesty."

"Awaken me! Do you think I ever sleep, then? I sleep no longer,

monsieur. I sometimes dream, that's all. Come, then, as early

as you like--at seven o'clock; but beware, if you and your

Musketeers are guilty."

"If my Musketeers are guilty, sire, the guilty shall be placed in

your Majesty's hands, who will dispose of them at your good

pleasure. Does your Majesty require anything further? Speak, I

am ready to obey."

"No, monsieur, no; I am not called Louis the Just without reason.

Tomorrow, then, monsieur--tomorrow."

"Till then, God preserve your Majesty!"

However ill the king might sleep, M. de Treville slept still

worse. He had ordered his three Musketeers and their companion

to be with him at half past six in the morning. He took them

with him, without encouraging them or promising them anything,

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and without concealing from them that their luck, and even his

own, depended upon the cast of the dice.

Arrived at the foot of the back stairs, he desired them to wait.

If the king was still irritated against them, they would depart

without being seen; if the king consented to see them, they would

only have to be called.

On arriving at the king's private antechamber, M. de Treville

found La Chesnaye, who informed him that they had not been able

to find M. de la Tremouille on the preceding evening at his

hotel, that he returned too late to present himself at the

Louvre, that he had only that moment arrived and that he was at

that very hour with the king.

This circumstance pleased M. de Treville much, as he thus became

certain that no foreign suggestion could insinuate itself between

M. de la Tremouille's testimony and himself.

In fact, ten minutes had scarcely passed away when the door of

the king's closet opened, and M. de Treville saw M. de la

Tremouille come out. The duke came straight up to him, and said:

"Monsieur de Treville, his Majesty has just sent for me in order

to inquire respecting the circumstances which took place

yesterday at my hotel. I have told him the truth; that is to

say, that the fault lay with my people, and that I was ready to

offer you my excuses. Since I have the good fortune to meet you,

I beg you to receive them, and to hold me always as one of your

friends."

"Monsieur the Duke," said M. de Treville, "I was so confident of

your loyalty that I required no other defender before his Majesty

than yourself. I find that I have not been mistaken, and I thank

you that there is still one man in France of whom may be said,

without disappointment, what I have said of you."

"That's well said," cried the king, who had heard all these

compliments through the open door; "only tell him, Treville,

since he wishes to be considered your friend, that I also wish to

be one of his, but he neglects me; that it is nearly three years

since I have seen him, and that I never do see him unless I send

for him. Tell him all this for me, for these are things which a

king cannot say for himself."

"Thanks, sire, thanks," said the duke; "but your Majesty may be

assured that it is not those--I do not speak of Monsieur de

Treville--whom your Majesty sees at all hours of the day that are

most devoted to you."

"Ah! You have heard what I said? So much the better, Duke, so

much the better," said the king, advancing toward the door. "Ah!

It is you, Treville. Where are your Musketeers? I told you the

day before yesterday to bring them with you; why have you not

done so?"

"They are below, sire, and with your permission La Chesnaye will

bid them come up."

"Yes, yes, let them come up immediately. It is nearly eight

o'clock, and at nine I expect a visit. Go, Monsieur Duke, and

return often. Come in, Treville."

The Duke saluted and retired. At the moment he opened the door,

the three Musketeers and d'Artagnan, conducted by La Chesnaye,

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appeared at the top of the staircase.

"Come in, my braves," said the king, "come in; I am going to

scold you."

The Musketeers advanced, bowing, d'Artagnan following closely

behind them.

"What the devil!" continued the king. "Seven of his Eminence's

Guards placed HORS DE COMBAT by you four in two days! That's too

many, gentlemen, too many! If you go on so, his Eminence will be

forced to renew his company in three weeks, and I to put the

edicts in force in all their rigor. One now and then I don't say

much about; but seven in two days, I repeat, it is too many, it

is far too many!"

"Therefore, sire, your Majesty sees that they are come, quite

contrite and repentant, to offer you their excuses."

"Quite contrite and repentant! Hem!" said the king. "I place no

confidence in their hypocritical faces. In particular, there is

one yonder of a Gascon look. Come hither, monsieur."

D'Artagnan, who understood that it was to him this compliment was

addressed, approached, assuming a most deprecating air.

"Why you told me he was a young man? This is a boy, Treville, a

mere boy! Do you mean to say that it was he who bestowed that

severe thrust at Jussac?"

"And those two equally fine thrusts at Bernajoux."

"Truly!"

"Without reckoning," said Athos, "that if he had not rescued me

from the hands of Cahusac, I should not now have the honor of

making my very humble reverence to your Majesty."

"Why he is a very devil, this Bearnais! VENTRE-SAINT-GRIS,

Monsieur de Treville, as the king my father would have said. But

at this sort of work, many doublets must be slashed and many

swords broken. Now, Gascons are always poor, are they not?"

"Sire, I can assert that they have hitherto discovered no gold

mines in their mountains; though the Lord owes them this miracle

in recompense for the manner in which they supported the

pretensions of the king your father."

"Which is to say that the Gascons made a king of me, myself,

seeing that I am my father's son, is it not, Treville? Well,

happily, I don't say nay to it. La Chesnaye, go and see if by

rummaging all my pockets you can find forty pistoles; and if you

can find them, bring them to me. And now let us see, young man,

with your hand upon your conscience, how did all this come to

pass?"

D'Artagnan related the adventure of the preceding day in all its

details; how, not having been able to sleep for the joy he felt

in the expectation of seeing his Majesty, he had gone to his

three friends three hours before the hour of audience; how they

had gone together to the tennis court, and how, upon the fear he

had manifested lest he receive a ball in the face, he had been

jeered at by Bernajoux who had nearly paid for his jeer with his

life and M. de la Tremouille, who had nothing to do with the

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matter, with the loss of his hotel.

"This is all very well," murmured the king, "yes, this is just

the account the duke gave me of the affair. Poor cardinal!

Seven men in two days, and those of his very best! But that's

quite enough, gentlemen; please to understand, that's enough.

You have taken your revenge for the Rue Ferou, and even exceeded

it; you ought to be satisfied."

"If your Majesty is so," said Treville, "we are."

"Oh, yes; I am," added the king, taking a handful of gold from La

Chesnaye, and putting it into the hand of d'Artagnan. "Here,"

said he, "is a proof of my satisfaction."

At this epoch, the ideas of pride which are in fashion in our

days did not prevail. A gentleman received, from hand to hand,

money from the king, and was not the least in the world

humiliated. D'Artagnan put his forty pistoles into his pocket

without any scruple--on the contrary, thanking his Majesty

greatly.

"There," said the king, looking at a clock, "there, now, as it is

half past eight, you may retire; for as I told you, I expect

someone at nine. Thanks for your devotedness, gentlemen. I may

continue to rely upon it, may I not?"

"Oh, sire!" cried the four companions, with one voice, "we would

allow ourselves to be cut to pieces in your Majesty's service."

"Well, well, but keep whole; that will be better, and you will be

more useful to me. Treville," added the king, in a low voice, as

the others were retiring, "as you have no room in the Musketeers,

and as we have besides decided that a novitiate is necessary

before entering that corps, place this young man in the company

of the Guards of Monsieur Dessessart, your brother-in-law. Ah,

PARDIEU, Treville! I enjoy beforehand the face the cardinal will

make. He will be furious; but I don't care. I am doing what is

right."

The king waved his hand to Treville, who left him and rejoined

the Musketeers, whom he found sharing the forty pistoles with

d'Artagnan.

The cardinal, as his Majesty had said, was really furious, so

furious that during eight days he absented himself from the

king's gaming table. This did not prevent the king from being as

complacent to him as possible whenever he met him, or from asking

in the kindest tone, "Well, Monsieur Cardinal, how fares it with

that poor Jussac and that poor Bernajoux of yours?"

7 THE INTERIOR OF "THE MUSKETEERS"

When d'Artagnan was out of the Louvre, and consulted his friends

upon the use he had best make of his share of the forty pistoles,

Athos advised him to order a good repast at the Pomme-de-Pin,

Porthos to engage a lackey, and Aramis to provide himself with a

suitable mistress.

The repast was carried into effect that very day, and the lackey

waited at table. The repast had been ordered by Athos, and the

lackey furnished by Porthos. He was a Picard, whom the glorious

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Musketeer had picked up on the Bridge Tournelle, making rings and

plashing in the water.

Porthos pretended that this occupation was proof of a reflective

and contemplative organization, and he had brought him away

without any other recommendation. The noble carriage of this

gentleman, for whom he believed himself to be engaged, had won

Planchet--that was the name of the Picard. He felt a slight

disappointment, however, when he saw that this place was already

taken by a compeer named Mousqueton, and when Porthos signified

to him that the state of his household, though great, would not

support two servants, and that he must enter into the service of

d'Artagnan. Nevertheless, when he waited at the dinner given my

his master, and saw him take out a handful of gold to pay for it,

he believed his fortune made, and returned thanks to heaven for

having thrown him into the service of such a Croesus. He

preserved this opinion even after the feast, with the remnants of

which he repaired his own long abstinence; but when in the

evening he made his master's bed, the chimeras of Planchet faded

away. The bed was the only one in the apartment, which consisted

of an antechamber and a bedroom. Planchet slept in the

antechamber upon a coverlet taken from the bed of d'Artagnan, and

which d'Artagnan from that time made shift to do without.

Athos, on his part, had a valet whom he had trained in his

service in a thoroughly peculiar fashion, and who was named

Grimaud. He was very taciturn, this worthy signor. Be it

understood we are speaking of Athos. During the five or six

years that he had lived in the strictest intimacy with his

companions, Porthos and Aramis, they could remember having often

seen him smile, but had never heard him laugh. His words were

brief and expressive, conveying all that was meant, and no more;

no embellishments, no embroidery, no arabesques. His

conversation a matter of fact, without a single romance.

Although Athos was scarcely thirty years old, and was of great

personal beauty and intelligence of mind, no one knew whether he

had ever had a mistress. He never spoke of women. He certainly

did not prevent others from speaking of them before him, although

it was easy to perceive that this kind of conversation, in which

he only mingled by bitter words and misanthropic remarks, was

very disagreeable to him. His reserve, his roughness, and his

silence made almost an old man of him. He had, then, in order

not to disturb his habits, accustomed Grimaud to obey him upon a

simple gesture or upon a simple movement of his lips. He never

spoke to him, except under the most extraordinary occasions.

Sometimes, Grimaud, who feared his master as he did fire, while

entertaining a strong attachment to his person and a great

veneration for his talents, believed he perfectly understood what

he wanted, flew to execute the order received, and did precisely

the contrary. Athos then shrugged his shoulders, and, without

putting himself in a passion, thrashed Grimaud. On these days he

spoke a little.

Porthos, as we have seen, had a character exactly opposite to

that of Athos. He not only talked much, but he talked loudly,

little caring, we must render him that justice, whether anybody

listened to him or not. He talked for the pleasure of talking

and for the pleasure of hearing himself talk. He spoke upon all

subjects except the sciences, alleging in this respect the

inveterate hatred he had borne to scholars from his childhood.

He had not so noble an air as Athos, and the commencement of

their intimacy often rendered him unjust toward that gentleman,

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whom he endeavored to eclipse by his splendid dress. But with

his simple Musketeer's uniform and nothing but the manner in

which he threw back his head and advanced his foot, Athos

instantly took the place which was his due and consigned the

ostentatious Porthos to the second rank. Porthos consoled

himself by filling the antechamber of M. de Treville and the

guardroom of the Louvre with the accounts of his love scrapes,

after having passed from professional ladies to military ladies,

from the lawyer's dame to the baroness, there was question of

nothing less with Porthos than a foreign princess, who was

enormously fond of him.

An old proverb says, "Like master, like man." Let us pass, then,

from the valet of Athos to the valet of Porthos, from Grimaud to

Mousqueton.

Mousqueton was a Norman, whose pacific name of Boniface his

master had changed into the infinitely more sonorous name of

Mousqueton. He had entered the service of Porthos upon condition

that he should only be clothed and lodged, though in a handsome

manner; but he claimed two hours a day to himself, consecrated to

an employment which would provide for his other wants. Porthos

agreed to the bargain; the thing suited him wonderfully well. He

had doublets cut out of his old clothes and cast-off cloaks for

Mousqueton, and thanks to a very intelligent tailor, who made his

clothes look as good as new by turning them, and whose wife was

suspected of wishing to make Porthos descend from his

aristocratic habits, Mousqueton made a very good figure when

attending on his master.

As for Aramis, of whom we believe we have sufficiently explained

the character--a character which, like that of his lackey was

called Bazin. Thanks to the hopes which his master entertained

of someday entering into orders, he was always clothed in black,

as became the servant of a churchman. He was a Berrichon,

thirty-five or forty years old, mild, peaceable, sleek, employing

the leisure his master left him in the perusal of pious works,

providing rigorously for two a dinner of few dishes, but

excellent. For the rest, he was dumb, blind, and deaf, and of

unimpeachable fidelity.

And now that we are acquainted, superficially at least, with the

masters and the valets, let us pass on to the dwellings occupied

by each of them.

Athos dwelt in the Rue Ferou, within two steps of the Luxembourg.

His apartment consisted of two small chambers, very nicely fitted

up, in a furnished house, the hostess of which, still young and

still really handsome, cast tender glances uselessly at him.

Some fragments of past splendor appeared here and there upon the

walls of this modest lodging; a sword, for example, richly

embossed, which belonged by its make to the times of Francis I,

the hilt of which alone, encrusted with precious stones, might be

worth two hundred pistoles, and which, nevertheless, in his

moments of greatest distress Athos had never pledged or offered

for sale. It had long been an object of ambition for Porthos.

Porthos would have given ten years of his life to possess this

sword.

One day, when he had an appointment with a duchess, he endeavored

even to borrow it of Athos. Athos, without saying anything,

emptied his pockets, got together all his jewels, purses,

aiguillettes, and gold chains, and offered them all to Porthos;

but as to the sword, he said it was sealed to its place and

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should never quit it until its master should himself quit his

lodgings. In addition to the sword, there was a portrait

representing a nobleman of the time of Henry III, dressed with

the greatest elegance, and who wore the Order of the Holy Ghost;

and this portrait had certain resemblances of lines with Athos,

certain family likenesses which indicated that this great noble,

a knight of the Order of the King, was his ancestor.

Besides these, a casket of magnificent goldwork, with the same

arms as the sword and the portrait, formed a middle ornament to

the mantelpiece, and assorted badly with the rest of the

furniture. Athos always carried the key of this coffer about

him; but he one day opened it before Porthos, and Porthos was

convinced that this coffer contained nothing but letters and

papers--love letters and family papers, no doubt.

Porthos lived in an apartment, large in size and of very

sumptuous appearance, in the Rue du Vieux-Colombier. Every time

he passed with a friend before his windows, at one of which

Mousqueton was sure to be placed in full livery, Porthos raised

his head and his hand, and said, "That is my abode!" But he was

never to be found at home; he never invited anybody to go up with

him, and no one could form an idea of what his sumptuous

apartment contained in the shape of real riches.

As to Aramis, he dwelt in a little lodging composed of a boudoir,

an eating room, and a bedroom, which room, situated, as the

others were, on the ground floor, looked out upon a little fresh

green garden, shady and impenetrable to the eyes of his

neighbors.

With regard to d'Artagnan, we know how he was lodged, and we have

already made acquaintance with his lackey, Master Planchet.

D'Artagnan, who was by nature very curious--as people generally

are who possess the genius of intrigue--did all he could to make

out who Athos, Porthos, and Aramis really were (for under these

pseudonyms each of these young men concealed his family name)--

Athos in particular, who, a league away, savored of nobility. He

addressed himself then to Porthos to gain information respecting

Athos and Aramis, and to Aramis in order to learn something of

Porthos.

Unfortunately Porthos knew nothing of the life of his silent

companion but what revealed itself. It was said Athos had met

with great crosses in love, and that a frightful treachery had

forever poisoned the life of this gallant man. What could this

treachery be? All the world was ignorant of it.

As to Porthos, except his real name (as was the case with those

of his two comrades), his life was very easily known. Vain and

indiscreet, it was as easy to see through him as through a

crystal. The only thing to mislead the investigator would have

been belief in all the good things he said of himself.

With respect to Aramis, though having the air of having nothing

secret about him, he was a young fellow made up of mysteries,

answering little to questions put to him about others, and having

learned from him the report which prevailed concerning the

success of the Musketeer with a princess, wished to gain a little

insight into the amorous adventures of his interlocutor. "And

you, my dear companion," said he, "you speak of the baronesses,

countesses, and princesses of others?"

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"PARDIEU! I spoke of them because Porthos talked of them

himself, because he had paraded all these fine things before me.

But be assured, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan, that if I had

obtained them from any other source, or if they had been confided

to me, there exists no confessor more discreet than myself."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," replied d'Artagnan; "but it seems to me

that you are tolerably familiar with coats of arms--a certain

embroidered handkerchief, for instance, to which I owe the honor

of your acquaintance?"

This time Aramis was not angry, but assumed the most modest air

and replied in a friendly tone, "My dear friend, do not forget

that I wish to belong to the Church, and that I avoid all mundane

opportunities. The handkerchief you saw had not been given to

me, but it had been forgotten and left at my house by one of my

friends. I was obliged to pick it up in order not to compromise

him and the lady he loves. As for myself, I neither have, nor

desire to have, a mistress, following in that respect the very

judicious example of Athos, who has none any more than I have."

"But what the devil! You are not a priest, you are a Musketeer!"

"A Musketeer for a time, my friend, as the cardinal says, a

Musketeer against my will, but a churchman at heart, believe me.

Athos and Porthos dragged me into this to occupy me. I had, at

the moment of being ordained, a little difficulty with--But that

would not interest you, and I am taking up your valuable time."

"Not at all; it interests me very much," cried d'Artagnan; "and

at this moment I have absolutely nothing to do."

"Yes, but I have my breviary to repeat," answered Aramis; "then

some verses to compose, which Madame d'Aiguillon begged of me.

Then I must go to the Rue St. Honore in order to purchase some

rouge for Madame de Chevreuse. So you see, my dear friend, that

if you are not in a hurry, I am very much in a hurry."

Aramis held out his hand in a cordial manner to his young

companion, and took leave of him.

Notwithstanding all the pains he took, d'Artagnan was unable to

learn any more concerning his three new-made friends. He formed,

therefore, the resolution of believing for the present all that

was said of their past, hoping for more certain and extended

revelations in the future. In the meanwhile, he looked upon

Athos as an Achilles, Porthos as an Ajax, and Aramis as a Joseph.

As to the rest, the life of the four young friends was joyous

enough. Athos played, and that as a rule unfortunately.

Nevertheless, he never borrowed a sou of his companions, although

his purse was ever at their service; and when he had played upon

honor, he always awakened his creditor by six o'clock the next

morning to pay the debt of the preceding evening.

Porthos had his fits. On the days when he won he was insolent

and ostentatious; if he lost, he disappeared completely for

several days, after which he reappeared with a pale face and

thinner person, but with money in his purse.

As to Aramis, he never played. He was the worst Musketeer and

the most unconvivial companion imaginable. He had always

something or other to do. Sometimes in the midst of dinner, when

everyone, under the attraction of wine and in the warmth of

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conversation, believed they had two or three hours longer to

enjoy themselves at table, Aramis looked at his watch, arose with

a bland smile, and took leave of the company, to go, as he said,

to consult a casuist with whom he had an appointment. At other

times he would return home to write a treatise, and requested his

friends not to disturb him.

At this Athos would smile, with his charming, melancholy smile,

which so became his noble countenance, and Porthos would drink,

swearing that Aramis would never be anything but a village CURE.

Planchet, d'Artagnan's valet, supported his good fortune nobly.

He received thirty sous per day, and for a month he returned to

his lodgings gay as a chaffinch, and affable toward his master.

When the wind of adversity began to blow upon the housekeeping of

the Rue des Fossoyeurs--that is to say, when the forty pistoles

of King Louis XIII were consumed or nearly so--he commenced

complaints which Athos thought nauseous, Porthos indecent, and

Aramis ridiculous. Athos counseled d'Artagnan to dismiss the

fellow; Porthos was of opinion that he should give him a good

thrashing first; and Aramis contended that a master should never

attend to anything but the civilities paid to him.

"This is all very easy for you to say," replied d'Artagnan, "for

you, Athos, who live like a dumb man with Grimaud, who forbid him

to speak, and consequently never exchange ill words with him; for

you, Porthos, who carry matters in such a magnificent style, and

are a god to your valet, Mousqueton; and for you, Aramis, who,

always abstracted by your theological studies, inspire your

servant, Bazin, a mild, religious man, with a profound respect;

but for me, who am without any settled means and without

resources--for me, who am neither a Musketeer nor even a

Guardsman, what I am to do to inspire either the affection, the

terror, or the respect in Planchet?"

"This is serious," answered the three friends; "it is a family

affair. It is with valets as with wives, they must be placed at

once upon the footing in which you wish them to remain. Reflect

upon it."

D'Artagnan did reflect, and resolved to thrash Planchet

provisionally; which he did with the conscientiousness that

d'Artagnan carried into everything. After having well beaten

him, he forbade him to leave his service without his permission.

"For," added he, "the future cannot fail to mend; I inevitably

look for better times. Your fortune is therefore made if you

remain with me, and I am too good a master to allow you to miss

such a chance by granting you the dismissal you require."

This manner of acting roused much respect for d'Artagnan's policy

among the Musketeers. Planchet was equally seized with

admiration, and said no more about going away.

The life of the four young men had become fraternal. D'Artagnan,

who had no settled habits of his own, as he came from his

province into the midst of his world quite new to him, fell

easily into the habits of his friends.

They rose about eight o'clock in the winter, about six in summer,

and went to take the countersign and see how things went on at M.

de Treville's. D'Artagnan, although he was not a Musketeer,

performed the duty of one with remarkable punctuality. He went

on guard because he always kept company with whoever of his

friends was on duty. He was well known at the Hotel of the

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Musketeers, where everyone considered him a good comrade. M. de

Treville, who had appreciated him at the first glance and who

bore him a real affection, never ceased recommending him to the

king.

On their side, the three Musketeers were much attached to their

young comrade. The friendship which united these four men, and

the need they felt of seeing another three or four times a day,

whether for dueling, business, or pleasure, caused them to be

continually running after one another like shadows; and the

Inseparables were constantly to be met with seeking one another,

from the Luxembourg to the Place St. Sulpice, or from the Rue du

Vieux-Colombier to the Luxembourg.

In the meanwhile the promises of M. de Treville went on

prosperously. One fine morning the king commanded M. de

Chevalier Dessessart to admit d'Artagnan as a cadet in his

company of Guards. D'Artagnan, with a sigh, donned his uniform,

which he would have exchanged for that of a Musketeer at the

expense of ten years of his existence. But M. de Treville

promised this favor after a novitiate of two years--a novitiate

which might besides be abridged if an opportunity should present

itself for d'Artagnan to render the king any signal service, or

to distinguish himself by some brilliant action. Upon this

promise d'Artagnan withdrew, and the next day he began service.

Then it became the turn of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to mount

guard with d'Artagnan when he was on duty. The company of M. le

Chevalier Dessessart thus received four instead of one when it

admitted d'Artagnan.

8 CONCERNING A COURT INTRIGUE

In the meantime, the forty pistoles of King Louis XIII, like all

other things of this world, after having had a beginning had an

end, and after this end our four companions began to be somewhat

embarrassed. At first, Athos supported the association for a

time with his own means.

Porthos succeeded him; and thanks to one of those disappearances

to which he was accustomed, he was able to provide for the wants

of all for a fortnight. At last it became Aramis's turn, who

performed it with a good grace and who succeeded--as he said, by

selling some theological books--in procuring a few pistoles.

Then, as they had been accustomed to do, they had recourse to M.

de Treville, who made some advances on their pay; but these

advances could not go far with three Musketeers who were already

much in arrears and a Guardsman who as yet had no pay at all.

At length when they found they were likely to be really in want,

they got together, as a last effort, eight or ten pistoles, with

which Porthos went to the gaming table. Unfortunately he was in

a bad vein; he lost all, together with twenty-five pistoles for

which he had given his word.

Then the inconvenience became distress. The hungry friends,

followed by their lackeys, were seen haunting the quays and Guard

rooms, picking up among their friends abroad all the dinners they

could meet with; for according to the advice of Aramis, it was

prudent to sow repasts right and left in prosperity, in order to

reap a few in time of need.

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Athos was invited four times, and each time took his friends and

their lackeys with him. Porthos had six occasions, and contrived

in the same manner that his friends should partake of them;

Aramis had eight of them. He was a man, as must have been

already perceived, who made but little noise, and yet was much

sought after.

As to d'Artagnan, who as yet knew nobody in the capital, he only

found one chocolate breakfast at the house of a priest of his own

province, and one dinner at the house of a cornet of the Guards.

He took his army to the priest's, where they devoured as much

provision as would have lasted him for two months, and to the

cornet's, who performed wonders; but as Planchet said, "People do

not eat at once for all time, even when they eat a good deal."

D'Artagnan thus felt himself humiliated in having only procured

one meal and a half for his companions--as the breakfast at the

priest's could only be counted as half a repast--in return for

the feasts which Athos, Porthos, and Aramis had procured him. He

fancied himself a burden to the society, forgetting in his

perfectly juvenile good faith that he had fed this society for a

month; and he set his mind actively to work. He reflected that

this coalition of four young, brave, enterprising, and active men

ought to have some other object than swaggering walks, fencing

lessons, and practical jokes, more or less witty.

In fact, four men such as they were--four men devoted to one

another, from their purses to their lives; four men always

supporting one another, never yielding, executing singly or

together the resolutions formed in common; four arms threatening

the four cardinal points, or turning toward a single point--must

inevitably, either subterraneously, in open day, by mining, in

the trench, by cunning, or by force, open themselves a way toward

the object they wished to attain, however well it might be

defended, or however distant it may seem. The only thing that

astonished d'Artagnan was that his friends had never thought of

this.

He was thinking by himself, and even seriously racking his brain

to find a direction for this single force four times multiplied,

with which he did not doubt, as with the lever for which

Archimedes sought, they should succeed in moving the world, when

someone tapped gently at his door. D'Artagnan awakened Planchet

and ordered him to open it.

From this phrase, "d'Artagnan awakened Planchet," the reader must

not suppose it was night, or that day was hardly come. No, it

had just struck four. Planchet, two hours before, had asked his

master for some dinner, and he had answered him with the proverb,

"He who sleeps, dines." And Planchet dined by sleeping.

A man was introduced of simple mien, who had the appearance of a

tradesman. Planchet, by way of dessert, would have liked to hear

the conversation; but the citizen declared to d'Artagnan that

what he had to say being important and confidential, he desired

to be left alone with him.

D'Artagnan dismissed Planchet, and requested his visitor to be

seated. There was a moment of silence, during which the two men

looked at each other, as if to make a preliminary acquaintance,

after which d'Artagnan bowed, as a sign that he listened.

"I have heard Monsieur d'Artagnan spoken of as a very brave young

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man," said the citizen; "and this reputation which he justly

enjoys had decided me to confide a secret to him."

"Speak, monsieur, speak," said d'Artagnan, who instinctively

scented something advantageous.

The citizen made a fresh pause and continued, "I have a wife who

is seamstress to the queen, monsieur, and who is not deficient in

either virtue or beauty. I was induced to marry her about three

years ago, although she had but very little dowry, because

Monsieur Laporte, the queen's cloak bearer, is her godfather, and

befriends her."

"Well, monsieur?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Well!" resumed the citizen, "well, monsieur, my wife was

abducted yesterday morning, as she was coming out of her

workroom."

"And by whom was your wife abducted?"

"I know nothing surely, monsieur, but I suspect someone."

"And who is the person whom you suspect?"

"A man who has persued her a long time."

"The devil!"

"But allow me to tell you, monsieur," continued the citizen,

"that I am convinced that there is less love than politics in all

this."

"Less love than politics," replied d'Artagnan, with a reflective

air; "and what do you suspect?"

"I do not know whether I ought to tell you what I suspect."

"Monsieur, I beg you to observe that I ask you absolutely

nothing. It is you who have come to me. It is you who have told

me that you had a secret to confide in me. Act, then, as you

think proper; there is still time to withdraw."

"No, monsieur, no; you appear to be an honest young man, and I

will have confidence in you. I believe, then, that it is not on

account of any intrigues of her own that my wife has been

arrested, but because of those of a lady much greater than

herself."

"Ah, ah! Can it be on account of the amours of Madame de

Bois-Tracy?" said d'Artagnan, wishing to have the air, in the

eyes of the citizen, of being posted as to court affairs.

"Higher, monsieur, higher."

"Of Madame d'Aiguillon?"

"Still higher."

"Of Madame de Chevreuse?"

"Of the--" d'Artagnan checked himself.

"Yes, monsieur," replied the terrified citizen, in a tone so low

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that he was scarcely audible.

"And with whom?"

"With whom can it be, if not the Duke of--"

"The Duke of--"

"Yes, monsieur," replied the citizen, giving a still fainter

intonation to his voice.

"But how do you know all this?"

"How do I know it?"

"Yes, how do you know it? No half-confidence, or--you understand!"

"I know it from my wife, monsieur--from my wife herself."

"Who learns it from whom?"

"From Monsieur Laporte. Did I not tell you that she was the

goddaughter of Monsieur Laporte, the confidential man of the

queen? Well, Monsieur Laporte placed her near her Majesty in

order that our poor queen might at least have someone in whom she

could place confidence, abandoned as she is by the king, watched

as she is by the cardinal, betrayed as she is by everybody."

"Ah, ah! It begins to develop itself," said d'Artagnan.

"Now, my wife came home four days ago, monsieur. One of her

conditions was that she should come and see me twice a week; for,

as I had the honor to tell you, my wife loves me dearly--my wife,

then, came and confided to me that the queen at that very moment

entertained great fears."

"Truly!"

"Yes. The cardinal, as it appears, pursues he and persecutes her

more than ever. He cannot pardon her the history of the

Saraband. You know the history of the Saraband?"

"PARDIEU! Know it!" replied d'Artagnan, who knew nothing about

it, but who wished to appear to know everything that was going

on.

"So that now it is no longer hatred, but vengeance."

"Indeed!"

"And the queen believes--"

"Well, what does the queen believe?"

"She believes that someone has written to the Duke of Buckingham

in her name."

"In the queen's name?"

"Yes, to make him come to Paris; and when once come to Paris, to

draw him into some snare."

"The devil! But your wife, monsieur, what has she to do with all

this?"

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"Her devotion to the queen is known; and they wish either to

remove her from her mistress, or to intimidate her, in order to

obtain her Majesty's secrets, or to seduce her and make use of

her as a spy."

"That is likely," said d'Artagnan; "but the man who has abducted

her--do you know him?"

"I have told you that I believe I know him."

"His name?"

"I do not know that; what I do know is that he is a creature of

the cardinal, his evil genius."

"But you have seen him?"

"Yes, my wife pointed him out to me one day."

'Has he anything remarkable about him by which one may recognize

him?"

"Oh, certainly; he is a noble of very lofty carriage, black hair,

swarthy complexion, piercing eye, white teeth, and has a scar on

his temple."

"A scar on his temple!" cried d'Artagnan; "and with that, white

teeth, a piercing eye, dark complexion, black hair, and haughty

carriage--why, that's my man of Meung."

"He is your man, do you say?"

"Yes, yes; but that has nothing to do with it. No, I am wrong.

On the contrary, that simplifies the matter greatly. If your man

is mine, with one blow I shall obtain two revenges, that's all;

but where to find this man?"

"I know not."

"Have you no information as to his abiding place?"

"None. One day, as I was conveying my wife back to the Louvre,

he was coming out as she was going in, and she showed him to me."

"The devil! The devil!" murmured d'Artagnan; "all this is vague

enough. From whom have you learned of the abduction of your

wife?"

"From Monsieur Laporte."

"Did he give you any details?"

"He knew none himself."

"And you have learned nothing from any other quarter?"

"Yes, I have received--"

"What?"

"I fear I am committing a great imprudence."

"You always come back to that; but I must make you see this time

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that it is too late to retreat."

"I do not retreat, MORDIEU!" cried the citizen, swearing in order

to rouse his courage. "Besides, by the faith of Bonacieux--"

"You call yourself Bonacieux?" interrupted d'Artagnan.

"Yes, that is my name."

"You said, then, by the word of Bonacieux. Pardon me for

interrupting you, but it appears to me that that name is familiar

to me."

"Possibly, monsieur. I am your landlord."

"Ah, ah!" said d'Artagnan, half rising and bowing; "you are my

landlord?"

"Yes, monsieur, yes. And as it is three months since you have

been here, and though, distracted as you must be in your

important occupations, you have forgotten to pay me my rent--as,

I say, I have not tormented you a single instant, I thought you

would appreciate my delicacy."

"How can it be otherwise, my dear Bonacieux?" replied d'Artagnan;

"trust me, I am fully grateful for such unparalleled conduct, and

if, as I told you, I can be of any service to you--"

"I believe you, monsieur, I believe you; and as I was about to

say, by the word of Bonacieux, I have confidence in you."

"Finish, then, what you were about to say."

The citizen took a paper from his pocket, and presented it to

d'Artagnan.

"A letter?" said the young man.

"Which I received this morning."

D'Artagnan opened it, and as the day was beginning to decline, he

approached the window to read it. The citizen followed him.

"'Do not seek your wife,'" read d'Artagnan; "'she will be

restored to you when there is no longer occasion for her. If you

make a single step to find her you are lost.'

"That's pretty positive," continued d'Artagnan; "but after all,

it is but a menace."

"Yes; but that menace terrifies me. I am not a fighting man at

all, monsieur, and I am afraid of the Bastille."

"Hum!" said d'Artagnan. "I have no greater regard for the

Bastille than you. If it were nothing but a sword thrust, why

then--"

"I have counted upon you on this occasion, monsieur."

"Yes?"

"Seeing you constantly surrounded by Musketeers of a very superb

appearance, and knowing that these Musketeers belong to Monsieur

de Treville, and were consequently enemies of the cardinal, I

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thought that you and your friends, while rendering justice to

your poor queen, would be pleased to play his Eminence an ill

turn."

"Without doubt."

"And then I have thought that considering three months' lodging,

about which I have said nothing--"

"Yes, yes; you have already given me that reason, and I find it

excellent."

"Reckoning still further, that as long as you do me the honor to

remain in my house I shall never speak to you about rent--"

"Very kind!"

"And adding to this, if there be need of it, meaning to offer you

fifty pistoles, if, against all probability, you should be short

at the present moment."

"Admirable! You are rich then, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux?"

"I am comfortably off, monsieur, that's all; I have scraped

together some such thing as an income of two or three thousand

crown in the haberdashery business, but more particularly in

venturing some funds in the last voyage of the celebrated

navigator Jean Moquet; so that you understand, monsieur--But"

cried the citizen.

"What!" demanded d'Artagnan.

"Whom do I see yonder?"

"Where?"

"In the street, facing your window, in the embrasure of that

door--a man wrapped in a cloak."

"It is he!" cried d'Artagnan and the citizen at the same time,

each having recognized his man.

"Ah, this time," cried d'Artagnan, springing to his sword, "this

time he will not escape me!"

Drawing his sword from its scabbard, he rushed out of the

apartment. On the staircase he met Athos and Porthos, who were

coming to see him. They separated, and d'Artagnan rushed between

them like a dart.

"Pah! Where are you going?" cried the two Musketeers in a breath.

"The man of Meung!" replied d'Artagnan, and disappeared.

D'Artagnan had more than once related to his friends his

adventure with the stranger, as well as the apparition of the

beautiful foreigner, to whom this man had confided some important

missive.

The opinion of Athos was that d'Artagnan had lost his letter in

the skirmish. A gentleman, in his opinion--and according to

d'Artagnan's portrait of him, the stranger must be a gentleman--

would be incapable of the baseness of stealing a letter.

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Porthos saw nothing in all this but a love meeting, given by a

lady to a cavalier, or by a cavalier to a lady, which had been

disturbed by the presence of d'Artagnan and his yellow horse.

Aramis said that as these sorts of affairs were mysterious, it

was better not to fathom them.

They understood, then, from the few words which escaped from

d'Artagnan, what affair was in hand, and as they thought that

overtaking his man, or losing sight of him, d'Artagnan would

return to his rooms, they kept on their way.

When they entered D'Artagan's chamber, it was empty; the

landlord, dreading the consequences of the encounter which was

doubtless about to take place between the young man and the

stranger, had, consistent with the character he had given

himself, judged it prudent to decamp.

9 D'ARTAGNAN SHOWS HIMSELF

As Athos and Porthos had foreseen, at the expiration of a half

hour, d'Artagnan returned. He had again missed his man, who had

disappeared as if by enchantment. D'Artagnan had run, sword in

hand, through all the neighboring streets, but had found nobody

resembling the man he sought for. Then he came back to the point

where, perhaps, he ought to have begun, and that was to knock at

the door against which the stranger had leaned; but this proved

useless--for though he knocked ten or twelve times in succession,

no one answered, and some of the neighbors, who put their noses

out of their windows or were brought to their doors by the noise,

had assured him that that house, all the openings of which were

tightly closed, had not been inhabited for six months.

While d'Artagnan was running through the streets and knocking at

doors, Aramis had joined his companions; so that on returning home

d'Artagnan found the reunion complete.

"Well!" cried the three Musketeers all together, on seeing

d'Artagnan enter with his brow covered with perspiration and his

countenance upset with anger.

"Well!" cried he, throwing his sword upon the bed, "this man must

be the devil in person; he has disappeared like a phantom,

like a shade, like a specter."

"Do you believe in apparitions?" asked Athos of Porthos.

"I never believe in anything I have not seen, and as I never have

seen apparitions, I don't believe in them."

"The Bible," said Aramis, "make our belief in them a law; the

ghost of Samuel appeared to Saul, and it is an article of faith

that I should be very sorry to see any doubt thrown upon,

Porthos."

"At all events, man or devil, body or shadow, illusion or

reality, this man is born for my damnation; for his flight has

caused us to miss a glorious affair, gentlemen--an affair by

which there were a hundred pistoles, and perhaps more, to be

gained."

"How is that?" cried Porthos and Aramis in a breath.

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As to Athos, faithful to his system of reticence, he contented

himself with interrogating d'Artagnan by a look.

"Planchet," said d'Artagnan to his domestic, who just then

insinuated his head through the half-open door in order to catch

some fragments of the conversation, "go down to my landlord,

Monsieur Bonacieux, and ask him to send me half a dozen bottles

of Beaugency wine; I prefer that."

"Ah, ah! You have credit with your landlord, then?" asked

Porthos.

"Yes," replied d'Artagnan, "from this very day; and mind, if the

wine is bad, we will send him to find better."

"We must use, and not abuse," said Aramis, sententiously.

"I always said that d'Artagnan had the longest head of the four,"

said Athos, who, having uttered his opinion, to which d'Artagnan

replied with a bow, immediately resumed his accustomed silence.

"But come, what is this about?" asked Porthos.

"Yes," said Aramis, "impart it to us, my dear friend, unless the

honor of any lady be hazarded by this confidence; in that case

you would do better to keep it to yourself."

"Be satisfied," replied d'Artagnan; "the honor of no one will

have cause to complain of what I have to tell.

He then related to his friends, word for word, all that had

passed between him and his host, and how the man who had abducted

the wife of his worthy landlord was the same with whom he had had

the difference at the hostelry of the Jolly Miller.

"Your affair is not bad," said Athos, after having tasted like a

connoisseur and indicated by a nod of his head that he thought

the wine good; "and one may draw fifty or sixty pistoles from

this good man. Then there only remains to ascertain whether

these fifty or sixty pistoles are worth the risk of four heads."

"But observe," cried d'Artagnan, "that there is a woman in the

affair--a woman carried off, a woman who is doubtless threatened,

tortured perhaps, and all because she is faithful to her

mistress."

"Beware, d'Artagnan, beware," said Aramis. "You grow a little

too warm, in my opinion, about the fate of Madame Bonacieux.

Woman was created for our destruction, and it is from her we

inherit all our miseries."

At this speech of Aramis, the brow of Athos became clouded and he

bit his lips.

"It is not Madame Bonacieux about whom I am anxious," cried

d'Artagnan, "but the queen, whom the king abandons, whom the

cardinal persecutes, and who sees the heads of all her friends

fall, one after the other."

"Why does she love what we hate most in the world, the Spaniards

and the English?"

"Spain is her country," replied d'Artagnan; "and it is very

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natural that she should love the Spanish, who are the children of

the same soil as herself. As to the second reproach, I have

heard it said that she does not love the English, but an

Englishman."

"Well, and by my faith," said Athos, "it must be acknowledged

that this Englishman is worthy of being loved. I never saw a man

with a nobler air than his."

"Without reckoning that he dresses as nobody else can," said

Porthos. "I was at the Louvre on the day when he scattered his

pearls; and, PARDIEU, I picked up two that I sold for ten

pistoles each. Do you know him, Aramis?"

"As well as you do, gentlemen; for I was among those who seized

him in the garden at Amiens, into which Monsieur Putange, the

queen's equerry, introduced me. I was at school at the time, and

the adventure appeared to me to be cruel for the king."

"Which would not prevent me," said d'Artagnan, "if I knew where

the Duke of Buckingham was, from taking him by the hand and

conducting him to the queen, were it only to enrage the cardinal,

and if we could find means to play him a sharp turn, I vow that I

would voluntarily risk my head in doing it."

"And did the mercer*," rejoined Athos, "tell you, d'Artagnan,

that the queen thought that Buckingham had been brought over by a

forged letter?"

*Haberdasher

"She is afraid so."

"Wait a minute, then," said Aramis.

"What for?" demanded Porthos.

"Go on, while I endeavor to recall circumstances."

"And now I am convinced," said d'Artagnan, "that this abduction

of the queen's woman is connected with the events of which we are

speaking, and perhaps with the presence of Buckingham in Paris."

"The Gascon is full of ideas," said Porthos, with admiration.

"I like to hear him talk," said Athos; "his dialect amuses me."

"Gentlemen," cried Aramis, "listen to this."

"Listen to Aramis," said his three friends.

"Yesterday I was at the house of a doctor of theology, whom I

sometimes consult about my studies."

Athos smiled.

"He resides in a quiet quarter," continued Aramis; "his tastes

and his profession require it. Now, at the moment when I left

his house--"

Here Aramis paused.

"Well," cried his auditors; "at the moment you left his house?"

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Aramis appeared to make a strong inward effort, like a man who,

in the full relation of a falsehood, finds himself stopped by

some unforeseen obstacle; but the eyes of his three companions

were fixed upon him, their ears were wide open, and there were no

means of retreat.

"This doctor has a niece," continued Aramis.

"Ah, he has a niece!" interrupted Porthos.

"A very respectable lady," said Aramis.

The three friends burst into laughter.

"Ah, if you laugh, if you doubt me," replied Aramis, "you shall

know nothing."

"We believe like Mohammedans, and are as mute as tombstones,"

said Athos.

"I will continue, then," resumed Aramis. "This niece comes

sometimes to see her uncle; and by chance was there yesterday at

the same time that I was, and it was my duty to offer to conduct

her to her carriage."

"Ah! She has a carriage, then, this niece of the doctor?"

interrupted Porthos, one of whose faults was a great looseness of

tongue. "A nice acquaintance, my friend!"

"Porthos," replied Aramis, "I have had the occasion to observe to

you more than once that you are very indiscreet; and that is

injurious to you among the women."

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," cried d'Artagnan, who began to get a

glimpse of the result of the adventure, "the thing is serious.

Let us try not to jest, if we can. Go on Aramis, go on."

"All at once, a tall, dark gentleman--just like yours,

d'Artagnan."

"The same, perhaps," said he.

"Possibly," continued Aramis, "came toward me, accompanied by

five or six men who followed about ten paces behind him; and in

the politest tone, 'Monsieur Duke,' said he to me, 'and you

madame,' continued he, addressing the lady on my arm--"

"The doctor's niece?"

"Hold your tongue, Porthos," said Athos; "you are insupportable."

"'--will you enter this carriage, and that without offering the

least resistance, without making the least noise?'"

"He took you for Buckingham!" cried d'Artagnan.

"I believe so," replied Aramis.

"But the lady?" asked Porthos.

"He took her for the queen!" said d'Artagnan.

"Just so," replied Aramis.

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"The Gascon is the devil!" cried Athos; "nothing escapes him."

"The fact is," said Porthos, "Aramis is of the same height, and

something of the shape of the duke; but it nevertheless appears

to me that the dress of a Musketeer--"

"I wore an enormous cloak," said Aramis.

"In the month of July? The devil!" said Porthos. "Is the doctor

afraid that you may be recognized?"

"I can comprehend that the spy may have been deceived by the

person; but the face--"

"I had a large hat," said Aramis.

"Oh, good lord," cried Porthos, "what precautions for the study

of theology!"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, "do not let us lose our

time in jesting. Let us separate, and let us seek the mercer's

wife--that is the key of the intrigue."

"A woman of such inferior condition! Can you believe so?" said

Porthos, protruding his lips with contempt.

"She is goddaughter to Laporte, the confidential valet of the

queen. Have I not told you so, gentlemen? Besides, it has

perhaps been her Majesty's calculation to seek on this occasion

for support so lowly. High heads expose themselves from afar,

and the cardinal is longsighted."

"Well," said Porthos, "in the first place make a bargain with the

mercer, and a good bargain."

"That's useless," said d'Artagnan; "for I believe if he does not

pay us, we shall be well enough paid by another party."

At this moment a sudden noise of footsteps was heard upon the

stairs; the door was thrown violently open, and the unfortunate

mercer rushed into the chamber in which the council was held.

"Save me, gentlemen, for the love of heaven, save me!" cried he.

"There are four men come to arrest me. Save me! Save me!"

Porthos and Aramis arose.

"A moment," cried d'Artagnan, making them a sign to replace in

the scabbard their half-drawn swords. "It is not courage that is

needed; it is prudence."

"And yet," cried Porthos, "we will not leave--"

"You will leave d'Artagnan to act as he thinks proper," said

Athos. "He has, I repeat, the longest head of the four, and for

my part I declare that I will obey him. Do as you think best,

d'Artagnan."

At this moment the four Guards appeared at the door of the

antechamber, but seeing four Musketeers standing, and their

swords by their sides, they hesitated about going farther.

"Come in, gentlemen, come in," called d'Artagnan; "you are here

in my apartment, and we are all faithful servants of the king and

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cardinal."

"Then, gentlemen, you will not oppose our executing the orders we

have received?" asked one who appeared to be the leader of the

party.

"On the contrary, gentlemen, we would assist you if it were

necessary."

"What does he say?" grumbled Porthos.

"You are a simpleton," said Athos. "Silence!"

"But you promised me--" whispered the poor mercer.

"We can only save you by being free ourselves," replied

d'Artagnan, in a rapid, low tone; "and if we appear inclined to

defend you, they will arrest us with you."

"It seems, nevertheless--"

"Come, gentlemen, come!" said d'Artagnan, aloud; "I have no

motive for defending Monsieur. I saw him today for the first

time, and he can tell you on what occasion; he came to demand the

rent of my lodging. Is that not true, Monsieur Bonacieux?

Answer!"

"That is the very truth," cried the mercer; "but Monsieur does

not tell you--"

"Silence, with respect to me, silence, with respect to my

friends; silence about the queen, above all, or you will ruin

everybody without saving yourself! Come, come, gentlemen, remove

the fellow." And d'Artagnan pushed the half-stupefied mercer

among the Guards, saying to him, "You are a shabby old fellow, my

dear. You come to demand money of me--of a Musketeer! To prison

with him! Gentlemen, once more, take him to prison, and keep him

under key as long as possible; that will give me time to pay

him."

The officers were full of thanks, and took away their prey. As

they were going down d'Artagnan laid his hand on the shoulder of

their leader.

"May I not drink to your health, and you to mine?" said

d'Artagnan, filling two glasses with the Beaugency wine which he

had obtained from the liberality of M. Bonacieux.

"That will do me great honor," said the leader of the posse, "and

I accept thankfully."

"Then to yours, monsieur--what is your name?"

"Boisrenard."

"Monsieur Boisrenard."

"To yours, my gentlemen! What is your name, in your turn, if you

please?"

"d'Artagnan."

"To yours, monsieur."

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"And above all others," cried d'Artagnan, as if carried away by

his enthusiasm, "to that of the king and the cardinal."

The leader of the posse would perhaps have doubted the sincerity

of d'Artagnan if the wine had been bad; but the wine was good,

and he was convinced.

"What diabolical villainy you have performed here," said Porthos,

when the officer had rejoined his companions and the four friends

found themselves alone. "Shame, shame, for four Musketeers to

allow an unfortunate fellow who cried for help to be arrested in

their midst! And a gentleman to hobnob with a bailiff!"

"Porthos," said Aramis, "Athos has already told you that you are

a simpleton, and I am quite of his opinion. D'Artagnan, you are

a great man; and when you occupy Monsieur de Treville's place, I

will come and ask your influence to secure me an abbey."

"Well, I am in a maze," said Porthos; "do YOU approve of what

d'Artagnan has done?"

"PARBLEU! Indeed I do," said Athos; "I not only approve of what

he has done, but I congratulate him upon it."

"And now, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, without stopping to

explain his conduct to Porthos, "All for one, one for all--that

is our motto, is it not?"

"And yet--" said Porthos.

"Hold out your hand and swear!" cried Athos and Aramis at once.

Overcome by example, grumbling to himself, nevertheless, Porthos

stretched out his hand, and the four friends repeated with one

voice the formula dictated by d'Artagnan:

"All for one, one for all."

"That's well! Now let us everyone retire to his own home," said

d'Artagnan, as if he had done nothing but command all his life;

"and attention! For from this moment we are at feud with the

cardinal."

10 A MOUSETRAP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The invention of the mousetrap does not date from our days; as

soon as societies, in forming, had invented any kind of police,

that police invented mousetraps.

As perhaps our readers are not familiar with the slang of the Rue

de Jerusalem, and as it is fifteen years since we applied this

word for the first time to this thing, allow us to explain to

them what is a mousetrap.

When in a house, of whatever kind it may be, an individual

suspected of any crime is arrested, the arrest is held secret.

Four or five men are placed in ambuscade in the first room. The

door is opened to all who knock. It is closed after them, and

they are arrested; so that at the end of two or three days they

have in their power almost all the HABITUES of the establishment.

And that is a mousetrap.

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The apartment of M. Bonacieux, then, became a mousetrap; and

whoever appeared there was taken and interrogated by the

cardinal's people. It must be observed that as a separate

passage led to the first floor, in which d'Artagnan lodged, those

who called on him were exempted from this detention.

Besides, nobody came thither but the three Musketeers; they had

all been engaged in earnest search and inquiries, but had

discovered nothing. Athos had even gone so far as to question M.

de Treville--a thing which, considering the habitual reticence of

the worthy Musketeer, had very much astonished his captain. But

M. de Treville knew nothing, except that the last time he had

seen the cardinal, the king, and the queen, the cardinal looked

very thoughtful, the king uneasy, and the redness of the queen's

eyes donated that she had been sleepless or tearful. But this

last circumstance was not striking, as the queen since her

marriage had slept badly and wept much.

M. de Treville requested Athos, whatever might happen, to be

observant of his duty to the king, but particularly to the queen,

begging him to convey his desires to his comrades.

As to d'Artagnan, he did not budge from his apartment. He

converted his chamber into an observatory. From his windows he

saw all the visitors who were caught. Then, having removed a

plank from his floor, and nothing remaining but a simple ceiling

between him and the room beneath, in which the interrogatories

were made, he heard all that passed between the inquisitors and

the accused.

The interrogatories, preceded by a minute search operated upon

the persons arrested, were almost always framed thus: "Has Madame

Bonacieux sent anything to you for her husband, or any other

person? Has Monsieur Bonacieux sent anything to you for his

wife, or for any other person? Has either of them confided

anything to you by word of mouth?"

"If they knew anything, they would not question people in this

manner," said d'Artagnan to himself. "Now, what is it they want

to know? Why, they want to know if the Duke of Buckingham is in

Paris, and if he has had, or is likely to have, an interview with

the queen."

D'Artagnan held onto this idea, which, from what he had heard,

was not wanting in probability.

In the meantime, the mousetrap continued in operation, and

likewise d'Artagnan's vigilance.

On the evening of the day after the arrest of poor Bonacieux, as

Athos had just left d'Artagnan to report at M. de Treville's, as

nine o'clock had just struck, and as Planchet, who had not yet

made the bed, was beginning his task, a knocking was heard at the

street door. The door was instantly opened and shut; someone was

taken in the mousetrap.

D'Artagnan flew to his hole, laid himself down on the floor at

full length, and listened.

Cries were soon heard, and then moans, which someone appeared to

be endeavoring to stifle. There were no questions.

"The devil!" said d'Artagnan to himself. "It seems like a woman!

They search her; she resists; they use force--the scoundrels!"

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In spite of his prudence, d'Artagnan restrained himself with

great difficulty from taking a part in the scene that was going

on below.

"But I tell you that I am the mistress of the house, gentlemen!

I tell you I am Madame Bonacieux; I tell you I belong to the

queen!" cried the unfortunate woman.

"Madame Bonacieux!" murmured d'Artagnan. "Can I be so lucky as

to find what everybody is seeking for?"

The voice became more and more indistinct; a tumultuous movement

shook the partition. The victim resisted as much as a woman

could resist four men.

"Pardon, gentlemen--par--" murmured the voice, which could now

only be heard in inarticulate sounds.

"They are binding her; they are going to drag her away," cried

d'Artagnan to himself, springing up from the floor. "My sword!

Good, it is by my side! Planchet!"

"Monsieur."

"Run and seek Athos, Porthos and Aramis. One of the three will

certainly be at home, perhaps all three. Tell them to take arms,

to come here, and to run! Ah, I remember, Athos is at Monsieur

de Treville's."

"But where are you going, monsieur, where are you going?"

"I am going down by the window, in order to be there the sooner,"

cried d'Artagnan. "You put back the boards, sweep the floor, go

out at the door, and run as I told you."

"Oh, monsieur! Monsieur! You will kill yourself," cried

Planchet.

"Hold your tongue, stupid fellow," said d'Artagnan; and laying

hold of the casement, he let himself gently down from the first

story, which fortunately was not very elevated, without doing

himself the slightest injury.

He then went straight to the door and knocked, murmuring, "I will

go myself and be caught in the mousetrap, but woe be to the cats

that shall pounce upon such a mouse!"

The knocker had scarcely sounded under the hand of the young man

before the tumult ceased, steps approached, the door was opened,

and d'Artagnan, sword in hand, rushed into the rooms of M.

Bonacieux, the door of which doubtless acted upon by a spring,

closed after him.

Then those who dwelt in Bonacieux's unfortunate house, together

with the nearest neighbors, heard loud cries, stamping of feet,

clashing of swords, and breaking of furniture. A moment after,

those who, surprised by this tumult, had gone to their windows to

learn the cause of it, saw the door open, and four men, clothed

in black, not COME out of it, but FLY, like so many frightened

crows, leaving on the ground and on the corners of the furniture,

feathers from their wings; that is to say, patches of their

clothes and fragments of their cloaks.

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D'Artagnan was conqueror--without much effort, it must be

confessed, for only one of the officers was armed, and even he

defended himself for form's sake. It is true that the three

others had endeavored to knock the young man down with chairs,

stools, and crockery; but two or three scratches made by the

Gascon's blade terrified them. Ten minutes sufficed for their

defeat, and d'Artagnan remained master of the field of battle.

The neighbors who had opened their windows, with the coolness

peculiar to the inhabitants of Paris in these times of perpetual

riots and disturbances, closed them again as soon as they saw the

four men in black flee--their instinct telling them that for the

time all was over. Besides, it began to grow late, and then, as

today, people went to bed early in the quarter of the Luxembourg.

On being left alone with Mme. Bonacieux, d'Artagnan turned toward

her; the poor woman reclined where she had been left,

half-fainting upon an armchair. D'Artagnan examined her with a

rapid glance.

She was a charming woman of twenty-five or twenty-six years, with

dark hair, blue eyes, and a nose slightly turned up, admirable

teeth, and a complexion marbled with rose and opal. There,

however, ended the signs which might have confounded her with a

lady of rank. The hands were white, but without delicacy; the

feet did not bespeak the woman of quality. Happily, d'Artagnan

was not yet acquainted with such niceties.

While d'Artagnan was examining Mme. Bonacieux, and was, as we

have said, close to her, he saw on the ground a fine cambric

handkerchief, which he picked up, as was his habit, and at the

corner of which he recognized the same cipher he had seen on the

handkerchief which had nearly caused him and Aramis to cut each

other's throat.

From that time, d'Artagnan had been cautious with respect to

handkerchiefs with arms on them, and he therefore placed in the

pocket of Mme. Bonacieux the one he had just picked up.

At that moment Mme. Bonacieux recovered her senses. She opened

her eyes, looked around her with terror, saw that the apartment

was empty and that she was alone with her liberator. She

extended her hands to him with a smile. Mme. Bonacieux had the

sweetest smile in the world.

"Ah, monsieur!" said she, "you have saved me; permit me to thank

you."

"Madame," said d'Artagnan, "I have only done what every gentleman

would have done in my place; you owe me no thanks."

"Oh, yes, monsieur, oh, yes; and I hope to prove to you that you

have not served an ingrate. But what could these men, whom I at

first took for robbers, want with me, and why is Monsieur

Bonacieux not here?"

"Madame, those men were more dangerous than any robbers could

have been, for they are the agents of the cardinal; and as to

your husband, Monsieur Bonacieux, he is not here because he was

yesterday evening conducted to the Bastille."

"My husband in the Bastille!" cried Mme. Bonacieux. "Oh, my God!

What has he done? Poor dear man, he is innocence itself!"

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And something like a faint smile lighted the still-terrified

features of the young woman.

"What has he done, madame?" said d'Artagnan. "I believe that his

only crime is to have at the same time the good fortune and the

misfortune to be your husband."

"But, monsieur, you know then--"

"I know that you have been abducted, madame."

"And by whom? Do you know him? Oh, if you know him, tell me!"

"By a man of from forty to forty-five years, with black hair, a

dark complexion, and a scar on his left temple."

"That is he, that is he; but his name?"

"Ah, his name? I do not know that."

"And did my husband know I had been carried off?"

"He was informed of it by a letter, written to him by the

abductor himself."

"And does he suspect," said Mme. Bonacieux, with some

embarrassment, "the cause of this event?"

"He attributed it, I believe, to a political cause."

"I doubted from the first; and now I think entirely as he does.

Then my dear Monsieur Bonacieux has not suspected me a single

instant?"

"So far from it, madame, he was too proud of your prudence, and

above all, of your love."

A second smile, almost imperceptible, stole over the rosy lips of

the pretty young woman.

"But," continued d'Artagnan, "how did you escape?"

"I took advantage of a moment when they left me alone; and as I

had known since morning the reason of my abduction, with the help

of the sheets I let myself down from the window. Then, as I

believed my husband would be at home, I hastened hither."

"To place yourself under his protection?"

"Oh, no, poor dear man! I knew very well that he was incapable

of defending me; but as he could serve us in other ways, I wished

to inform him."

"Of what?"

"Oh, that is not my secret; I must not, therefore, tell you."

"Besides," said d'Artagnan, "pardon me, madame, if, guardsman as

I am, I remind you of prudence--besides, I believe we are not

here in a very proper place for imparting confidences. The men I

have put to flight will return reinforced; if they find us here,

we are lost. I have sent for three of my friends, but who knows

whether they were at home?"

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"Yes, yes! You are right," cried the affrighted Mme. Bonacieux;

"let us fly! Let us save ourselves."

At these words she passed her arm under that of d'Artagnan, and

urged him forward eagerly.

"But whither shall we fly--whither escape?"

"Let us first withdraw from this house; afterward we shall see."

The young woman and the young man, without taking the trouble to

shut the door after them, descended the Rue des Fossoyeurs

rapidly, turned into the Rue des Fosses-Monsieur-le-Prince, and

did not stop till they came to the Place St. Sulpice.

"And now what are we to do, and where do you wish me to conduct

you?" asked d'Artagnan.

"I am at quite a loss how to answer you, I admit," said Mme.

Bonacieux. "My intention was to inform Monsieur Laporte, through

my husband, in order that Monsieur Laporte might tell us

precisely what had taken place at the Louvre in the last three

days, and whether there is any danger in presenting myself

there."

"But I," said d'Artagnan, "can go and inform Monsieur Laporte."

"No doubt you could, only there is one misfortune, and that is

that Monsieur Bonacieux is known at the Louvre, and would be

allowed to pass; whereas you are not known there, and the gate

would be closed against you."

"Ah, bah!" said d'Artagnan; "you have at some wicket of the

Louvre a CONCIERGE who is devoted to you, and who, thanks to a

password, would--"

Mme. Bonacieux looked earnestly at the young man.

"And if I give you this password," said she, "would you forget it

as soon as you used it?"

"By my honor, by the faith of a gentleman!" said d'Artagnan, with

an accent so truthful that no one could mistake it.

"Then I believe you. You appear to be a brave young man;

besides, your fortune may perhaps be the result of your

devotedness."

"I will do, without a promise and voluntarily, all that I can do

to serve the king and be agreeable to the queen. Dispose of me,

then, as a friend."

"But I--where shall I go meanwhile?"

"Is there nobody from whose house Monsieur Laporte can come and

fetch you?"

"No, I can trust nobody."

"Stop," said d'Artagnan; "we are near Athos's door. Yes, here it

is."

"Who is this Athos?"

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"One of my friends."

"But if he should be at home and see me?"

"He is not at home, and I will carry away the key, after having

placed you in his apartment."

"But if he should return?"

"Oh, he won't return; and if he should, he will be told that I

have brought a woman with me, and that woman is in his

apartment."

"But that will compromise me sadly, you know."

"Of what consequence? Nobody knows you. Besides, we are in a

situation to overlook ceremony."

"Come, then, let us go to your friend's house. Where does he

live?"

"Rue Ferou, two steps from here."

"Let us go!"

Both resumed their way. As d'Artagnan had foreseen, Athos was

not within. He took the key, which was customarily given him as

one of the family, ascended the stairs, and introduced Mme.

Bonacieux into the little apartment of which we have given a

description.

"You are at home," said he. "Remain here, fasten the door

inside, and open it to nobody unless you hear three taps like

this;" and he tapped thrice--two taps close together and pretty

hard, the other after an interval, and lighter.

"That is well," said Mme. Bonacieux. "Now, in my turn, let me

give you my instructions."

"I am all attention."

"Present yourself at the wicket of the Louvre, on the side of the

Rue de l'Echelle, and ask for Germain."

"Well, and then?"

"He will ask you what you want, and you will answer by these two

words, 'Tours' and 'Bruxelles.' He will at once put himself at

your orders."

"And what shall I command him?"

"To go and fetch Monsieur Laporte, the queen's VALET DE CHAMBRE."

"And when he shall have informed him, and Monsieur Laporte is

come?"

"You will send him to me."

"That is well; but where and how shall I see you again?"

"Do you wish to see me again?"

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"Certainly."

"Well, let that care be mine, and be at ease."

"I depend upon your word."

"You may."

D'Artagnan bowed to Mme. Bonacieux, darting at her the most

loving glance that he could possibly concentrate upon her

charming little person; and while he descended the stairs, he

heard the door closed and double-locked. In two bounds he was at

the Louvre; as he entered the wicket of L'Echelle, ten o'clock

struck. All the events we have described had taken place within

a half hour.

Everything fell out as Mme. Bonacieux prophesied. On hearing the

password, Germain bowed. In a few minutes, Laporte was at the

lodge; in two words d'Artagnan informed him where Mme. Bonacieux

was. Laporte assured himself, by having it twice repeated, of

the accurate address, and set off at a run. Hardly, however, had

he taken ten steps before he returned.

"Young man," said he to d'Artagnan, "a suggestion."

"What?"

"You may get into trouble by what has taken place."

"You believe so?"

"Yes. Have you any friend whose clock is too slow?"

"Well?"

"Go and call upon him, in order that he may give evidence of your

having been with him at half past nine. In a court of justice

that is called an alibi."

D'Artagnan found his advice prudent. He took to his heels, and

was soon at M. de Treville's; but instead of going into the

saloon with the rest of the crowd, he asked to be introduced to

M. de Treville's office. As d'Artagnan so constantly frequented

the hotel, no difficulty was made in complying with his request,

and a servant went to inform M. de Treville that his young

compatriot, having something important to communicate, solicited a

private audience. Five minutes after, M. de Treville was asking

d'Artagnan what he could do to serve him, and what caused his

visit at so late an hour.

"Pardon me, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, who had profited by the

moment he had been left alone to put back M. de Treville's clock

three-quarters of an hour, "but I thought, as it was yet only

twenty-five minutes past nine, it was not too late to wait upon

you."

"Twenty-five minutes past nine!" cried M. de Treville, looking at

the clock; "why, that's impossible!"

"Look, rather, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, "the clock shows it."

"That's true," said M. de Treville; "I believed it later. But

what can I do for you?"

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Then d'Artagnan told M. de Treville a long history about the

queen. He expressed to him the fears he entertained with respect

to her Majesty; he related to him what he had heard of the

projects of the cardinal with regard to Buckingham, and all with

a tranquillity and candor of which M. de Treville was the more

the dupe, from having himself, as we have said, observed

something fresh between the cardinal, the king, and the queen.

As ten o'clock was striking, d'Artagnan left M. de Treville, who

thanked him for his information, recommended him to have the

service of the king and queen always at heart, and returned to

the saloon; but at the foot of the stairs, d'Artagnan remembered

he had forgotten his cane. He consequently sprang up again,

re-entered the office, with a turn of his finger set the clock

right again, that it might not be perceived the next day that it

had been put wrong, and certain from that time that he had a

witness to prove his alibi, he ran downstairs and soon found

himself in the street.

11 IN WHICH THE PLOT THICKENS

His visit to M. de Treville being paid, the pensive d'Artagnan

took the longest way homeward.

On what was d'Artagnan thinking, that he strayed thus from his

path, gazing at the stars of heaven, and sometimes sighing,

sometimes smiling?

He was thinking of Mme. Bonacieux. For an apprentice Musketeer

the young woman was almost an ideal of love. Pretty, mysterious,

initiated in almost all the secrets of the court, which reflected

such a charming gravity over her pleasing features, it might be

surmised that she was not wholly unmoved; and this is an

irresistible charm to novices in love. Moreover, d'Artagnan had

delivered her from the hands of the demons who wished to search

and ill treat her; and this important service had established

between them one of those sentiments of gratitude which so easily

assume a more tender character.

D'Artagnan already fancied himself, so rapid is the flight of our

dreams upon the wings of imagination, accosted by a messenger

from the young woman, who brought him some billet appointing a

meeting, a gold chain, or a diamond. We have observed that young

cavaliers received presents from their king without shame. Let

us add that in these times of lax morality they had no more

delicacy with respect to the mistresses; and that the latter

almost always left them valuable and durable remembrances, as if

they essayed to conquer the fragility of their sentiments by the

solidity of their gifts.

Without a blush, men made their way in the world by the means of

women blushing. Such as were only beautiful gave their beauty,

whence, without doubt, comes the proverb, "The most beautiful

girl in the world can only give what she has." Such as were rich

gave in addition a part of their money; and a vast number of

heroes of that gallant period may be cited who would neither have

won their spurs in the first place, nor their battles afterward,

without the purse, more or less furnished, which their mistress

fastened to the saddle bow.

D'Artagnan owned nothing. Provincial diffidence, that slight

varnish, the ephemeral flower, that down of the peach, had

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evaporated to the winds through the little orthodox counsels

which the three Musketeers gave their friend. D'Artagnan,

following the strange custom of the times, considered himself at

Paris as on a campaign, neither more nor less than if he had been

in Flanders--Spain yonder, woman here. In each there was an

enemy to contend with, and contributions to be levied.

But, we must say, at the present moment d'Artagnan was ruled by

a feeling much more noble and disinterested. The mercer had

said that he was rich; the young man might easily guess that

with so weak a man as M. Bonacieux; and interest was almost

foreign to this commencement of love, which had been the

consequence of it. We say ALMOST, for the idea that a young,

handsome, kind, and witty woman is at the same time rich takes

nothing from the beginning of love, but on the contrary

strengthens it.

There are in affluence a crowd of aristocratic cares and caprices

which are highly becoming to beauty. A fine and white stocking,

a silken robe, a lace kerchief, a pretty slipper on the foot, a

tasty ribbon on the head do not make an ugly woman pretty, but

they make a pretty woman beautiful, without reckoning the hands,

which gain by all this; the hands, among women particularly, to

be beautiful must be idle.

Then d'Artagnan, as the reader, from whom we have not concealed

the state of his fortune, very well knows--d'Artagnan was not a

millionaire; he hoped to become one someday, but the time which

in his own mind he fixed upon for this happy change was still far

distant. In the meanwhile, how disheartening to see the woman

one loves long for those thousands of nothings which constitute a

woman's happiness, and be unable to give her those thousands of

nothings. At least, when the woman is rich and the lover is not,

that which he cannot offer she offers to herself; and although it

is generally with her husband's money that she procures herself

this indulgence, the gratitude for it seldom reverts to him.

Then d'Artagnan, disposed to become the most tender of lovers,

was at the same time a very devoted friend, In the midst of his

amorous projects for the mercer's wife, he did not forget his

friends. The pretty Mme. Bonacieux was just the woman to walk

with in the Plain St. Denis or in the fair of St. Germain, in

company with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, to whom d'Artagnan had

often remarked this. Then one could enjoy charming little

dinners, where one touches on one side the hand of a friend, and

on the other the foot of a mistress. Besides, on pressing

occasions, in extreme difficulties, d'Artagnan would become the

preserver of his friends.

And M. Bonacieux? whom d'Artagnan had pushed into the hands of

the officers, denying him aloud although he had promised in a

whisper to save him. We are compelled to admit to our readers

that d'Artagnan thought nothing about him in any way; or that if

he did think of him, it was only to say to himself that he was

very well where he was, wherever it might be. Love is the most

selfish of all the passions.

Let our readers reassure themselves. IF d'Artagnan forgets his

host, or appears to forget him, under the pretense of not knowing

where he has been carried, we will not forget him, and we know

where he is. But for the moment, let us do as did the amorous

Gascon; we will see after the worthy mercer later.

D'Artagnan, reflecting on his future amours, addressing himself

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to the beautiful night, and smiling at the stars, ascended the

Rue Cherish-Midi, or Chase-Midi, as it was then called. As he

found himself in the quarter in which Aramis lived, he took it

into his head to pay his friend a visit in order to explain the

motives which had led him to send Planchet with a request that he

would come instantly to the mousetrap. Now, if Aramis had been

at home when Planchet came to his abode, he had doubtless

hastened to the Rue des Fossoyeurs, and finding nobody there but

his other two companions perhaps, they would not be able to

conceive what all this meant. This mystery required an

explanation; at least, so d'Artagnan declared to himself.

He likewise thought this was an opportunity for talking about

pretty little Mme. Bonacieux, of whom his head, if not his heart,

was already full. We must never look for discretion in first

love. First love is accompanied by such excessive joy that

unless the joy be allowed to overflow, it will stifle you.

Paris for two hours past had been dark, and seemed a desert.

Eleven o'clock sounded from all the clocks of the Faubourg St.

Germain. It was delightful weather. D'Artagnan was passing

along a lane on the spot where the Rue d'Assas is now situated,

breathing the balmy emanations which were borne upon the wind

from the Rue de Vaugirard, and which arose from the gardens

refreshed by the dews of evening and the breeze of night. From a

distance resounded, deadened, however, by good shutters, the

songs of the tipplers, enjoying themselves in the cabarets

scattered along the plain. Arrived at the end of the lane,

d'Artagnan turned to the left. The house in which Aramis dwelt

was situated between the Rue Cassette and the Rue Servandoni.

D'Artagnan had just passed the Rue Cassette, and already

perceived the door of his friend's house, shaded by a mass of

sycamores and clematis which formed a vast arch opposite the

front of it, when he perceived something like a shadow issuing

from the Rue Servandoni. This something was enveloped in a

cloak, and d'Artagnan at first believed it was a man; but by the

smallness of the form, the hesitation of the walk, and the

indecision of the step, he soon discovered that it was a woman.

Further, this woman, as if not certain of the house she was

seeking, lifted up her eyes to look around her, stopped, went

backward, and then returned again. D'Artagnan was perplexed.

"Shall I go and offer her my services?" thought he. "By her step

she must be young; perhaps she is pretty. Oh, yes! But a woman

who wanders in the streets at this hour only ventures out to meet

her lover. If I should disturb a rendezvous, that would not be

the best means of commencing an acquaintance."

Meantime the young woman continued to advance, counting the

houses and windows. This was neither long nor difficult. There

were but three hotels in this part of the street; and only two

windows looking toward the road, one of which was in a pavilion

parallel to that which Aramis occupied, the other belonging to

Aramis himself.

"PARIDIEU!" said d'Artagnan to himself, to whose mind the niece

of the theologian reverted, "PARDIEU, it would be droll if this

belated dove should be in search of our friend's house. But on

my soul, it looks so. Ah, my dear Aramis, this time I shall find

you out." And d'Artagnan, making himself as small as he could,

concealed himself in the darkest side of the street near a stone

bench placed at the back of a niche.

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The young woman continued to advance; and in addition to the

lightness of her step, which had betrayed her, she emitted a

little cough which denoted a sweet voice. D'Artagnan believed

this cough to be a signal.

Nevertheless, whether the cough had been answered by a similar

signal which had fixed the irresolution of the nocturnal seeker,

or whether without this aid she saw that she had arrived at the

end of her journey, she resolutely drew near to Aramis's shutter,

and tapped, at three equal intervals, with her bent finger.

"This is all very fine, dear Aramis," murmured d'Artagnan.

"Ah, Monsieur Hypocrite, I understand how you study theology."

The three blows were scarcely struck, when the inside blind was

opened and a light appeared through the panes of the outside

shutter.

"Ah, ah!" said the listener, "not through doors, but through

windows! Ah, this visit was expected. We shall see the windows

open, and the lady enter by escalade. Very pretty!"

But to the great astonishment of d'Artagnan, the shutter remained

closed. Still more, the light which had shone for an instant

disappeared, and all was again in obscurity.

D'Artagnan thought this could not last long, and continued to

look with all his eyes and listen with all his ears.

He was right; at the end of some seconds two sharp taps were

heard inside. The young woman in the street replied by a single

tap, and the shutter was opened a little way.

It may be judged whether d'Artagnan looked or listened with

avidity. Unfortunately the light had been removed into another

chamber; but the eyes of the young man were accustomed to the

night. Besides, the eyes of the Gascons have, as it is asserted,

like those of cats, the faculty of seeing in the dark.

D'Artagnan then saw that the young woman took from her pocket a

white object, which she unfolded quickly, and which took the form

of a handkerchief. She made her interlocutor observe the corner

of this unfolded object.

This immediately recalled to d'Artagnan's mind the handkerchief

which he had found at the feet of Mme. Bonacieux, which had

reminded him of that which he had dragged from under the feet of

Aramis.

"What the devil could that handkerchief signify?"

Placed where he was, d'Artagnan could not perceive the face of

Aramis. We say Aramis, because the young man entertained no

doubt that it was his friend who held this dialogue from the

interior with the lady of the exterior. Curiosity prevailed over

prudence; and profiting by the preoccupation into which the sight

of the handkerchief appeared to have plunged the two personages

now on the scene, he stole from his hiding place, and quick as

lightning, but stepping with utmost caution, he ran and placed

himself close to the angle of the wall, from which his eye could

pierce the interior of Aramis's room.

Upon gaining this advantage d'Artagnan was near uttering a cry of

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surprise; it was not Aramis who was conversing with the nocturnal

visitor, it was a woman! D'Artagnan, however, could only see

enough to recognize the form of her vestments, not enough to

distinguish her features.

At the same instant the woman inside drew a second handkerchief

from her pocket, and exchanged it for that which had just been

shown to her. Then some words were spoken by the two women. At

length the shutter closed. The woman who was outside the window

turned round, and passed within four steps of d'Artagnan, pulling

down the hood of her mantle; but the precaution was too late,

d'Artagnan had already recognized Mme. Bonacieux.

Mme. Bonacieux! The suspicion that it was she had crossed the

mind of d'Artagnan when she drew the handkerchief from her

pocket; but what probability was there that Mme. Bonacieux, who

had sent for M. Laporte in order to be reconducted to the Louvre,

should be running about the streets of Paris at half past eleven

at night, at the risk of being abducted a second time?

This must be, then, an affair of importance; and what is the most

important affair to a woman of twenty-five! Love.

But was it on her own account, or on account of another, that she

exposed herself to such hazards? This was a question the young

man asked himself, whom the demon of jealousy already gnawed,

being in heart neither more nor less than an accepted lover.

There was a very simple means of satisfying himself whither Mme.

Bonacieux was going; that was to follow her. This method was so

simple that d'Artagnan employed it quite naturally and

instinctively.

But at the sight of the young man, who detached himself from the

wall like a statue walking from its niche, and at the noise of

the steps which she heard resound behind her, Mme. Bonacieux

uttered a little cry and fled.

D'Artagnan ran after her. It was not difficult for him to

overtake a woman embarrassed with her cloak. He came up with her

before she had traversed a third of the street. The unfortunate

woman was exhausted, not by fatigue, but by terror, and when

d'Artagnan placed his hand upon her shoulder, she sank upon one

knee, crying in a choking voice, "Kill me, if you please, you

shall know nothing!"

D'Artagnan raised her by passing his arm round her waist; but as

he felt by her weight she was on the point of fainting, he made

haste to reassure her by protestations of devotedness. These

protestations were nothing for Mme. Bonacieux, for such

protestations may be made with the worst intentions in the world;

but the voice was all Mme. Bonacieux thought she recognized the

sound of that voice; she reopened her eyes, cast a quick glance

upon the man who had terrified her so, and at once perceiving it

was d'Artagnan, she uttered a cry of joy, "Oh, it is you, it is

you! Thank God, thank God!"

"Yes, it is I," said d'Artagnan, "it is I, whom God has sent to

watch over you."

"Was it with that intention you followed me?" asked the young

woman, with a coquettish smile, whose somewhat bantering

character resumed its influence, and with whom all fear had

disappeared from the moment in which she recognized a friend in

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one she had taken for an enemy.

"No," said d'Artagnan; "no, I confess it. It was chance that

threw me in your way; I saw a woman knocking at the window of one

of my friends."

"One of your friends?" interrupted Mme. Bonacieux.

"Without doubt; Aramis is one of my best friends."

"Aramis! Who is he?"

"Come, come, you won't tell me you don't know Aramis?"

"This is the first time I ever heard his name pronounced."

"It is the first time, then, that you ever went to that house?"

"Undoubtedly."

"And you did not know that it was inhabited by a young man?"

"No."

"By a Musketeer?"

"No, indeed!"

"It was not he, then, you came to seek?"

"Not the least in the world. Besides, you must have seen that

the person to whom I spoke was a woman."

"That is true; but this woman is a friend of Aramis--"

"I know nothing of that."

"--since she lodges with him."

"That does not concern me."

"But who is she?"

"Oh, that is not my secret."

"My dear Madame Bonacieux, you are charming; but at the same time

you are one of the most mysterious women."

"Do I lose by that?"

"No; you are, on the contrary, adorable."

"Give me your arm, then."

"Most willingly. And now?"

"Now escort me."

"Where?"

"Where I am going."

"But where are you going?"

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"You will see, because you will leave me at the door."

"Shall I wait for you?"

"That will be useless."

"You will return alone, then?"

"Perhaps yes, perhaps no."

"But will the person who shall accompany you afterward be a man

or a woman?"

"I don't know yet."

"But I will know it!"

"How so?"

"I will wait until you come out."

"In that case, adieu."

"Why so?"

"I do not want you."

"But you have claimed--"

"The aid of a gentleman, not the watchfulness of a spy."

"The word is rather hard."

"How are they called who follow others in spite of them?"

"They are indiscreet."

"The word is too mild."

"Well, madame, I perceive I must do as you wish."

"Why did you deprive yourself of the merit of doing so at once?"

"Is there no merit in repentance?"

"And do you really repent?"

"I know nothing about it myself. But what I know is that I

promise to do all you wish if you allow me to accompany you where

you are going."

"And you will leave me then?"

"Yes."

"Without waiting for my coming out again?"

"Yes."

"Word of honor?"

"By the faith of a gentleman. Take my arm, and let us go."

D'Artagnan offered his arm to Mme. Bonacieux, who willingly took

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it, half laughing, half trembling, and both gained the top of Rue

de la Harpe. Arriving there, the young woman seemed to hesitate,

as she had before done in the Rue Vaugirard. She seemed,

however, by certain signs, to recognize a door, and approaching

that door, "And now, monsieur," said she, "it is here I have

business; a thousand thanks for your honorable company, which has

saved me from all the dangers to which, alone I was exposed. But

the moment is come to keep your word; I have reached my

destination."

"And you will have nothing to fear on your return?"

"I shall have nothing to fear but robbers."

"And that is nothing?"

"What could they take from me? I have not a penny about me."

"You forget that beautiful handkerchief with the coat of arms."

"Which?"

"That which I found at your feet, and replaced in your pocket."

"Hold your tongue, imprudent man! Do you wish to destroy me?"

"You see very plainly that there is still danger for you, since a

single word makes you tremble; and you confess that if that word

were heard you would be ruined. Come, come, madame!" cried

d'Artagnan, seizing her hands, and surveying her with an ardent

glance, "come, be more generous. Confide in me. Have you not

read in my eyes that there is nothing but devotion and sympathy

in my heart?"

"Yes," replied Mme. Bonacieux; "therefore, ask my own secrets,

and I will reveal them to you; but those of others--that is quite

another thing."

"Very well," said d'Artagnan, "I shall discover them; as these

secrets may have an influence over your life, these secrets must

become mine."

"Beware of what you do!" cried the young woman, in a manner so

serious as to make d'Artagnan start in spite of himself. "Oh,

meddle in nothing which concerns me. Do not seek to assist me in

that which I am accomplishing. This I ask of you in the name of

the interest with which I inspire you, in the name of the service

you have rendered me and which I never shall forget while I have

life. Rather, place faith in what I tell you. Have no more

concern about me; I exist no longer for you, any more than if you

had never seen me."

"Must Aramis do as much as I, madame?" said d'Artagnan, deeply

piqued.

"This is the second or third time, monsieur, that you have

repeated that name, and yet I have told you that I do not know

him."

"You do not know the man at whose shutter you have just knocked?

Indeed, madame, you believe me too credulous!"

"Confess that it is for the sake of making me talk that you

invent this story and create this personage."

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"I invent nothing, madame; I create nothing. I only speak that

exact truth."

"And you say that one of your friends lives in that house?"

"I say so, and I repeat it for the third time; that house is one

inhabited by my friend, and that friend is Aramis."

"All this will be cleared up at a later period," murmured the

young woman; "no, monsieur, be silent."

"If you could see my heart," said d'Artagnan, "you would there

read so much curiosity that you would pity me and so much love

that you would instantly satisfy my curiosity. We have nothing

to fear from those who love us."

"You speak very suddenly of love, monsieur," said the young

woman, shaking her head.

"That is because love has come suddenly upon me, and for the

first time; and because I am only twenty."

The young woman looked at him furtively.

"Listen; I am already upon the scent," resumed d'Artagnan.

"About three months ago I was near having a duel with Aramis

concerning a handkerchief resembling the one you showed to the

woman in his house--for a handkerchief marked in the same manner,

I am sure."

"Monsieur," said the young woman, "you weary me very much, I

assure you, with your questions."

"But you, madame, prudent as you are, think, if you were to be

arrested with that handkerchief, and that handkerchief were to be

seized, would you not be compromised?"

"In what way? The initials are only mine--C. B., Constance

Bonacieux."

"Or Camille de Bois-Tracy."

"Silence, monsieur! Once again, silence! Ah, since the dangers

I incur on my own account cannot stop you, think of those you may

yourself run!"

"Me?"

"Yes; there is peril of imprisonment, risk of life in knowing

me."

"Then I will not leave you."

"Monsieur!" said the young woman, supplicating him and clasping

her hands together, "monsieur, in the name of heaven, by the

honor of a soldier, by the courtesy of a gentleman, depart!

There, there midnight sounds! That is the hour when I am

expected."

"Madame," said the young man, bowing; "I can refuse nothing asked

of me thus. Be content; I will depart."

"But you will not follow me; you will not watch me?"

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"I will return home instantly."

"Ah, I was quite sure you were a good and brave young man," said

Mme. Bonacieux, holding out her hand to him, and placing the

other upon the knocker of a little door almost hidden in the

wall.

D'Artagnan seized the hand held out to him, and kissed it

ardently.

"Ah! I wish I had never seen you!" cried d'Artagnan, with that

ingenuous roughness which women often prefer to the affectations

of politeness, because it betrays the depths of the thought and

proves that feeling prevails over reason.

"Well!" resumed Mme. Bonacieux, in a voice almost caressing, and

pressing the hand of d'Artagnan, who had not relinquished hers,

"well: I will not say as much as you do; what is lost for today

may not be lost forever. Who knows, when I shall be at liberty,

that I may not satisfy your curiosity?"

"And will you make the same promise to my love?" cried

d'Artagnan, beside himself with joy.

"Oh, as to that, I do not engage myself. That depends upon the

sentiments with which you may inspire me."

"Then today, madame--"

"Oh, today, I am no further than gratitude."

"Ah! You are too charming," said d'Artagnan, sorrowfully; "and

you abuse my love."

"No, I use your generosity, that's all. But be of good cheer;

with certain people, everything comes round."

"Oh, you render me the happiest of men! Do not forget this

evening--do not forget that promise."

"Be satisfied. In the proper time and place I will remember

everything. Now then, go, go, in the name of heaven! I was

expected at sharp midnight, and I am late."

"By five minutes."

"Yes; but in certain circumstances five minutes are five ages."

"When one loves."

"Well! And who told you I had no affair with a lover?"

"It is a man, then, who expects you?" cried d'Artagnan. "A man!"

"The discussion is going to begin again!" said Mme. Bonacieux,

with a half-smile which was not exempt from a tinge of

impatience.

"No, no; I go, I depart! I believe in you, and I would have all

the merit of my devotion, even if that devotion were stupidity.

Adieu, madame, adieu!"

And as if he only felt strength to detach himself by a violent

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effort from the hand he held, he sprang away, running, while Mme.

Bonacieux knocked, as at the shutter, three light and regular

taps. When he had gained the angle of the street, he turned.

The door had been opened, and shut again; the mercer's pretty

wife had disappeared.

D'Artagnan pursued his way. He had given his word not to watch

Mme. Bonacieux, and if his life had depended upon the spot to

which she was going or upon the person who should accompany her,

d'Artagnan would have returned home, since he had so promised.

Five minutes later he was in the Rue des Fossoyeurs.

"Poor Athos!" said he; "he will never guess what all this means.

He will have fallen asleep waiting for me, or else he will have

returned home, where he will have learned that a woman had been

there. A woman with Athos! After all," continued d'Artagnan,

"there was certainly one with Aramis. All this is very strange;

and I am curious to know how it will end."

"Badly, monsieur, badly!" replied a voice which the young man

recognized as that of Planchet; for, soliloquizing aloud, as very

preoccupied people do, he had entered the alley, at the end of

which were the stairs which led to his chamber.

"How badly? What do you mean by that, you idiot?" asked

d'Artagnan. "What has happened?"

"All sorts of misfortunes."

"What?"

"In the first place, Monsieur Athos is arrested."

"Arrested! Athos arrested! What for?"

"He was found in your lodging; they took him for you."

"And by whom was he arrested?"

"By Guards brought by the men in black whom you put to flight."

"Why did he not tell them his name? Why did he not tell them he

knew nothing about this affair?"

"He took care not to do so, monsieur; on the contrary, he came up

to me and said, 'It is your master that needs his liberty at this

moment and not I, since he knows everything and I know nothing.

They will believe he is arrested, and that will give him time; in

three days I will tell them who I am, and they cannot fail to let

me go.'"

"Bravo, Athos! Noble heart!" murmured d'Artagnan. "I know him

well there! And what did the officers do?"

"Four conveyed him away, I don't know where--to the Bastille or

Fort l'Eveque. Two remained with the men in black, who rummaged

every place and took all the papers. The last two mounted guard

at the door during this examination; then, when all was over,

they went away, leaving the house empty and exposed."

"And Porthos and Aramis?"

"I could not find them; they did not come."

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"But they may come any moment, for you left word that I awaited

them?"

"Yes, monsieur."

"Well, don't budge, then; if they come, tell them what has

happened. Let them wait for me at the Pomme-de-Pin. Here it

would be dangerous; the house may be watched. I will run to

Monsieur de Treville to tell them all this, and will meet them

there."

"Very well, monsieur," said Planchet.

"But you will remain; you are not afraid?" said d'Artagnan,

coming back to recommend courage to his lackey.

"Be easy, monsieur," said Planchet; "you do not know me yet. I

am brave when I set about it. It is all in beginning. Besides,

I am a Picard."

"Then it is understood," said d'Artagnan; "you would rather be

killed than desert your post?"

"Yes, monsieur; and there is nothing I would not do to prove to

Monsieur that I am attached to him."

"Good!" said d'Artagnan to himself. "It appears that the method

I have adopted with this boy is decidedly the best. I shall use

it again upon occasion."

And with all the swiftness of his legs, already a little fatigued

however, with the perambulations of the day, d'Artagnan directed

his course toward M. de Treville's.

M. de Treville was not at his hotel. His company was on guard at

the Louvre; he was at the Louvre with his company.

It was necessary to reach M. de Treville; it was important that

he should be informed of what was passing. D'Artagnan resolved

to try and enter the Louvre. His costume of Guardsman in the

company of M. Dessessart ought to be his passport.

He therefore went down the Rue des Petits Augustins, and came up

to the quay, in order to take the New Bridge. He had at first an

idea of crossing by the ferry; but on gaining the riverside, he

had mechanically put his hand into his pocket, and perceived that

he had not wherewithal to pay his passage.

As he gained the top of the Rue Guenegaud, he saw two persons

coming out of the Rue Dauphine whose appearance very much struck

him. Of the two persons who composed this group, one was a man

and the other a woman. The woman had the outline of Mme.

Bonacieux; the man resembled Aramis so much as to be mistaken for

him.

Besides, the woman wore that black mantle which d'Artagnan could

still see outlined on the shutter of the Rue de Vaugirard and on

the door of the Rue de la Harpe; still further, the man wore the

uniform of a Musketeer.

The woman's hood was pulled down, and the man geld a handkerchief

to his face. Both, as this double precaution indicated, had an

interest in not being recognized.

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They took the bridge. That was d'Artagnan's road, as he was

going to the Louvre. D'Artagnan followed them.

He had not gone twenty steps before he became convinced that the

woman was really Mme. Bonacieux and that the man was Aramis.

He felt at that instant all the suspicions of jealousy agitating

his heart. He felt himself doubly betrayed, by his friend and by

her whom he already loved like a mistress. Mme. Bonacieux had

declared to him, by all the gods, that she did not know Aramis;

and a quarter of an hour after having made this assertion, he

found her hanging on the arm of Aramis.

D'Artagnan did not reflect that he had only known the mercer's

pretty wife for three hours; that she owed him nothing but a

little gratitude for having delivered her from the men in black,

who wished to carry her off, and that she had promised him

nothing. He considered himself an outraged, betrayed, and

ridiculed lover. Blood and anger mounted to his face; he was

resolved to unravel the mystery.

The young man and young woman perceived they were watched, and

redoubled their speed. D'Artagnan determined upon his course.

He passed them, then returned so as to meet them exactly before

the Samaritaine. Which was illuminated by a lamp which threw its

light over all that part of the bridge.

D'Artagnan stopped before them, and they stopped before him.

"What do you want, monsieur?" demanded the Musketeer, recoiling a

step, and with a foreign accent, which proved to d'Artagnan that

he was deceived in one of his conjectures.

"It is not Aramis!" cried he.

"No, monsieur, it is not Aramis; and by your exclamation I

perceive you have mistaken me for another, and pardon you."

"You pardon me?" cried d'Artagnan.

"Yes," replied the stranger. "Allow me, then, to pass on, since

it is not with me you have anything to do."

"You are right, monsieur, it is not with you that I have anything

to do; it is with Madame."

"With Madame! You do not know her," replied the stranger.

"You are deceived, monsieur; I know her very well."

"Ah," said Mme. Bonacieux; in a tone of reproach, "ah, monsieur,

I had your promise as a soldier and your word as a gentleman. I

hoped to be able to rely upon that."

"And I, madame!" said d'Artagnan, embarrassed; "you promised me--

"

"Take my arm, madame," said the stranger, "and let us continue

our way."

D'Artagnan, however, stupefied, cast down, annihilated by all

that happened, stood, with crossed arms, before the Musketeer and

Mme. Bonacieux.

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The Musketeer advanced two steps, and pushed d'Artagnan aside

with his hand. D'Artagnan made a spring backward and drew his

sword. At the same time, and with the rapidity of lightning, the

stranger drew his.

"In the name of heaven, my Lord!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, throwing

herself between the combatants and seizing the swords with her

hands.

"My Lord!" cried d'Artagnan, enlightened by a sudden idea, "my

Lord! Pardon me, monsieur, but you are not--"

"My Lord the Duke of Buckingham," said Mme. Bonacieux, in an

undertone; "and now you may ruin us all."

"My Lord, Madame, I ask a hundred pardons! But I love her, my

Lord, and was jealous. You know what it is to love, my Lord.

Pardon me, and then tell me how I can risk my life to serve your

Grace?"

"You are a brave young man," said Buckingham, holding out his

hand to d'Artagnan, who pressed it respectfully. "You offer me

your services; with the same frankness I accept them. Follow us

at a distance of twenty paces, as far as the Louvre, and if

anyone watches us, slay him!"

D'Artagnan placed his naked sword under his arm, allowed the duke

and Mme. Bonacieux to take twenty steps ahead, and then followed

them, ready to execute the instructions of the noble and elegant

minister of Charles I.

Fortunately, he had no opportunity to give the duke this proof of

his devotion, and the young woman and the handsome Musketeer

entered the Louvre by the wicket of the Echelle without any

interference.

As for d'Artagnan, he immediately repaired to the cabaret of the

Pomme-de-Pin, where he found Porthos and Aramis awaiting him.

Without giving them any explanation of the alarm and

inconvenience he had caused them, he told them that he had

terminated the affair alone in which he had for a moment believed

he should need their assistance.

Meanwhile, carried away as we are by our narrative, we must leave

our three friends to themselves, and follow the Duke of

Buckingham and his guide through the labyrinths of the Louvre.

12 GEORGE VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

Mme. Bonacieux and the duke entered the Louvre without

difficulty. Mme. Bonacieux was known to belong to the queen; the

duke wore the uniform of the Musketeers of M. de Treville, who,

as we have said, were that evening on guard. Besides, Germain

was in the interests of the queen; and if anything should happen,

Mme. Bonacieux would be accused of having introduced her lover

into the Louvre, that was all. She took the risk upon herself.

Her reputation would be lost, it is true; but of what value in

the world was the reputation of the little wife of a mercer?

Once within the interior of the court, the duke and the young

woman followed the wall for the space of about twenty-five steps.

This space passed, Mme. Bonacieux pushed a little servants' door,

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open by day but generally closed at night. The door yielded.

Both entered, and found themselves in darkness; but Mme.

Bonacieux was acquainted with all the turnings and windings of

this part of the Louvre, appropriated for the people of the

household. She closed the door after her, took the duke by the

hand, and after a few experimental steps, grasped a balustrade,

put her foot upon the bottom step, and began to ascend the

staircase. The duke counted two stories. She then turned to the

right, followed the course of a long corridor, descended a

flight, went a few steps farther, introduced a key into a lock,

opened a door, and pushed the duke into an apartment lighted only

by a lamp, saying, "Remain here, my Lord Duke; someone will

come." She then went out by the same door, which she locked, so

that the duke found himself literally a prisoner.

Nevertheless, isolated as he was, we must say that the Duke of

Buckingham did not experience an instant of fear. One of the

salient points of his character was the search for adventures and

a love of romance. Brave, rash, and enterprising, this was not

the first time he had risked his life in such attempts. He had

learned that the pretended message from Anne of Austria, upon the

faith of which he had come to Paris, was a snare; but instead of

regaining England, he had, abusing the position in which he had

been placed, declared to the queen that he would not depart

without seeing her. The queen had at first positively refused;

but at length became afraid that the duke, if exasperated, would

commit some folly. She had already decided upon seeing him and

urging his immediate departure, when, on the very evening of

coming to this decision, Mme. Bonacieux, who was charged with

going to fetch the duke and conducting him to the Louvre, was

abducted. For two days no one knew what had become of her, and

everything remained in suspense; but once free, and placed in

communication with Laporte, matters resumed their course, and she

accomplished the perilous enterprise which, but for her arrest,

would have been executed three days earlier.

Buckingham, left alone, walked toward a mirror. His Musketeer's

uniform became him marvelously.

At thirty-five, which was then his age, he passed, with just

title, for the handsomest gentleman and the most elegant cavalier

of France or England.

The favorite of two kings, immensely rich, all-powerful in a

kingdom which he disordered at his fancy and calmed again at his

caprice, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, had lived one of

those fabulous existences which survive, in the course of

centuries, to astonish posterity.

Sure of himself, convinced of his own power, certain that the

laws which rule other men could not reach him, he went straight

to the object he aimed at, even were this object were so elevated

and so dazzling that it would have been madness for any other

even to have contemplated it. It was thus he had succeeded in

approaching several times the beautiful and proud Anne of

Austria, and in making himself loved by dazzling her.

George Villiers placed himself before the glass, as we have said,

restored the undulations to his beautiful hair, which the weight

of his hat had disordered, twisted his mustache, and, his heart

swelling with joy, happy and proud at being near the moment he

had so long sighed for, he smiled upon himself with pride and

hope.

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At this moment a door concealed in the tapestry opened, and a

woman appeared. Buckingham saw this apparition in the glass; he

uttered a cry. It was the queen!

Anne of Austria was then twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age;

that is to say, she was in the full splendor of her beauty.

Her carriage was that of a queen or a goddess; her eyes, which

cast the brilliancy of emeralds, were perfectly beautiful, and

yet were at the same time full of sweetness and majesty.

Her mouth was small and rosy; and although her underlip, like

that of all princes of the House of Austria, protruded slightly

beyond the other, it was eminently lovely in its smile, but as

profoundly disdainful in its contempt.

Her skin was admired for its velvety softness; her hands and arms

were of surpassing beauty, all the poets of the time singing them

as incomparable.

Lastly, her hair, which, from being light in her youth, had

become chestnut, and which she wore curled very plainly, and with

much powder, admirably set off her face, in which the most rigid

critic could only have desired a little less rouge, and the most

fastidious sculptor a little more fineness in the nose.

Buckingham remained for a moment dazzled. Never had Anna of

Austria appeared to him so beautiful, amid balls, fetes, or

carousals, as she appeared to him at this moment, dressed in a

simple robe of white satin, and accompanied by Donna Estafania--

the only one of her Spanish women who had not been driven from

her by the jealousy of the king or by the persecutions of

Richelieu.

Anne of Austria took two steps forward. Buckingham threw himself

at her feet, and before the queen could prevent him, kissed the

hem of her robe.

"Duke, you already know that it is not I who caused you to be

written to."

"Yes, yes, madame! Yes, your Majesty!" cried the duke. "I know

that I must have been mad, senseless, to believe that snow would

become animated or marble warm; but what then! They who love

believe easily in love. Besides, I have lost nothing by this

journey because I see you."

"Yes," replied Anne, "but you know why and how I see you;

because, insensible to all my sufferings, you persist in

remaining in a city where, by remaining, you run the risk of your

life, and make me run the risk of my honor. I see you to tell

you that everything separates us--the depths of the sea, the

enmity of kingdoms, the sanctity of vows. It is sacrilege to

struggle against so many things, my Lord. In short, I see you to

tell you that we must never see each other again."

"Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the

sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words. You

talk of sacrilege! Why, the sacrilege is the separation of two

hearts formed by God for each other."

"My Lord," cried the queen, "you forget that I have never said

that I love you."

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"But you have never told me that you did not love me; and truly,

to speak such words to me would be, on the part of your Majesty,

too great an ingratitude. For tell me, where can you find a love

like mine--a love which neither time, nor absence, nor despair

can extinguish, a love which contents itself with a lost ribbon,

a stray look, or a chance word? It is now three years, madame,

since I saw you for the first time, and during those three years

I have loved you thus. Shall I tell you each ornament of your

toilet? Mark! I see you now. You were seated upon cushions in

the Spanish fashion; you wore a robe of green satin embroidered

with gold and silver, hanging sleeves knotted upon your beautiful

arms--those lovely arms--with large diamonds. You wore a close

ruff, a small cap upon your head of the same color as your robe,

and in that cap a heron's feather. Hold! Hold! I shut my eyes,

and I can see you as you then were; I open them again, and I see

what you are now--a hundred time more beautiful!"

"What folly," murmured Anne of Austria, who had not the courage

to find fault with the duke for having so well preserved her

portrait in his heart, "what folly to feed a useless passion with

such remembrances!"

"And upon what then must I live? I have nothing but memory. It

is my happiness, my treasure, my hope. Every time I see you is a

fresh diamond which I enclose in the casket of my heart. This

is the fourth which you have let fall and I have picked up; for

in three years, madame, I have only seen you four times--the

first, which I have described to you; the second, at the mansion

of Madame de Chevreuse; the third, in the gardens of Amiens."

"Duke," said the queen, blushing, "never speak of that evening."

"Oh, let us speak of it; on the contrary, let us speak of it!

That is the most happy and brilliant evening of my life! You

remember what a beautiful night it was? How soft and perfumed

was the air; how lovely the blue heavens and star-enameled sky!

Ah, then, madame, I was able for one instant to be alone with

you. Then you were about to tell me all--the isolation of your

life, the griefs of your heart. You leaned upon my arm--upon

this, madame! I felt, in bending my head toward you, your

beautiful hair touch my cheek; and every time that it touched me

I trembled from head to foot. Oh, Queen! Queen! You do not

know what felicity from heaven, what joys from paradise, are

comprised in a moment like that. Take my wealth, my fortune, my

glory, all the days I have to live, for such an instant, for a

night like that. For that night, madame, that night you loved

me, I will swear it."

"My Lord, yes; it is possible that the influence of the place,

the charm of the beautiful evening, the fascination of your

look--the thousand circumstances, in short, which sometimes unite

to destroy a woman--were grouped around me on that fatal evening;

but, my Lord, you saw the queen come to the aid of the woman who

faltered. At the first word you dared to utter, at the first

freedom to which I had to reply, I called for help."

"Yes, yes, that is true. And any other love but mine would have

sunk beneath this ordeal; but my love came out from it more

ardent and more eternal. You believed that you would fly from me

by returning to Paris; you believed that I would not dare to quit

the treasure over which my master had charged me to watch. What

to me were all the treasures in the world, or all the kings of

the earth! Eight days after, I was back again, madame. That

time you had nothing to say to me; I had risked my life and favor

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to see you but for a second. I did not even touch your hand, and

you pardoned me on seeing me so submissive and so repentant."

"Yes, but calumny seized upon all those follies in which I took

no part, as you well know, my Lord. The king, excited by the

cardinal, made a terrible clamor. Madame de Vernet was driven

from me, Putange was exiled, Madame de Chevreuse fell into

disgrace, and when you wished to come back as ambassador to

France, the king himself--remember, my lord--the king himself

opposed to it."

"Yes, and France is about to pay for her king's refusal with a

war. I am not allowed to see you, madame, but you shall every

day hear of me. What object, think you, have this expedition to

Re and this league with the Protestants of La Rochelle which I am

projecting? The pleasure of seeing you. I have no hope of

penetrating, sword in hand, to Paris, I know that well. But this

war may bring round a peace; this peace will require a

negotiator; that negotiator will be me. They will not dare to

refuse me then; and I will return to Paris, and will see you

again, and will be happy for an instant. Thousands of men, it is

true, will have to pay for my happiness with their lives; but

what is that to me, provided I see you again! All this is

perhaps folly--perhaps insanity; but tell me what woman has a

lover more truly in love; what queen a servant more ardent?"

"My Lord, my Lord, you invoke in your defense things which accuse

you more strongly. All these proofs of love which you would give

me are almost crimes."

"Because you do not love me, madame! If you loved me, you would

view all this otherwise. If you loved me, oh, if you loved me,

that would be too great happiness, and I should run mad. Ah,

Madame de Chevreuse was less cruel than you. Holland loved her,

and she responded to his love."

"Madame de Chevreuse was not queen," murmured Anne of Austria,

overcome, in spite of herself, by the expression of so profound a

passion.

"You would love me, then, if you were not queen! Madame, say

that you would love me then! I can believe that it is the

dignity of your rank alone which makes you cruel to me; I can

believe that you had been Madame de Chevreuse, poor Buckingham

might have hoped. Thanks for those sweet words! Oh, my

beautiful sovereign, a hundred times, thanks!"

"Oh, my Lord! You have ill understood, wrongly interpreted; I

did not mean to say--"

"Silence, silence!" cried the duke. "If I am happy in an error,

do not have the cruelty to lift me from it. You have told me

yourself, madame, that I have been drawn into a snare; I,

perhaps, may leave my life in it--for, although it may be

strange, I have for some time had a presentiment that I should

shortly die." And the duke smiled, with a smile at once sad and

charming.

"Oh, my God!" cried Anne of Austria, with an accent of terror

which proved how much greater an interest she took in the duke

than she ventured to tell.

"I do not tell you this, madame, to terrify you; no, it is even

ridiculous for me to name it to you, and, believe me, I take no

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heed of such dreams. But the words you have just spoken, the

hope you have almost given me, will have richly paid all--were it

my life."

"Oh, but I," said Anne, "I also, duke, have had presentiments; I

also have had dreams. I dreamed that I saw you lying bleeding,

wounded."

"In the left side, was it not, and with a knife?" interrupted

Buckingham.

"Yes, it was so, my Lord, it was so--in the left side, and with a

knife. Who can possibly have told you I had had that dream? I

have imparted it to no one but my God, and that in my prayers."

"I ask for no more. You love me, madame; it is enough."

"I love you, I?"

"Yes, yes. Would God send the same dreams to you as to me if you

did not love me? Should we have the same presentiments if our

existences did not touch at the heart? You love me, my beautiful

queen, and you will weep for me?"

"Oh, my God, my God!" cried Anne of Austria, "this is more than I

can bear. In the name of heaven, Duke, leave me, go! I do not

know whether I love you or love you not; but what I know is that

I will not be perjured. Take pity on me, then, and go! Oh, if

you are struck in France, if you die in France, if I could imagine

that your love for me was the cause of your death, I could not

console myself; I should run mad. Depart then, depart, I implore

you!"

"Oh, how beautiful you are thus! Oh, how I love you!" said

Buckingham.

"Go, go, I implore you, and return hereafter! Come back as

ambassador, come back as minister, come back surrounded with

guards who will defend you, with servants who will watch over

you, and then I shall no longer fear for your days, and I shall

be happy in seeing you."

"Oh, is this true what you say?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then, some pledge of your indulgence, some object which came

from you, and may remind me that I have not been dreaming;

something you have worn, and that I may wear in my turn--a ring,

a necklace, a chain."

"Will you depart--will you depart, if I give you that you

demand?"

"Yes."

"This very instant?"

"Yes."

"You will leave France, you will return to England?"

"I will, I swear to you."

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"Wait, then, wait."

Anne of Austria re-entered her apartment, and came out again

almost immediately, holding a rosewood casket in her hand, with

her cipher encrusted with gold.

"Her, my Lord, here," said she, "keep this in memory of me."

Buckingham took the casket, and fell a second time on his knees.

"You have promised me to go," said the queen.

"And I keep my word. Your hand, madame, your hand, and I

depart!"

Anne of Austria stretched forth her hand, closing her eyes, and

leaning with the other upon Estafania, for she felt that her

strength was about to fail her.

Buckingham pressed his lips passionately to that beautiful hand,

and then rising, said, "Within six months, if I am not dead, I

shall have seen you again, madame--even if I have to overturn the

world." And faithful to the promise he had made, he rushed out

of the apartment.

In the corridor he met Mme. Bonacieux, who waited for him, and

who, with the same precautions and the same good luck, conducted

him out of the Louvre.

13 MONSIEUR BONACIEUX

There was in all this, as may have been observed, one personage

concerned, of whom, notwithstanding his precarious position, we

have appeared to take but very little notice. This personage was

M. Bonacieux, the respectable martyr of the political and amorous

intrigues which entangled themselves so nicely together at this

gallant and chivalric period.

Fortunately, the reader may remember, or may not remember--

fortunately we have promised not to lose sight of him.

The officers who arrested him conducted him straight to the

Bastille, where he passed trembling before a party of soldiers

who were loading their muskets. Thence, introduced into a halfsubterranean

gallery, he became, on the part of those who had

brought him, the object of the grossest insults and the harshest

treatment. The officers perceived that they had not to deal with

a gentleman, and they treated him like a very peasant.

At the end of half an hour or thereabouts, a clerk came to put an

end to his tortures, but not to his anxiety, by giving the order

to conduct M. Bonacieux to the Chamber of Examination.

Ordinarily, prisoners were interrogated in their cells; but they

did not do so with M. Bonacieux.

Two guards attended the mercer who made him traverse a court and

enter a corridor in which were three sentinels, opened a door and

pushed him unceremoniously into a low room, where the only

furniture was a table, a chair, and a commissary. The commissary

was seated in the chair, and was writing at the table.

The two guards led the prisoner toward the table, and upon a sign

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from the commissary drew back so far as to be unable to hear

anything.

The commissary, who had till this time held his head down over

his papers, looked up to see what sort of person he had to do

with. This commissary was a man of very repulsive mien, with a

pointed nose, with yellow and salient cheek bones, with eyes

small but keen and penetrating, and an expression of countenance

resembling at once the polecat and the fox. His head, supported

by a long and flexible neck, issued from his large black robe,

balancing itself with a motion very much like that of the

tortoise thrusting his head out of his shell. He began by asking

M. Bonacieux his name, age, condition, and abode.

The accused replied that his name was Jacques Michel Bonacieux,

that he was fifty-one years old, a retired mercer, and lived Rue

des Fossoyeurs, No. 14.

The commissary then, instead of continuing to interrogate him,

made him a long speech upon the danger there is for an obscure

citizen to meddle with public matters. He complicated this

exordium by an exposition in which he painted the power and the

deeds of the cardinal, that incomparable minister, that conqueror

of past ministers, that example

for ministers to come--deeds and power which none could thwart

with impunity.

After this second part of his discourse, fixing his hawk's eye

upon poor Bonacieux, he bade him reflect upon the gravity of his

situation.

The reflections of the mercer were already made; he cursed the

instant when M. Laporte formed the idea of marrying him to his

goddaughter, and particularly the moment when that goddaughter

had been received as Lady of the Linen to her Majesty.

At bottom the character of M. Bonacieux was one of profound

selfishness mixed with sordid avarice, the whole seasoned with

extreme cowardice. The love with which his young wife had

inspired him was a secondary sentiment, and was not strong enough

to contend with the primitive feelings we have just enumerated.

Bonacieux indeed reflected on what had just been said to him.

"But, Monsieur Commissary," said he, calmly, "believe that I know

and appreciate, more than anybody, the merit of the incomparable

eminence by whom we have the honor to be governed."

"Indeed?" asked the commissary, with an air of doubt. "If that

is really so, how came you in the Bastille?"

"How I came there, or rather why I am there," replied Bonacieux,

"that is entirely impossible for me to tell you, because I don't

know myself; but to a certainty it is not for having, knowingly

at least, disobliged Monsieur the Cardinal."

"You must, nevertheless, have committed a crime, since you are

here and are accused of high treason."

"Of high treason!" cried Bonacieux, terrified; "of high treason!

How is it possible for a poor mercer, who detests Huguenots and

who abhors Spaniards, to be accused of high treason? Consider,

monsieur, the thing is absolutely impossible."

"Monsieur Bonacieux," said the commissary, looking at the accused

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as if his little eyes had the faculty of reading to the very

depths of hearts, "you have a wife?"

"Yes, monsieur," replied the mercer, in a tremble, feeling that

it was at this point affairs were likely to become perplexing;

"that is to say, I HAD one."

"What, you 'had one'? What have you done with her, then, if you

have her no longer?"

"They have abducted her, monsieur."

"They have abducted her? Ah!"

Bonacieux inferred from this "Ah" that the affair grew more and

more intricate.

"They have abducted her," added the commissary; "and do you know

the man who has committed this deed?"

"I think I know him."

"Who is he?"

"Remember that I affirm nothing, Monsieur the Commissary, and

that I only suspect."

"Whom do you suspect? Come, answer freely."

M. Bonacieux was in the greatest perplexity possible. Had he

better deny everything or tell everything? By denying all, it

might be suspected that he must know too much to avow; by

confessing all he might prove his good will. He decided, then,

to tell all.

"I suspect," said he, "a tall, dark man, of lofty carriage, who

has the air of a great lord. He has followed us several times,

as I think, when I have waited for my wife at the wicket of the

Louvre to escort her home."

The commissary now appeared to experience a little uneasiness.

"And his name?" said he.

"Oh, as to his name, I know nothing about it; but if I were ever

to meet him, I should recognize him in an instant, I will answer

for it, were he among a thousand persons."

The face of the commissary grew still darker.

"You should recognize him among a thousand, say you?" continued

he.

"That is to say," cried Bonacieux, who saw he had taken a false

step, "that is to say--"

"You have answered that you should recognize him," said the

commissary. "That is all very well, and enough for today; before

we proceed further, someone must be informed that you know the

ravisher of your wife."

"But I have not told you that I know him!" cried Bonacieux, in

despair. "I told you, on the contrary--"

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"Take away the prisoner," said the commissary to the two guards.

"Where must we place him?" demanded the chief.

"In a dungeon."

"Which?"

"Good Lord! In the first one handy, provided it is safe," said

the commissary, with an indifference which penetrated poor

Bonacieux with horror.

"Alas, alas!" said he to himself, "misfortune is over my head; my

wife must have committed some frightful crime. They believe me

her accomplice, and will punish me with her. She must have

spoken; she must have confessed everything--a woman is so weak!

A dungeon! The first he comes to! That's it! A night is soon

passed; and tomorrow to the wheel, to the gallows! Oh, my God,

my God, have pity on me!"

Without listening the least in the world to the lamentations of

M. Bonacieux--lamentations to which, besides, they must have been

pretty well accustomed--the two guards took the prisoner each by

an arm, and led him away, while the commissary wrote a letter in

haste and dispatched it by an officer in waiting.

Bonacieux could not close his eyes; not because his dungeon was

so very disagreeable, but because his uneasiness was so great.

He sat all night on his stool, starting at the least noise; and

when the first rays of the sun penetrated into his chamber, the

dawn itself appeared to him to have taken funereal tints.

All at once he heard his bolts drawn, and made a terrified bound.

He believed they were come to conduct him to the scaffold; so

that when he saw merely and simply, instead of the executioner he

expected, only his commissary of the preceding evening, attended

by his clerk, he was ready to embrace them both.

"Your affair has become more complicated since yesterday evening,

my good man, and I advise you to tell the whole truth; for your

repentance alone can remove the anger of the cardinal."

"Why, I am ready to tell everything," cried Bonacieux, "at least,

all that I know. Interrogate me, I entreat you!"

"Where is your wife, in the first place?"

"Why, did not I tell you she had been stolen from me?"

"Yes, but yesterday at five o'clock in the afternoon, thanks to

you, she escaped."

"My wife escaped!" cried Bonacieux. "Oh, unfortunate creature!

Monsieur, if she has escaped, it is not my fault, I swear."

"What business had you, then, to go into the chamber of Monsieur

d'Artagnan, your neighbor, with whom you had a long conference

during the day?"

"Ah, yes, Monsieur Commissary; yes, that is true, and I confess

that I was in the wrong. I did go to Monsieur d'Artagnan's."

"What was the aim of that visit?"

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"To beg him to assist me in finding my wife. I believed I had a

right to endeavor to find her. I was deceived, as it appears,

and I ask your pardon."

"And what did Monsieur d'Artagnan reply?"

"Monsieur d'Artagnan promised me his assistance; but I soon found

out that he was betraying me."

"You impose upon justice. Monsieur d'Artagnan made a compact

with you; and in virtue of that compact put to flight the police

who had arrested your wife, and has placed her beyond reach."

"Fortunately, Monsieur d'Artagnan is in our hands, and you shall

be confronted with him."

"By my faith, I ask no better," cried Bonacieux; "I shall not be

sorry to see the face of an acquaintance."

"Bring in the Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the commissary to the

guards. The two guards led in Athos.

"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the commissary, addressing Athos,

"declare all that passed yesterday between you and Monsieur."

"But," cried Bonacieux, "this is not Monsieur d'Artagnan whom you

show me."

"What! Not Monsieur d'Artagnan?" exclaimed the commissary.

"Not the least in the world," replied Bonacieux.

"What is this gentleman's name?" asked the commissary.

"I cannot tell you; I don't know him."

"How! You don't know him?"

"No."

"Did you never see him?"

"Yes, I have seen him, but I don't know what he calls himself."

"Your name?" replied the commissary.

"Athos," replied the Musketeer.

"But that is not a man's name; that is the name of a mountain,"

cried the poor questioner, who began to lose his head.

"That is my name," said Athos, quietly.

"But you said that your name was d'Artagnan."

"Who, I?"

"Yes, you."

"Somebody said to me, 'You are Monsieur d'Artagnan?' I answered,

'You think so?' My guards exclaimed that they were sure of it.

I did not wish to contradict them; besides, I might be deceived."

"Monsieur, you insult the majesty of justice."

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"Not at all," said Athos, calmly.

"You are Monsieur d'Artagnan."

"You see, monsieur, that you say it again."

"But I tell you, Monsieur Commissary," cried Bonacieux, in his

turn, "there is not the least doubt about the matter. Monsieur

d'Artagnan is my tenant, although he does not pay me my rent--and

even better on that account ought I to know him. Monsieur

d'Artagnan is a young man, scarcely nineteen or twenty, and this

gentleman must be thirty at least. Monsieur d'Artagnan is in

Monsieur Dessessart's Guards, and this gentleman is in the company of

Monsieur de Treville's Musketeers. Look at his uniform, Monsieur

Commissary, look at his uniform!"

"That's true," murmured the commissary; "PARDIEU, that's true."

At this moment the door was opened quickly, and a messenger,

introduced by one of the gatekeepers of the Bastille, gave a

letter to the commissary.

"Oh, unhappy woman!" cried the commissary.

"How? What do you say? Of whom do you speak? It is not of my

wife, I hope!"

"On the contrary, it is of her. Yours is a pretty business."

"But," said the agitated mercer, "do me the pleasure, monsieur,

to tell me how my own proper affair can become worse by anything

my wife does while I am in prison?"

"Because that which she does is part of a plan concerted between

you--of an infernal plan."

"I swear to you, Monsieur Commissary, that you are in the

profoundest error, that I know nothing in the world about what my

wife had to do, that I am entirely a stranger to what she has

done; and that if she has committed any follies, I renounce her,

I abjure her, I curse her!"

"Bah!" said Athos to the commissary, "if you have no more need of

me, send me somewhere. Your Monsieur Bonacieux is very

tiresome."

The commissary designated by the same gesture Athos and

Bonacieux, "Let them be guarded more closely than ever."

"And yet," said Athos, with his habitual calmness, "if it be

Monsieur d'Artagnan who is concerned in this matter, I do not

perceive how I can take his place."

"Do as I bade you," cried the commissary, "and preserve absolute

secrecy. You understand!"

Athos shrugged his shoulders, and followed his guards silently,

while M. Bonacieux uttered lamentations enough to break the heart

of a tiger.

They locked the mercer in the same dungeon where he had passed

the night, and left him to himself during the day. Bonacieux

wept all day, like a true mercer, not being at all a military

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man, as he himself informed us. In the evening, about nine

o'clock, at the moment he had made up his mind to go to bed, he

heard steps in his corridor. These steps drew near to his

dungeon, the door was thrown open, and the guards appeared.

"Follow me," said an officer, who came up behind the guards.

"Follow you!" cried Bonacieux, "follow you at this hour! Where,

my God?"

"Where we have orders to lead you."

"But that is not an answer."

"It is, nevertheless, the only one we can give."

"Ah, my God, my God!" murmured the poor mercer, "now, indeed, I

am lost!" And he followed the guards who came for him,

mechanically and without resistance.

He passed along the same corridor as before, crossed one court,

then a second side of a building; at length, at the gate of the

entrance court he found a carriage surrounded by four guards on

horseback. They made him enter this carriage, the officer placed

himself by his side, the door was locked, and they were left in a

rolling prison. The carriage was put in motion as slowly as a

funeral car. Through the closely fastened windows the prisoner

could perceive the houses and the pavement, that was all; but,

true Parisian as he was, Bonacieux could recognize every street

by the milestones, the signs, and the lamps. At the moment of

arriving at St. Paul--the spot where such as were condemned at

the Bastille were executed--he was near fainting and crossed

himself twice. He thought the carriage was about to stop there.

The carriage, however, passed on.

Farther on, a still greater terror seized him on passing by the

cemetery of St. Jean, where state criminals were buried. One

thing, however, reassured him; he remembered that before they

were buried their heads were generally cut off, and he felt that

his head was still on his shoulders. But when he saw the

carriage take the way to La Greve, when he perceived the pointed

roof of the Hotel de Ville, and the carriage passed under the

arcade, he believed it was over with him. He wished to confess

to the officer, and upon his refusal, uttered such pitiable cries

that the officer told him that if he continued to deafen him

thus, he should put a gag in his mouth.

This measure somewhat reassured Bonacieux. If they meant to

execute him at La Greve, it could scarcely be worth while to gag

him, as they had nearly reached the place of execution. Indeed,

the carriage crossed the fatal spot without stopping. There

remained, then, no other place to fear but the Traitor's Cross;

the carriage was taking the direct road to it.

This time there was no longer any doubt; it was at the Traitor's

Cross that lesser criminals were executed. Bonacieux had

flattered himself in believing himself worthy of St. Paul or of

the Place de Greve; it was at the Traitor's Cross that his

journey and his destiny were about to end! He could not yet see

that dreadful cross, but he felt somehow as if it were coming to

meet him. When he was within twenty paces of it, he heard a

noise of people and the carriage stopped. This was more than

poor Bonacieux could endure, depressed as he was by the

successive emotions which he had experienced; he uttered a feeble

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groan which night have been taken for the last sigh of a dying

man, and fainted.

14 THE MAN OF MEUNG

The crowd was caused, not by the expectation of a man to be

hanged, but by the contemplation of a man who was hanged.

The carriage, which had been stopped for a minute, resumed its

way, passed through the crowd, threaded the Rue St. Honore,

turned into the Rue des Bons Enfants, and stopped before a low

door.

The door opened; two guards received Bonacieux in their arms from

the officer who supported him. They carried him through an

alley, up a flight of stairs, and deposited him in an

antechamber.

All these movements had been effected mechanically, as far as he

was concerned. He had walked as one walks in a dream; he had a

glimpse of objects as through a fog. His ears had perceived

sounds without comprehending them; he might have been executed at

that moment without his making a single gesture in his own

defense or uttering a cry to implore mercy.

He remained on the bench, with his back leaning against the wall

and his hands hanging down, exactly on the spot where the guards

placed him.

On looking around him, however, as he could perceive no

threatening object, as nothing indicated that he ran any real

danger, as the bench was comfortably covered with a well-stuffed

cushion, as the wall was ornamented with a beautiful Cordova

leather, and as large red damask curtains, fastened back by gold

clasps, floated before the window, he perceived by degrees that

his fear was exaggerated, and he began to turn his head to the

right and the left, upward and downward.

At this movement, which nobody opposed, he resumed a little

courage, and ventured to draw up one leg and then the other. At

length, with the help of his two hands he lifted himself from the

bench, and found himself on his feet.

At this moment an officer with a pleasant face opened a door,

continued to exchange some words with a person in the next

chamber and then came up to the prisoner. "Is your name

Bonacieux?" said he.

"Yes, Monsieur Officer," stammered the mercer, more dead than

alive, "at your service."

"Come in," said the officer.

And he moved out of the way to let the mercer pass. The latter

obeyed without reply, and entered the chamber, where he appeared

to be expected.

It was a large cabinet, close and stifling, with the walls

furnished with arms offensive and defensive, and in which there

was already a fire, although it was scarcely the end of the month

of September. A square table, covered with books and papers,

upon which was unrolled an immense plan of the city of La

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Rochelle, occupied the center of the room.

Standing before the chimney was a man of middle height, of a

haughty, proud mien; with piercing eyes, a large brow, and a thin

face, which was made still longer by a ROYAL (or IMPERIAL, as it

is now called), surmounted by a pair of mustaches. Although this

man was scarcely thirty-six or thirty-seven years of age, hair,

mustaches, and royal, all began to be gray. This man, except a

sword, had all the appearance of a soldier; and his buff boots

still slightly covered with dust, indicated that he had been on

horseback in the course of the day.

This man was Armand Jean Duplessis, Cardinal de Richelieu; not

such as he is now represented--broken down like an old man,

suffering like a martyr, his body bent, his voice failing, buried

in a large armchair as in an anticipated tomb; no longer living

but by the strength of his genius, and no longer maintaining the

struggle with Europe but by the eternal application of his

thoughts--but such as he really was at this period; that is to

say, an active and gallant cavalier, already weak of body, but

sustained by that moral power which made of him one of the most

extraordinary men that ever lived, preparing, after having

supported the Duc de Nevers in his duchy of Mantua, after having

taken Nimes, Castres, and Uzes, to drive the English from the

Isle of Re and lay siege to La Rochelle.

At first sight, nothing denoted the cardinal; and it was

impossible for those who did not know his face to guess in whose

presence they were.

The poor mercer remained standing at the door, while the eyes of

the personage we have just described were fixed upon him, and

appeared to wish to penetrate even into the depths of the past.

"Is this that Bonacieux?" asked he, after a moment of silence.

"Yes, monseigneur," replied the officer.

"That's well. Give me those papers, and leave us."

The officer took from the table the papers pointed out, gave them

to him who asked for them, bowed to the ground, and retired.

Bonacieux recognized in these papers his interrogatories of the

Bastille. From time to time the man by the chimney raised his

eyes from the writings, and plunged them like poniards into the

heart of the poor mercer.

At the end of ten minutes of reading and ten seconds of

examination, the cardinal was satisfied.

"That head has never conspired," murmured he, "but it matters

not; we will see."

"You are accused of high treason," said the cardinal, slowly.

"So I have been told already, monseigneur," cried Bonacieux,

giving his interrogator the title he had heard the officer give

him, "but I swear to you that I know nothing about it."

The cardinal repressed a smile.

"You have conspired with your wife, with Madame de Chevreuse, and

with my Lord Duke of Buckingham."

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"Indeed, monseigneur," responded the mercer, "I have heard her

pronounce all those names."

"And on what occasion?"

"She said that the Cardinal de Richelieu had drawn the Duke of

Buckingham to Paris to ruin him and to ruin the queen."

"She said that?" cried the cardinal, with violence.

"Yes, monseigneur, but I told her she was wrong to talk about

such things; and that his Eminence was incapable--"

"Hold your tongue! You are stupid," replied the cardinal.

"That's exactly what my wife said, monseigneur."

"Do you know who carried off your wife?"

"No, monsigneur."

"You have suspicions, nevertheless?"

"Yes, monsigneur; but these suspicions appeared to be

disagreeable to Monsieur the Commissary, and I no longer have

them."

"Your wife has escaped. Did you know that?"

"No, monseigneur. I learned it since I have been in prison, and

that from the conversation of Monsieur the Commissary--an amiable

man."

The cardinal repressed another smile.

"Then you are ignorant of what has become of your wife since her

flight."

"Absolutely, monseigneur; but she has most likely returned to the

Louvre."

"At one o'clock this morning she had not returned."

"My God! What can have become of her, then?"

"We shall know, be assured. Nothing is concealed from the

cardinal; the cardinal knows everything."

"In that case, monseigneur, do you believe the cardinal will be

so kind as to tell me what has become of my wife?"

"Perhaps he may; but you must, in the first place, reveal to the

cardinal all you know of your wife's relations with Madame de

Chevreuse."

"But, monseigneur, I know nothing about them; I have never seen

her."

"When you went to fetch your wife from the Louvre, did you always

return directly home?"

"Scarcely ever; she had business to transact with linen drapers,

to whose houses I conducted her."

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"And how many were there of these linen drapers?"

"Two, monseigneur."

"And where did they live?"

"One in Rue de Vaugirard, the other Rue de la Harpe."

"Did you go into these houses with her?"

"Never, monseigneur; I waited at the door."

"And what excuse did she give you for entering all alone?"

"She gave me none; she told me to wait, and I waited."

"You are a very complacent husband, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux,"

said the cardinal.

"He calls me his dear Monsieur," said the mercer to himself.

"PESTE! Matters are going all right."

"Should you know those doors again?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the numbers?"

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"No. 25 in the Rue de Vaugirard; 75 in the Rue de la Harpe."

"That's well," said the cardinal.

At these words he took up a silver bell, and rang it; the officer

entered.

"Go," said he, in a subdued voice, "and find Rochefort. Tell him

to come to me immediately, if he has returned."

"The count is here," said the officer, "and requests to speak

with your Eminence instantly."

"Let him come in, then!" said the cardinal, quickly.

The officer sprang out of the apartment with that alacrity which

all the servants of the cardinal displayed in obeying him.

"To your Eminence!" murmured Bonacieux, rolling his eyes round in

astonishment.

Five seconds has scarcely elapsed after the disappearance of the

officer, when the door opened, and a new personage entered.

"It is he!" cried Bonacieux.

"He! What he?" asked the cardinal.

"The man who abducted my wife."

The cardinal rang a second time. The officer reappeared.

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"Place this man in the care of his guards again, and let him wait

till I send for him."

"No, monseigneur, no, it is not he!" cried Bonacieux; "no, I was

deceived. This is quite another man, and does not resemble him

at all. Monsieur is, I am sure, an honest man."

"Take away that fool!" said the cardinal.

The officer took Bonacieux by the arm, and led him into the

antechamber, where he found his two guards.

The newly introduced personage followed Bonacieux impatiently

with his eyes till he had gone out; and the moment the door

closed, "They have seen each other;" said he, approaching the

cardinal eagerly.

"Who?" asked his Eminence.

"He and she."

"The queen and the duke?" cried Richelieu.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"At the Louvre."

"Are you sure of it?"

"Perfectly sure."

"Who told you of it?"

"Madame de Lannoy, who is devoted to your Eminence, as you know."

"Why did she not let me know sooner?"

"Whether by chance or mistrust, the queen made Madame de Surgis

sleep in her chamber, and detained her all day."

"Well, we are beaten! Now let us try to take our revenge."

"I will assist you with all my heart, monseigneur; be assured of

that."

"How did it come about?"

"At half past twelve the queen was with her women--"

"Where?"

"In her bedchamber--"

"Go on."

"When someone came and brought her a handkerchief from her

laundress."

"And then?"

"The queen immediately exhibited strong emotion; and despite the

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rouge with which her face was covered evidently turned pale--"

"And then, and then?"

"She then arose, and with altered voice, 'Ladies,' said she,

'wait for me ten minutes, I shall soon return.' She then opened

the door of her alcove, and went out."

"Why did not Madame de Lannoy come and inform you instantly?"

"Nothing was certain; besides, her Majesty had said, 'Ladies,

wait for me,' and she did not dare to disobey the queen."

"How long did the queen remain out of the chamber?"

"Three-quarters of an hour."

"None of her women accompanied her?"

"Only Donna Estafania."

"Did she afterward return?"

"Yes; but only to take a little rosewood casket, with her cipher

upon it, and went out again immediately."

"And when she finally returned, did she bring that casket with

her?"

"No."

"Does Madame de Lannoy know what was in that casket?"

"Yes; the diamond studs which his Majesty gave the queen."

"And she came back without this casket?"

"Yes."

"Madame de Lannoy, then, is of opinion that she gave them to

Buckingham?"

"She is sure of it."

"How can she be so?"

"In the course of the day Madame de Lannoy, in her quality of

tire-woman of the queen, looked for this casket, appeared uneasy

at not finding it, and at length asked information of the queen."

"And then the queen?"

"The queen became exceedingly red, and replied that having in the

evening broken one of those studs, she had sent it to her

goldsmith to be repaired."

"He must be called upon, and so ascertain if the thing be true or

not."

"I have just been with him."

"And the goldsmith?"

"The goldsmith has heard nothing of it."

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"Well, well! Rochefort, all is not lost; and perhaps--perhaps

everything is for the best."

"The fact is that I do not doubt your Eminence's genius--"

"Will repair the blunders of his agent--is that it?"

"That is exactly what I was going to say, if your Eminence had

let me finish my sentence."

"Meanwhile, do you know where the Duchesse de Chevreuse and the

Duke of Buckingham are now concealed?"

"No, monseigneur; my people could tell me nothing on that head."

"But I know."

"You, monseigneur?"

"Yes; or at least I guess. They were, one in the Rue de

Vaugirard, No. 25; the other in the Rue de la Harpe, No. 75."

"Does your Eminence command that they both be instantly

arrested?"

"It will be too late; they will be gone."

"But still, we can make sure that they are so."

"Take ten men of my Guardsmen, and search the two houses

thoroughly."

"Instantly, monseigneur." And Rochefort went hastily out of the

apartment.

The cardinal being left alone, reflected for an instant and then

rang the bell a third time. The same officer appeared.

"Bring the prisoner in again," said the cardinal.

M. Bonacieux was introduced afresh, and upon a sign from the

cardinal, the officer retired.

"You have deceived me!" said the cardinal, sternly.

"I," cried Bonacieux, "I deceive your Eminence!"

"Your wife, in going to Rue de Vaugirard and Rue de la Harpe, did

not go to find linen drapers."

"Then why did she go, just God?"

"She went to meet the Duchesse de Chevreuse and the Duke of Buckingham."

"Yes," cried Bonacieux, recalling all his remembrances of the

circumstances, "yes, that's it. Your Eminence is right. I told

my wife several times that it was surprising that linen drapers

should live in such houses as those, in houses that had no signs;

but she always laughed at me. Ah, monseigneur!" continued

Bonacieux, throwing himself at his Eminence's feet, "ah, how

truly you are the cardinal, the great cardinal, the man of genius

whom all the world reveres!"

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The cardinal, however contemptible might be the triumph gained

over so vulgar a being as Bonacieux, did not the less enjoy it

for an instant; then, almost immediately, as if a fresh thought

has occurred, a smile played upon his lips, and he said, offering

his hand to the mercer, "Rise, my friend, you are a worthy man."

"The cardinal has touched me with his hand! I have touched the

hand of the great man!" cried Bonacieux. "The great man has

called me his friend!"

"Yes, my friend, yes," said the cardinal, with that paternal tone

which he sometimes knew how to assume, but which deceived none

who knew him; "and as you have been unjustly suspected, well, you

must be indemnified. Here, take this purse of a hundred

pistoles, and pardon me."

"I pardon you, monseigneur!" said Bonacieux, hesitating to take

the purse, fearing, doubtless, that this pretended gift was but a

pleasantry. "But you are able to have me arrested, you are able

to have me tortured, you are able to have me hanged; you are the

master, and I could not have the least word to say. Pardon you,

monseigneur! You cannot mean that!"

"Ah, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux, you are generous in this matter.

I see it and I thank you for it. Thus, then, you will take this

bag, and you will go away without being too malcontent."

"I go away enchanted."

"Farewell, then, or rather, AU REVOIR!"

And the cardinal made him a sign with his hand, to which

Bonacieux replied by bowing to the ground. He then went out

backward, and when he was in the antechamber the cardinal heard

him, in his enthusiasm, crying aloud, "Long life to the

Monseigneur! Long life to his Eminence! Long life to the great

cardinal!" The cardinal listened with a smile to this vociferous

manifestation of the feelings of M. Bonacieux; and then, when

Bonacieux's cries were no longer audible, "Good!" said he, "that

man would henceforward lay down his life for me." And the

cardinal began to examine with the greatest attention the map of

La Rochelle, which, as we have said, lay open on the desk,

tracing with a pencil the line in which the famous dyke was to

pass which, eighteen months later, shut up the port of the

besieged city. As he was in the deepest of his strategic

meditations, the door opened, and Rochefort returned.

"Well?" said the cardinal, eagerly, rising with a promptitude

which proved the degree of importance he attached to the

commission with which he had charged the count.

"Well," said the latter, "a young woman of about twenty-six or

twenty-eight years of age, and a man of from thirty-five to

forty, have indeed lodged at the two houses pointed out by your

Eminence; but the woman left last night, and the man this

morning."

"It was they!" cried the cardinal, looking at the clock; "and now

it is too late to have them pursued. The duchess is at Tours,

and the duke at Boulogne. It is in London they must be found."

"What are your Eminence's orders?"

"Not a word of what has passed. Let the queen remain in perfect

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security; let her be ignorant that we know her secret. Let her

believe that we are in search of some conspiracy or other. Send

me the keeper of the seals, Seguier."

"And that man, what has your Eminence done with him?"

"What man?" asked the cardinal.

"That Bonacieux."

"I have done with him all that could be done. I have made him a

spy upon his wife."

The Comte de Rochefort bowed like a man who acknowledges the

superiority of the master as great, and retired.

Left alone, the cardinal seated himself again and wrote a letter,

which he secured with his special seal. Then he rang. The

officer entered for the fourth time.

"Tell Vitray to come to me," said he, "and tell him to get ready

for a journey."

An instant after, the man he asked for was before him, booted and

spurred.

"Vitray," said he, "you will go with all speed to London. You

must not stop an instant on the way. You will deliver this

letter to Milady. Here is an order for two hundred pistoles;

call upon my treasurer and get the money. You shall have as much

again if you are back within six days, and have executed your

commission well."

The messenger, without replying a single word, bowed, took the

letter, with the order for the two hundred pistoles, and retired.

Here is what the letter contained:

MILADY, Be at the first ball at which the Duke of Buckingham

shall be present. He will wear on his doublet twelve diamond

studs; get as near to him as you can, and cut off two.

As soon as these studs shall be in your possession, inform me.

15 MEN OF THE ROBE AND MEN OF THE SWORD

On the day after these events had taken place, Athos not having

reappeared, M. de Treville was informed by d'Artagnan and Porthos

of the circumstance. As to Aramis, he had asked for leave of

absence for five days, and was gone, it was said, to Rouen on

family business.

M. de Treville was the father of his soldiers. The lowest or the

least known of them, as soon as he assumed the uniform of the

company, was as sure of his aid and support as if he had been his

own brother.

He repaired, then, instantly to the office of the LIEUTENANTCRIMINEL.

The officer who commanded the post of the

Red Cross was sent for, and by successive inquiries they learned

that Athos was then lodged in the Fort l'Eveque.

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Athos had passed through all the examinations we have seen

Bonacieux undergo.

We were present at the scene in which the two captives were

confronted with each other. Athos, who had till that time said

nothing for fear that d'Artagnan, interrupted in his turn, should

not have the time necessary, from this moment declared that his

name was Athos, and not d'Artagnan. He added that he did not

know either M. or Mme. Bonacieux; that he had never spoken to the

one or the other; that he had come, at about ten o'clock in the

evening, to pay a visit to his friend M. d'Artagnan, but that

till that hour he had been at M. de Treville's, where he had

dined. "Twenty witnesses," added he, "could attest the fact";

and he named several distinguished gentlemen, and among them was

M. le Duc de la Tremouille.

The second commissary was as much bewildered as the first had

been by the simple and firm declaration of the Musketeer, upon

whom he was anxious to take the revenge which men of the robe

like at all times to gain over men of the sword; but the name of

M. de Treville, and that of M. de la Tremouille, commanded a

little reflection.

Athos was then sent to the cardinal; but unfortunately the

cardinal was at the Louvre with the king.

It was precisely at this moment that M. de Treville, on leaving

the residence of the LIEUTENANT-CRIMINEL and the governor of the

Fort l'Eveque without being able to find Athos, arrived at the

palace.

As captain of the Musketeers, M. de Treville had the right of

entry at all times.

It is well known how violent the king's prejudices were against

the queen, and how carefully these prejudices were kept up by the

cardinal, who in affairs of intrigue mistrusted women infinitely

more than men. One of the grand causes of this prejudice was the

friendship of Anne of Austria for Mme. de Chevreuse. These two

women gave him more uneasiness than the war with Spain, the

quarrel with England, or the embarrassment of the finances. In

his eyes and to his conviction, Mme. de Chevreuse not only served

the queen in her political intrigues, but, what tormented him

still more, in her amorous intrigues.

At the first word the cardinal spoke of Mme. de Chevreuse--who,

though exiled to Tours and believed to be in that city, had come

to Paris, remained there five days, and outwitted the police--the

king flew into a furious passion. Capricious and unfaithful, the

king wished to be called Louis the Just and Louis the Chaste.

Posterity will find a difficulty in understanding this character,

which history explains only by facts and never by reason.

But when the cardinal added that not only Mme. de Chevreuse had

been in Paris, but still further, that the queen had renewed with

her one of those mysterious correspondences which at that time

was named a CABAL; when he affirmed that he, the cardinal, was

about to unravel the most closely twisted thread of this

intrigue; that at the moment of arresting in the very act, with

all the proofs about her, the queen's emissary to the exiled

duchess, a Musketeer had dared to interrupt the course of justice

violently, by falling sword in hand upon the honest men of the

law, charged with investigating impartially the whole affair in

order to place it before the eyes of the king--Louis XIII could

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not contain himself, and he made a step toward the queen's

apartment with that pale and mute indignation which, when in

broke out, led this prince to the commission of the most pitiless

cruelty. And yet, in all this, the cardinal had not yet said a

word about the Duke of Buckingham.

At this instant M. de Treville entered, cool, polite, and in

irreproachable costume.

Informed of what had passed by the presence of the cardinal and

the alteration in the king's countenance, M. de Treville felt

himself something like Samson before the Philistines.

Louis XIII had already placed his hand on the knob of the door;

at the noise of M. de Treville's entrance he turned round. "You

arrive in good time, monsieur," said the king, who, when his

passions were raised to a certain point, could not dissemble; "I

have learned some fine things concerning your Musketeers."

"And I," said Treville, coldly, "I have some pretty things

to tell your Majesty concerning these gownsmen."

"What?" said the king, with hauteur.

"I have the honor to inform your Majesty," continued M. de

Treville, in the same tone, "that a party of PROCUREURS,

commissaries, and men of the police--very estimable people, but

very inveterate, as it appears, against the uniform--have taken

upon themselves to arrest in a house, to lead away through the

open street, and throw into the Fort l'Eveque, all upon an order

which they have refused to show me, one of my, or rather your

Musketeers, sire, of irreproachable conduct, of an almost

illustrious reputation, and whom your Majesty knows favorably,

Monsieur Athos."

"Athos," said the king, mechanically; "yes, certainly I know that

name."

"Let your Majesty remember," said Treville, "that Monsieur Athos

is the Musketeer who, in the annoying duel which you are

acquainted with, had the misfortune to wound Monsieur de Cahusac

so seriously. A PROPOS, monseigneur," continued Treville.

Addressing the cardinal, "Monsieur de Cahusac is quite recovered,

is he not?"

"Thank you," said the cardinal, biting his lips with anger.

"Athos, then, went to pay a visit to one of his friends absent at

the time," continued Treville, "to a young Bearnais, a cadet in

his Majesty's Guards, the company of Monsieur Dessessart, but

scarcely had he arrived at his friend's and taken up a book,

while waiting his return, when a mixed crowd of bailiffs and

soldiers came and laid siege to the house, broke open several

doors--"

The cardinal made the king a sign, which signified, "That was on

account of the affair about which I spoke to you."

"We all know that," interrupted the king; "for all that was done

for our service."

"Then," said Treville, "it was also for your Majesty's service

that one of my Musketeers, who was innocent, has been seized,

that he has been placed between two guards like a malefactor, and

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that this gallant man, who has ten times shed his blood in your

Majesty's service and is ready to shed it again, has been paraded

through the midst of an insolent populace?"

"Bah!" said the king, who began to be shaken, "was it so

managed?"

"Monsieur de Treville," said the cardinal, with the greatest

phlegm, "does not tell your Majesty that this innocent Musketeer,

this gallant man, had only an hour before attacked, sword in

hand, four commissaries of inquiry, who were delegated by myself

to examine into an affair of the highest importance."

"I defy your Eminence to prove it," cried Treville, with his

Gascon freedom and military frankness; "for one hour before,

Monsieur Athos, who, I will confide it to your Majesty, is really

a man of the highest quality, did me the honor after having dined

with me to be conversing in the saloon of my hotel, with the Duc

de la Tremouille and the Comte de Chalus, who happened to be

there."

The king looked at the cardinal.

"A written examination attests it," said the cardinal, replying

aloud to the mute interrogation of his Majesty; "and the illtreated

people have drawn up the following, which I have the

honor to present to your Majesty."

"And is the written report of the gownsmen to be placed in

comparison with the word of honor of a swordsman?" replied

Treville haughtily.

"Come, come, Treville, hold your tongue," said the king.

"If his Eminence entertains any suspicion against one of my

Musketeers," said Treville, "the justice of Monsieur the Cardinal

is so well known that I demand an inquiry."

"In the house in which the judicial inquiry was made," continued

the impassive cardinal, "there lodges, I believe, a young

Bearnais, a friend of the Musketeer."

"Your Eminence means Monsieur d'Artagnan."

"I mean a young man whom you patronize, Monsieur de Treville."

"Yes, your Eminence, it is the same."

"Do you not suspect this young man of having given bad counsel?"

"To Athos, to a man double his age?" interrupted Treville. "No,

monseigneur. Besides, d'Artagnan passed the evening with me."

"Well," said the cardinal, "everybody seems to have passed the

evening with you."

"Does your Eminence doubt my word?" said Treville, with a brow

flushed with anger.

"No, God forbid," said the cardinal; "only, at what hour was he with you?"

"Oh, as to that I can speak positively, your Eminence; for as he

came in I remarked that it was but half past nine by the clock,

although I had believed it to be later."

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"At what hour did he leave your hotel?"

"At half past ten--an hour after the event."

"Well," replied the cardinal, who could not for an instant

suspect the loyalty of Treville, and who felt that the victory

was escaping him, "well, but Athos WAS taken in the house in the

Rue des Fossoyeurs."

"Is one friend forbidden to visit another, or a Musketeer of my

company to fraternize with a Guard of Dessessart's company?"

"Yes, when the house where he fraternizes is suspected."

"That house is suspected, Treville," said the king; "perhaps you

did not know it?"

"Indeed, sire, I did not. The house may be suspected; but I deny

that it is so in the part of it inhabited my Monsieur d'Artagnan,

for I can affirm, sire, if I can believe what he says, that there

does not exist a more devoted servant of your Majesty, or a more

profound admirer of Monsieur the Cardinal."

"Was it not this d'Artagnan who wounded Jussac one day, in that

unfortunate encounter which took place near the Convent of the

Carmes-Dechausses?" asked the king, looking at the cardinal, who

colored with vexation.

"And the next day, Bernajoux. Yes, sire, yes, it is the same; and

your Majesty has a good memory."

"Come, how shall we decide?" said the king.

"That concerns your Majesty more than me," said the cardinal. "I

should affirm the culpability."

"And I deny it," said Treville. "But his Majesty has judges, and

these judges will decide."

"That is best," said the king. "Send the case before the judges;

it is their business to judge, and they shall judge."

"Only," replied Treville, "it is a sad thing that in the

unfortunate times in which we live, the purest life, the most

incontestable virtue, cannot exempt a man from infamy and

persecution. The army, I will answer for it, will be but little

pleased at being exposed to rigorous treatment on account of

police affairs."

The expression was imprudent; but M. de Treville launched it with

knowledge of his cause. He was desirous of an explosion, because

in that case the mine throws forth fire, and fire enlightens.

"Police affairs!" cried the king, taking up Treville's words,

"police affairs! And what do you know about them, Monsieur?

Meddle with your Musketeers, and do not annoy me in this way. It

appears, according to your account, that if by mischance a

Musketeer is arrested, France is in danger. What a noise about a

Musketeer! I would arrest ten of them, VENTREBLEU, a hundred,

even, all the company, and I would not allow a whisper."

"From the moment they are suspected by your Majesty," said

Treville, "the Musketeers are guilty; therefore, you see me

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prepared to surrender my sword--for after having accused my

soldiers, there can be no doubt that Monsieur the Cardinal will

end by accusing me. It is best to constitute myself at once a

prisoner with Athos, who is already arrested, and with

d'Artagnan, who most probably will be."

"Gascon-headed man, will you have done?" said the king.

"Sire," replied Treville, without lowering his voice in the

least, "either order my Musketeer to be restored to me, or let

him be tried."

"He shall be tried," said the cardinal.

"Well, so much the better; for in that case I shall demand of his

Majesty permission to plead for him."

The king feared an outbreak.

"If his Eminence," said he, "did not have personal motives--"

The cardinal saw what the king was about to say and interrupted

him:

"Pardon me," said he; "but the instant your Majesty considers me

a prejudiced judge, I withdraw."

"Come," said the king, "will you swear, by my father, that Athos

was at your residence during the event and that he took no part

in it?"

"By your glorious father, and by yourself, whom I love and

venerate above all the world, I swear it."

"Be so kind as to reflect, sire," said the cardinal. "If we

release the prisoner thus, we shall never know the truth."

"Athos may always be found," replied Treville, "ready to answer,

when it shall please the gownsmen to interrogate him. He will

not desert, Monsieur the Cardinal, be assured of that; I will

answer for him."

"No, he will not desert," said the king; "he can always be found,

as Treville says. Besides," added he, lowering his voice and

looking with a suppliant air at the cardinal, "let us give them

apparent security; that is policy."

This policy of Louis XIII made Richelieu smile.

"Order it as you please, sire; you possess the right of pardon."

"The right of pardoning only applies to the guilty," said

Treville, who was determined to have the last word, "and my

Musketeer is innocent. It is not mercy, then, that you are about

to accord, sire, it is justice."

"And he is in the Fort l'Eveque?" said the king.

"Yes, sire, in solitary confinement, in a dungeon, like the

lowest criminal."

"The devil!" murmured the king; "what must be done?"

"Sign an order for his release, and all will be said," replied

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the cardinal. "I believe with your Majesty that Monsieur de

Treville's guarantee is more than sufficient."

Treville bowed very respectfully, with a joy that was not unmixed

with fear; he would have preferred an obstinate resistance on the

part of the cardinal to this sudden yielding.

The king signed the order for release, and Treville carried it

away without delay. As he was about to leave the presence, the

cardinal have him a friendly smile, and said, "A perfect harmony

reigns, sire, between the leaders and the soldiers of your

Musketeers, which must be profitable for the service and

honorable to all."

"He will play me some dog's trick or other, and that

immediately," said Treville. "One has never the last word with

such a man. But let us be quick--the king may change his mind in

an hour; and at all events it is more difficult to replace a man

in the Fort l'Eveque or the Bastille who has got out, than to

keep a prisoner there who is in."

M. de Treville made his entrance triumphantly into the Fort

l'Eveque, whence he delivered the Musketeer, whose peaceful

indifference had not for a moment abandoned him.

The first time he saw d'Artagnan, "You have come off well," said

he to him; "there is your Jussac thrust paid for. There still

remains that of Bernajoux, but you must not be too confident."

As to the rest, M. de Treville had good reason to mistrust the

cardinal and to think that all was not over, for scarcely had the

captain of the Musketeers closed the door after him, than his

Eminence said to the king, "Now that we are at length by

ourselves, we will, if your Majesty pleases, converse seriously.

Sire, Buckingham has been in Paris five days, and only left this

morning."

16 IN WHICH M. SEGUIER, KEEPER OF THE SEALS, LOOKS MORE THAN

ONCE FOR THE BELL, IN ORDER TO RING IT, AS HE DID BEFORE

It is impossible to form an idea of the impression these few

words made upon Louis XIII. He grew pale and red alternately;

and the cardinal saw at once that he had recovered by a single

blow all the ground he had lost.

"Buckingham in Paris!" cried he, "and why does he come?"

"To conspire, no doubt, with your enemies, the Huguenots and the

Spaniards."

"No, PARDIEU, no! To conspire against my honor with Madame de

Chevreuse, Madame de Longueville, and the Condes."

"Oh, sire, what an idea! The queen is too virtuous; and besides,

loves your Majesty too well."

"Woman is weak, Monsieur Cardinal," said the king; "and as to

loving me much, I have my own opinion as to that love."

"I not the less maintain," said the cardinal, "that the Duke of

Buckingham came to Paris for a project wholly political."

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"And I am sure that he came for quite another purpose, Monsieur

Cardinal; but if the queen be guilty, let her tremble!"

"Indeed," said the cardinal, "whatever repugnance I may have to

directing my mind to such a treason, your Majesty compels me to

think of it. Madame de Lannoy, whom, according to your Majesty's

command, I have frequently interrogated, told me this morning

that the night before last her Majesty sat up very late, that

this morning she wept much, and that she was writing all day."

"That's it!" cried the king; "to him, no doubt. Cardinal, I must

have the queen's papers."

"But how to take them, sire? It seems to me that it is neither

your Majesty nor myself who can charge himself with such a

mission."

"How did they act with regard to the Marechale d'Ancre?" cried

the king, in the highest state of choler; "first her closets were

thoroughly searched, and then she herself."

"The Marechale d'Ancre was no more than the Marechale d'Ancre. A

Florentine adventurer, sire, and that was all; while the august

spouse of your Majesty is Anne of Austria, Queen of France--that

is to say, one of the greatest princesses in the world."

"She is not the less guilty, Monsieur Duke! The more she has

forgotten the high position in which she was placed, the more

degrading is her fall. Besides, I long ago determined to put an

end to all these petty intrigues of policy and love. She has

near her a certain Laporte."

"Who, I believe, is the mainspring of all this, I confess," said

the cardinal.

"You think then, as I do, that she deceives me?" said the king.

"I believe, and I repeat it to your Majesty, that the queen

conspires against the power of the king, but I have not said

against his honor."

"And I--I tell you against both. I tell you the queen does not

love me; I tell you she loves another; I tell you she loves that

infamous Buckingham! Why did you not have him arrested while in

Paris?"

"Arrest the Duke! Arrest the prime minister of King Charles I!

Think of it, sire! What a scandal! And if the suspicions of

your Majesty, which I still continue to doubt, should prove to

have any foundation, what a terrible disclosure, what a fearful

scandal!"

"But as he exposed himself like a vagabond or a thief, he should

have been--"

Louis XIII stopped, terrified at what he was about to say, while

Richelieu, stretching out his neck, waited uselessly for the word

which had died on the lips of the king.

"He should have been--?"

"Nothing," said the king, "nothing. But all the time he was in

Paris, you, of course, did not lose sight of him?"

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"No, sire."

"Where did he lodge?"

"Rue de la Harpe. No. 75."

"Where is that?"

"By the side of the Luxembourg."

"And you are certain that the queen and he did not see each

other?"

"I believe the queen to have too high a sense of her duty, sire."

"But they have corresponded; it is to him that the queen has been

writing all the day. Monsieur Duke, I must have those letters!"

"Sire, notwithstanding--"

"Monsieur Duke, at whatever price it may be, I will have them."

"I would, however, beg your Majesty to observe--"

"Do you, then, also join in betraying me, Monsieur Cardinal, by

thus always opposing my will? Are you also in accord with Spain

and England, with Madame de Chevreuse and the queen?"

"Sire," replied the cardinal, sighing, "I believed myself secure

from such a suspicion."

"Monsieur Cardinal, you have heard me; I will have those

letters."

"There is but one way."

"What is that?"

"That would be to charge Monsieur de Seguier, the keeper of the

seals, with this mission. The matter enters completely into the

duties of the post."

"Let him be sent for instantly."

"He is most likely at my hotel. I requested him to call, and

when I came to the Louvre I left orders if he came, to desire him

to wait."

"Let him be sent for instantly."

"Your Majesty's orders shall be executed; but--"

"But what?"

"But the queen will perhaps refuse to obey."

"My orders?"

"Yes, if she is ignorant that these orders come from the king."

"Well, that she may have no doubt on that head, I will go and

inform her myself."

"Your Majesty will not forget that I have done everything in my

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power to prevent a rupture."

"Yes, Duke, yes, I know you are very indulgent toward the queen,

too indulgent, perhaps; we shall have occasion, I warn you, at

some future period to speak of that."

"Whenever it shall please your Majesty; but I shall be always

happy and proud, sire, to sacrifice myself to the harmony which I

desire to see reign between you and the Queen of France."

"Very well, Cardinal, very well; but, meantime, send for Monsieur

the Keeper of the Seals. I will go to the queen."

And Louis XIII, opening the door of communication, passed into

the corridor which led from his apartments to those of Anne of

Austria.

The queen was in the midst of her women--Mme. de Guitaut, Mme. de

Sable, Mme. de Montbazon, and Mme. de Guemene. In a corner was

the Spanish companion, Donna Estafania, who had followed her from

Madrid. Mme. Guemene was reading aloud, and everybody was

listening to her with attention with the exception of the queen,

who had, on the contrary, desired this reading in order that she

might be able, while feigning to listen, to pursue the thread of

her own thoughts.

These thoughts, gilded as they were by a last reflection of love,

were not the less sad. Anne of Austria, deprived of the

confidence of her husband, pursued by the hatred of the cardinal,

who could not pardon her for having repulsed a more tender

feeling, having before her eyes the example of the queen-mother

whom that hatred had tormented all her life--though Marie de

Medicis, if the memoirs of the time are to be believed, had begun

by according to the cardinal that sentiment which Anne of Austria

always refused him--Anne of Austria had seen her most devoted

servants fall around her, her most intimate confidants, her

dearest favorites. Like those unfortunate persons endowed with a

fatal gift, she brought misfortune upon everything she touched.

Her friendship was a fatal sign which called down persecution.

Mme. de Chevreuse and Mme. de Bernet were exiled, and Laporte did

not conceal from his mistress that he expected to be arrested

every instant.

It was at the moment when she was plunged in the deepest and

darkest of these reflections that the door of the chamber opened,

and the king entered.

The reader hushed herself instantly. All the ladies rose, and

there was a profound silence. As to the king, he made no

demonstration of politeness, only stopping before the queen.

"Madame," said he, "you are about to receive a visit from the

chancellor, who will communicate certain matters to you with

which I have charged him."

The unfortunate queen, who was constantly threatened with

divorce, exile, and trial even, turned pale under her rouge, and

could not refrain from saying, "But why this visit, sire? What

can the chancellor have to say to me that your Majesty could not

say yourself?"

The king turned upon his heel without reply, and almost at the

same instant the captain of the Guards, M. de Guitant, announced

the visit of the chancellor.

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When the chancellor appeared, the king had already gone out by

another door.

The chancellor entered, half smiling, half blushing. As we shall

probably meet with him again in the course of our history, it may

be well for our readers to be made at once acquainted with him.

This chancellor was a pleasant man. He was Des Roches le Masle,

canon of Notre Dame, who had formerly been valet of a bishop, who

introduced him to his Eminence as a perfectly devout man. The

cardinal trusted him, and therein found his advantage.

There are many stories related of him, and among them this.

After a wild youth, he had retired into a convent, there to

expiate, at least for some time, the follies of adolescence. On

entering this holy place, the poor penitent was unable to shut

the door so close as to prevent the passions he fled from

entering with him. He was incessantly attacked by them, and the

superior, to whom he had confided this misfortune, wishing as

much as in him lay to free him from them, had advised him, in

order to conjure away the tempting demon, to have recourse to the

bell rope, and ring with all his might. At the denunciating

sound, the monks would be rendered aware that temptation was

besieging a brother, and all the community would go to prayers.

This advice appeared good to the future chancellor. He conjured

the evil spirit with abundance of prayers offered up by the

monks. But the devil does not suffer himself to be easily

dispossessed from a place in which he has fixed his garrison. In

proportion as they redoubled the exorcisms he redoubled the

temptations; so that day and night the bell was ringing full

swing, announcing the extreme desire for mortification which the

penitent experienced.

The monks had no longer an instant of repose. By day they did

nothing but ascend and descend the steps which led to the chapel;

at night, in addition to complines and matins, they were further

obliged to leap twenty times out of their beds and prostrate

themselves on the floor of their cells.

It is not known whether it was the devil who gave way, or the

monks who grew tired; but within three months the penitent

reappeared in the world with the reputation of being the most

terrible POSSESSED that ever existed.

On leaving the convent he entered into the magistracy, became

president on the place of his uncle, embraced the cardinal's

party, which did not prove want of sagacity, became chancellor,

served his Eminence with zeal in his hatred against the queenmother

and his vengeance against Anne of Austria, stimulated the

judges in the affair of Calais, encouraged the attempts of M. de

Laffemas, chief gamekeeper of France; then, at length, invested

with the entire confidence of the cardinal--a confidence which he

had so well earned--he received the singular commission for the

execution of which he presented himself in the queen's

apartments.

The queen was still standing when he entered; but scarcely had

she perceived him then she reseated herself in her armchair, and

made a sign to her women to resume their cushions and stools, and

with an air of supreme hauteur, said, "What do you desire,

monsieur, and with what object do you present yourself here?"

"To make, madame, in the name of the king, and without prejudice

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to the respect which I have the honor to owe to your Majesty a

close examination into all your papers."

"How, monsieur, an investigation of my papers--mine! Truly, this

is an indignity!"

"Be kind enough to pardon me, madame; but in this circumstance I

am but the instrument which the king employs. Has not his

Majesty just left you, and has he not himself asked you to

prepare for this visit?"

"Search, then, monsieur! I am a criminal, as it appears.

Estafania, give up the keys of my drawers and my desks."

For form's sake the chancellor paid a visit to the pieces of

furniture named; but he well knew that it was not in a piece of

furniture that the queen would place the important letter she had

written that day.

When the chancellor had opened and shut twenty times the drawers

of the secretaries, it became necessary, whatever hesitation he

might experience--it became necessary, I say, to come to the

conclusion of the affair; that is to say, to search the queen

herself. The chancellor advanced, therefore, toward Anne of

Austria, and said with a very perplexed and embarrassed air, "And

now it remains for me to make the principal examination."

"What is that?" asked the queen, who did not understand, or

rather was not willing to understand.

"His majesty is certain that a letter has been written by you

during the day; he knows that it has not yet been sent to its

address. This letter is not in your table nor in your secretary;

and yet this letter must be somewhere."

"Would you dare to lift your hand to your queen?" said Anne of

Austria, drawing herself up to her full height, and fixing her

eyes upon the chancellor with an expression almost threatening.

"I am a faithful subject of the king, madame, and all that his

Majesty commands I shall do."

"Well, it is true!" said Anne of Austria; "and the spies of the

cardinal have served him faithfully. I have written a letter

today; that letter is not yet gone. The letter is here." And

the queen laid her beautiful hand on her bosom.

"Then give me that letter, madame," said the chancellor.

"I will give it to none but the king monsieur," said Anne.

"If the king had desired that the letter should be given to him,

madame, he would have demanded it of you himself. But I repeat

to you, I am charged with reclaiming it; and if you do not give

it up--"

"Well?"

"He has, then, charged me to take it from you."

"How! What do you say?"

"That my orders go far, madame; and that I am authorized to seek

for the suspected paper, even on the person of your Majesty."

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"What horror!" cried the queen.

"Be kind enough, then, madame, to act more compliantly."

"The conduct is infamously violent! Do you know that, monsieur?"

"The king commands it, madame; excuse me."

"I will not suffer it! No, no, I would rather die!" cried the

queen, in whom the imperious blood of Spain and Austria began to

rise.

The chancellor made a profound reverence. Then, with the

intention quite patent of not drawing back a foot from the

accomplishment of the commission with which he was charged, and

as the attendant of an executioner might have done in the chamber

of torture, he approached Anne of Austria, for whose eyes at the

same instant sprang tears of rage.

The queen was, as we have said, of great beauty. The commission

might well be called delicate; and the king had reached, in his

jealousy of Buckingham, the point of not being jealous of anyone

else.

Without doubt the chancellor, Seguier looked about at that moment

for the rope of the famous bell; but not finding it he summoned

his resolution, and stretched forth his hands toward the place

where the queen had acknowledged the paper was to be found.

Anne of Austria took one step backward, became so pale that it

might be said she was dying, and leaning with her left hand upon

a table behind her to keep herself from falling, she with her

right hand drew the paper from her bosom and held it out to the

keeper of the seals.

"There, monsieur, there is that letter!" cried the queen, with a

broken and trembling voice; "take it, and deliver me from your

odious presence."

The chancellor, who, on his part, trembled with an emotion easily

to be conceived, took the letter, bowed to the ground, and

retired. The door was scarcely closed upon him, when the queen

sank, half fainting, into the arms of her women.

The chancellor carried the letter to the king without having read

a single word of it. The king took it with a trembling hand,

looked for the address, which was wanting, became very pale,

opened it slowly, then seeing by the first words that it was

addressed to the King of Spain, he read it rapidly.

It was nothing but a plan of attack against the cardinal. The

queen pressed her brother and the Emperor of Austria to appear to

be wounded, as they really were, by the policy of Richelieu--the

eternal object of which was the abasement of the house of

Austria--to declare war against France, and as a condition of

peace, to insist upon the dismissal of the cardinal; but as to

love, there was not a single word about it in all the letter.

The king, quite delighted, inquired if the cardinal was still at

the Louvre; he was told that his Eminence awaited the orders of

his Majesty in the business cabinet.

The king went straight to him.

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"There, Duke," said he, "you were right and I was wrong. The

whole intrigue is political, and there is not the least question

of love in this letter; but, on the other hand, there is abundant

question of you."

The cardinal took the letter, and read it with the greatest

attention; then, when he had arrived at the end of it, he read it

a second time. "Well, your Majesty," said he, "you see how far

my enemies go; they menace you with two wars if you do not

dismiss me. In your place, in truth, sire, I should yield to

such powerful instance; and on my part, it would be a real

happiness to withdraw from public affairs."

"What say you, Duke?"

"I say, sire, that my health is sinking under these excessive

struggles and these never-ending labors. I say that according to

all probability I shall not be able to undergo the fatigues of

the siege of La Rochelle, and that it would be far better that

you should appoint there either Monsieur de Conde, Monsieur de

Bassopierre, or some valiant gentleman whose business is war, and

not me, who am a churchman, and who am constantly turned aside

for my real vocation to look after matters for which I have no

aptitude. You would be the happier for it at home, sire, and I

do not doubt you would be the greater for it abroad."

"Monsieur Duke," said the king, "I understand you. Be satisfied,

all who are named in that letter shall be punished as they

deserve, even the queen herself."

"What do you say, sire? God forbid that the queen should suffer

the least inconvenience or uneasiness on my account! She has

always believed me, sire, to be her enemy; although your Majesty

can bear witness that I have always taken her part warmly, even

against you. Oh, if she betrayed your Majesty on the side of

your honor, it would be quite another thing, and I should be the

first to say, 'No grace, sire--no grace for the guilty!'

Happily, there is nothing of the kind, and your Majesty has just

acquired a new proof of it."

"That is true, Monsieur Cardinal," said the king, "and you were

right, as you always are; but the queen, not the less, deserves

all my anger."

"It is you, sire, who have now incurred hers. And even if she

were to be seriously offended, I could well understand it; your

Majesty has treated her with a severity--"

"It is thus I will always treat my enemies and yours, Duke,

however high they may be placed, and whatever peril I may incur

in acting severely toward them."

"The queen is my enemy, but is not yours, sire; on the contrary,

she is a devoted, submissive, and irreproachable wife. Allow me,

then, sire, to intercede for her with your Majesty."

"Let her humble herself, then, and come to me first."

"On the contrary, sire, set the example. You have committed the

first wrong, since it was you who suspected the queen."

"What! I make the first advances?" said the king. "Never!"

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"Sire, I entreat you to do so."

"Besides, in what manner can I make advances first?"

"By doing a thing which you know will be agreeable to her."

"What is that?"

"Give a ball; you know how much the queen loves dancing. I will

answer for it, her resentment will not hold out against such an

attention."

"Monsieur Cardinal, you know that I do not like worldly

pleasures."

"The queen will only be the more grateful to you, as she knows

your antipathy for that amusement; besides, it will be an

opportunity for her to wear those beautiful diamonds which you

gave her recently on her birthday and with which she has since

had no occasion to adorn herself."

"We shall see, Monsieur Cardinal, we shall see," said the king,

who, in his joy at finding the queen guilty of a crime which he

cared little about, and innocent of a fault of which he had great

dread, was ready to make up all differences with her, "we shall

see, but upon my honor, you are too indulgent toward her."

"Sire," said the cardinal, "leave severity to your ministers.

Clemency is a royal virtue; employ it, and you will find that you

derive advantage therein."

Thereupon the cardinal, hearing the clock strike eleven, bowed

low, asking permission of the king to retire, and supplicating

him to come to a good understanding with the queen.

Anne of Austria, who, in consequence of the seizure of her

letter, expected reproaches, was much astonished the next day to

see the king make some attempts at reconciliation with her. Her

first movement was repellent. Her womanly pride and her queenly

dignity had both been so cruelly offended that she could not come

round at the first advance; but, overpersuaded by the advice of

her women, she at last had the appearance of beginning to forget.

The king took advantage of this favorable moment to tell her that

her had the intention of shortly giving a fete.

A fete was so rare a thing for poor Anne of Austria that at this

announcement, as the cardinal had predicted, the last trace of

her resentment disappeared, if not from her heart at least from

her countenance. She asked upon what day this fete would take

place, but the king replied that he must consult the cardinal

upon that head.

Indeed, every day the king asked the cardinal when this fete

should take place; and every day the cardinal, under some

pretext, deferred fixing it. Ten days passed away thus.

On the eighth day after the scene we have described, the cardinal

received a letter with the London stamp which only contained

these lines: "I have them; but I am unable to leave London for

want of money. Send me five hundred pistoles, and four or five

days after I have received them I shall be in Paris."

On the same day the cardinal received this letter the king put

his customary question to him.

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Richelieu counted on his fingers, and said to himself, "She will

arrive, she says, four or five days after having received the

money. It will require four or five days for the transmission of

the money, four or five days for her to return; that makes ten

days. Now, allowing for contrary winds, accidents, and a woman's

weakness, there are twelve days."

"Well, Monsieur Duke," said the king, "have you made your

calculations?"

"Yes, sire. Today is the twentieth of September. The aldermen

of the city give a fete on the third of October. That will fall

in wonderfully well; you will not appear to have gone out of your

way to please the queen."

Then the cardinal added, "A PROPOS, sire, do not forget to tell

her Majesty the evening before the fete that you should like to

see how her diamond studs become her."

17 BONACIEUX AT HOME

It was the second time the cardinal had mentioned these diamond

studs to the king. Louis XIII was struck with this insistence,

and began to fancy that this recommendation concealed some

mystery.

More than once the king had been humiliated by the cardinal,

whose police, without having yet attained the perfection of the

modern police, were excellent, being better informed than

himself, even upon what was going on in his own household. He

hoped, then, in a conversation with Anne of Austria, to obtain

some information from that conversation, and afterward to come

upon his Eminence with some secret which the cardinal either knew

or did not know, but which, in either case, would raise him

infinitely in the eyes of his minister.

He went then to the queen, and according to custom accosted her

with fresh menaces against those who surrounded her. Anne of

Austria lowered her head, allowed the torrent to flow on without

replying, hoping that it would cease of itself; but this was not

what Louis XIII meant. Louis XIII wanted a discussion from which

some light or other might break, convinced as he was that the

cardinal had some afterthought and was preparing for him one of

those terrible surprises which his Eminence was so skillful in

getting up. He arrived at this end by his persistence in

accusation.

"But," cried Anne of Austria, tired of these vague attacks, "but,

sire, you do not tell me all that you have in your heart. What

have I done, then? Let me know what crime I have committed. It

is impossible that your Majesty can make all this ado about a

letter written to my brother."

The king, attacked in a manner so direct, did not know what to

answer; and he thought that this was the moment for expressing

the desire which he was not have made until the evening before

the fete.

"Madame," said he, with dignity, "there will shortly be a ball at

the Hotel de Ville. I wish, in order to honor our worthy

aldermen, you should appear in ceremonial costume, and above all,

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ornamented with the diamond studs which I gave you on your

birthday. That is my answer."

The answer was terrible. Anne of Austria believed that Louis

XIII knew all, and that the cardinal had persuaded him to employ

this long dissimulation of seven or eight days, which, likewise,

was characteristic. She became excessively pale, leaned her

beautiful hand upon a CONSOLE, which hand appeared then like one

of wax, and looking at the king with terror in her eyes, she was

unable to reply by a single syllable.

"You hear, madame," said the king, who enjoyed the embarrassment

to its full extent, but without guessing the cause. "You hear,

madame?"

"Yes, sire, I hear," stammered the queen.

"You will appear at this ball?"

"Yes."

"With those studs?"

"Yes."

The queen's paleness, if possible, increased; the king perceived

it, and enjoyed it with that cold cruelty which was one of the

worst sides of his character.

"Then that is agreed," said the king, "and that is all I had to

say to you."

"But on what day will this ball take place?" asked Anne of

Austria.

Louis XIII felt instinctively that he ought not to reply to this

question, the queen having put it in an almost dying voice.

"Oh, very shortly, madame," said he; "but I do not precisely

recollect the date of the day. I will ask the cardinal."

"It was the cardinal, then, who informed you of this fete?"

"Yes, madame," replied the astonished king; "but why do you ask

that?"

"It was he who told you to invite me to appear with these studs?"

"That is to say, madame--"

"It was he, sire, it was he!"

"Well, and what does it signify whether it was he or I? Is there

any crime in this request?"

"No, sire."

"Then you will appear?"

"Yes, sire."

"That is well," said the king, retiring, "that is well; I count

upon it."

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The queen made a curtsy, less from etiquette than because her

knees were sinking under her. The king went away enchanted.

"I am lost," murmured the queen, "lost!--for the cardinal knows

all, and it is he who urges on the king, who as yet knows nothing

but will soon know everything. I am lost! My God, my God, my

God!"

She knelt upon a cushion and prayed, with her head buried between

her palpitating arms.

In fact, her position was terrible. Buckingham had returned to

London; Mme. Chevreuse was at Tours. More closely watched than

ever, the queen felt certain, without knowing how to tell which,

that one of her women had betrayed her. Laporte could not leave

the Louvre; she had not a soul in the world in whom she could

confide. Thus, while contemplating the misfortune which

threatened her and the abandonment in which she was left, she

broke out into sobs and tears.

"Can I be of service to your Majesty?" said all at once a voice

full of sweetness and pity.

The queen turned sharply round, for there could be no deception

in the expression of that voice; it was a friend who spoke thus.

In fact, at one of the doors which opened into the queen's

apartment appeared the pretty Mme. Bonacieux. She had been

engaged in arranging the dresses and linen in a closet when the

king entered; she could not get out and had heard all.

The queen uttered a piercing cry at finding herself surprised--

for in her trouble she did not at first recognize the young woman

who had been given to her by Laporte.

"Oh, fear nothing, madame!" said the young woman, clasping her

hands and weeping herself at the queen's sorrows; "I am your

Majesty's, body and soul, and however far I may be from you,

however inferior may be my position, I believe I have discovered

a means of extricating your Majesty from your trouble."

"You, oh, heaven, you!" cried the queen; "but look me in the

face. I am betrayed on all sides. Can I trust in you?"

"Oh, madame!" cried the young woman, falling on her knees; "upon

my soul, I am ready to die for your Majesty!"

This expression sprang from the very bottom of the heart, and,

like the first, there was no mistaking it.

"Yes," continued Mme. Bonacieux, "yes, there are traitors here;

but by the holy name of the Virgin, I swear that no one is more

devoted to your Majesty than I am. Those studs which the king

speaks of, you gave them to the Duke of Buckingham, did you not?

Those studs were enclosed in a little rosewood box which he held

under his arm? Am I deceived? Is it not so, madame?"

"Oh, my God, my God!" murmured the queen, whose teeth chattered

with fright.

"Well, those studs," continued Mme. Bonacieux, "we must have them

back again."

"Yes, without doubt, it is necessary," cried the queen; "but how

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am I to act? How can it be effected?"

"Someone must be sent to the duke."

"But who, who? In whom can I trust?"

"Place confidence in me, madame; do me that honor, my queen, and

I will find a messenger."

"But I must write."

"Oh, yes; that is indispensable. Two words from the hand of your

Majesty and your private seal."

"But these two words would bring about my condemnation, divorce,

exile!"

"Yes, if they fell into infamous hands. But I will answer for

these two words being delivered to their address."

"Oh, my God! I must then place my life, my honor, my reputation,

in your hands?"

"Yes, yes, madame, you must; and I will save them all."

"But how? Tell me at least the means."

"My husband had been at liberty these two or three days. I have

not yet had time to see him again. He is a worthy, honest man

who entertains neither love nor hatred for anybody. He will do

anything I wish. He will set out upon receiving an order from

me, without knowing what he carries, and he will carry your

Majesty's letter, without even knowing it is from your Majesty,

to the address which is on it."

The queen took the two hands of the young woman with a burst of

emotion, gazed at her as if to read her very heart, and seeing

nothing but sincerity in her beautiful eyes, embraced her

tenderly.

"Do that," cried she, "and you will have saved my life, you will

have saved my honor!"

"Do not exaggerate the service I have the happiness to render

your Majesty. I have nothing to save for your Majesty; you are

only the victim of perfidious plots."

"That is true, that is true, my child," said the queen, "you are

right."

"Give me then, that letter, madame; time presses."

The queen ran to a little table, on which were ink, paper, and

pens. She wrote two lines, sealed the letter with her private

seal, and gave it to Mme. Bonacieux.

"And now," said the queen, "we are forgetting one very necessary

thing."

"What is that, madame?"

"Money."

Mme. Bonacieux blushed.

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"Yes, that is true," said she, "and I will confess to your

Majesty that my husband--"

"Your husband has none. Is that what you would say?"

"He has some, but he is very avaricious; that is his fault.

Nevertheless, let not your Majesty be uneasy, we will find

means."

"And I have none, either," said the queen. Those who have read

the MEMOIRS of Mme. de Motteville will not be astonished at this

reply. "But wait a minute."

Anne of Austria ran to her jewel case.

"Here," said she, "here is a ring of great value, as I have been

assured. It came from my brother, the King of Spain. It is

mine, and I am at liberty to dispose of it. Take this ring;

raise money with it, and let your husband set out."

"In an hour you shall be obeyed."

"You see the address," said the queen, speaking so low that Mme.

Bonacieux could hardly hear what she said, "To my Lord Duke of

Buckingham, London."

"The letter shall be given to himself."

"Generous girl!" cried Anne of Austria.

Mme. Bonacieux kissed the hands of the queen, concealed the paper

in the bosom of her dress, and disappeared with the lightness of

a bird.

Ten minutes afterward she was at home. As she told the queen,

she had not seen her husband since his liberation; she was

ignorant of the change that had taken place in him with respect

to the cardinal--a change which had since been strengthened by

two or three visits from the Comte de Rochefort, who had become

the best friend of Bonacieux, and had persuaded him, without much

trouble, was putting his house in order, the furniture of which he had found

mostly broken and his closets nearly empty--justice not being one

of the three things which King Solomon names as leaving no traces

of their passage. As to the servant, she had run away at the

moment of her master's arrest. Terror had had such an effect

upon the poor girl that she had never ceased walking from Paris

till she reached Burgundy, her native place.

The worthy mercer had, immediately upon re-entering his house,

informed his wife of his happy return, and his wife had replied

by congratulating him, and telling him that the first moment she

could steal from her duties should be devoted to paying him a

visit.

This first moment had been delayed five days, which, under any

other circumstances, might have appeared rather long to M.

Bonacieux; but he had, in the visit he had made to the cardinal

and in the visits Rochefort had made him, ample subjects for

reflection, and as everybody knows, nothing makes time pass more

quickly than reflection.

This was the more so because Bonacieux's reflections were all

rose-colored. Rochefort called him his friend, his dear

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Bonacieux, and never ceased telling him that the cardinal had a

great respect for him. The mercer fancied himself already on the

high road to honors and fortune.

On her side Mme. Bonacieux had also reflected; but, it must be

admitted, upon something widely different from ambition. In

spite of herself her thoughts constantly reverted to that

handsome young man who was so brave and appeared to be so much in

love. Married at eighteen to M. Bonacieux, having always lived

among her husband's friends--people little capable of inspiring

any sentiment whatever in a young woman whose heart was above her

position--Mme. Bonacieux had remained insensible to vulgar

seductions; but at this period the title of gentleman had great

influence with the citizen class, and d'Artagnan was a gentleman.

Besides, he wore the uniform of the Guards, which next to that of

the Musketeers was most admired by the ladies. He was, we

repeat, handsome, young, and bold; he spoke of love like a man

who did love and was anxious to be loved in return. There was

certainly enough in all this to turn a head only twenty-three

years old, and Mme. Bonacieux had just attained that happy period

of life.

The couple, then, although they had not seen each other for eight

days, and during that time serious events had taken place in

which both were concerned, accosted each other with a degree of

preoccupation. Nevertheless, Bonacieux manifested real joy, and

advanced toward his wife with open arms. Madame Bonacieux

presented her cheek to him.

"Let us talk a little," said she.

"How!" said Bonacieux, astonished.

"Yes, I have something of the highest importance to tell you."

"True," said he, "and I have some questions sufficiently serious

to put to you. Describe to me your abduction, I pray you."

"Oh, that's of no consequence just now," said Mme. Bonacieux.

"And what does it concern, then--my captivity?"

"I heard of it the day it happened; but as you were not guilty of

any crime, as you were not guilty of any intrigue, as you, in

short, knew nothing that could compromise yourself or anybody

else, I attached no more importance to that event than it

merited."

"You speak very much at your ease, madame," said Bonacieux, hurt

at the little interest his wife showed in him. "Do you know that

I was plunged during a day and night in a dungeon of the

Bastille?"

"Oh, a day and night soon pass away. Let us return to the object

that brings me here."

"What, that which brings you home to me? Is it not the desire of

seeing a husband again from whom you have been separated for a

week?" asked the mercer, piqued to the quick.

"Yes, that first, and other things afterward."

"Speak."

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"It is a thing of the highest interest, and upon which our future

fortune perhaps depends."

"The complexion of our fortune has changed very much since I saw

you, Madam Bonacieux, and I should not be astonished if in the

course of a few months it were to excite the envy of many folks."

"Yes, particularly if you follow the instructions I am about to

give you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. There is good and holy action to be performed,

monsieur, and much money to be gained at the same time."

Mme. Bonacieux knew that in talking of money to her husband, she

took him on his weak side. But a man, were he even a mercer,

when he had talked for ten minutes with Cardinal Richelieu, is no

longer the same man.

"Much money to be gained?" said Bonacieux, protruding his lip.

"Yes, much."

"About how much?"

"A thousand pistoles, perhaps."

"What you demand of me is serious, then?"

"It is indeed."

"What must be done?"

"You must go away immediately. I will give you a paper which you

must not part with on any account, and which you will deliver

into the proper hands."

"And whither am I to go?"

"To London."

"I go to London? Go to! You jest! I have no business in

London."

"But others wish that you should go there."

"But who are those others? I warn you that I will never again

work in the dark, and that I will know not only to what I expose

myself, but for whom I expose myself."

"An illustrious persons sends you; an illustrious person awaits

you. The recompense will exceed your expectations; that is all I

promise you."

"More intrigues! Nothing but intrigues! Thank you, madame, I am

aware of them now; Monsieur Cardinal has enlightened me on that

head."

"The cardinal?" cried Mme. Bonacieux. "Have you seen the

cardinal?"

"He sent for me," answered the mercer, proudly.

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"And you responded to his bidding, you imprudent man?"

"Well, I can't say I had much choice of going or not going, for I

was taken to him between two guards. It is true also, that as I

did not then know his Eminence, if I had been able to dispense

with the visit, I should have been enchanted."

"He ill-treated you, then; he threatened you?"

"He gave me his hand, and called me his friend. His friend! Do

you hear that, madame? I am the friend of the great cardinal!"

"Of the great cardinal!"

"Perhaps you would contest his right to that title, madame?"

"I would contest nothing; but I tell you that the favor of a

minister is ephemeral, and that a man must be mad to attach

himself to a minister. There are powers above his which do not

depend upon a man or the issue of an event; it is to these powers

we should rally."

"I am sorry for it, madame, but I acknowledge not her power but

that of the great man whom I have the honor to serve."

"You serve the cardinal?"

"Yes, madame; and as his servant, I will not allow you to be

concerned in plots against the safety of the state, or to serve

the intrigues of a woman who in not French and who has a Spanish

heart. Fortunately we have the great cardinal; his vigilant eye

watches over and penetrates to the bottom of the heart."

Bonacieux was repeating, word for word, a sentence which he had

heard from the Comte de Rochefort; but the poor wife, who had

reckoned on her husband, and who, in that hope, had answered for

him to the queen, did not tremble the less, both at the danger

into which she had nearly cast herself and at the helpless state

to which she was reduced. Nevertheless, knowing the weakness of

her husband, and more particularly his cupidity, she did not

despair of bringing him round to her purpose.

"Ah, you are a cardinalist, then, monsieur, are you?" cried she;

"and you serve the party of those who maltreat your wife and

insult your queen?"

"Private interests are as nothing before the interests of all. I

am for those who save the state," said Bonacieux, emphatically.

"And what do you know about the state you talk of?" said Mme.

Bonacieux, shrugging her shoulders. "Be satisfied with being a

plain, straightforward citizen, and turn to that side which

offers the most advantages."

"Eh, eh!" said Bonacieux, slapping a plump, round bag, which

returned a sound a money; "what do you think of this, Madame

Preacher?"

"Whence comes that money?"

"You do not guess?"

"From the cardinal?"

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"From him, and from my friend the Comte de Rochefort."

"The Comte de Rochefort! Why it was he who carried me off!"

"That may be, madame!"

"And you receive silver from that man?"

"Have you not said that that abduction was entirely political?"

"Yes; but that abduction had for its object the betrayal of my

mistress, to draw from me by torture confessions that might

compromise the honor, and perhaps the life, of my august

mistress."

"Madame," replied Bonacieux, "your august mistress is a

perfidious Spaniard, and what the cardinal does is well done."

"Monsieur," said the young woman, "I know you to be cowardly,

avaricious, and foolish, but I never till now believed you

infamous!"

"Madame," said Bonacieux, who had never seen his wife in a

passion, and who recoiled before this conjugal anger, "madame,

what do you say?"

"I say you are a miserable creature!" continued Mme. Bonacieux,

who saw she was regaining some little influence over her husband.

"You meddle with politics, do you--and still more, with

cardinalist politics? Why, you sell yourself, body and soul, to

the demon, the devil, for money!"

"No, to the cardinal."

"It's the same thing," cried the young woman. "Who calls

Richelieu calls Satan."

"Hold your tongue, hold your tongue, madame! You may be

overheard."

"Yes, you are right; I should be ashamed for anyone to know your

baseness."

"But what do you require of me, then? Let us see."

"I have told you. You must depart instantly, monsieur. You must

accomplish loyally the commission with which I deign to charge

you, and on that condition I pardon everything, I forget

everything; and what is more," and she geld out her hand to him,

"I restore my love."

Bonacieux was cowardly and avaricious, but he loved his wife. He

was softened. A man of fifty cannot long bear malice with a wife

of twenty-three. Mme. Bonacieux saw that he hesitated.

"Come! Have you decided?" said she.

"But, my dear love, reflect a little upon what you require of me.

London is far from Paris, very far, and perhaps the commission

with which you charge me is not without dangers?"

"What matters it, if you avoid them?"

"Hold, Madame Bonacieux," said the mercer, "hold! I positively

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refuse; intrigues terrify me. I have seen the Bastille. My!

Whew! That's a frightful place, that Bastille! Only to think of

it makes my flesh crawl. They threatened me with torture. Do

you know what torture is? Wooden points that they stick in

between your legs till your bones stick out! No, positively I

will not go. And, MORBLEU, why do you not go yourself? For in

truth, I think I have hitherto been deceived in you. I really

believe you are a man, and a violent one, too."

"And you, you are a woman--a miserable woman, stupid and brutal.

You are afraid, are you? Well, if you do not go this very

instant, I will have you arrested by the queen's orders, and I

will have you placed in the Bastille which you dread so much."

Bonacieux fell into a profound reflection. He weighed the two

angers in his brain--that of the cardinal and that of the queen;

that of the cardinal predominated enormously.

"Have me arrested on the part of the queen," said he, "and I--I

will appeal to his Eminence."

At once Mme. Bonacieux saw that she had gone too far, and she was

terrified at having communicated so much. She for a moment

contemplated with fright that stupid countenance, impressed with

the invincible resolution of a fool that is overcome by fear.

"Well, be it so!" said she. "Perhaps, when all is considered,

you are right. In the long run, a man knows more about politics

than a woman, particularly such as, like you, Monsieur Bonacieux,

have conversed with the cardinal. And yet it is very hard,"

added she, "that a man upon whose affection I thought I might

depend, treats me thus unkindly and will not comply with any of

my fancies."

"That is because your fancies go too far," replied the triumphant

Bonacieux, "and I mistrust them."

'Well, I will give it up, then," said the young woman, sighing.

"It is well as it is; say no more about it."

"At least you should tell me what I should have to do in London,"

replied Bonacieux, who remembered a little too late that

Rochefort had desired him to endeavor to obtain his wife's

secrets.

"It is of no use for you to know anything about it," said the

young woman, whom an instinctive mistrust now impelled to draw

back. "It was about one of those purchases that interest women--

a purchase by which much might have been gained."

But the more the young woman excused herself, the more important

Bonacieux thought the secret which she declined to confide to

him. He resolved then to hasten immediately to the residence of

the Comte de Rochefort, and tell him that the queen was seeking

for a messenger to send to London.

"Pardon me for quitting you, my dear Madame Bonacieux," said he;

"but, not knowing you would come to see me, I had made an

engagement with a friend. I shall soon return; and if you will

wait only a few minutes for me, as soon as I have concluded my

business with that friend, as it is growing late, I will come

back and reconduct you to the Louvre."

"Thank you, monsieur, you are not brave enough to be of any use

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to me whatever," replied Mme. Bonacieux. "I shall return very

safely to the Louvre all alone."

"As you please, Madame Bonacieux," said the ex-mercer. "Shall I

see you again soon?"

"Next week I hope my duties will afford me a little liberty, and

I will take advantage of it to come and put things in order here,

as they must necessarily be much deranged."

"Very well; I shall expect you. You are not angry with me?"

"Not the least in the world."

"Till then, then?"

"Till then."

Bonacieux kissed his wife's hand, and set off at a quick pace.

"Well," said Mme. Bonacieux, when her husband had shut the street

door and she found herself alone; "that imbecile lacked but one

thing to become a cardinalist. And I, who have answered for him

to the queen--I, who have promised my poor mistress--ah, my God,

my God! She will take me for one of those wretches with whom the

palace swarms and who are placed about her as spies! Ah,

Monsieur Bonacieux, I never did love you much, but now it is

worse than ever. I hate you, and on my word you shall pay for

this!"

At the moment she spoke these words a rap on the ceiling made her

raise her head, and a voice which reached her through the ceiling

cried, "Dear Madame Bonacieux, open for me the little door on the

alley, and I will come down to you."

18 LOVER AND HUSBAND

"Ah, Madame," said d'Artagnan, entering by the door which the

young woman opened for him, "allow me to tell you that you have a

bad sort of a husband."

"You have, then, overheard our conversation?" asked Mme.

Bonacieux, eagerly, and looking at d'Artagnan with disquiet.

"The whole."

"But how, my God?"

"By a mode of proceeding known to myself, and by which I likewise

overheard the more animated conversation which had with the

cardinal's police."

"And what did you understand by what we said?"

"A thousand things. In the first place, that, unfortunately,

your husband is a simpleton and a fool; in the next place, you

are in trouble, of which I am very glad, as it gives me a

opportunity of placing myself at your service, and God knows I am

ready to throw myself into the fire for you; finally, that the

queen wants a brave, intelligent, devoted man to make a journey

to London for her. I have at least two of the three qualities

you stand in need of, and here I am.

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Mme. Bonacieux made no reply; but her heart beat with joy and

secret hope shone in her eyes.

"And what guarantee will you give me," asked she, "if I consent

to confide this message to you?"

"My love for you. Speak! Command! What is to be done?"

"My God, my God!" murmured the young woman, "ought I to confide

such a secret to you, monsieur? You are almost a boy."

"I see that you require someone to answer for me?"

"I admit that would reassure me greatly."

"Do you know Athos?"

"No."

"Porthos?"

"No."

"Aramis?"

"No. Who are these gentleman?"

"Three of the king's Musketeers. Do you know Monsieur de

Treville, their captain?"

"Oh, yes, him! I know him; not personally, but from having heard

the queen speak of him more than once as a brave and loyal

gentleman."

"You do not fear lest he should betray you to the cardinal?"

"Oh, no, certainly not!"

"Well, reveal your secret to him, and ask him whether, however

important, however valuable, however terrible it may be, you may

not confide it to me."

"But this secret is not mine, and I cannot reveal it in this

manner."

"You were about to confide it to Monsieur Bonacieux," said

d'Artagnan, with chagrin.

"As one confides a letter to the hollow of a tree, to the wing of

a pigeon, to the collar of a dog."

"And yet, me--you see plainly that I love you."

"You say so."

"I am an honorable man."

"You say so."

"I am a gallant fellow."

"I believe it."

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"I am brave."

"Oh, I am sure of that!"

"Then, put me to the proof."

Mme. Bonacieux looked at the young man, restrained for a minute

by a last hesitation; but there was such an ardor in his eyes,

such persuasion in his voice, that she felt herself constrained

to confide in him. Besides, she found herself in circumstances

where everything must be risked for the sake of everything. The

queen might be as much injured by too much reticence as by too

much confidence; and--let us admit it--the involuntary sentiment

which she felt for her young protector decided her to speak.

"Listen," said she; "I yield to your protestations, I yield to

your assurances. But I swear to you, before God who hears us,

that if you betray me, and my enemies pardon me, I will kill

myself, while accusing you of my death."

"And I--I swear to you before God, madame," said d'Artagnan.

"that if I am taken while accomplishing the orders you give me, I

will die sooner than do anything that may compromise anyone."

Then the young woman confided in him the terrible secret of which

chance had already communicated to him a part in front of the

Samaritaine. This was their mutual declaration of love.

D'Artagnan was radiant with joy and pride. This secret which he

possessed, this woman whom he loved! Confidence and love mad him

a giant.

"I go," said he; "I go at once."

"How, you will go!" said Mme. Bonacieux; "and your regiment, your

captain?"

"By my soul, you had made me forget all that, dear Constance!

Yes, you are right; a furlough is needful."

"Still another obstacle," murmured Mme. Bonacieux, sorrowfully.

"As to that," cried d'Artagnan, after a moment of reflection, "I

shall surmount it, be assured."

"How so?"

"I will go this very evening to Treville, whom I will request to

ask this favor for me of his brother-in-law, Monsieur

Dessessart."

"But another thing."

"What?" asked d'Artagnan, seeing that Mme. Bonacieux hesitated to

continue.

"You have, perhaps, no money?"

"PERHAPS is too much," said d'Artagnan, smiling.

"Then," replied Mme. Bonacieux, opening a cupboard and taking

from it the very bag which a half hour before her husband had

caressed so affectionately, "take this bag."

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"The cardinal's?" cried d'Artagnan, breaking into a loud laugh,

he having heard, as may be remembered, thanks to the broken

boards, every syllable of the conversation between the mercer and

his wife.

"The cardinal's," replied Mme. Bonacieux. "You see it makes a

very respectable appearance."

"PARDIEU," cried d'Artagnan, "it will be a double amusing affair

to save the queen with the cardinal's money!"

"You are an amiable and charming young man," said Mme. Bonacieux.

"Be assured you will not find her Majesty ungrateful."

"Oh, I am already grandly recompensed!" cried d'Artagnan. "I

love you; you permit me to tell you that I do--that is already

more happiness than I dared to hope."

"Silence!" said Mme. Bonacieux, starting.

"What!"

"Someone is talking in the street."

"It is the voice of--"

"Of my husband! Yes, I recognize it!"

D'Artagnan ran to the door and pushed the bolt.

"He shall not come in before I am gone," said he; "and when I am

gone, you can open to him."

"But I ought to be gone, too. And the disappearance of his

money; how am I to justify it if I am here?"

"You are right; we must go out."

"Go out? How? He will see us if we go out."

"Then you must come up into my room."

"Ah," said Mme. Bonacieux, "you speak that in a tone that

frightens me!"

Mme. Bonacieux pronounced these words with tears in her eyes.

d'Artagnan saw those tears, and much disturbed, softened, he

threw himself at her feet.

"With me you will be as safe as in a temple; I give you my word

of a gentleman."

"Let us go," said she, "I place full confidence in you, my

friend!"

D'Artagnan drew back the bolt with precaution, and both, light as

shadows, glided through the interior door into the passage,

ascended the stairs as quietly as possible, and entered

d'Artagnan's chambers.

Once there, for greater security, the young man barricaded the

door. They both approached the window, and through a slit in the

shutter they saw Bonacieux talking with a man in a cloak.

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At sight of this man, d'Artagnan started, and half drawing his

sword, sprang toward the door.

It was the man of Meung.

"What are you going to do?" cried Mme. Bonacieux; "you will ruin

us all!"

"But I have sworn to kill that man!" said d'Artagnan.

"Your life is devoted from this moment, and does not belong to

you. In the name of the queen I forbid you to throw yourself

into any peril which is foreign to that of your journey."

"And do you command nothing in your own name?"

"In my name," said Mme. Bonacieux, with great emotion, "in my

name I beg you! But listen; they appear to be speaking of me."

D'Artagnan drew near the window, and lent his ear.

M. Bonacieux had opened his door, and seeing the apartment, had

returned to the man in the cloak, whom he had left alone for an

instant.

"She is gone," said he; "she must have returned to the Louvre."

"You are sure," replied the stranger, "that she did not suspect

the intentions with which you went out?"

"No," replied Bonacieux, with a self-sufficient air, "she is too

superficial a woman."

"Is the young Guardsman at home?"

"I do not think he is; as you see, his shutter is closed, and you

can see no light shine through the chinks of the shutters."

"All the same, it is well to be certain."

"How so?"

"By knocking at his door. Go."

"I will ask his servant."

Bonacieux re-entered the house, passed through the same door that

had afforded a passage for the two fugitives, went up to

d'Artagnan's door, and knocked.

No one answered. Porthos, in order to make a greater display,

had that evening borrowed Planchet. As to d'Artagnan, he took

care not to give the least sign of existence.

The moment the hand of Bonacieux sounded on the door, the two

young people felt their hearts bound within them.

"There is nobody within," said Bonacieux.

"Never mind. Let us return to your apartment. We shall be safer

there than in the doorway."

"Ah, my God!" whispered Mme. Bonacieux, "we shall hear no more."

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"On the contrary," said d'Artagnan, "we shall hear better."

D'Artagnan raised the three or four boards which made his chamber

another ear of Dionysius, spread a carpet on the floor, went upon

his knees, and made a sign to Mme. Bonacieux to stoop as he did

toward the opening.

"You are sure there is nobody there?" said the stranger.

"I will answer for it," said Bonacieux.

"And you think that your wife--"

"Has returned to the Louvre."

"Without speaking to anyone but yourself?"

"I am sure of it."

"That is an important point, do you understand?"

"Then the news I brought you is of value?"

"The greatest, my dear Bonacieux; I don't conceal this from you."

"Then the cardinal will be pleased with me?"

"I have no doubt of it."

"The great cardinal!"

"Are you sure, in her conversation with you, that your wife

mentioned no names?"

"I think not."

"She did not name Madame de Chevreuse, the Duke of Buckingham, or

Madame de Vernet?"

"No; she only told me she wished to send me to London to serve

the interests of an illustrious personage."

"The traitor!" murmured Mme. Bonacieux.

"Silence!" said d'Artagnan, taking her hand, which, without

thinking of it, she abandoned to him.

"Never mind," continued the man in the cloak; "you were a fool

not to have pretended to accept the mission. You would then be

in present possession of the letter. The state, which is now

threatened, would be safe, and you--"

"And I?"

"Well you--the cardinal would have given you letters of

nobility."

"Did he tell you so?"

"Yes, I know that he meant to afford you that agreeable

surprise."

"Be satisfied," replied Bonacieux; "my wife adores me, and there

is yet time."

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"The ninny!" murmured Mme. Bonacieux.

"Silence!" said d'Artagnan, pressing her hand more closely.

"How is there still time?" asked the man in the cloak.

"I go to the Louvre; I ask for Mme. Bonacieux; I say that I have

reflected; I renew the affair; I obtain the letter, and I run

directly to the cardinal."

"Well, go quickly! I will return soon to learn the result of

your trip."

The stranger went out.

"Infamous!" said Mme. Bonacieux, addressing this epithet to her

husband.

"Silence!" said d'Artagnan, pressing her hand still more warmly.

A terrible howling interrupted these reflections of d'Artagnan

and Mme. Bonacieux. It was her husband, who had discovered the

disappearance of the moneybag, and was crying "Thieves!"

"Oh, my God!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, "he will rouse the whole

quarter."

Bonacieux called a long time; but as such cries, on account of

their frequency, brought nobody in the Rue des Fossoyeurs, and as

lately the mercer's house had a bad name, finding that nobody

came, he went out continuing to call, his voice being heard

fainter and fainter as he went in the direction of the Rue du

Bac.

"Now he is gone, it is your turn to get out," said Mme.

Bonacieux. "Courage, my friend, but above all, prudence, and

think what you owe to the queen."

"To her and to you!" cried d'Artagnan. "Be satisfied, beautiful

Constance. I shall become worthy of her gratitude; but shall I

likewise return worthy of your love?"

The young woman only replied by the beautiful glow which mounted

to her cheeks. A few seconds afterward d'Artagnan also went out

enveloped in a large cloak, which ill-concealed the sheath of a

long sword.

Mme. Bonacieux followed him with her eyes, with that long, fond

look with which he had turned the angle of the street, she fell

on her knees, and clasping her hands, "Oh, my God," cried she,

"protect the queen, protect me!"

19 PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

D'Artagnan went straight to M. de Treville's. He had reflected

that in a few minutes the cardinal would be warned by this cursed

stranger, who appeared to be his agent, and he judged, with

reason, he had not a moment to lose.

The heart of the young man overflowed with joy. An opportunity

presented itself to him in which there would be at the same time

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glory to be acquired, and money to be gained; and as a far higher

encouragement, it brought him into close intimacy with a woman he

adored. This chance did, then, for him at once more than he

would have dared to ask of Providence.

M. de Treville was in his saloon with his habitual court of

gentlemen. D'Artagnan, who was known as a familiar of the house,

went straight to his office, and sent word that he wished to see

him on something of importance.

D'Artagnan had been there scarcely five minutes when M. de

Treville entered. At the first glance, and by the joy which was

painted on his countenance, the worthy captain plainly perceived

that something new was on foot.

All the way along d'Artagnan had been consulting with himself

whether he should place confidence in M. de Treville, or whether

he should only ask him to give him CARTE BLANCHE for some secret

affair. But M. de Treville had always been so thoroughly his

friend, had always been so devoted to the king and queen, and

hated the cardinal so cordially, that the young man resolved to

tell him everything.

"Did you ask for me, my good friend?" said M. de Treville.

'Yes, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, lowering his voice, "and you

will pardon me, I hope, for having disturbed you when you know

the importance of my business."

"Speak, then, I am all attention."

"It concerns nothing less", said d'Artagnan, "than the honor,

perhaps the life of the queen."

"What did you say?" asked M. de Treville, glancing round to see

if they were surely alone, and then fixing his questioning look

upon d'Artagnan.

"I say, monsieur, that chance has rendered me master of a

secret--"

"Which you will guard, I hope, young man, as your life."

"But which I must impart to you, monsieur, for you alone can

assist me in the mission I have just received from her Majesty."

"Is this secret your own?"

"No, monsieur; it is her Majesty's."

"Are you authorized by her Majesty to communicate it to me?"

"No, monsieur, for, on the contrary, I am desired to preserve the

profoundest mystery."

"Why, then, are you about to betray it to me?"

"Because, as I said, without you I can do nothing; and I am

afraid you will refuse me the favor I come to ask if you do not

know to what end I ask it."

"Keep your secret, young man, and tell me what you wish."

"I wish you to obtain for me, from Monsieur Dessessart, leave of

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absence for fifteen days."

"When?"

"This very night."

"You leave Paris?"

"I am going on a mission."

"May you tell me whither?"

"To London."

"Has anyone an interest in preventing your arrival there?"

"The cardinal, I believe, would give the world to prevent my

success."

"And you are going alone?"

"I am going alone."

"In that case you will not get beyond Bondy. I tell you so, by

the faith of de Treville."

"How so?"

"You will be assassinated."

"And I shall die in the performance of my duty."

"But your mission will not be accomplished."

"That is true," replied d'Artagnan.

"Believe me," continued Treville, "in enterprises of this kind,

in order that one may arrive, four must set out."

"Ah, you are right, monsieur," said d'Artagnan; "but you know

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and you know if I can dispose of

them."

"Without confiding to them the secret which I am not willing to

know?"

"We are sworn, once for all, to implicit confidence and

devotedness against all proof. Besides, you can tell them that

you have full confidence in me, and they will not be more

incredulous than you."

"I can send to each of them leave of absence for fifteen days,

that is all--to Athos, whose wound still makes him suffer, to go

to the waters of Forges; to Porthos and Aramis to accompany their

friend, whom they are not willing to abandon in such a painful

condition. Sending their leave of absence will be proof enough

that I authorize their journey."

"Thanks, monsieur. You are a hundred times too good."

"Begone, then, find them instantly, and let all be done tonight!

Ha! But first write your request to Dessessart. Perhaps you had

a spy at your heels; and your visit, if it should ever be known

to the cardinal, will thus seem legitimate."

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D'Artagnan drew up his request, and M. de Treville, on receiving

it, assured him that by two o'clock in the morning the four

leaves of absence should be at the respective domiciles of the

travelers.

"Have the goodness to send mine to Athos's residence. I should

dread some disagreeable encounter if I were to go home."

"Be easy. Adieu, and a prosperous voyage. A PROPOS," said M. de

Treville, calling him back.

D'Artagnan returned.

"Have you any money?"

D'Artagnan tapped the bag he had in his pocket.

"Enough?" asked M. de Treville.

"Three hundred pistoles."

"Oh, plenty! That would carry you to the end of the world.

Begone, then!"

D'Artagnan saluted M. de Treville, who held out his hand to him;

d'Artagnan pressed it with a respect mixed with gratitude. Since

his first arrival at Paris, he had had constant occasion to honor

this excellent man, whom he had always found worthy, loyal, and

great.

His first visit was to Aramis, at whose residence he had not been

since the famous evening on which he had followed Mme. Bonacieux.

Still further, he had seldom seen the young Musketeer; but every

time he had seen him, he had remarked a deep sadness imprinted on

his countenance.

This evening, especially, Aramis was melancholy and thoughtful.

d'Artagnan asked some questions about this prolonged melancholy.

Aramis pleaded as his excuse a commentary upon the eighteenth

chapter of St. Augustine, which he was forced to write in Latin

for the following week, and which preoccupied him a good deal.

After the two friends had been chatting a few moments, a servant

from M. de Treville entered, bringing a sealed packet.

"What is that?" asked Aramis.

"The leave of absence Monsieur has asked for," replied the

lackey.

"For me! I have asked for no leave of absence."

"Hold your tongue and take it!" said d'Artagnan. "And you, my

friend, there is a demipistole for your trouble; you will tell

Monsieur de Treville that Monsieur Aramis is very much obliged to

him. Go."

The lackey bowed to the ground and departed.

"What does all this mean?" asked Aramis.

"Pack up all you want for a journey of a fortnight, and follow

me."

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"But I cannot leave Paris just now without knowing--"

Aramis stopped.

"What is become of her? I suppose you mean--" continued

d'Artagnan.

"Become of whom?" replied Aramis.

"The woman who was here--the woman with the embroidered

handkerchief."

"Who told you there was a woman here?" replied Aramis, becoming

as pale as death.

"I saw her."

"And you know who she is?"

"I believe I can guess, at least."

"Listen!" said Aramis. "Since you appear to know so many things,

can you tell me what is become of that woman?"

"I presume that she has returned to Tours."

"To Tours? Yes, that may be. You evidently know her. But why

did she return to Tours without telling me anything?"

"Because she was in fear of being arrested."

"Why has she not written to me, then?"

"Because she was afraid of compromising you."

"d'Artagnan, you restore me to life!" cried Aramis. "I fancied

myself despised, betrayed. I was so delighted to see her again!

I could not have believed she would risk her liberty for me, and

yet for what other cause could she have returned to Paris?"

"For the cause which today takes us to England."

"And what is this cause?" demanded Aramis.

"Oh, you'll know it someday, Aramis; but at present I must

imitate the discretion of 'the doctor's niece.'"

Aramis smiled, as he remembered the tale he had told his friends

on a certain evening. "Well, then, since she has left Paris, and

you are sure of it, d'Artagnan, nothing prevents me, and I am

ready to follow you. You say we are going--"

"To see Athos now, and if you will come thither, I beg you to

make haste, for we have lost much time already. A PROPOS, inform

Bazin."

"Will Bazin go with us?" asked Aramis.

"Perhaps so. At all events, it is best that he should follow us

to Athos's."

Aramis called Bazin, and, after having ordered him to join them

at Athos's residence, said "Let us go then," at the same time

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taking his cloak, sword, and three pistols, opening uselessly two

or three drawers to see if he could not find stray coin. When

well assured this search was superfluous, he followed d'Artagnan,

wondering to himself how this young Guardsman should know so well

who the lady was to whom he had given hospitality, and that he

should know better than himself what had become of her.

Only as they went out Aramis placed his hand upon the arm of

d'Artagnan, and looking at him earnestly, "You have not spoken of

this lady?" said he.

"To nobody in the world."

"Not even to Athos or Porthos?"

"I have not breathed a syllable to them."

"Good enough!"

Tranquil on this important point, Aramis continued his way with

d'Artagnan, and both soon arrived at Athos's dwelling. They

found him holding his leave of absence in one hand, and M. de

Treville's note in the other.

"Can you explain to me what signify this leave of absence and

this letter, which I have just received?" said the astonished

Athos.

My dear Athos,

I wish, as your health absolutely requires it,

that you should rest for a fortnight. Go, then, and take the

waters of Forges, or any that may be more agreeable to you, and

recuperate yourself as quickly as possible.

Yours affectionate

de Treville

"Well, this leave of absence and that letter mean that you must

follow me, Athos."

"To the waters of Forges?"

"There or elsewhere."

"In the king's service?"

"Either the king's or the queen's. Are we not their Majesties'

servants?"

At that moment Porthos entered. "PARDIEU!" said he, "here is a

strange thing! Since when, I wonder, in the Musketeers, did they

grant men leave of absence without their asking for it?"

"Since," said d'Artagnan, "they have friends who ask it for

them."

"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, "it appears there's something fresh

here."

"Yes, we are going--" said Aramis.

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"To what country?" demanded Porthos.

"My faith! I don't know much about it," said Athos. "Ask

d'Artagnan."

"To London, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan.

"To London!" cried Porthos; "and what the devil are we going to

do in London?"

"That is what I am not at liberty to tell you, gentlemen; you

must trust to me."

"But in order to go to London," added Porthos, "money is needed,

and I have none."

"Nor I," said Aramis.

"Nor I," said Athos.

"I have," replied d'Artagnan, pulling out his treasure from his

pocket, and placing it on the table. "There are in this bag

three hundred pistoles. Let each take seventy-five; that is

enough to take us to London and back. Besides, make yourselves

easy; we shall not all arrive at London."

"Why so?"

"Because, in all probability, some one of us will be left on the

road."

"Is this, then, a campaign upon which we are now entering?"

"One of a most dangerous kind, I give you notice."

"Ah! But if we do risk being killed," said Porthos, "at least I

should like to know what for."

"You would be all the wiser," said Athos.

"And yet," said Aramis, "I am somewhat of Porthos's opinion."

"Is the king accustomed to give you such reasons? No. He says

to you jauntily, 'Gentlemen, there is fighting going on in

Gascony or in Flanders; go and fight,' and you go there. Why?

You need give yourselves no more uneasiness about this."

"d'Artagnan is right," said Athos; "here are our three leaves of

absence which came from Monsieur de Treville, and here are three

hundred pistoles which came from I don't know where. So let us

go and get killed where we are told to go. Is life worth the

trouble of so many questions? D'Artagnan, I am ready to follow

you."

"And I also," said Porthos.

"And I also," said Aramis. "And, indeed, I am not sorry to quit

Paris; I had need of distraction."

"Well, you will have distractions enough, gentlemen, be assured,"

said d'Artagnan.

"And, now, when are we to go?" asked Athos.

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"Immediately," replied d'Artagnan; "we have not a minute to

lose."

"Hello, Grimaud! Planchet! Mousqueton! Bazin!" cried the four

young men, calling their lackeys, "clean my boots, and fetch the

horses from the hotel."

Each Musketeer was accustomed to leave at the general hotel, as

at a barrack, his own horse and that of his lackey. Planchet,

Grimaud, Mousqueton, and Bazin set off at full speed.

"Now let us lay down the plan of campaign," said Porthos. "Where

do we go first?"

"To Calais," said d'Artagnan; "that is the most direct line to

London."

"Well," said Porthos, "this is my advice--"

"Speak!"

"Four men traveling together would be suspected. D'Artagnan will

give each of us his instructions. I will go by the way of

Boulogne to clear the way; Athos will set out two hours after, by

that of Amiens; Aramis will follow us by that of Noyon; as to

d'Artagnan, he will go by what route he thinks is best, in

Planchet's clothes, while Planchet will follow us like

d'Artagnan, in the uniform of the Guards."

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "my opinion is that it is not proper to

allow lackeys to have anything to do in such an affair. A secret

may, by chance, be betrayed by gentlemen; but it is almost

always sold by lackeys."

"Porthos's plan appears to me to be impracticable," said

d'Artagnan, "inasmuch as I am myself ignorant of what

instructions I can give you. I am the bearer of a letter, that

is all. I have not, and I cannot make three copies of that

letter, because it is sealed. We must, then, as it appears to

me, travel in company. This letter is here, in this pocket," and

he pointed to the pocket which contained the letter. "If I

should be killed, one of you must take it, and continue the

route; if he be killed, it will be another's turn, and so on--

provided a single one arrives, that is all that is required."

"Bravo, d'Artagnan, your opinion is mine," cried Athos, "Besides,

we must be consistent; I am going to take the waters, you will

accompany me. Instead of taking the waters of Forges, I go and

take sea waters; I am free to do so. If anyone wishes to stop

us, I will show Monsieur de Treville's letter, and you will show

your leaves of absence. If we are attacked, we will defend

ourselves; if we are tried, we will stoutly maintain that we were

only anxious to dip ourselves a certain number of times in the

sea. They would have an easy bargain of four isolated men;

whereas four men together make a troop. We will arm our four

lackeys with pistols and musketoons; if they send an army out

against us, we will give battle, and the survivor, as d'Artagnan

says, will carry the letter."

"Well said," cried Aramis; "you don't often speak, Athos, but

when you do speak, it is like St. John of the Golden Mouth. I

agree to Athos's plan. And you, Porthos?"

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"I agree to it, too," said Porthos, "if d'Artagnan approves of

it. D'Artagnan, being the bearer of the letter, is naturally the

head of the enterprise; let him decide, and we will execute."

"Well," said d'Artagnan, "I decide that we should adopt Athos's

t we should adopt Athos's

plan, and that we set off in half an hour."

"Agreed!" shouted the three Musketeers in chorus.

Each one, stretching out his hand to the bag, took his seventyfive

pistoles, and make his preparations to set out at the time

appointed.

20 THE JOURNEY

At two o'clock in the morning, our four adventurers left Paris by

the Barriere St. Denis. As long as it was dark they remained

silent; in spite of themselves they submitted to the influence of

the obscurity, and apprehended ambushes on every side.

With the first rays of day their tongues were loosened; with the

sun gaiety revived. It was like the eve of a battle; the heart

beat, the eyes laughed, and they felt that the life they were

perhaps going to lose, was, after all, a good thing.

Besides, the appearance of the caravan was formidable. The black

horses of the Musketeers, their martial carriage, with the

regimental step of these noble companions of the soldier, would

have betrayed the most strict incognito. The lackeys followed,

armed to the teeth.

All went well till they arrived at Chantilly, which they reached

about eight o'clock in the morning. They needed breakfast, and

alighted at the door of an AUBERGE, recommended by a sign

representing St. Martin giving half his cloak to a poor man.

They ordered the lackeys not to unsaddle the horses, and to hold

themselves in readiness to set off again immediately.

They entered the common hall, and placed themselves at table. A

gentleman, who had just arrived by the route of Dammartin, was

seated at the same table, and was breakfasting. He opened the

conversation about rain and fine weather; the travelers replied.

He drank to their good health, and the travelers returned his

politeness.

But at the moment Mousqueton came to announce that the horses

were ready, and they were arising from table, the stranger

proposed to Porthos to drink the health of the cardinal. Porthos

replied that he asked no better if the stranger, in his turn,

would drink the health of the king. The stranger cried that he

acknowledged no other king but his Eminence. Porthos called him

drunk, and the stranger drew his sword.

"You have committed a piece of folly," said Athos, "but it can't

be helped; there is no drawing back. Kill the fellow, and rejoin

us as soon as you can."

All three remounted their horses, and set out at a good pace,

while Porthos was promising his adversary to perforate him with

all the thrusts known in the fencing schools.

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"There goes one!" cried Athos, at the end of five hundred paces.

"But why did that man attack Porthos rather than any other one of

us?" asked Aramis.

"Because, as Porthos was talking louder than the rest of us, he

took him for the chief," said d'Artagnan.

"I always said that this cadet from Gascony was a well of

wisdom," murmured Athos; and the travelers continued their route.

At Beauvais they stopped two hours, as well to breathe their

horses a little as to wait for Porthos. At the end of two hours,

as Porthos did not come, not any news of him, they resumed their

journey.

At a league from Beauvais, where the road was confined between

two high banks, they fell in with eight or ten men who, taking

advantage of the road being unpaved in this spot, appeared to be

employed in digging holes and filling up the ruts with mud.

Aramis, not liking to soil his boots with this artificial mortar,

apostrophized them rather sharply. Athos wished to restrain him,

but it was too late. The laborers began to jeer the travelers

and by their insolence disturbed the equanimity even of the cool

Athos, who urged on his horse against one of them.

Then each of these men retreated as far as the ditch, from which

each took a concealed musket; the result was that our seven

travelers were outnumbered in weapons. Aramis received a ball

which passed through his shoulder, and Mousqueton another ball

which lodged in the fleshy part which prolongs the lower portion

of the loins. Therefore Mousqueton alone fell from his horse,

not because he was severely wounded, but not being able to see

the wound, he judged it to be more serious than it really was.

"It was an ambuscade!" shouted d'Artagnan. "Don't waste a

charge! Forward!"

Aramis, wounded as he was, seized the mane of his horse, which

carried him on with the others. Mousqueton's horse rejoined

them, and galloped by the side of his companions.

"That will serve us for a relay," said Athos.

"I would rather have had a hat," said d'Artagnan. "Mine was

carried away by a ball. By my faith, it is very fortunate that

the letter was not in it."

"They'll kill poor Porthos when he comes up," said Aramis.

"If Porthos were on his legs, he would have rejoined us by this

time," said Athos. "My opinion is that on the ground the drunken

man was not intoxicated."

They continued at their best speed for two hours, although the

horses were so fatigued that it was to be feared they would soon

refuse service.

The travelers had chosen crossroads in the hope that they might

meet with less interruption; but at Crevecoeur, Aramis declared

he could proceed no farther. In fact, it required all the

courage which he concealed beneath his elegant form and polished

manners to bear him so far. He grew more pale every minute, and

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they were obliged to support him on his horse. They lifted him

off at the door of a cabaret, left Bazin with him, who, besides,

in a skirmish was more embarrassing than useful, and set forward

again in the hope of sleeping at Amiens.

"MORBLEU," said Athos, as soon as they were again in motion,

"reduced to two masters and Grimaud and Planchet! MORBLEU! I

won't be their dupe, I will answer for it. I will neither open

my mouth nor draw my sword between this and Calais. I swear

by--"

"Don't waste time in swearing," said d'Artagnan; "let us gallop,

if our horses will consent."

And the travelers buried their rowels in their horses' flanks,

who thus vigorously stimulated recovered their energies. They

arrived at Amiens at midnight, and alighted at the AUBERGE of the

Golden Lily.

The host had the appearance of as honest a man as any on earth.

He received the travelers with his candlestick in one hand and

his cotton nightcap in the other. He wished to lodge the two

travelers each in a charming chamber; but unfortunately these

charming chambers were at the opposite extremities of the hotel.

d'Artagnan and Athos refused them. The host replied that he had

no other worthy of their Excellencies; but the travelers declared

they would sleep in the common chamber, each on a mattress which

might be thrown upon the ground. The host insisted; but the

travelers were firm, and he was obliged to do as they wished.

They had just prepared their beds and barricaded their door

within, when someone knocked at the yard shutter; they demanded

who was there, and recognizing the voices of their lackeys,

opened the shutter. It was indeed Planchet and Grimaud.

"Grimaud can take care of the horses," said Planchet. "If you

are willing, gentlemen, I will sleep across your doorway, and you

will then be certain that nobody can reach you."

"And on what will you sleep?" said d'Artagnan.

"Here is my bed," replied Planchet, producing a bundle of straw.

"Come, then," said d'Artagnan, "you are right. Mine host's face

does not please me at all; it is too gracious."

"Nor me either," said Athos.

Planchet mounted by the window and installed himself across the

doorway, while Grimaud went and shut himself up in the stable,

undertaking that by five o'clock in the morning he and the four

horses should be ready.

The night was quiet enough. Toward two o'clock in the morning

somebody endeavored to open the door; but as Planchet awoke in an

instant and cried, "Who goes there?" somebody replied that he was

mistaken, and went away.

At four o'clock in the morning they heard a terrible riot in the

stables. Grimaud had tried to waken the stable boys, and the

stable boys had beaten him. When they opened the window, they

saw the poor lad lying senseless, with his head split by a blow

with a pitchfork.

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Planchet went down into the yard, and wished to saddle the

horses; but the horses were all used up. Mousqueton's horse

which had traveled for five or six hours without a rider the day

before, might have been able to pursue the journey; but by an

inconceivable error the veterinary surgeon, who had been sent

for, as it appeared, to bleed one of the host's horses, had bled

Mousqueton's.

This began to be annoying. All these successive accidents were

perhaps the result of chance; but they might be the fruits of a

plot. Athos and d'Artagnan went out, while Planchet was sent to

inquire if there were not three horses for sale in the

neighborhood. At the door stood two horses, fresh, strong, and

fully equipped. These would just have suited them. He asked

where their masters were, and was informed that they had passed

the night in the inn, and were then settling their bill with the

host.

Athos went down to pay the reckoning, while d'Artagnan and

Planchet stood at the street door. The host was in a lower and

back room, to which Athos was requested to go.

Athos entered without the least mistrust, and took out two

pistoles to pay the bill. The host was alone, seated before his

desk, one of the drawers of which was partly open. He took the

money which Athos offered to him, and after turning and turning

it over and over in his hands, suddenly cried out that it was

bad, and that he would have him and his companions arrested as

forgers.

"You blackguard!" cried Athos, going toward him, "I'll cut your

ears off!"

At the same instant, four men, armed to the teeth, entered by

side doors, and rushed upon Athos.

"I am taken!" shouted Athos, with all the power of his lungs.

"Go on, d'Artagnan! Spur, spur!" and he fired two pistols.

D'Artagnan and Planchet did not require twice bidding; they

unfastened the two horses that were waiting at the door, leaped

upon them, buried their spurs in their sides, and set off at full

gallop.

"Do you know what has become of Athos?" asked d'Artagnan of

Planchet, as they galloped on.

"Ah, monsieur," said Planchet, "I saw one fall at each of his two

shots, and he appeared to me, through the glass door, to be

fighting with his sword with the others."

"Brave Athos!" murmured d'Artagnan, "and to think that we are

compelled to leave him; maybe the same fate awaits us two paces

hence. Forward, Planchet, forward! You are a brave fellow."

"As I told you, monsieur," replied Planchet, "Picards are found

out by being used. Besides, I am here in my own country, and

that excites me."

And both, with free use of the spur, arrived at St. Omer without

drawing bit. At St. Omer they breathed their horses with the

bridles passed under their arms for fear of accident, and ate a

morsel from their hands on the stones of the street, after they

departed again.

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At a hundred paces from the gates of Calais, d'Artagnan's horse

gave out, and could not by any means be made to get up again, the

blood flowing from his eyes and his nose. There still remained

Planchet's horse; but he stopped short, and could not be made to

move a step.

Fortunately, as we have said, they were within a hundred paces of

the city; they left their two nags upon the high road, and ran

toward the quay. Planchet called his master's attention to a

gentleman who had just arrived with his lackey, and only preceded

them by about fifty paces. They made all speed to come up to

this gentleman, who appeared to be in great haste. His boots

were covered with dust, and he inquired if he could not instantly

cross over to England.

"Nothing would be more easy," said the captain of a vessel ready

to set sail, "but this morning came an order to let no one leave

without express permission from the cardinal."

"I have that permission," said the gentleman, drawing the paper

from his pocket; "here it is."

"Have it examined by the governor of the port," said the

shipmaster, "and give me the preference."

"Where shall I find the governor?"

"At his country house."

"And that is situated?"

"At a quarter of a league from the city. Look, you may see it

from here--at the foot of that little hill, that slated roof."

"Very well," said the gentleman. And, with his lackey, he took

the road to the governor's country house.

D'Artagnan and Planchet followed the gentleman at a distance of

five hundred paces. Once outside the city, d'Artagnan overtook

the gentleman as he was entering a little wood.

"Monsieur," you appear to be in great haste?"

"No one can be more so, monsieur."

"I am sorry for that," said d'Artagnan; "for as I am in great

haste likewise, I wish to beg you to render me a service."

"What?"

"To let me sail first."

"That's impossible," said the gentleman; "I have traveled sixty

leagues in forty hours, and by tomorrow at midday I must be in

London."

"I have performed that same distance in forty hours, and by ten

o'clock in the morning I must be in London."

"Very sorry, monsieur; but I was here first, and will not sail

second."

"I am sorry, too, monsieur; but I arrived second, and must sail

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first."

"The king's service!" said the gentleman.

"My own service!" said d'Artagnan.

"But this is a needless quarrel you seek with me, as it seems to

me."

"PARBLEU! What do you desire it to be?"

"What do you want?"

"Would you like to know?"

"Certainly."

"Well, then, I wish that order of which you are bearer, seeing

that I have not one of my own and must have one."

"You jest, I presume."

"I never jest."

"Let me pass!"

"You shall not pass."

"My brave young man, I will blow out your brains. HOLA, Lubin,

my pistols!"

"Planchet," called out d'Artagnan, "take care of the lackey; I

will manage the master."

Planchet, emboldened by the first exploit, sprang upon Lubin; and

being strong and vigorous, he soon got him on the broad of his

back, and placed his knee upon his breast.

"Go on with your affair, monsieur," cried Planchet; "I have

finished mine."

Seeing this, the gentleman drew his sword, and sprang upon

d'Artagnan; but he had too strong an adversary. In three seconds

d'Artagnan had wounded him three times, exclaiming at each

thrust, "One for Athos, one for Porthos; and one for Aramis!"

At the third hit the gentleman fell like a log. D'Artagnan

believed him to be dead, or at least insensible, and went toward

him for the purpose of taking the order; but the moment he

extended his hand to search for it, the wounded man, who had not

dropped his sword, plunged the point into d'Artagnan's breast,

crying, "One for you!"

"And one for me--the best for last!" cried d'Artagnan, furious,

nailing him to the earth with a fourth thrust through his body.

This time the gentleman closed his eyes and fainted. D'Artagnan

searched his pockets, and took from one of them the order for the

passage. It was in the name of Comte de Wardes.

Then, casting a glance on the handsome young man, who was

scarcely twenty-five years of age, and whom he was leaving in his

gore, deprived of sense and perhaps dead, he gave a sigh for that

unaccountable destiny which leads men to destroy each other for

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the interests of people who are strangers to them and who often

do not even know that they exist. But he was soon aroused from

these reflections by Lubin, who uttered loud cries and screamed

for help with all his might.

Planchet grasped him by the throat, and pressed as hard as he

could. "Monsieur," said he, "as long as I hold him in this

manner, he can't cry, I'll be bound; but as soon as I let go he

will howl again. I know him for a Norman, and Normans are

obstinate."

In fact, tightly held as he was, Lubin endeavored still to cry

out.

"Stay!" said d'Artagnan; and taking out his handkerchief, he

gagged him.

"Now," said Planchet, "let us bind him to a tree."

This being properly done, they drew the Comte de Wardes close to

his servant; and as night was approaching, and as the wounded man

and the bound man were at some little distance within the wood,

it was evident they were likely to remain there till the next

day.

"And now," said d'Artagnan, "to the Governor's."

"But you are wounded, it seems," said Planchet.

"Oh, that's nothing! Let us attend to what is more pressing

first, and then we will attend to my wound; besides, it does not

seem very dangerous."

And they both set forward as fast as they could toward the

country house of the worthy functionary.

The Comte de Wardes was announced, and d'Artagnan was introduced.

"You have an order signed by the cardinal?" said the governor.

"Yes, monsieur," replied d'Artagnan; "here it is."

"Ah, ah! It is quite regular and explicit," said the governor.

"Most likely," said d'Artagnan; "I am one of his most faithful

servants."

"It appears that his Eminence is anxious to prevent someone from

crossing to England?"

"Yes; a certain d'Artagnan, a Bearnese gentleman who left Paris

in company with three of his friends, with the intention of going

to London."

"Do you know him personally?" asked the governor.

"Whom?"

"This d'Artagnan."

"Perfectly well."

"Describe him to me, then."

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"Nothing more easy."

And d'Artagnan have, feature for feature, a description of the

Comte de Wardes.

"Is he accompanied?"

"Yes; by a lackey named Lubin."

"We will keep a sharp lookout for them; and if we lay hands on

them his Eminence may be assured they will be reconducted to

Paris under a good escort."

"And by doing so, Monsieur the Governor," said d'Artagnan, "you

will deserve well of the cardinal."

"Shall you see him on your return, Monsieur Count?"

"Without a doubt."

"Tell him, I beg you, that I am his humble servant."

"I will not fail."

Delighted with this assurance the governor countersigned the

passport and delivered it to d'Artagnan. D'Artagnan lost no time

in useless compliments. He thanked the governor, bowed, and

departed. Once outside, he and Planchet set off as fast as they

could; and by making a long detour avoided the wood and reentered

the city by another gate.

The vessel was quite ready to sail, and the captain was waiting

on the wharf. "Well?" said he, on perceiving d'Artagnan.

"Here is my pass countersigned," said the latter.

"And that other gentleman?

"He will not go today," said d'Artagnan; "but here, I'll pay you

for us two."

"In that case let us go," said the shipmaster.

"Let us go," repeated d'Artagnan.

He leaped with Planchet into the boat, and five minutes after

they were on board. It was time; for they had scarcely sailed

half a league, when d'Artagnan saw a flash and heard a

detonation. It was the cannon which announced the closing of the

port.

He had now leisure to look to his wound. Fortunately, as

d'Artagnan had thought, it was not dangerous. The point of the

sword had touched a rib, and glanced along the bone. Still

further, his shirt had stuck to the wound,and he had lost only

a few drops of blood.

D'Artagnan was worn out with fatigue. A mattress was laid upon

the deck for him. He threw himself upon it, and fell asleep.

On the morrow, at break of day, they were still three or four

leagues from the coast of England. The breeze had been so light

all night, they had made but little progress. At ten o'clock the

vessel cast anchor in the harbor of Dover, and at half past ten

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d'Artagnan placed his foot on English land, crying, "Here I am at

last!"

But that was not all; they must get to London. In England the

post was well served. D'Artagnan and Planchet took each a post

horse, and a postillion rode before them. In a few hours they

were in the capital.

D'Artagnan did not know London; he did not know a word of

English; but he wrote the name of Buckingham on a piece of paper,

and everyone pointed out to him the way to the duke's hotel.

The duke was at Windsor hunting with the king. D'Artagnan

inquired for the confidential valet of the duke, who, having

accompanied him in all his voyages, spoke French perfectly well;

he told him that he came from Paris on an affair of life and

death, and that he must speak with his master instantly.

The confidence with which d'Artagnan spoke convinced Patrick,

which was the name of this minister of the minister. He ordered

two horses to be saddled, and himself went as guide to the young

Guardsman. As for Planchet, he had been lifted from his horse as

stiff as a rush; the poor lad's strength was almost exhausted.

d'Artagnan seemed iron.

On their arrival at the castle they learned that Buckingham and

the king were hawking in the marshes two or three leagues away.

In twenty minutes they were on the spot named. Patrick soon

caught the sound of his master's voice calling his falcon.

"Whom must I announce to my Lord Duke?" asked Patrick.

"The young man who one evening sought a quarrel with him on the

Pont Neuf, opposite the Samaritaine."

"A singular introduction!"

"You will find that it is as good as another."

Patrick galloped off, reached the duke, and announced to him in

the terms directed that a messenger awaited him.

Buckingham at once remembered the circumstance, and suspecting

that something was going on in France of which it was necessary

he should be informed, he only took the time to inquire where the

messenger was, and recognizing from afar the uniform of the

Guards, he put his horse into a gallop, and rode straight up to

d'Artagnan. Patrick discreetly kept in the background.

"No misfortune has happened to the queen?" cried Buckingham, the

instant he came up, throwing all his fear and love into the

question.

"I believe not; nevertheless I believe she runs some great peril

from which your Grace alone can extricate her."

"I!" cried Buckingham. "What is it? I should be too happy to be

of any service to her. Speak, speak!"

"Take this letter," said d'Artagnan.

"This letter! From whom comes this letter?"

"From her Majesty, as I think."

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"From her Majesty!" said Buckingham, becoming so pale that

d'Artagnan feared he would faint as he broke the seal.

"What is this rent?" said he, showing d'Artagnan a place where it

had been pierced through.

"Ah," said d'Artagnan, "I did not see that; it was the sword of

the Comte de Wardes which made that hole, when he gave me a good

thrust in the breast."

"You are wounded?" asked Buckingham, as he opened the letter.

"Oh, nothing but a scratch," said d'Artagnan.

"Just heaven, what have I read?" cried the duke. "Patrick,

remain here, or rather join the king, wherever he may be, and

tell his Majesty that I humbly beg him to excuse me, but an

affair of the greatest importance recalls me to London. Come,

monsieur, come!" and both set off towards the capital at full

gallop.

21 THE COUNTESS DE WINTER

As they rode along, the duke endeavored to draw from d'Artagnan,

not all that had happened, but what d'Artagnan himself knew. By

adding all that he heard from the mouth of the young man to his

own remembrances, he was enabled to form a pretty exact idea of a

position of the seriousness of which, for the rest, the queen's

letter, short but explicit, gave him the clue. But that which

astonished him most was that the cardinal, so deeply interested

in preventing this young man from setting his foot in England,

had not succeeded in arresting him on the road. It was then,

upon the manifestation of this astonishment, that d'Artagnan

related to him the precaution taken, and how, thanks to the

devotion of his three friends, whom he had left scattered and

bleeding on the road, he had succeeded in coming off with a

single sword thrust, which had pierced the queen's letter and for

which he had repaid M. de Wardes with such terrible coin. While

he was listening to this recital, delivered with the greatest

simplicity, the duke looked from time to time at the young man

with astonishment, as if he could not comprehend how so much

prudence, courage, and devotedness could be allied with a

countenance which indicated not more than twenty years.

The horses went like the wind, and in a few minutes they were at

the gates of London. D'Artagnan imagined that on arriving in

town the duke would slacken his pace, but it was not so. He kept

on his way at the same rate, heedless about upsetting those whom

he met on the road. In fact, in crossing the city two or three

accidents of this kind happened; but Buckingham did not even turn

his head to see what became of those he had knocked down.

d'Artagnan followed him amid cries which strongly resembled

curses.

On entering the court of his hotel, Buckingham sprang from his

horse, and without thinking what became of the animal, threw the

bridle on his neck, and sprang toward the vestibule. D'Artagnan

did the same, with a little more concern, however, for the noble

creatures, whose merits he fully appreciated; but he had the

satisfaction of seeing three or four grooms run from the kitchens

and the stables, and busy themselves with the steeds.

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The duke walked so fast that d'Artagnan had some trouble in

keeping up with him. He passed through several apartments, of an

elegance of which even the greatest nobles of France had not even

an idea, and arrived at length in a bedchamber which was at once

a miracle of taste and of richness. In the alcove of this

chamber was a door concealed in the tapestry which the duke

opened with a little gold key which he wore suspended from his

neck by a chain of the same metal. With discretion d'Artagnan

remained behind; but at the moment when Buckingham crossed the

threshold, he turned round, and seeing the hesitation of the

young man, "Come in!" cried he, "and if you have the good fortune

to be admitted to her Majesty's presence, tell her what you have

seen."

Encouraged by this invitation, d'Artagnan followed the duke, who

closed the door after them. The two found themselves in a small

chapel covered with a tapestry of Persian silk worked with gold,

and brilliantly lighted with a vast number of candles. Over a

species of altar, and beneath a canopy of blue velvet, surmounted

by white and red plumes, was a full-length portrait of Anne of

Austria, so perfect in its resemblance that d'Artagnan uttered a

cry of surprise on beholding it. One might believe the queen was

about to speak. On the altar, and beneath the portrait, was the

casket containing the diamond studs.

The duke approached the altar, knelt as a priest might have done

before a crucifix, and opened the casket. "There, said he,

drawing from the casket a large bow of blue ribbon all sparkling

with diamonds, "there are the precious studs which I have taken

an oath should be buried with me. The queen have them to me, the

queen requires them again. Her will be done, like that of God,

in all things."

Then, he began to kiss, one after the other, those dear studs

with which he was about to part. All at once he uttered a

terrible cry.

"What is the matter?" exclaimed d'Artagnan, anxiously; "what has

happened to you, my Lord?"

"All is lost!" cried Buckingham, becoming as pale as a corpse;

"two of the studs are wanting, there are only ten."

"Can you have lost them, my Lord, or do you think they have been

stolen?"

"They have been stolen," replied the duke, "and it is the

cardinal who has dealt this blow. Hold; see! The ribbons which

held them have been cut with scissors."

"If my Lord suspects they have been stolen, perhaps the person

who stole them still has them in his hands."

"Wait, wait!" said the duke. "The only time I have worn these

studs was at a ball given by the king eight days ago at Windsor.

The Comtesse de Winter, with whom I had quarreled, became

reconciled to me at that ball. That reconciliation was nothing

but the vengeance of a jealous woman. I have never seen her from

that day. The woman is an agent of the cardinal."

"He has agents, then, throughout the world?" cried d'Artagnan.

"Oh, yes," said Buckingham, grating his teeth with rage. "Yes,

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he is a terrible antagonist. But when is this ball to take

place?"

"Monday next."

"Monday next! Still five days before us. That's more time than

we want. Patrick!" cried the duke, opening the door of the

chapel, "Patrick!" His confidential valet appeared.

"My jeweler and my secretary."

The valet went out with a mute promptitude which showed him

accustomed to obey blindly and without reply.

But although the jeweler had been mentioned first, it was the

secretary who first made his appearance. This was simply because

he lived in the hotel. He found Buckingham seated at a table in

his bedchamber, writing orders with his own hand.

"Mr. Jackson," said he, "go instantly to the Lord Chancellor, and

tell him that I charge him with the execution of these orders. I

wish them to be promulgated immediately."

"But, my Lord, if the Lord Chancellor interrogates me upon the

motives which may have led your Grace to adopt such an

extraordinary measure, what shall I reply?"

"That such is my pleasure, and that I answer for my will to no

man."

"Will that be the answer," replied the secretary, smiling, "which

he must transmit to his Majesty if, by chance, his Majesty should

have the curiosity to know why no vessel is to leave any of the

ports of Great Britain?"

"You are right, Mr. Jackson," replied Buckingham. "He will say,

in that case, to the king that I am determined on war, and that

this measure is my first act of hostility against France."

The secretary bowed and retired.

"We are safe on that side," said Buckingham, turning toward

d'Artagnan. "If the studs are not yet gone to Paris, they will

not arrive till after you."

"How so?"

"I have just placed an embargo on all vessels at present in his

Majesty's ports, and without particular permission, not one dare

lift an anchor."

D'Artagnan looked with stupefaction at a man who thus employed

the unlimited power with which he was clothed by the confidence

of a king in the prosecution of his intrigues. Buckingham saw by

the expression of the young man's face what was passing in his

mind, and he smiled.

"Yes," said he, "yes, Anne of Austria is my true queen. Upon a

word from her, I would betray my country, I would betray my king,

I would betray my God. She asked me not to send the Protestants

of La Rochelle the assistance I promised them; I have not done

so. I broke my word, it is true; but what signifies that? I

obeyed my love; and have I not been richly paid for that

obedience? It was to that obedience I owe her portrait."

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D'Artagnan was amazed to note by what fragile and unknown threads

the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended. He

was lost in these reflections when the goldsmith entered. He was

an Irishman--one of the most skillful of his craft, and who

himself confessed that he gained a hundred thousand livres a year

by the Duke of Buckingham.

"Mr. O'Reilly," said the duke, leading him into the chapel, "look

at these diamond studs, and tell me what they are worth apiece."

The goldsmith cast a glance at the elegant manner in which they

were set, calculated, one with another, what the diamonds were

worth, and without hesitation said, "Fifteen hundred pistoles

each, my Lord."

"How many days would it require to make two studs exactly like

them? You see there are two wanting."

"Eight days, my Lord."

"I will give you three thousand pistoles apiece if I can have

them by the day after tomorrow."

"My Lord, they shall be yours."

"You are a jewel of a man, Mr. O'Reilly; but that is not all.

These studs cannot be trusted to anybody; it must be done in the

palace."

"Impossible, my Lord! There is no one but myself can so execute

them that one cannot tell the new from the old."

"Therefore, my dear Mr. O'Reilly, you are my prisoner. And if

you wish ever to leave my palace, you cannot; so make the best of

it. Name to me such of your workmen as you need, and point out

the tools they must bring."

The goldsmith knew the duke. He knew all objection would be

useless, and instantly determined how to act.

"May I be permitted to inform my wife?" said he.

"Oh, you may even see her if you like, my dear Mr. O'Reilly.

Your captivity shall be mild, be assured; and as every

inconvenience deserves its indemnification, here is, in addition

to the price of the studs, an order for a thousand pistoles, to

make you forget the annoyance I cause you."

D'Artagnan could not get over the surprise created in him by this

minister, who thus open-handed, sported with men and millions.

As to the goldsmith, he wrote to his wife, sending her the order

for the thousand pistoles, and charging her to send him, in

exchange, his most skillful apprentice, an assortment of

diamonds, of which he gave the names and the weight, and the

necessary tools.

Buckingham conducted the goldsmith to the chamber destined for

him, and which, at the end of half an hour, was transformed into

a workshop. Then he placed a sentinel at each door, with an

order to admit nobody upon any pretense but his VALET DE CHAMBRE,

Patrick. We need not add that the goldsmith, O'Reilly, and his

assistant, were prohibited from going out under any pretext.

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This point, settled, the duke turned to d'Artagnan. "Now, my

young friend," said he, "England is all our own. What do you

wish for? What do you desire?"

"A bed, my Lord," replied d'Artagnan. "At present, I confess,

that is the thing I stand most in need of."

Buckingham gave d'Artagnan a chamber adjoining his own. He

wished to have the young man at hand--not that he at all

mistrusted him, but for the sake of having someone to whom he

could constantly talk of the queen.

In one hour after, the ordinance was published in London that no

vessel bound for France should leave port, not even the packet

boat with letters. In the eyes of everybody this was a

declaration of war between the two kingdoms.

On the day after the morrow, by eleven o'clock, the two diamond

studs were finished, and they were so completely imitated, so

perfectly alike, that Buckingham could not tell the new ones from

the old ones, and experts in such matters would have been

deceived as he was. He immediately called d'Artagnan. "Here,"

said he to him, "are the diamond studs that you came to bring;

and be my witness that I have done all that human power could

do."

"Be satisfied, my Lord, I will tell all that I have seen. But

does your Grace mean to give me the studs without the casket?"

"The casket would encumber you. Besides, the casket is the more

precious from being all that is left to me. You will say that I

keep it."

"I will perform your commission, word for word, my Lord."

"And now," resumed Buckingham, looking earnestly at the young

man, "how shall I ever acquit myself of the debt I owe you?"

D'Artagnan blushed up to the whites of his eyes. He saw that the

duke was searching for a means of making him accept something and

the idea that the blood of his friends and himself was about to

be paid for with English gold was strangely repugnant to him.

"Let us understand each other, my Lord," replied d'Artagnan, "and

let us make things clear beforehand in order that there may be no

mistake. I am in the service of the King and Queen of France,

and form part of the company of Monsieur Dessessart, who, as well

as his brother-in-law, Monsieur de Treville, is particularly

attached to their Majesties. What I have done, then, has been

for the queen, and not at all for your Grace. And still further,

it is very probable I should not have done anything of this, if

it had not been to make myself agreeable to someone who is my

lady, as the queen is yours."

"Yes," said the duke, smiling, "and I even believe that I know

that other person; it is--"

"My Lord, I have not named her!" interrupted the young man,

warmly.

"That is true," said the duke; "and it is to this person I am

bound to discharge my debt of gratitude."

"You have said, my Lord; for truly, at this moment when there is

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question of war, I confess to you that I see nothing in your

Grace but an Englishman, and consequently an enemy whom I should

have much greater pleasure in meeting on the field of battle than

in the park at Windsor or the corridors of the Louvre--all which,

however, will not prevent me from executing to the very point my

commission or from laying down my life, if there be need of it,

to accomplish it; but I repeat it to your Grace, without your

having personally on that account more to thank me for in this

second interview than for what I did for you in the first."

"We say, 'Proud as a Scotsman,'" murmured the Duke of Buckingham.

"And we say, 'Proud as a Gascon,'" replied d'Artagnan. "The

Gascons are the Scots of France."

D'Artagnan bowed to the duke, and was retiring.

"Well, are you going away in that manner? Where, and how?"

"That's true!"

"Fore Gad, these Frenchmen have no consideration!"

"I had forgotten that England was an island, and that you were

the king of it."

"Go to the riverside, ask for the brig SUND, and give this letter

to the captain; he will convey you to a little port, where

certainly you are not expected, and which is ordinarily only

frequented by fishermen."

"The name of that port?"

"St. Valery; but listen. When you have arrived there you will go

to a mean tavern, without a name and without a sign--a mere

fisherman's hut. You cannot be mistaken; there is but one."

"Afterward?"

"You will ask for the host, and will repeat to him the word

'Forward!'"

"Which means?"

"In French, EN AVANT. It is the password. He will give you a

horse all saddled, and will point out to you the road you ought

to take. You will find, in the same way, four relays on your

route. If you will give at each of these relays your address in

Paris, the four horses will follow you thither. You already know

two of them, and you appeared to appreciate them like a judge.

They were those we rode on; and you may rely upon me for the

others not being inferior to them. These horses are equipped for

the field. However proud you may be, you will not refuse to

accept one of them, and to request your three companions to

accept the others--that is, in order to make war against us.

Besides, the end justified the means, as you Frenchmen say, does

it not?"

"Yes, my Lord, I accept them," said d'Artagnan; "and if it please

God, we will make a good use of your presents."

"Well, now, your hand, young man. Perhaps we shall soon meet on

the field of battle; but in the meantime we shall part good

friends, I hope."

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"Yes, my Lord; but with the hope of soon becoming enemies."

"Be satisfied; I promise you that."

"I depend upon your word, my Lord."

D'Artagnan bowed to the duke, and made his way as quickly as

possible to the riverside. Opposite the Tower of London he found

the vessel that had been named to him, delivered his letter to

the captain, who after having it examined by the governor of the

port made immediate preparations to sail.

Fifty vessels were waiting to set out. Passing alongside one of

them, d'Artagnan fancied he perceived on board it the woman of

Meung--the same whom the unknown gentleman had called Milady, and

whom d'Artagnan had thought so handsome; but thanks to the

current of the stream and a fair wind, his vessel passed so

quickly that he had little more than a glimpse of her.

The next day about nine o'clock in the morning, he landed at St.

Valery. D'Artagnan went instantly in search of the inn, and

easily discovered it by the riotous noise which resounded from

it. War between England and France was talked of as near and

certain, and the jolly sailors were having a carousal.

D'Artagnan made his way through the crowd, advanced toward the

host, and pronounced the word "Forward!" The host instantly made

him a sign to follow, went out with him by a door which opened

into a yard, led him to the stable, where a saddled horse awaited

him, and asked him if he stood in need of anything else.

"I want to know the route I am to follow," said d'Artagnan.

"Go from hence to Blangy, and from Blangy to Neufchatel. At

Neufchatel, go to the tavern of the Golden Harrow, give the

password to the landlord, and you will find, as you have here, a

horse ready saddled."

"Have I anything to pay?" demanded d'Artagnan.

"Everything is paid," replied the host, "and liberally. Begone,

and may God guide you!"

"Amen!" cried the young man, and set off at full gallop.

Four hours later he was in Neufchatel. He strictly followed the

instructions he had received. At Neufchatel, as at St. Valery,

he found a horse quite ready and awaiting him. He was about to

remove the pistols from the saddle he had quit to the one he was

about to fill, but he found the holsters furnished with similar

pistols.

"Your address at Paris?"

"Hotel of the Guards, company of Dessessart."

"Enough," replied the questioner.

"Which route must I take?" demanded d'Artagnan, in his turn.

"That of Rouen; but you will leave the city on your right. You

must stop at the little village of Eccuis, in which there is but

one tavern--the Shield of France. Don't condemn it from

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appearances; you will find a horse in the stables quite as good

as this."

"The same password?"

"Exactly."

"Adieu, master!"

"A good journey, gentlemen! Do you want anything?"

D'Artagnan shook his head, and set off at full speed. At Eccuis,

the same scene was repeated. He found as provident a host and a

fresh horse. He left his address as he had done before, and set

off again at the same pace for Pontoise. At Pontoise he changed

his horse for the last time, and at nine o'clock galloped into

the yard of Treville's hotel. He had made nearly sixty leagues

in little more than twelve hours.

M. de Treville received him as if he had seen him that same

morning; only, when pressing his hand a little more warmly than

usual, he informed him that the company of Dessessart was on duty

at the Louvre, and that he might repair at once to his post.

22 THE BALLET OF LA MERLAISON

On the morrow, nothing was talked of in Paris but the ball which

the aldermen of the city were to give to the king and queen, and

in which their Majesties were to dance the famous La Merlaison--

the favorite ballet of the king.

Eight days had been occupied in preparations at the Hotel de

Ville for this important evening. The city carpenters had

erected scaffolds upon which the invited ladies were to be

placed; the city grocer had ornamented the chambers with two

hundred FLAMBEAUX of white wax, a piece of luxury unheard of at

that period; and twenty violins were ordered, and the price for

them fixed at double the usual rate, upon condition, said the

report, that they should be played all night.

At ten o'clock in the morning the Sieur de la Coste, ensign in

the king's Guards, followed by two officers and several archers

of that body, came to the city registrar, named Clement, and

demanded of him all the keys of the rooms and offices of the

hotel. These keys were given up to him instantly. Each of them

had ticket attached to it, by which it might be recognized; and

from that moment the Sieur de la Coste was charged with the care

of all the doors and all the avenues.

At eleven o'clock came in his turn Duhallier, captain of the

Guards, bringing with him fifty archers, who were distributed

immediately through the Hotel de Ville, at the doors assigned

them.

At three o'clock came two companies of the Guards, one French,

the other Swiss. The company of French guards was composed of

half of M. Duhallier's men and half of M. Dessessart's men.

At six in the evening the guests began to come. As fast as they

entered, they were placed in the grand saloon, on the platforms

prepared for them.

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At nine o'clock Madame la Premiere Presidente arrived. As next

to the queen, she was the most considerable personage of the

fete, she was received by the city officials, and placed in a box

opposite to that which the queen was to occupy.

At ten o'clock, the king's collation, consisting of preserves and

other delicacies, was prepared in the little room on the side of

the church of St. Jean, in front of the silver buffet of the

city, which was guarded by four archers.

At midnight great cries and loud acclamations were heard. It was

the king, who was passing through the streets which led from the

Louvre to the Hotel de Ville, and which were all illuminated with

colored lanterns.

Immediately the alderman, clothed in their cloth robes and

preceded by six sergeants, each holding a FLAMBEAU in his hand,

went to attend upon the king, whom they met on the steps, where

the provost of the merchants made him the speech of welcome--a

compliment to which his Majesty replied with an apology for

coming so late, laying the blame upon the cardinal, who had

detained him till eleven o'clock, talking of affairs of state.

His Majesty, in full dress, was accompanied by his royal

Highness, M. le Comte de Soissons, by the Grand Prior, by the Duc

de Longueville, by the Duc d'Euboeuf, by the Comte d'Harcourt, by

the Comte de la Roche-Guyon, by M. de Liancourt, by M. de

Baradas, by the Comte de Cramail, and by the Chevalier de

Souveray. Everybody noticed that the king looked dull and

preoccupied.

A private room had been prepared for the king and another for

Monsieur. In each of these closets were placed masquerade

dresses. The same had been done for the queen and Madame the

President. The nobles and ladies of their Majesties' suites were

to dress, two by two, in chambers prepared for the purpose.

Before entering his closet the king desired to be informed the

moment the cardinal arrived.

Half an hour after the entrance of the king, fresh acclamations

were heard; these announced the arrival of the queen. The

aldermen did as they had done before, and preceded by their

sergeants, advanced to receive their illustrious guest. The

queen entered the great hall; and it was remarked that, like the

king, she looked dull and even weary.

At the moment she entered, the curtain of a small gallery which

to that time had been closed, was drawn, and the pale face of the

cardinal appeared, he being dresses as a Spanish cavalier. His

eyes were fixed upon those of the queen, and a smile of terrible

joy passed over his lips; the queen did not wear her diamond

studs.

The queen remained for a short time to receive the compliments of

the city dignitaries and to reply to the salutations of the

ladies. All at once the king appeared with the cardinal at one

of the doors of the hall. The cardinal was speaking to him in a

low voice, and the king was very pale.

The king made his way through the crowd without a mask, and the

ribbons of his doublet scarcely tied. He went straight to the

queen, and in an altered voice said, "Why, madame, have you not

thought proper to wear your diamond studs, when you know it would

give me so much gratification?"

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The queen cast a glance around her, and saw the cardinal behind,

with a diabolical smile on his countenance.

"Sire," replied the queen, with a faltering voice, "because, in

the midst of such a crowd as this, I feared some accident might

happen to them."

"And you were wrong, madame. If I made you that present it was

that you might adorn yourself therewith. I tell you that you

were wrong."

The voice of the king was tremulous with anger. Everybody looked

and listened with astonishment, comprehending nothing of what

passed.

"Sire," said the queen, "I can send for them to the Louvre, where

they are, and thus your Majesty's wishes will be complied with."

"Do so, madame, do so, and that at once; for within an hour the

ballet will commence."

The queen bent in token of submission, and followed the ladies

who were to conduct her to her room. On his part the king

returned to his apartment.

There was a moment of trouble and confusion in the assembly.

Everybody had remarked that something had passed between the king

and queen; but both of them had spoken so low that everybody, out

of respect, withdrew several steps, so that nobody had heard

anything. The violins began to sound with all their might, but

nobody listened to them.

The king came out first from his room. He was in a most elegant

hunting costume; and Monsieur and the other nobles were dressed

like him. This was the costume that best became the king. So

dressed, he really appeared the first gentleman of his kingdom.

The cardinal drew near to the king, and placed in his hand a

small casket. The king opened it, and found in it two diamond

studs.

"What does this mean?" demanded he of the cardinal.

"Nothing," replied the latter; "only, if the queen has the studs,

which I very much doubt, count them, sire, and if you only find

ten, ask her Majesty who can have stolen from her the two studs

that are here."

The king looked at the cardinal as if to interrogate him; but he

had not time to address any question to him--a cry of admiration

burst from every mouth. If the king appeared to be the first

gentleman of his kingdom, the queen was without doubt the most

beautiful woman in France.

It is true that the habit of a huntress became her admirably.

She wore a beaver hat with blue feathers, a surtout of gray-pearl

velvet, fastened with diamond clasps, and a petticoat of blue

satin, embroidered with silver. On her left shoulder sparkled

the diamonds studs, on a bow of the same color as the plumes and

the petticoat.

The king trembled with joy and the cardinal with vexation;

although, distant as they were from the queen, they could not

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count the studs. The queen had them. The only question was, had

she ten or twelve?

At that moment the violins sounded the signal for the ballet.

The king advanced toward Madame the President, with whom he was

to dance, and his Highness Monsieur with the queen. They took

their places, and the ballet began.

The king danced facing the queen, and every time he passed by

her, he devoured with his eyes those studs of which he could not

ascertain the number. A cold sweat covered the brow of the

cardinal.

The ballet lasted an hour, and had sixteen ENTREES. The ballet

ended amid the applause of the whole assemblage, and everyone

reconducted his lady to her place; but the king took advantage of

the privilege he had of leaving his lady, to advance eagerly

toward the queen.

"I thank you, madame," said he, "for the deference you have shown

to my wishes, but I think you want two of the studs, and I bring

them back to you."

With these words he held out to the queen the two studs the

cardinal had given him.

"How, sire?" cried the young queen, affecting surprise, "you are

giving me, then, two more: I shall have fourteen."

In fact the king counted them, and the twelve studs were all on

her Majesty's shoulder.

The king called the cardinal.

"What does this mean, Monsieur Cardinal?" asked the king in a

severe tone.

"This means, sire," replied the cardinal, "that I was desirous of

presenting her Majesty with these two studs, and that not daring

to offer them myself, I adopted this means of inducing her to

accept them."

"And I am the more grateful to your Eminence," replied Anne of

Austria, with a smile that proved she was not the dupe of this

ingenious gallantry, "from being certain that these two studs

alone have cost you as much as all the others cost his Majesty."

Then saluting the king and the cardinal, the queen resumed her

way to the chamber in which she had dressed, and where she was to

take off her costume.

The attention which we have been obliged to give, during the

commencement of the chapter, to the illustrious personages we

have introduced into it, has diverted us for an instant from him

to whom Anne of Austria owed the extraordinary triumph she had

obtained over the cardinal; and who, confounded, unknown, lost in

the crowd gathered at one of the doors, looked on at this scene,

comprehensible only to four persons--the king, the queen, his

Eminence, and himself.

The queen had just regained her chamber, and d'Artagnan was about

to retire, when he felt his shoulder lightly touched. He turned

and saw a young woman, who made him a sign to follow her. The

face of this young woman was covered with a black velvet mask;

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but notwithstanding this precaution, which was in fact taken

rather against others than against him, he at once recognized his

usual guide, the light and intelligent Mme. Bonacieux.

On the evening before, they had scarcely seen each other for a

moment at the apartment of the Swiss guard, Germain, whither

d'Artagnan had sent for her. The haste which the young woman was

in to convey to the queen the excellent news of the happy return

of her messenger prevented the two lovers from exchanging more

than a few words. D'Artagnan therefore followed Mme. Bonacieux

moved by a double sentiment--love and curiosity. All the way,

and in proportion as the corridors became more deserted,

d'Artagnan wished to stop the young woman, seize her and gaze

upon her, were it only for a minute; but quick as a bird she

glided between his hands, and when he wished to speak to her, her

finger placed upon her mouth, with a little imperative gesture

full of grace, reminded him that he was under the command of a

power which he must blindly obey, and which forbade him even to

make the slightest complaint. At length, after winding about for

a minute or two, Mme. Bonacieux opened the door of a closet,

which was entirely dark, and led d'Artagnan into it. There she

made a fresh sign of silence, and opened a second door concealed

by tapestry. The opening of this door disclosed a brilliant

light, and she disappeared.

D'Artagnan remained for a moment motionless, asking himself where

he could be; but soon a ray of light which penetrated through the

chamber, together with the warm and perfumed air which reached

him from the same aperture, the conversation of two of three

ladies in language at once respectful and refined, and the word

"Majesty" several times repeated, indicated clearly that he was

in a closet attached to the queen's apartment. The young man

waited in comparative darkness and listened.

The queen appeared cheerful and happy, which seemed to astonish

the persons who surrounded her and who were accustomed to see her

almost always sad and full of care. The queen attributed this

joyous feeling to the beauty of the fete, to the pleasure she had

experienced in the ballet; and as it is not permissible to

contradict a queen, whether she smile or weep, everybody

expatiated on the gallantry of the aldermen of the city of Paris.

Although d'Artagnan did not at all know the queen, he soon

distinguished her voice from the others, at first by a slightly

foreign accent, and next by that tone of domination naturally

impressed upon all royal words. He heard her approach and

withdraw from the partially open door; and twice or three times

he even saw the shadow of a person intercept the light.

At length a hand and an arm, surpassingly beautiful in their form

and whiteness, glided through the tapestry. D'Artagnan at once

comprehended that this was his recompense. He cast himself on

his knees, seized the hand, and touched it respectfully with his

lips. Then the hand was withdrawn, leaving in his an object

which he perceived to be a ring. The door immediately closed,

and d'Artagnan found himself again in complete obscurity.

D'Artagnan placed the ring on his finger, and again waited; it

was evident that all was not yet over. After the reward of his

devotion, that of his love was to come. Besides, although the

ballet was danced, the evening had scarcely begun. Supper was to

be served at three, and the clock of St. Jean had struck three

quarters past two.

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The sound of voices diminished by degrees in the adjoining

chamber. The company was then heard departing; then the door of

the closet in which d'Artagnan was, was opened, and Mme.

Bonacieux entered.

"You at last?" cried d'Artagnan.

"Silence!" said the young woman, placing her hand upon his lips;

"silence, and go the same way you came!"

"But where and when shall I see you again?" cried d'Artagnan.

"A note which you will find at home will tell you. Begone,

begone!"

At these words she opened the door of the corridor, and pushed

d'Artagnan out of the room. D'Artagnan obeyed like a child,

without the least resistance or objection, which proved that he

was really in love.

23 THE RENDEZVOUS

D'Artagnan ran home immediately, and although it was three

o'clock in the morning and he had some of the worst quarters of

Paris to traverse, he met with no misadventure. Everyone knows

that drunkards and lovers have a protecting deity.

He found the door of his passage open, sprang up the stairs and

knocked softly in a manner agreed upon between him and his

lackey. Planchet*, whom he had sent home two hours before from

the Hotel de Ville, telling him to sit up for him, opened the

door for him.

*The reader may ask, "How came Planchet here?" when he was left

"stiff as a rush" in London. In the intervening time Buckingham

perhaps sent him to Paris, as he did the horses.

"Has anyone brought a letter for me?" asked d'Artagnan, eagerly.

"No one has BROUGHT a letter, monsieur," replied Planchet; "but

one has come of itself."

"What do you mean, blockhead?"

"I mean to say that when I came in, although I had the key of

your apartment in my pocket, and that key had never quit me, I

found a letter on the green table cover in your bedroom."

"And where is that letter?"

"I left it where I found it, monsieur. It is not natural for

letters to enter people's houses in this manner. If the window

had been open or even ajar, I should think nothing of it; but,

no--all was hermetically sealed. Beware, monsieur; there is

certainly some magic underneath."

Meanwhile, the young man had darted in to his chamber, and opened

the letter. It was from Mme. Bonacieux, and was expressed in

these terms:

"There are many thanks to be offered to you, and to be

transmitted to you. Be this evening about ten o'clock at St.

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Cloud, in front of the pavilion which stands at the corner of the

house of M. d'Estrees.--C.B."

While reading this letter, d'Artagnan felt his heart dilated and

compressed by that delicious spasm which tortures and caresses

the hearts of lovers.

It was the first billet he had received; it was the first

rendezvous that had been granted him. His heart, swelled by the

intoxication of joy, felt ready to dissolve away at the very gate

of that terrestrial paradise called Love!

"Well, monsieur," said Planchet, who had observed his master grow

red and pale successively, "did I not guess truly? Is it not

some bad affair?"

"You are mistaken, Planchet," replied d'Artagnan; "and as a

proof, there is a crown to drink my health."

"I am much obliged to Monsieur for the crown he had given me, and

I promise him to follow his instructions exactly; but it is not

the less true that letters which come in this way into shut-up

houses--"

"Fall from heaven, my friend, fall from heaven."

"Then Monsieur is satisfied?" asked Planchet.

"My dear Planchet, I am the happiest of men!"

"And I may profit by Monsieur's happiness, and go to bed?"

"Yes, go."

"May the blessings of heaven fall upon Monsieur! But it is not

the less true that that letter--"

And Planchet retired, shaking his head with an air of doubt,

which the liberality of d'Artagnan had not entirely effaced.

Left alone, d'Artagnan read and reread his billet. Then he

kissed and rekissed twenty times the lines traced by the hand of

his beautiful mistress. At length he went to bed, fell asleep,

and had golden dreams.

At seven o'clock in the morning he arose and called Planchet, who

at the second summons opened the door, his countenance not yet

quite freed from the anxiety of the preceding night.

"Planchet," said d'Artagnan, "I am going out for all day,

perhaps. You are, therefore, your own master till seven o'clock

in the evening; but at seven o'clock you must hold yourself in

readiness with two horses."

"There!" said Planchet. "We are going again, it appears, to have

our hides pierced in all sorts of ways."

"You will take your musketoon and your pistols."

"There, now! Didn't I say so?" cried Planchet. "I was sure of

it--the cursed letter!"

"Don't be afraid, you idiot; there is nothing in hand but a party

of pleasure."

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"Ah, like the charming journey the other day, when it rained

bullets and produced a crop of steel traps!"

"Well, if you are really afraid, Monsieur Planchet," resumed

d'Artagnan, "I will go without you. I prefer traveling alone to

having a companion who entertains the least fear."

"Monsieur does me wrong," said Planchet; "I thought he had seen

me at work."

"Yes, but I thought perhaps you had worn out all your courage the

first time."

"Monsieur shall see that upon occasion I have some left; only I

beg Monsieur not to be too prodigal of it if he wishes it to last

long."

"Do you believe you have still a certain amount of it to expend

this evening?"

"I hope so, monsieur."

"Well, then, I count on you."

"At the appointed hour I shall be ready; only I believed that

Monsieur had but one horse in the Guard stables."

"Perhaps there is but one at this moment; but by this evening

there will be four."

"It appears that our journey was a remounting journey, then?"

"Exactly so," said d'Artagnan; and nodding to Planchet, he went

out.

M. Bonacieux was at his door. D'Artagnan's intention was to go

out without speaking to the worthy mercer; but the latter made so

polite and friendly a salutation that his tenant felt obliged,

not only to stop, but to enter into conversation with him.

Besides, how is it possible to avoid a little condescension

toward a husband whose pretty wife has appointed a meeting with

you that same evening at St. Cloud, opposite D'Estrees's

pavilion? D'Artagnan approached him with the most amiable air he

could assume.

The conversation naturally fell upon the incarceration of the

poor man. M. Bonacieux, who was ignorant that d'Artagnan had

overheard his conversation with the stranger of Meung, related to

his young tenant the persecutions of that monster, M. de

Laffemas, whom he never ceased to designate, during his account,

by the title of the "cardinal's executioner," and expatiated at

great length upon the Bastille, the bolts, the wickets, the

dungeons, the gratings, the instruments of torture.

D'Artagnan listened to him with exemplary complaisance, and when

he had finished said, "And Madame Bonacieux, do you know who

carried her off?--For I do not forget that I owe to that

unpleasant circumstance the good fortune of having made your

acquaintance."

"Ah!" said Bonacieux, "they took good care not to tell me that;

and my wife, on her part, has sworn to me by all that's sacred

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that she does not know. But you," continued M. Bonacieux, in a

tine of perfect good fellowship, "what has become of you all

these days? I have not seen you nor your friends, and I don't

think you could gather all that dust that I saw Planchet brush

off your boots yesterday from the pavement of Paris."

"You are right, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux, my friends and I have

been on a little journey."

"Far from here?"

"Oh, Lord, no! About forty leagues only. We went to take

Monsieur Athos to the waters of Forges, where my friends still

remain."

"And you have returned, have you not?" replied M. Bonacieux,

giving to his countenance a most sly air. "A handsome young

fellow like you does not obtain long leaves of absence from his

mistress; and we were impatiently waited for at Paris, were we

not?"

"My faith!" said the young man, laughing, "I confess it, and so

much more the readily, my dear Bonacieux, as I see there is no

concealing anything from you. Yes, I was expected, and very

impatiently, I acknowledge."

A slight shade passed over the brow of Bonacieux, but so slight

that d'Artagnan did not perceive it.

"And we are going to be recompensed for our diligence?" continued

the mercer, with a trifling alteration in his voice--so trifling,

indeed, that d'Artagnan did not perceive it any more than he had

the momentary shade which, an instant before, had darkened the

countenance of the worthy man.

"Ah, may you be a true prophet!" said d'Artagnan, laughing.

"No; what I say," replied Bonacieux, "is only that I may know

whether I am delaying you."

"Why that question, my dear host?" asked d'Artagnan. "Do you

intend to sit up for me?"

"No; but since my arrest and the robbery that was committed in my

house, I am alarmed every time I hear a door open, particularly

in the night. What the deuce can you expect? I am no

swordsman."

"Well, don't be alarmed if I return at one, two or three o'clock

in the morning; indeed, do not be alarmed if I do not come at

all."

This time Bonacieux became so pale that d'Artagnan could not help

perceiving it, and asked him what was the matter.

"Nothing," replied Bonacieux, "nothing. Since my misfortunes I

have been subject to faintnesses, which seize me all at once, and

I have just felt a cold shiver. Pay no attention to it; you have

nothing to occupy yourself with but being happy."

"Then I have full occupation, for I am so."

"Not yet; wait a little! This evening, you said."

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"Well, this evening will come, thank God! And perhaps you look

for it with as much impatience as I do; perhaps this evening

Madame Bonacieux will visit the conjugal domicile."

"Madame Bonacieux is not at liberty this evening," replied the

husband, seriously; "she is detained at the Louvre this evening

by her duties."

"So much the worse for you, my dear host, so much the worse!

When I am happy, I wish all the world to be so; but it appears

that is not possible."

The young man departed, laughing at the joke, which he thought he

alone could comprehend.

"Amuse yourself well!" replied Bonacieux, in a sepulchral tone.

But d'Artagnan was too far off to hear him; and if he had heard

him in the disposition of mind he then enjoyed, he certainly

would not have remarked it.

He took his way toward the hotel of M. de Treville; his visit of

the day before, it is to be remembered, had been very short and

very little explicative.

He found Treville in a joyful mood. He had thought the king and

queen charming at the ball. It is true the cardinal had been

particularly ill-tempered. He had retired at one o'clock under

the pretense of being indisposed. As to their Majesties, they

did not return to the Louvre till six o'clock in the morning.

"Now," said Treville, lowering his voice, and looking into every

corner of the apartment to see if they were alone, "now let us

talk about yourself, my young friend; for it is evident that your

happy return has something to do with the joy of the king, the

triumph of the queen, and the humiliation of his Eminence. You

must look out for yourself."

"What have I to fear," replied d'Artagnan, "as long as I shall

have the luck to enjoy the favor of their Majesties?"

"Everything, believe me. The cardinal is not the man to forget a

mystification until he has settled account with the mystifier;

and the mystifier appears to me to have the air of being a

certain young Gascon of my acquaintance."

"Do you believe that the cardinal is as well posted as yourself,

and knows that I have been to London?"

"The devil! You have been to London! Was it from London you

brought that beautiful diamond that glitters on your finger?

Beware, my dear d'Artagnan! A present from an enemy is not a

good thing. Are there not some Latin verses upon that subject?

Stop!"

"Yes, doubtless," replied d'Artagnan, who had never been able to

cram the first rudiments of that language into his head, and who

had by his ignorance driven his master to despair, "yes,

doubtless there is one."

"There certainly is one," said M. de Treville, who had a tincture

of literature, "and Monsieur de Benserade was quoting it to me

the other day. Stop a minute--ah, this is it: 'Timeo Danaos et

dona ferentes,' which means, 'Beware of the enemy who makes you

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presents."

"This diamond does not come from an enemy, monsieur," replied

d'Artagnan, "it comes from the queen."

"From the queen! Oh, oh!" said M. de Treville. "Why, it is

indeed a true royal jewel, which is worth a thousand pistoles if

it is worth a denier. By whom did the queen send you this

jewel?"

"She gave it to me herself."

"Where?"

"In the room adjoining the chamber in which she changed her

toilet."

"How?"

"Giving me her hand to kiss."

"You have kissed the queen's hand?" said M. de Treville, looking

earnestly at d'Artagnan.

"Her Majesty did me the honor to grant me that favor."

"And that in the presence of witnesses! Imprudent, thrice

imprudent!"

"No, monsieur, be satisfied; nobody saw her," replied d'Artagnan,

and he related to M. de Treville how the affair came to pass.

"Oh, the women, the women!" cried the old soldier. "I know them

by their romantic imagination. Everything that savors of mystery

charms them. So you have seen the arm, that was all. You would

meet the queen, and she would not know who you are?"

"No; but thanks to this diamond," replied the young man.

"Listen," said M. de Treville; "shall I give you counsel, good

counsel, the counsel of a friend?"

"You will do me honor, monsieur," said d'Artagnan.

"Well, then, off to the nearest goldsmith's, and sell that

diamond for the highest price you can get from him. However much

of a Jew he may be, he will give you at least eight hundred

pistoles. Pistoles have no name, young man, and that ring has a

terrible one, which may betray him who wears it."

"Sell this ring, a ring which comes from my sovereign? Never!"

said d'Artagnan.

"Then, at least turn the gem inside, you silly fellow; for

everybody must be aware that a cadet from Gascony does not find

such stones in his mother's jewel case."

"You think, then, I have something to dread?" asked d'Artagnan.

"I mean to say, young man, that he who sleeps over a mine the

match of which is already lighted, may consider himself in safety

in comparison with you."

"The devil!" said d'Artagnan, whom the positive tone of M. de

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Treville began to disquiet, "the devil! What must I do?"

"Above all things be always on your guard. The cardinal has a

tenacious memory and a long arm; you may depend upon it, he will

repay you by some ill turn."

"But of what sort?"

"Eh! How can I tell? Has he not all the tricks of a demon at

his command? The least that can be expected is that you will be

arrested."

"What! Will they dare to arrest a man in his Majesty's service?"

"PARDIEU! They did not scruple much in the case of Athos. At

all events, young man, rely upon one who has been thirty years at

court. Do not lull yourself in security, or you will be lost;

but, on the contrary--and it is I who say it--see enemies in all

directions. If anyone seeks a quarrel with you, shun it, were it

with a child of ten years old. If you are attacked by day or by

night, fight, but retreat, without shame; if you cross a bridge,

feel every plank of it with your foot, lest one should give way

beneath you; if you pass before a house which is being built,

look up, for fear a stone should fall upon your head; if you stay

out late, be always followed by your lackey, and let your lackey

be armed--if, by the by, you can be sure of your lackey.

Mistrust everybody, your friend, your brother, your mistress--

your mistress above all."

D'Artagnan blushed.

"My mistress above all," repeated he, mechanically; "and why her

rather than another?"

"Because a mistress is one of the cardinal's favorite means; he

has not one that is more expeditious. A woman will sell you for

ten pistoles, witness Delilah. You are acquainted with the

Scriptures?"

D'Artagnan thought of the appointment Mme. Bonacieux had made

with him for that very evening; but we are bound to say, to the

credit of our hero, that the bad opinion entertained by M. de

Treville of women in general, did not inspire him with the least

suspicion of his pretty hostess.

"But, A PROPOS," resumed M. de Treville, "what has become of your

three companions?"

"I was about to ask you if you had heard any news of them?"

"None, monsieur."

"Well, I left them on my road--Porthos at Chantilly, with a duel

on his hands; Aramis at Crevecoeur, with a ball in his shoulder;

and Athos at Amiens, detained by an accusation of coining."

"See there, now!" said M. de Treville; "and how the devil did you

escape?"

"By a miracle, monsieur, I must acknowledge, with a sword thrust

in my breast, and by nailing the Comte de Wardes on the byroad to

Calais, like a butterfly on a tapestry."

"There again! De Wardes, one of the cardinal's men, a cousin of

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Rochefort! Stop, my friend, I have an idea."

"Speak, monsieur."

"In your place, I would do one thing."

"What?"

"While his Eminence was seeking for me in Paris, I would take,

without sound of drum or trumpet, the road to Picardy, and would

go and make some inquiries concerning my three companions. What

the devil! They merit richly that piece of attention on your

part."

"The advice is good, monsieur, and tomorrow I will set out."

"Tomorrow! Any why not this evening?"

"This evening, monsieur, I am detained in Paris by indispensable

business."

"Ah, young man, young man, some flirtation or other. Take care,

I repeat to you, take care. It is woman who has ruined us, still

ruins us, and will ruin us, as long as the world stands. Take my

advice and set out this evening."

"Impossible, monsieur."

"You have given your word, then?"

"Yes, monsieur."

"Ah, that's quite another thing; but promise me, if you should

not be killed tonight, that you will go tomorrow."

"I promise it."

"Do you need money?"

"I have still fifty pistoles. That, I think, is as much as I

shall want."

"But your companions?"

"I don't think they can be in need of any. We left Paris, each

with seventy-five pistoles in his pocket."

"Shall I see you again before your departure?"

"I think not, monsieur, unless something new should happen."

"Well, a pleasant journey."

"Thanks, monsieur."

D'Artagnan left M. de Treville, touched more than ever by his

paternal solicitude for his Musketeers.

He called successively at the abodes of Athos, Porthos, and

Aramis. Neither of them had returned. Their lackeys likewise

were absent, and nothing had been heard of either the one or the

other. He would have inquired after them of their mistresses,

but he was neither acquainted with Porthos's nor Aramis's, and as

to Athos, he had none.

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As he passed the Hotel des Gardes, he took a glance in to the

stables. Three of the four horses had already arrived.

Planchet, all astonishment, was busy grooming them, and had

already finished two.

"Ah, monsieur," said Planchet, on perceiving d'Artagnan, "how

glad I am to see you."

"Why so, Planchet?" asked the young man.

"Do you place confidence in our landlord--Monsieur Bonacieux?"

"I? Not the least in the world."

"Oh, you do quite right, monsieur."

"But why this question?"

"Because, while you were talking with him, I watched you without

listening to you; and, monsieur, his countenance changed color

two or three times!"

"Bah!"

"Preoccupied as Monsieur was with the letter he had received, he

did not observe that; but I, whom the strange fashion in which

that letter came into the house had placed on my guard--I did not

lose a movement of his features."

"And you found it?"

"Traitorous, monsieur."

"Indeed!"

"Still more; as soon as Monsieur had left and disappeared round

the corner of the street, Monsieur Bonacieux took his hat, shut

his door, and set off at a quick pace in an opposite direction."

"It seems you are right, Planchet; all this appears to be a

little mysterious; and be assured that we will not pay him our

rent until the matter shall be categorically explained to us."

"Monsieur jests, but Monsieur will see."

"What would you have, Planchet? What must come is written."

"Monsieur does not then renounce his excursion for this evening?"

"Quite the contrary, Planchet; the more ill will I have toward

Monsieur Bonacieux, the more punctual I shall be in keeping the

appointment made by that letter which makes you so uneasy."

"Then that is Monsieur's determination?"

"Undeniably, my friend. At nine o'clock, then, be ready here at

the hotel, I will come and take you."

Planchet seeing there was no longer any hope of making his master

renounce his project, heaved a profound sigh and set to work to

groom the third horse.

As to d'Artagnan, being at bottom a prudent youth, instead of

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returning home, went and dined with the Gascon priest, who, at

the time of the distress of the four friends, had given them a

breakfast of chocolate.

24 THE PAVILION

At nine o'clock d'Artagnan was at the Hotel des Gardes; he found

Planchet all ready. The fourth horse had arrived.

Planchet was armed with his musketoon and a pistol. D'Artagnan

had his sword and placed two pistols in his belt; then both

mounted and departed quietly. It was quite dark, and no one saw

them go out. Planchet took place behind his master, and kept at

a distance of ten paces from him.

D'Artagnan crossed the quays, went out by the gate of La

Conference and followed the road, much more beautiful then than

it is now, which leads to St. Cloud.

As long as he was in the city, Planchet kept at the respectful

distance he had imposed upon himself; but as soon as the road

began to be more lonely and dark, he drew softly nearer, so that

when they entered the Bois de Boulogne he found himself riding

quite naturally side by side with his master. In fact, we must

not dissemble that the oscillation of the tall trees and the

reflection of the moon in the dark underwood gave him serious

uneasiness. D'Artagnan could not help perceiving that something

more than usual was passing in the mind of his lackey and said,

"Well, Monsieur Planchet, what is the matter with us now?"

"Don't you think, monsieur, that woods are like churches?"

"How so, Planchet?"

"Because we dare not speak aloud in one or the other."

"But why did you not dare to speak aloud, Planchet--because you

are afraid?"

"Afraid of being heard? Yes, monsieur."

"Afraid of being heard! Why, there is nothing improper in our

conversation, my dear Planchet, and no one could find fault with

it."

"Ah, monsieur!" replied Planchet, recurring to his besetting

idea, "that Monsieur Bonacieux has something vicious in his

eyebrows, and something very unpleasant in the play of his lips."

"What the devil makes you think of Bonacieux?"

"Monsieur, we think of what we can, and not of what we will."

"Because you are a coward, Planchet."

"Monsieur, we must not confound prudence with cowardice; prudence

is a virtue."

"And you are very virtuous, are you not, Planchet?"

"Monsieur, is not that the barrel of a musket which glitters

yonder? Had we not better lower our heads?"

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"In truth," murmured d'Artagnan, to whom M. de Treville's

recommendation recurred, "this animal will end by making me

afraid." And he put his horse into a trot.

Planchet followed the movements of his master as if he had been

his shadow, and was soon trotting by his side.

"Are we going to continue this pace all night?" asked Planchet.

"No; you are at your journey's end."

"How, monsieur! And you?"

"I am going a few steps farther."

"And Monsieur leaves me here alone?"

"You are afraid, Planchet?"

"No; I only beg leave to observe to Monsieur that the night will

be very cold, that chills bring on rheumatism, and that a lackey

who has the rheumatism makes but a poor servant, particularly to

a master as active as Monsieur."

"Well, if you are cold, Planchet, you can go into one of those

cabarets that you see yonder, and be in waiting for me at the

door by six o'clock in the morning."

"Monsieur, I have eaten and drunk respectfully the crown you gave

me this morning, so that I have not a sou left in case I should

be cold."

"Here's half a pistole. Tomorrow morning."

D'Artagnan sprang from his horse, threw the bridle to Planchet,

and departed at a quick pace, folding his cloak around him.

"Good Lord, how cold I am!" cried Planchet, as soon as he had

lost sight of his master; and in such haste was he to warm

himself that he went straight to a house set out with all the

attributes of a suburban tavern, and knocked at the door.

In the meantime d'Artagnan, who had plunged into a bypath,

continued his route and reached St. Cloud; but instead of

following the main street he turned behind the chateau, reached a

sort of retired lane, and found himself soon in front of the

pavilion named. It was situated in a very private spot. A high

wall, at the angle of which was the pavilion, ran along one side

of this lane, and on the other was a little garden connected with

a poor cottage which was protected by a hedge from passers-by.

He gained the place appointed, and as no signal had been given

him by which to announce his presence, he waited.

Not the least noise was to be heard; it might be imagined that he

was a hundred miles from the capital. D'Artagnan leaned against

the hedge, after having cast a glance behind it. Beyond that

hedge, that garden, and that cottage, a dark mist enveloped with

its folds that immensity where Paris slept--a vast void from

which glittered a few luminous points, the funeral stars of that

hell!

But for d'Artagnan all aspects were clothed happily, all ideas

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wore a smile, all shades were diaphanous. The appointed hour was

about to strike. In fact, at the end of a few minutes the belfry

of St. Cloud let fall slowly ten strokes from its sonorous jaws.

There was something melancholy in this brazen voice pouring out

its lamentations in the middle of the night; but each of those

strokes, which made up the expected hour, vibrated harmoniously

to the heart of the young man.

His eyes were fixed upon the little pavilion situated at the

angle of the wall, of which all the windows were closed with

shutters, except one on the first story. Through this window

shone a mild light which silvered the foliage of two or three

linden trees which formed a group outside the park. There could

be no doubt that behind this little window, which threw forth

such friendly beams, the pretty Mme. Bonacieux expected him.

Wrapped in this sweet idea, d'Artagnan waited half an hour

without the least impatience, his eyes fixed upon that charming

little abode of which he could perceive a part of the ceiling

with its gilded moldings, attesting the elegance of the rest of

the apartment.

The belfry of St. Cloud sounded half past ten.

This time, without knowing why, d'Artagnan felt a cold shiver run

through his veins. Perhaps the cold began to affect him, and he

took a perfectly physical sensation for a moral impression.

Then the idea seized him that he had read incorrectly, and that

the appointment was for eleven o'clock. He drew near to the

window, and placing himself so that a ray of light should fall

upon the letter as he held it, he drew it from his pocket and

read it again; but he had not been mistaken, the appointment was

for ten o'clock. He went and resumed his post, beginning to be

rather uneasy at this silence and this solitude.

Eleven o'clock sounded.

D'Artagnan began now really to fear that something had happened

to Mme. Bonacieux. He clapped his hands three times--the

ordinary signal of lovers; but nobody replied to him, not even an

echo.

He then thought, with a touch of vexation, that perhaps the young

woman had fallen asleep while waiting for him. He approached the

wall, and tried to climb it; but the wall had been recently

pointed, and d'Artagnan could get no hold.

At that moment he thought of the trees, upon whose leaves the

light still shone; and as one of them drooped over the road, he

thought that from its branches he might get a glimpse of the

interior of the pavilion.

The tree was easy to climb. Besides, d'Artagnan was but twenty

years old, and consequently had not yet forgotten his schoolboy

habits. In an instant he was among the branches, and his keen

eyes plunged through the transparent panes into the interior of

the pavilion.

It was a strange thing, and one which made d'Artagnan tremble

from the sole of his foot to the roots of his hair, to find that

this soft light, this calm lamp, enlightened a scene of fearful

disorder. One of the windows was broken, the door of the chamber

had been beaten in and hung, split in two, on its hinges. A

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table, which had been covered with an elegant supper, was

overturned. The decanters broken in pieces, and the fruits

crushed, strewed the floor. Everything in the apartment gave

evidence of a violent and desperate struggle. D'Artagnan even

fancied he could recognize amid this strange disorder, fragments

of garments, and some bloody spots staining the cloth and the

curtains. He hastened to descend into the street, with a

frightful beating at his heart; he wished to see if he could find

other traces of violence.

The little soft light shone on in the calmness of the night.

d'Artagnan then perceived a thing that he had not before

remarked--for nothing had led him to the examination--that the

ground, trampled here and hoofmarked there, presented confused

traces of men and horses. Besides, the wheels of a carriage,

which appeared to have come from Paris, had made a deep

impression in the soft earth, which did not extend beyond the

pavilion, but turned again toward Paris.

At length d'Artagnan, in pursuing his researches, found near the

wall a woman's torn glove. This glove, wherever it had not

touched the muddy ground, was of irreproachable odor. It was one

of those perfumed gloves that lovers like to snatch from a pretty

hand.

As d'Artagnan pursued his investigations, a more abundant and

more icy sweat rolled in large drops from his forehead; his heart

was oppressed by a horrible anguish; his respiration was broken

and short. And yet he said, to reassure himself, that this

pavilion perhaps had nothing in common with Mme. Bonacieux; that

the young woman had made an appointment with him before the

pavilion, and not in the pavilion; that she might have been

detained in Paris by her duties, or perhaps by the jealousy of

her husband.

But all these reasons were combated, destroyed, overthrown, by

that feeling of intimate pain which, on certain occasions, takes

possession of our being, and cries to us so as to be understood

unmistakably that some great misfortune is hanging over us.

Then d'Artagnan became almost wild. He ran along the high road,

took the path he had before taken, and reaching the ferry,

interrogated the boatman.

About seven o'clock in the evening, the boatman had taken over a

young woman, wrapped in a black mantle, who appeared to be very

anxious not to be recognized; but entirely on account of her

precautions, the boatman had paid more attention to her and

discovered that she was young and pretty.

There were then, as now, a crowd of young and pretty women who

came to St. Cloud, and who had reasons for not being seen, and

yet d'Artagnan did not for an instant doubt that it was Mme.

Bonacieux whom the boatman had noticed.

D'Artagnan took advantage of the lamp which burned in the cabin

of the ferryman to read the billet of Mme. Bonacieux once again,

and satisfy himself that he had not been mistaken, that the

appointment was at St. Cloud and not elsewhere, before the

D'Estrees's pavilion and not in another street. Everything

conspired to prove to d'Artagnan that his presentiments had not

deceived him, and that a great misfortune had happened.

He again ran back to the chateau. It appeared to him that

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something might have happened at the pavilion in his absence, and

that fresh information awaited him. The lane was still deserted,

and the same calm soft light shone through the window.

D'Artagnan then thought of that cottage, silent and obscure,

which had no doubt seen all, and could tell its tale. The gate

of the enclosure was shut; but he leaped over the hedge, and in

spite of the barking of a chained-up dog, went up to the cabin.

No one answered to his first knocking. A silence of death

reigned in the cabin as in the pavilion; but as the cabin was his

last resource, he knocked again.

It soon appeared to him that he heard a slight noise within--a

timid noise which seemed to tremble lest it should be heard.

Then d'Artagnan ceased knocking, and prayed with an accent so

full of anxiety and promises, terror and cajolery, that his voice

was of a nature to reassure the most fearful. At length an old,

worm-eaten shutter was opened, or rather pushed ajar, but closed

again as soon as the light from a miserable lamp which burned in

the corner had shone upon the baldric, sword belt, and pistol

pommels of d'Artagnan. Nevertheless, rapid as the movement had

been, d'Artagnan had had time to get a glimpse of the head of an

old man.

"In the name of heaven!" cried he, "listen to me; I have been

waiting for someone who has not come. I am dying with anxiety.

Has anything particular happened in the neighborhood? Speak!"

The window was again opened slowly, and the same face appeared,

only it was now still more pale than before.

D'Artagnan related his story simply, with the omission of names.

He told how he had a rendezvous with a young woman before that

pavilion, and how, not seeing her come, he had climbed the linden

tree, and by the light of the lamp had seen the disorder of the

chamber.

The old man listened attentively, making a sign only that it was

all so; and then, when d'Artagnan had ended, he shook his head

with an air that announced nothing good.

"What do you mean?" cried d'Artagnan. "In the name of heaven,

explain yourself!"

"Oh! Monsieur," said the old man, "ask me nothing; for if I

dared tell you what I have seen, certainly no good would befall

me."

"You have, then, seen something?" replied d'Artagnan. "In that

case, in the name of heaven," continued he, throwing him a

pistole, "tell me what you have seen, and I will pledge you the

word of a gentleman that not one of your words shall escape from

my heart."

The old man read so much truth and so much grief in the face of

the young man that he made him a sign to listen, and repeated in

a low voice: "It was scarcely nine o'clock when I heard a noise

in the street, and was wondering what it could be, when on coming

to my door, I found that somebody was endeavoring to open it. As

I am very poor and am not afraid of being robbed, I went and

opened the gate and saw three men at a few paces from it. In the

shadow was a carriage with two horses, and some saddlehorses.

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These horses evidently belonged to the three men, who wee dressed

as cavaliers. 'Ah, my worthy gentlemen,' cried I, 'what do you

want?' 'You must have a ladder?' said he who appeared to be the

leader of the party. 'Yes, monsieur, the one with which I gather

my fruit.' 'Lend it to us, and go into your house again; there

is a crown for the annoyance we have caused you. Only remember

this--if you speak a word of what you may see or what you may

hear (for you will look and you will listen, I am quite sure,

however we may threaten you), you are lost.' At these words he

threw me a crown, which I picked up, and he took the ladder.

After shutting the gate behind them, I pretended to return to the

house, but I immediately went out a back door, and stealing along

in the shade of the hedge, I gained yonder clump of elder, from

which I could hear and see everything. The three men brought the

carriage up quietly, and took out of it a little man, stout,

short, elderly, and commonly dressed in clothes of a dark color,

who ascended the ladder very carefully, looked suspiciously in at

the window of the pavilion, came down as quietly as he had gone

up, and whispered, 'It is she!' Immediately, he who had spoken

to me approached the door of the pavilion, opened it with a key

he had in his hand, closed the door and disappeared, while at the

same time the other two men ascended the ladder. The little old

man remained at the coach door; the coachman took care of his

horses, the lackey held the saddlehorses. All at once great

cried resounded in the pavilion, and a woman came to the window,

and opened it, as if to throw herself out of it; but as soon as

she perceived the other two men, she fell back and they went into

the chamber. Then I saw no more; but I heard the noise of

breaking furniture. The woman screamed, and cried for help; but

her cries were soon stifled. Two of the men appeared, bearing

the woman in their arms, and carried her to the carriage, into

which the little old man got after her. The leader closed the

window, came out an instant after by the door, and satisfied

himself that the woman was in the carriage. His two companions

were already on horseback. He sprang into his saddle; the lackey

took his place by the coachman; the carriage went off at a quick

pace, escorted by the three horsemen, and all was over. From

that moment I have neither seen nor heard anything."

D'Artagnan, entirely overcome by this terrible story, remained

motionless and mute, while all the demons of anger and jealousy

were howling in his heart.

"But, my good gentleman," resumed the old man, upon whom this

mute despair certainly produced a greater effect than cries and

tears would have done, "do not take on so; they did not kill her,

and that's a comfort."

"Can you guess," said d'Artagnan, "who was the man who headed

this infernal expedition?"

"I don't know him."

"But as you spoke to him you must have seen him."

"Oh, it's a description you want?"

"Exactly so."

"A tall, dark man, with black mustaches, dark eyes, and the air

of a gentleman."

"That's the man!" cried d'Artagnan, "again he, forever he! He is

my demon, apparently. And the other?"

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"Which?"

"The short one."

"Oh, he was not a gentleman, I'll answer for it; besides, he did

not wear a sword, and the others treated him with small

consideration."

"Some lackey," murmured d'Artagnan. "Poor woman, poor woman,

what have they done with you?"

"You have promised to be secret, my good monsieur?" said the old

man.

"And I renew my promise. Be easy, I am a gentleman. A gentleman

has but his word, and I have given you mine."

With a heavy heart, d'Artagnan again bent his way toward the

ferry. Sometimes he hoped it could not be Mme. Bonacieux, and

that he should find her next day at the Louvre; sometimes he

feared she had had an intrigue with another, who, in a jealous

fit, had surprised her and carried her off. His mind was torn by

doubt, grief, and despair.

"Oh, if I had my three friends here," cried he, "I should have,

at least, some hopes of finding her; but who knows what has

become of them?"

It was past midnight; the next thing was to find Planchet.

d'Artagnan went successively into all the cabarets in which there

was a light, but could not find Planchet in any of them.

At the sixth he began to reflect that the search was rather

dubious. D'Artagnan had appointed six o'clock in the morning for

his lackey, and wherever he might be, he was right.

Besides, it came into the young man's mind that by remaining in

the environs of the spot on which this sad event had passed, he

would, perhaps, have some light thrown upon the mysterious

affair. At the sixth cabaret, then, as we said, d'Artagnan

stopped, asked for a bottle of wine of the best quality, and

placing himself in the darkest corner of the room, determined

thus to wait till daylight; but this time again his hopes were

disappointed, and although he listened with all his ears, he

heard nothing, amid the oaths, coarse jokes, and abuse which

passed between the laborers, servants, and carters who comprised

the honorable society of which he formed a part, which could put

him upon the least track of her who had been stolen from him. He

was compelled, then, after having swallowed the contents of his

bottle, to pass the time as well as to evade suspicion, to fall

into the easiest position in his corner and to sleep, whether

well or ill. D'Artagnan, be it remembered, was only twenty years

old, and at that age sleep has its imprescriptible rights which

it imperiously insists upon, even with the saddest hearts.

Toward six o'clock d'Artagnan awoke with that uncomfortable

feeling which generally accompanies the break of day after a bad

night. He was not long in making his toilet. He examined

himself to see if advantage had been taken of his sleep, and

having found his diamond ring on his finger, his purse in his

pocket, and his pistols in his belt, he rose, paid for his

bottle, and went out to try if he could have any better luck in

his search after his lackey than he had had the night before.

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The first thing he perceived through the damp gray mist was

honest Planchet, who, with the two horses in hand, awaited him at

the door of a little blind cabaret, before which d'Artagnan had

passed without even a suspicion of its existence.

25 PORTHOS

Instead of returning directly home, d'Artagnan alighted at the

door of M. de Treville, and ran quickly up the stairs. This time

he had decided to relate all that had passed. M. de Treville

would doubtless give him good advice as to the whole affair.

Besides, as M. de Treville saw the queen almost daily, he might

be able to draw from her Majesty some intelligence of the poor

young woman, whom they were doubtless making pay very dearly for

her devotedness to her mistress.

M. de Treville listened to the young man's account with a

seriousness which proved that he saw something else in this

adventure besides a love affair. When d'Artagnan had finished,

he said, "Hum! All this savors of his Eminence, a league off."

"But what is to be done?" said d'Artagnan.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, at present, but quitting Paris,

as I told you, as soon as possible. I will see the queen; I will

relate to her the details of the disappearance of this poor

woman, of which she is no doubt ignorant. These details will

guide her on her part, and on your return, I shall perhaps have

some good news to tell you. Rely on me."

D'Artagnan knew that, although a Gascon, M. de Treville was not

in the habit of making promises, and that when by chance he did

promise, he more than kept his word. He bowed to him, then, full

of gratitude for the past and for the future; and the worthy

captain, who on his side felt a lively interest in this young

man, so brave and so resolute, pressed his hand kindly, wishing

him a pleasant journey.

Determined to put the advice of M. de Treville in practice

instantly, d'Artagnan directed his course toward the Rue des

Fossoyeurs, in order to superintend the packing of his valise.

On approaching the house, he perceived M. Bonacieux in morning

costume, standing at his threshold. All that the prudent

Planchet had said to him the preceding evening about the sinister

character of the old man recurred to the mind of d'Artagnan, who

looked at him with more attention than he had done before. In

fact, in addition to that yellow, sickly paleness which indicates

the insinuation of the bile in the blood, and which might,

besides, be accidental, d'Artagnan remarked something

perfidiously significant in the play of the wrinkled features of

his countenance. A rogue does not laugh in the same way that an

honest man does; a hypocrite does not shed the tears of a man of

good faith. All falsehood is a mask; and however well made the

mask may be, with a little attention we may always succeed in

distinguishing it from the true face.

It appeared, then, to d'Artagnan that M. Bonacieux wore a mask,

and likewise that that mask was most disagreeable to look upon.

In consequence of this feeling of repugnance, he was about to

pass without speaking to him, but, as he had done the day before,

M. Bonacieux accosted him.

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"Well, young man," said he, "we appear to pass rather gay nights!

Seven o'clock in the morning! PESTE! You seem to reverse

ordinary customs, and come home at the hour when other people are

going out."

"No one can reproach you for anything of the kind, Monsieur

Bonacieux," said the young man; "you are a model for regular

people. It is true that when a man possesses a young and pretty

wife, he has no need to seek happiness elsewhere. Happiness

comes to meet him, does it not, Monsieur Bonacieux?"

Bonacieux became as pale as death, and grinned a ghastly smile.

"Ah, ah!" said Bonacieux, "you are a jocular companion! But

where the devil were you gladding last night, my young master?

It does not appear to be very clean in the crossroads."

D'Artagnan glanced down at his boots, all covered with mud; but

that same glance fell upon the shoes and stockings of the mercer,

and it might have been said they had been dipped in the same mud

heap. Both were stained with splashes of mud of the same

appearance.

Then a sudden idea crossed the mind of d'Artagnan. That little

stout man, short and elderly, that sort of lackey, dressed in

dark clothes, treated without ceremony by the men wearing swords

who composed the escort, was Bonacieux himself. The husband had

presided at the abduction of his wife.

A terrible inclination seized d'Artagnan to grasp the mercer by

the throat and strangle him; but, as we have said, he was a very

prudent youth, and he restrained himself. However, the

revolution which appeared upon his countenance was so visible

that Bonacieux was terrified at it, and he endeavored to draw

back a step or two; but as he was standing before the half of the

door which was shut, the obstacle compelled him to keep his

place.

"Ah, but you are joking, my worthy man!" said d'Artagnan. It

appears to me that if my boots need a sponge, your stockings and

shoes stand in equal need of a brush. May you not have been

philandering a little also, Monsieur Bonacieux? Oh, the devil!

That's unpardonable in a man of your age, and who besides, has

such a pretty wife as yours."

"Oh, Lord! no," said Bonacieux, "but yesterday I went to St.

Mande to make some inquiries after a servant, as I cannot

possibly do without one; and the roads were so bad that I brought

back all this mud, which I have not yet had time to remove."

The place named by Bonacieux as that which had been the object of

his journey was a fresh proof in support of the suspicions

d'Artagnan had conceived. Bonacieux had named Mande because

Mande was in an exactly opposite direction from St. Cloud. This

probability afforded him his first consolation. If Bonacieux

knew where his wife was, one might, by extreme means, force the

mercer to open his teeth and let his secret escape. The

question, then, was how to change this probability into a

certainty.

"Pardon, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux, if I don't stand upon

ceremony," said d'Artagnan, "but nothing makes one so thirsty as

want of sleep. I am parched with thirst. Allow me to take a

glass of water in your apartment; you know that is never refused

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among neighbors."

Without waiting for the permission of his host, d'Artagnan went

quickly into the house, and cast a rapid glance at the bed. It

had not been used. Bonacieux had not been abed. He had only

been back an hour or two; he had accompanied his wife to the

place of her confinement, or else at least to the first relay.

"Thanks, Monsieur Bonacieux," said d'Artagnan, emptying his

glass, "that is all I wanted of you. I will now go up into my

apartment. I will make Planchet brush my boots; and when he has

done, I will, if you like, send him to you to brush your shoes."

He left the mercer quite astonished at his singular farewell, and

asking himself if he had not been a little inconsiderate.

At the top of the stairs he found Planchet in a great fright.

"Ah, monsieur!" cried Planchet, as soon as he perceived his

master, "here is more trouble. I thought you would never come

in."

"What's the matter now, Planchet?" demanded d'Artagnan.

"Oh! I give you a hundred, I give you a thousand times to guess,

monsieur, the visit I received in your absence."

"When?"

"About half an hour ago, while you were at Monsieur de

Treville's."

"Who has been here? Come, speak."

"Monsieur de Cavois."

"Monsieur de Cavois?"

"In person."

"The captain of the cardinal's Guards?"

"Himself."

"Did he come to arrest me?"

"I have no doubt that he did, monsieur, for all his wheedling

manner."

"Was he so sweet, then?"

"Indeed, he was all honey, monsieur."

"Indeed!"

"He came, he said, on the part of his Eminence, who wished you

well, and to beg you to follow him to the Palais-Royal."*

*It was called the Palais-Cardinal before Richelieu gave it to

the King.

"What did you answer him?"

"That the thing was impossible, seeing that you were not at home,

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as he could see."

"Well, what did he say then?"

"That you must not fail to call upon him in the course of the

day; and then he added in a low voice, 'Tell your master that his

Eminence is very well disposed toward him, and that his fortune

perhaps depends upon this interview.'"

"The snare is rather MALADROIT for the cardinal," replied the

young man, smiling.

"Oh, I saw the snare, and I answered you would be quite in

despair on your return.

"'Where has he gone?' asked Monsieur de Cavois.

"'To Troyes, in Champagne,' I answered.

"'And when did he set out?'

"'Yesterday evening.'"

"Planchet, my friend," interrupted d'Artagnan, "you are really a

precious fellow."

"You will understand, monsieur, I thought there would be still

time, if you wish, to see Monsieur de Cavois to contradict me by

saying you were not yet gone. The falsehood would then lie at my

door, and as I am not a gentleman, I may be allowed to lie."

"Be of good heart, Planchet, you shall preserve your reputation

as a veracious man. In a quarter of an hour we set off."

"That's the advice I was about to give Monsieur; and where are we

going, may I ask, without being too curious?"

"PARDIEU! In the opposite direction to that which you said I was

gone. Besides, are you not as anxious to learn news of Grimaud,

Mousqueton, and Bazin as I am to know what has become of Athos,

Porthos, and Aramis?"

"Yes, monsieur," said Planchet, "and I will go as soon as you

please. Indeed, I think provincial air will suit us much better

just now than the air of Paris. So then--"

"So then, pack up our luggage, Planchet, and let us be off. On

my part, I will go out with my hands in my pockets, that nothing

may be suspected. You may join me at the Hotel des Gardes. By

the way, Planchet, I think you are right with respect to our

host, and that he is decidedly a frightfully low wretch."

"Ah, monsieur, you may take my word when I tell you anything. I

am a physiognomist, I assure you."

D'Artagnan went out first, as had been agreed upon. Then, in

order that he might have nothing to reproach himself with, he

directed his steps, for the last time, toward the residences of

his three friends. No news had been received of them; only a

letter, all perfumed and of an elegant writing in small

characters, had come for Aramis. D'Artagnan took charge of it.

Ten minutes afterward Planchet joined him at the stables of the

Hotel des Gardes. D'Artagnan, in order that there might be no

time lost, had saddled his horse himself.

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"That's well," said he to Planchet, when the latter added the

portmanteau to the equipment. "Now saddle the other three

horses."

"Do you think, then, monsieur, that we shall travel faster with

two horses apiece?" said Planchet, with his shrewd air.

"No, Monsieur Jester," replied d'Artagnan; "but with our four

horses we may bring back our three friends, if we should have the

good fortune to find them living."

"Which is a great chance," replied Planchet, "but we must not

despair of the mercy of God."

"Amen!" said d'Artagnan, getting into his saddle.

As they went from the Hotel des Gardes, they separated, leaving

the street at opposite ends, one having to quit Paris by the

Barriere de la Villette and the other by the Barriere Montmartre,

to meet again beyond St. Denis--a strategic maneuver which,

having been executed with equal punctuality, was crowned with the

most fortunate results. D'Artagnan and Planchet entered

Pierrefitte together.

Planchet was more courageous, it must be admitted, by day than by

night. His natural prudence, however, never forsook him for a

single instant. He had forgotten not one of the incidents of the

first journey, and he looked upon everybody he met on the road as

an enemy. It followed that his hat was forever in his hand,

which procured him some severe reprimands from d'Artagnan, who

feared that his excess of politeness would lead people to think

he was the lackey of a man of no consequence.

Nevertheless, whether the passengers were really touched by the

urbanity of Planchet or whether this time nobody was posted on

the young man's road, our two travelers arrived at Chantilly

without any accident, and alighted at the tavern of Great St.

Martin, the same at which they had stopped on their first

journey.

The host, on seeing a young man followed by a lackey with two

extra horses, advanced respectfully to the door. Now, as they

had already traveled eleven leagues, d'Artagnan thought it time

to stop, whether Porthos were or were not in the inn. Perhaps it

would not be prudent to ask at once what had become of the

Musketeer. The result of these reflections was that d'Artagnan,

without asking information of any kind, alighted, commended the

horses to the care of his lackey, entered a small room destined

to receive those who wished to be alone, and desired the host to

bring him a bottle of his best wine and as good a breakfast as

possible--a desire which further corroborated the high opinion

the innkeeper had formed of the traveler at first sight.

D'Artagnan was therefore served with miraculous celerity. The

regiment of the Guards was recruited among the first gentlemen of

the kingdom; and d'Artagnan, followed by a lackey, and traveling

with four magnificent horses, despite the simplicity of his

uniform, could not fail to make a sensation. The host desired

himself to serve him; which d'Artagnan perceiving, ordered two

glasses to be brought, and commenced the following conversation.

"My faith, my good host," said d'Artagnan, filling the two

glasses, "I asked for a bottle of your best wine, and if you have

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deceived me, you will be punished in what you have sinned; for

seeing that I hate drinking my myself, you shall drink with me.

Take your glass, then, and let us drink. But what shall we drink

to, so as to avoid wounding any susceptibility? Let us drink to

the prosperity of your establishment."

"Your Lordship does me much honor," said the host, "and I thank

you sincerely for your kind wish."

"But don't mistake," said d'Artagnan, "there is more selfishness

in my toast than perhaps you may think--for it is only in

prosperous establishments that one is well received. In hotels

that do not flourish, everything is in confusion, and the

traveler is a victim to the embarrassments of his host. Now, I

travel a great deal, particularly on this road, and I wish to see

all innkeepers making a fortune."

"It seems to me," said the host, "that this is not the first time

I have had the honor of seeing Monsieur."

"Bah, I have passed perhaps ten times through Chantilly, and out

of the ten times I have stopped three or four times at your house

at least. Why I was here only ten or twelve days ago. I was

conducting some friends, Musketeers, one of whom, by the by, had

a dispute with a stranger--a man who sought a quarrel with him,

for I don't know what."

"Exactly so," said the host; "I remember it perfectly. It is not

Monsieur Porthos that your Lordship means?"

"Yes, that is my companion's name. My God, my dear host, tell me

if anything has happened to him?"

"Your Lordship must have observed that he could not continue his

journey."

"Why, to be sure, he promised to rejoin us, and we have seen

nothing of him."

"He has done us the honor to remain here."

"What, he had done you the honor to remain here?"

"Yes, monsieur, in this house; and we are even a little uneasy--"

"On what account?"

"Of certain expenses he has contracted."

"Well, but whatever expenses he may have incurred, I am sure he

is in a condition to pay them."

"Ah, monsieur, you infuse genuine balm into my blood. We have

made considerable advances; and this very morning the surgeon

declared that if Monsieur Porthos did not pay him, he should look

to me, as it was I who had sent for him."

"Porthos is wounded, then?"

"I cannot tell you, monsieur."

"What! You cannot tell me? Surely you ought to be able to tell

me better than any other person."

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"Yes; but in our situation we must not say all we know--

particularly as we have been warned that our ears should answer

for our tongues."

"Well, can I see Porthos?"

"Certainly, monsieur. Take the stairs on your right; go up the

first flight and knock at Number One. Only warn him that it is

you."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because, monsieur, some mischief might happen to you."

"Of what kind, in the name of wonder?"

"Monsieur Porthos may imagine you belong to the house, and in a

fit of passion might run his sword through you or blow out your

brains."

"What have you done to him, then?"

"We have asked him for money."

"The devil! Ah, I can understand that. It is a demand that

Porthos takes very ill when he is not in funds; but I know he

must be so at present."

"We thought so, too, monsieur. As our house is carried on very

regularly, and we make out our bills every week, at the end of

eight days we presented our account; but it appeared we had

chosen an unlucky moment, for at the first word on the subject,

he sent us to all the devils. It is true he had been playing the

day before."

"Playing the day before! And with whom?"

"Lord, who can say, monsieur? With some gentleman who was

traveling this way, to whom he proposed a game of LANSQUENET."

"That's it, then, and the foolish fellow lost all he had?"

"Even to his horse, monsieur; for when the gentleman was about to

set out, we perceived that his lackey was saddling Monsieur

Porthos's horse, as well as his master's. When we observed this

to him, he told us all to trouble ourselves about our own

business, as this horse belonged to him. We also informed

Monsieur Porthos of what was going on; but he told us we were

scoundrels to doubt a gentleman's word, and that as he had said

the horse was his, it must be so."

"That's Porthos all over," murmured d'Artagnan.

"Then," continued the host, "I replied that as from the moment we

seemed not likely to come to a good understanding with respect to

payment, I hoped that he would have at least the kindness to

grant the favor of his custom to my brother host of the Golden

Eagle; but Monsieur Porthos replied that, my house being the

best, he should remain where he was. This reply was too

flattering to allow me to insist on his departure. I confined

myself then to begging him to give up his chamber, which is the

handsomest in the hotel, and to be satisfied with a pretty little

room on the third floor; but to this Monsieur Porthos replied

that as he every moment expected his mistress, who was one of the

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greatest ladies in the court, I might easily comprehend that the

chamber he did me the honor to occupy in my house was itself very

mean for the visit of such a personage. Nevertheless, while

acknowledging the truth of what he said, I thought proper to

insist; but without even giving himself the trouble to enter into

any discussion with me, he took one of his pistols, laid it on

his table, day and night, and said that at the first word that

should be spoken to him about removing, either within the house

or our of it, he would blow out the brains of the person who

should be so imprudent as to meddle with a matter which only

concerned himself. Since that time, monsieur, nobody entered his

chamber but his servant."

"What! Mousqueton is here, then?"

"Oh, yes, monsieur. Five days after your departure, he came

back, and in a very bad condition, too. It appears that he had

met with disagreeableness, likewise, on his journey. Unfortunately,

he is more nimble than his master; so that for the sake of his

master, he puts us all under his feet, and as he thinks we might

refuse what he asked for, he takes all he wants without asking at

all."

"The fact is," said d'Artagnan, "I have always observed a great

degree of intelligence and devotedness in Mousqueton."

"That is possible, monsieur; but suppose I should happen to be

brought in contact, even four times a year, with such

intelligence and devotedness--why, I should be a ruined man!"

"No, for Porthos will pay you."

"Hum!" said the host, in a doubtful tone.

"The favorite of a great lady will not be allowed to be

inconvenienced for such a paltry sum as he owes you."

"If I durst say what I believe on that head--"

"What you believe?"

"I ought rather to say, what I know."

"What you know?"

"And even what I am sure of."

"And of what are you so sure?"

"I would say that I know this great lady."

"You?"

"Yes; I."

"And how do you know her?"

"Oh, monsieur, if I could believe I might trust in your

discretion."

"Speak! By the word of a gentleman, you shall have no cause to

repent of your confidence."

"Well, monsieur, you understand that uneasiness makes us do many

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things."

"What have you done?"

"Oh, nothing which was not right in the character of a creditor."

"Well?"

"Monsieur Porthos gave us a note for his duchess, ordering us to

put it in the post. This was before his servant came. As he

could not leave his chamber, it was necessary to charge us with

this commission."

"And then?"

"Instead of putting the letter in the post, which is never safe,

I took advantage of the journey of one of my lads to Paris, and

ordered him to convey the letter to this duchess himself. This

was fulfilling the intentions of Monsieur Porthos, who had

desired us to be so careful of this letter, was it not?"

"Nearly so."

"Well, monsieur, do you know who this great lady is?"

"No; I have heard Porthos speak of her, that's all."

"Do you know who this pretended duchess is?

"I repeat to you, I don't know her."

"Why, she is the old wife of a procurator* of the Chatelet,

monsieur, named Madame Coquenard, who, although she is at least

fifty, still gives herself jealous airs. It struck me as very

odd that a princess should live in the Rue aux Ours."

*Attorney

"But how do you know all this?"

"Because she flew into a great passion on receiving the letter,

saying that Monsieur Porthos was a weathercock, and that she was

sure it was for some woman he had received this wound."

"Has he been wounded, then?"

"Oh, good Lord! What have I said?"

"You said that Porthos had received a sword cut."

"Yes, but he has forbidden me so strictly to say so."

"And why so."

"Zounds, monsieur! Because he had boasted that he would

perforate the stranger with whom you left him in dispute; whereas

the stranger, on the contrary, in spite of all his rodomontades

quickly threw him on his back. As Monsieur Porthos is a very

boastful man, he insists that nobody shall know he has received

this wound except the duchess, whom he endeavored to interest by

an account of his adventure."

"It is a wound that confines him to his bed?"

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"Ah, and a master stroke, too, I assure you. Your friend's soul

must stick tight to his body."

"Were you there, then?"

"Monsieur, I followed them from curiosity, so that I saw the

combat without the combatants seeing me."

"And what took place?"

"Oh! The affair was not long, I assure you. They placed

themselves on guard; the stranger made a feint and a lunge, and

that so rapidly that when Monsieur Porthos came to the PARADE, he

had already three inches of steel in his breast. He immediately

fell backward. The stranger placed the point of his sword at his

throat; and Monsieur Porthos, finding himself at the mercy of his

adversary, acknowledged himself conquered. Upon which the

stranger asked his name, and learning that it was Porthos, and

not d'Artagnan, he assisted him to rise, brought him back to the

hotel, mounted his horse, and disappeared."

"So it was with Monsieur d'Artagnan this stranger meant to

quarrel?"

"It appears so."

"And do you know what has become of him?"

"No, I never saw him until that moment, and have not seen him

since."

"Very well; I know all that I wish to know. Porthos's chamber

is, you say, on the first story, Number One?"

"Yes, monsieur, the handsomest in the inn--a chamber that I could

have let ten times over."

"Bah! Be satisfied," said d'Artagnan, laughing, "Porthos will

pay you with the money of the Duchess Coquenard."

"Oh, monsieur, procurator's wife or duchess, if she will but

loosen her pursestrings, it will be all the same; but she

positively answered that she was tired of the exigencies and

infidelities of Monsieur Porthos, and that she would not send him

a denier."

"And did you convey this answer to your guest?"

"We took good care not to do that; he would have found in what

fashion we had executed his commission."

"So that he still expects his money?"

"Oh, Lord, yes, monsieur! Yesterday he wrote again; but it was

his servant who this time put the letter in the post."

"Do you say the procurator's wife is old and ugly?"

"Fifty at least, monsieur, and not at all handsome, according to

Pathaud's account."

"In that case, you may be quite at ease; she will soon be

softened. Besides, Porthos cannot owe you much."

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"How, not much! Twenty good pistoles, already, without reckoning

the doctor. He denies himself nothing; it may easily be seen he

has been accustomed to live well."

"Never mind; if his mistress abandons him, he will find friends,

I will answer for it. So, my dear host, be not uneasy, and

continue to take all the care of him that his situation

requires."

"Monsieur has promised me not to open his mouth about the

procurator's wife, and not to say a word of the wound?"

"That's agreed; you have my word."

"Oh, he would kill me!"

"Don't be afraid; he is not so much of a devil as he appears."

Saying these words, d'Artagnan went upstairs, leaving his host a

little better satisfied with respect to two things in which he

appeared to be very much interested--his debt and his life.

At the top of the stairs, upon the most conspicuous door of the

corridor, was traced in black ink a gigantic number "1."

d'Artagnan knocked, and upon the bidding to come in which came

from inside, he entered the chamber.

Porthos was in bed, and was playing a game at LANSQUENET with

Mousqueton, to keep his hand in; while a spit loaded with

partridges was turning before the fire, and on each side of a

large chimneypiece, over two chafing dishes, were boiling two

stewpans, from which exhaled a double odor of rabbit and fish

stews, rejoicing to the smell. In addition to this he perceived

that the top of a wardrobe and the marble of a commode were

covered with empty bottles.

At the sight of his friend, Porthos uttered a loud cry of joy;

and Mousqueton, rising respectfully, yielded his place to him,

and went to give an eye to the two stewpans, of which he appeared

to have the particular inspection.

"Ah, PARDIEU! Is that you?" said Porthos to d'Artagnan. "You

are right welcome. Excuse my not coming to meet you; but," added

he, looking at d'Artagnan with a certain degree of uneasiness,

"you know what has happened to me?"

"No."

"Has the host told you nothing, then?"

"I asked after you, and came up as soon as I could."

Porthos seemed to breathe more freely.

"And what has happened to you, my dear Porthos?" continued

d'Artagnan.

"Why, on making a thrust at my adversary, whom I had already hit

three times, and whom I meant to finish with the fourth, I put my

foot on a stone, slipped, and strained my knee."

"Truly?"

"Honor! Luckily for the rascal, for I should have left him dead

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on the spot, I assure you."

"And what has became of him?"

"Oh, I don't know; he had enough, and set off without waiting for

the rest. But you, my dear d'Artagnan, what has happened to

you?"

"So that this strain of the knee," continued d'Artagnan, "my dear

Porthos, keeps you in bed?"

"My God, that's all. I shall be about again in a few days."

"Why did you not have yourself conveyed to Paris? You must be

cruelly bored here."

"That was my intention; but, my dear friend, I have one thing to

confess to you."

"What's that?"

"It is that as I was cruelly bored, as you say, and as I had the

seventy-five pistoles in my pocket which you had distributed to

me, in order to amuse myself I invited a gentleman who was

traveling this way to walk up, and proposed a cast of dice. He

accepted my challenge, and, my faith, my seventy-five pistoles

passed from my pocket to his, without reckoning my horse, which

he won into the bargain. But you, my dear d'Artagnan?"

"What can you expect, my dear Porthos; a man is not privileged in

all ways," said d'Artagnan. "You know the proverb 'Unlucky at

play, lucky in love.' You are too fortunate in your love for

play not to take its revenge. What consequence can the reverses

of fortune be to you? Have you not, happy rogue that you are--

have you not your duchess, who cannot fail to come to your aid?"

"Well, you see, my dear d'Artagnan, with what ill luck I play,"

replied Porthos, with the most careless air in the world. "I

wrote to her to send me fifty louis or so, of which I stood

absolutely in need on account of my accident."

"Well?"

"Well, she must be at her country seat, for she has not answered

me."

"Truly?"

"No; so I yesterday addressed another epistle to her, still more

pressing than the first. But you are here, my dear fellow, let

us speak of you. I confess I began to be very uneasy on your

account."

"But your host behaves very well toward you, as it appears, my

dear Porthos," said d'Artagnan, directing the sick man's

attention to the full stewpans and the empty bottles.

"So, so," replied Porthos. "Only three or four days ago the

impertinent jackanapes gave me his bill, and I was forced to turn

both him and his bill out of the door; so that I am here

something in the fashion of a conqueror, holding my position, as

it were, my conquest. So you see, being in constant fear of

being forced from that position, I am armed to the teeth."

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"And yet," said d'Artagnan, laughing, "it appears to me that from

time to time you must make SORTIES." And he again pointed to the

bottles and the stewpans.

"Not I, unfortunately!" said Porthos. "This miserable strain

confines me to my bed; but Mousqueton forages, and brings in

provisions. Friend Mousqueton, you see that we have a

reinforcement, and we must have an increase of supplies."

"Mousqueton," said d'Artagnan, "you must render me a service."

"What, monsieur?"

"You must give your recipe to Planchet. I may be besieged in my

turn, and I shall not be sorry for him to be able to let me enjoy

the same advantages with which you gratify your master."

"Lord, monsieur! There is nothing more easy," said Mousqueton,

with a modest air. "One only needs to be sharp, that's all. I

was brought up in the country, and my father in his leisure time

was something of a poacher."

"And what did he do the rest of his time?"

"Monsieur, he carried on a trade which I have always thought

satisfactory."

"Which?"

"As it was a time of war between the Catholics and the Huguenots,

and as he saw the Catholics exterminate the Huguenots and the

Huguenots exterminate the Catholics--all in the name of

religion--he adopted a mixed belief which permitted him to be

sometimes Catholic, sometimes a Huguenot. Now, he was accustomed

to walk with his fowling piece on his shoulder, behind the hedges

which border the roads, and when he saw a Catholic coming alone,

the Protestant religion immediately prevailed in his mind. He

lowered his gun in the direction of the traveler; then, when he

was within ten paces of him, he commenced a conversation which

almost always ended by the traveler's abandoning his purse to

save his life. It goes without saying that when he saw a

Huguenot coming, he felt himself filled with such ardent Catholic

zeal that he could not understand how, a quarter of an hour

before, he had been able to have any doubts upon the superiority

of our holy religion. For my part, monsieur, I am Catholic--my

father, faithful to his principles, having made my elder brother

a Huguenot."

"And what was the end of this worthy man?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Oh, of the most unfortunate kind, monsieur. One day he was

surprised in a lonely road between a Huguenot and a Catholic,

with both of whom he had before had business, and who both knew

him again; so they united against him and hanged him on a tree.

Then they came and boasted of their fine exploit in the cabaret

of the next village, where my brother and I were drinking."

"And what did you do?" said d'Artagnan.

"We let them tell their story out," replied Mousqueton. "Then,

as in leaving the cabaret they took different directions, my

brother went and hid himself on the road of the Catholic, and I

on that of the Huguenot. Two hours after, all was over; we had

done the business of both, admiring the foresight of our poor

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father, who had taken the precaution to bring each of us up in a

different religion."

"Well, I must allow, as you say, your father was a very

intelligent fellow. And you say in his leisure moments the

worthy man was a poacher?"

"Yes, monsieur, and it was he who taught me to lay a snare and

ground a line. The consequence is that when I saw our laborers,

which did not at all suit two such delicate stomachs as ours, I

had recourse to a little of my old trade. While walking near the

wood of Monsieur le Prince, I laid a few snare in the runs; and

while reclining on the banks of his Highness's pieces of water, I

slipped a few lines into his fish ponds. So that now, thanks be

to God, we do not want, as Monsieur can testify, for partridges,

rabbits, carp or eels--all light, wholesome food, suitable for

the sick."

"But the wine," said d'Artagnan, "who furnishes the wine? Your

host?"

"That is to say, yes and no."

"How yes and no?"

"He furnishes it, it is true, but he does not know that he has

that honor."

"Explain yourself, Mousqueton; your conversation is full of

instructive things."

"That is it, monsieur. It has so chanced that I met with a

Spaniard in my peregrinations who had seen many countries, and

among them the New World."

"What connection can the New World have with the bottles which

are on the commode and the wardrobe?"

"Patience, monsieur, everything will come in its turn."

"This Spaniard had in his service a lackey who had accompanied

him in his voyage to Mexico. This lackey was my compatriot; and

we became the more intimate from there being many resemblances of

character between us. We loved sporting of all kinds better than

anything; so that he related to me how in the plains of the

Pampas the natives hunt the tiger and the wild bull with simple

running nooses which they throw to a distance of twenty or thirty

paces the end of a cord with such nicety; but in face of the

proof I was obliged to acknowledge the truth of the recital. My

friend placed a bottle at the distance of thirty paces, and at

each cast he caught the neck of the bottle in his running noose.

I practiced this exercise, and as nature has endowed me with some

faculties, at this day I can throw the lasso with any man in the

world. Well, do you understand, monsieur? Our host has a wellfurnished

cellar the key of which never leaves him; only this

cellar has a ventilating hole. Now through this ventilating

hole I throw my lasso, and as I now know in which part of the

cellar is the best wine, that's my point for sport. You see,

monsieur, what the New World has to do with the bottles which are

on the commode and the wardrobe. Now, will you taste our wine,

and without prejudice say what you think of it?"

"Thank you, my friend, thank you; unfortunately, I have just

breakfasted."

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"Well," said Porthos, "arrange the table, Mousequeton, and while

we breakfast, d'Artagnan will relate to us what has happened to

him during the ten days since he left us."

"Willingly," said d'Artagnan.

While Porthos and Mousqueton were breakfasting, with the

appetites of convalescents and with that brotherly cordiality

which unites men in misfortune, d'Artagnan related how Aramis,

being wounded, was obliged to stop at Crevecoeur, how he had left

Athos fighting at Amiens with four men who accused him of being a

coiner, and how he, d'Artagnan, had been forced to run the Comtes

de Wardes through the body in order to reach England.

But there the confidence of d'Artagnan stopped. He only added

that on his return from Great Britain he had brought back four

magnificent horses--one for himself, and one for each of his

companions; then he informed Porthos that the one intended for

him was already installed in the stable of the tavern.

At this moment Planchet entered, to inform his master that the

horses were sufficiently refreshed and that it would be possible

to sleep at Clermont.

As d'Artagnan was tolerably reassured with regard to Porthos, and

as he was anxious to obtain news of his two other friends, he

held out his hand to the wounded man, and told him he was about

to resume his route in order to continue his researches. For the

rest, as he reckoned upon returning by the same route in seven or

eight days, if Porthos were still at the Great St. Martin, he

would call for him on his way.

Porthos replied that in all probability his sprain would not

permit him to depart yet awhile. Besides, it was necessary he

should stay at Chantilly to wait for the answer from his duchess.

D'Artagnan wished that answer might be prompt and favorable; and

having again recommended Porthos to the care of Mousqueton, and

paid his bill to the host, he resumed his route with Planchet,

already relieved of one of his led horses.

26 ARAMIS AND HIS THESIS

D'Artagnan had said nothing to Porthos of his wound or of his

procurator's wife. Our Bernais was a prudent lad, however young

he might be. Consequently he had appeared to believe all that

the vainglorious Musketeer had told him, convinced that no

friendship will hold out against a surprised secret. Besides, we

feel always a sort of mental superiority over those whose lives

we know better than they suppose. In his projects of intrigue

for the future, and determined as he was to make his three

friends the instruments of his fortune, d'Artagnan was not sorry

at getting into his grasp beforehand the invisible strings by

which he reckoned upon moving them.

And yet, as he journeyed along, a profound sadness weighed upon

his heart. He thought of that young and pretty Mme. Bonacieux

who was to have paid him the price of his devotedness; but let us

hasten to say that this sadness possessed the young man less from

the regret of the happiness he had missed, than from the fear he

entertained that some serious misfortune had befallen the poor

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woman. For himself, he had no doubt she was a victim of the

cardinal's vengeance; and, and as was well known, the vengeance

of his Eminence was terrible. How he had found grace in the eyes

of the minister, he did not know; but without doubt M. de Cavois

would have revealed this to him if the captain of the Guards had

found him at home.

Nothing makes time pass more quickly or more shortens a journey

than a thought which absorbs in itself all the faculties of the

organization of him who thinks. External existence then

resembles a sleep of which this thought is the dream. By its

influence, time has no longer measure, space has no longer

distance. We depart from one place, and arrive at another, that

is all. Of the interval passed, nothing remains in the memory

but a vague mist in which a thousand confused images of trees,

mountains, and landscapes are lost. It was as a prey to this

hallucination that d'Artagnan traveled, at whatever pace his

horse pleased, the six or eight leagues that separated Chantilly

from Crevecoeur, without his being able to remember on his

arrival in the village any of the things he had passed or met

with on the road.

There only his memory returned to him. He shook his head,

perceived the cabaret at which he had left Aramis, and putting

his horse to the trot, he shortly pulled up at the door.

This time it was not a host but a hostess who received him.

d'Artagnan was a physiognomist. His eye took in at a glance the

plump, cheerful countenance of the mistress of the place, and he

at once perceived there was no occasion for dissembling with her,

or of fearing anything from one blessed with such a joyous

physiognomy.

"My good dame," asked d'Artagnan, "can you tell me what has

become of one of my friends, whom we were obliged to leave here

about a dozen days ago?"

"A handsome young man, three- or four-and-twenty years old, mild,

amiable, and well made?"

"That is he--wounded in the shoulder."

"Just so. Well, monsieur, he is still here."

"Ah, PARDIEU! My dear dame," said d'Artagnan, springing from his

horse, and throwing the bridle to Planchet, "you restore me to

life; where is this dear Aramis? Let me embrace him, I am in a

hurry to see him again."

"Pardon, monsieur, but I doubt whether he can see you at this

moment."

"Why so? Has he a lady with him?"

"Jesus! What do you mean by that? Poor lad! No, monsieur, he

has not a lady with him."

"With whom is he, then?"

"With the curate of Montdidier and the superior of the Jesuits of

Amiens."

"Good heavens!" cried d'Artagnan, "is the poor fellow worse,

then?"

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"No, monsieur, quite the contrary; but after his illness grace

touched him, and he determined to take orders."

"That's it!" said d'Artagnan, "I had forgotten that he was only a

Musketeer for a time."

"Monsieur still insists upon seeing him?"

"More than ever."

"Well, monsieur has only to take the right-hand staircase in the

courtyard, and knock at Number Five on the second floor."

D'Artagnan walked quickly in the direction indicated, and found

one of those exterior staircases that are still to be seen in the

yards of our old-fashioned taverns. But there was no getting at

the place of sojourn of the future abbe; the defiles of the

chamber of Aramis were as well guarded as the gardens of Armida.

Bazin was stationed in the corridor, and barred his passage with

the more intrepidity that, after many years of trial, Bazin found

himself near a result of which he had ever been ambitious.

In fact, the dream of poor Bazin had always been to serve a

churchman; and he awaited with impatience the moment, always in

the future, when Aramis would throw aside the uniform and assume

the cassock. The daily-renewed promise of the young man that the

moment would not long be delayed, had alone kept him in the

service of a Musketeer--a service in which, he said, his soul was

in constant jeopardy.

Bazin was then at the height of joy. In all probability, this

time his master would not retract. The union of physical pain

with moral uneasiness had produced the effect so long desired.

Aramis, suffering at once in body and mind, had at length fixed

his eyes and his thoughts upon religion, and he had considered as

a warning from heaven the double accident which had happened to

him; that is to say, the sudden disappearance of his mistress and

the wound in his shoulder.

It may be easily understood that in the present disposition of

his master nothing could be more disagreeable to Bazin than the

arrival of d'Artagnan, which might cast his master back again

into that vortex of mundane affairs which had so long carried him

away. He resolved, then, to defend the door bravely; and as,

betrayed by the mistress of the inn, he could not say that Aramis

was absent, he endeavored to prove to the newcomer that it would

be the height of indiscretion to disturb his master in his pious

conference, which had commenced with the morning and would not,

as Bazin said, terminate before night.

But d'Artagnan took very little heed of the eloquent discourse of

M. Bazin; and as he had no desire to support a polemic discussion

with his friend's valet, he simply moved him out of the way with

one hand, and with the other turned the handle of the door of

Number Five. The door opened, and d'Artagnan went into the

chamber.

Aramis, in a black gown, his head enveloped in a sort of round

flat cap, not much unlike a CALOTTE, was seated before an oblong

table, covered with rolls of paper and enormous volumes in folio.

At his right hand was placed the superior of the Jesuits, and on

his left the curate of Montdidier. The curtains were half drawn,

and only admitted the mysterious light calculated for beatific

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reveries. All the mundane objects that generally strike the eye

on entering the room of a young man, particularly when that young

man is a Musketeer, had disappeared as if by enchantment; and for

fear, no doubt, that the sight of them might bring his master

back to ideas of this world, Bazin had laid his hands upon sword,

pistols, plumed hat, and embroideries and laces of all kinds and

sorts. In their stead d'Artagnan thought he perceived in an

obscure corner a discipline cord suspended from a nail in the

wall.

At the noise made by d'Artagnan in entering, Aramis lifted up his

head, and beheld his friend; but to the great astonishment of the

young man, the sight of him did not produce much effect upon the

Musketeer, so completely was his mind detached from the things of

this world.

"Good day, dear d'Artagnan," said Aramis; "believe me, I am glad

to see you."

"So am I delighted to see you," said d'Artagnan, "although I am

not yet sure that it is Aramis I am speaking to."

"To himself, my friend, to himself! But what makes you doubt

it?"

"I was afraid I had made a mistake in the chamber, and that I had

found my way into the apartment of some churchman. Then another

error seized me on seeing you in company with these gentlemen--I

was afraid you were dangerously ill."

The two men in black, who guessed d'Artagnan's meaning, darted at

him a glance which might have been thought threatening; but

d'Artagnan took no heed of it.

"I disturb you, perhaps, my dear Aramis," continued d'Artagnan,

"for by what I see, I am led to believe that you are confessing

to these gentlemen."

Aramis colored imperceptibly. "You disturb me? Oh, quite the

contrary, dear friend, I swear; and as a proof of what I say,

permit me to declare I am rejoiced to see you safe and sound."

"Ah, he'll come round," thought d'Artagnan; "that's not bad!"

"This gentleman, who is my friend, has just escaped from a

serious danger," continued Aramis, with unction, pointing to

d'Artagnan with his hand, and addressing the two ecclesiastics.

"Praise God, monsieur," replied they, bowing together.

"I have not failed to do so, your Reverences," replied the young

man, returning their salutation.

"You arrive in good time, dear d'Artagnan," said Aramis, "and by

taking part in our discussion may assist us with your

intelligence. Monsieur the Principal of Amiens, Monsieur the

Curate of Montdidier, and I are arguing certain theological

questions in which we have been much interested; I shall be

delighted to have your opinion."

"The opinion of a swordsman can have very little weight," replied

d'Artagnan, who began to be uneasy at the turn things were

taking, "and you had better be satisfied, believe me, with the

knowledge of these gentlemen."

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The two men in black bowed in their turn.

"On the contrary," replied Aramis, "your opinion will be very

valuable. The question is this: Monsieur the Principal thinks

that my thesis ought to be dogmatic and didactic."

"Your thesis! Are you then making a thesis?"

"Without doubt," replied the Jesuit. "In the examination which

precedes ordination, a thesis is always a requisite."

"Ordination!" cried d'Artagnan, who could not believe what the

hostess and Bazin had successively told him; and he gazed, half

stupefied, upon the three persons before him.

"Now," continued Aramis, taking the same graceful position in his

easy chair that he would have assumed in bed, and complacently

examining his hand, which was as white and plump as that of a

woman, and which he held in the air to cause the blood to

descend, "now, as you have heard, d'Artagnan, Monsieur the

Principal is desirous that my thesis should be dogmatic, while I,

for my part, would rather it should be ideal. This is the reason

why Monsieur the Principal has proposed to me the following

subject, which has not yet been treated upon, and in which I

perceive there is matter for magnificent elaboration-'UTRAQUE

MANUS IN BENEDICENDO CLERICIS INFERIORIBUS NECESSARIA EST.'"

D'Artagnan, whose erudition we are well acquainted with, evinced

no more interest on hearing this quotation than he had at that of

M. de Treville in allusion to the gifts he pretended that

d'Artagnan had received from the Duke of Buckingham.

"Which means," resumed Aramis, that he might perfectly

understand, "'The two hands are indispensable for priests of the

inferior orders, when they bestow the benediction.'"

"An admirable subject!" cried the Jesuit.

"Admirable and dogmatic!" repeated the curate, who, about as

strong as d'Artagnan with respect to Latin, carefully watched the

Jesuit in order to keep step with him, and repeated his words

like an echo.

As to d'Artagnan, he remained perfectly insensible to the

enthusiasm of the two men in black.

"Yes, admirable! PRORSUS ADMIRABILE!" continued Aramis; "but

which requires a profound study of both the Scriptures and the

Fathers. Now, I have confessed to these learned ecclesiastics,

and that in all humility, that the duties of mounting guard and

the service of the king have caused me to neglect study a little.

I should find myself, therefore, more at my ease, FACILUS NATANS,

in a subject of my own choice, which would be to these hard

theological questions what morals are to metaphysics in

philosophy."

D'Artagnan began to be tired, and so did the curate.

"See what an exordium!" cried the Jesuit.

"Exordium," repeated the curate, for the sake of saying

something. "QUEMADMODUM INTER COELORUM IMMENSITATEM."

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Aramis cast a glance upon d'Artagnan to see what effect all this

produced, and found his friend gaping enough to split his jaws.

"Let us speak French, my father," said he to the Jesuit;

"Monsieur d'Artagnan will enjoy our conversation better."

"Yes," replied d'Artagnan; "I am fatigued with reading, and all

this Latin confuses me."

"Certainly," replied the Jesuit, a little put out, while the

curate, greatly delighted, turned upon d'Artagnan a look full of

gratitude. "Well, let us see what is to be derived from this

gloss. Moses, the servant of God-he was but a servant, please to

understand-Moses blessed with the hands; he held out both his

arms while the Hebrews beat their enemies, and then he blessed

them with his two hands. Besides, what does the Gospel say?

IMPONITE MANUS, and not MANUM-place the HANDS, not the HAND."

"Place the HANDS," repeated the curate, with a gesture.

"St. Peter, on the contrary, of whom the Popes are the

successors," continued the Jesuit; "PORRIGE DIGITOS-present the

fingers. Are you there, now?"

"CERTES," replied Aramis, in a pleased tone, "but the thing is

subtle."

"The FINGERS," resumed the Jesuit, "St. Peter blessed with the

FINGERS. The Pope, therefore blesses with the fingers. And with

how many fingers does he bless? With THREE fingers, to be sureone

for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Ghost."

All crossed themselves. D'Artagnan thought it was proper to

follow this example.

"The Pope is the successor of St. Peter, and represents the three

divine powers; the rest-ORDINES INFERIORES-of the ecclesiastical

hierarchy bless in the name of the holy archangels and angels.

The most humble clerks such as our deacons and sacristans, bless

with holy water sprinklers, which resemble an infinite number of

blessing fingers. There is the subject simplified. ARGUMENTUM

OMNI DENUDATUM ORNAMENTO. I could make of that subject two

volumes the size of this," continued the Jesuit; and in his

enthusiasm he struck a St. Chrysostom in folio, which made the

table bend beneath its weight.

D'Artagnan trembled.

"CERTES," said Aramis, "I do justice to the beauties of this

thesis; but at the same time I perceive it would be overwhelming

for me. I had chosen this text-tell me, dear d'Artagnan, if it

is not to your taste-'NON INUTILE EST DESIDERIUM IN OBLATIONE';

that is, 'A little regret is not unsuitable in an offering to the

Lord.'"

"Stop there!" cried the Jesuit, "for that thesis touches closely

upon heresy. There is a proposition almost like it in the

AUGUSTINUS of the heresiarch Jansenius, whose book will sooner or

later be burned by the hands of the executioner. Take care, my

young friend. You are inclining toward false doctrines, my young

friend; you will be lost."

"You will be lost," said the curate, shaking his head

sorrowfully.

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"You approach that famous point of free will which is a mortal

rock. You face the insinuations of the Pelagians and the semi-

Pelagians."

"But, my Reverend-" replied Aramis, a little amazed by the shower

of arguments that poured upon his head.

"How will you prove," continued the Jesuit, without allowing him

time to speak, "that we ought to regret the world when we offer

ourselves to God? Listen to this dilemma: God is God, and the

world is the devil. To regret the world is to regret the devil;

that is my conclusion."

"And that is mine also," said the curate.

"But, for heaven's sake-" resumed Aramis.

"DESIDERAS DIABOLUM, unhappy man!" cried the Jesuit.

"He regrets the devil! Ah, my young friend," added the curate,

groaning, "do not regret the devil, I implore you!"

D'Artagnan felt himself bewildered. It seemed to him as though

he were in a madhouse, and was becoming as mad as those he saw.

He was, however, forced to hold his tongue from not comprehending

half the language they employed.

"But listen to me, then," resumed Aramis with politeness mingled

with a little impatience. "I do not say I regret; no, I will

never pronounce that sentence, which would not be orthodox."

The Jesuit raised his hands toward heaven, and the curate did the

same.

"No; but pray grant me that it is acting with an ill grace to

offer to the Lord only that with which we are perfectly

disgusted! Don't you think so, d'Artagnan?"

"I think so, indeed," cried he.

The Jesuit and the curate quite started from their chairs.

"This is the point of departure; it is a syllogism. The world is

not wanting in attractions. I quit the world; then I make a

sacrifice. Now, the Scripture says positively, 'Make a sacrifice

unto the Lord.'"

"That is true," said his antagonists.

"And then," said Aramis, pinching his ear to make it red, as he

rubbed his hands to make them white, "and then I made a certain

RONDEAU upon it last year, which I showed to Monsieur Voiture,

and that great man paid me a thousand compliments."

"A RONDEAU!" said the Jesuit, disdainfully.

"A RONDEAU!" said the curate, mechanically.

"Repeat it! Repeat it!" cried d'Artagnan; "it will make a little

change."

"Not so, for it is religious," replied Aramis; "it is theology in

verse."

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"The devil!" said d'Artagnan.

"Here it is," said Aramis, with a little look of diffidence,

which, however, was not exempt from a shade of hypocrisy:

"Vous qui pleurez un passe plein de charmes,

Et qui trainez des jours infortunes,

Tous vos malheurs se verront termines,

Quand a Dieu seul vous offrirez vos larmes,

Vous qui pleurez!"

"You who weep for pleasures fled,

While dragging on a life of care,

All your woes will melt in air,

If to God your tears are shed,

You who weep!"

d'Artagnan and the curate appeared pleased. The Jesuit persisted

in his opinion. "Beware of a profane taste in your theological

style. What says Augustine on this subject: "'SEVERUS SIT

CLERICORUM VERBO.'"

"Yes, let the sermon be clear," said the curate.

"Now," hastily interrupted the Jesuit, on seeing that his acolyte

was going astray, "now your thesis would please the ladies; it

would have the success of one of Monsieur Patru's pleadings."

"Please God!" cried Aramis, transported.

"There it is," cried the Jesuit; "the world still speaks within

you in a loud voice, ALTISIMMA VOCE. You follow the world, my

young friend, and I tremble lest grace prove not efficacious."

"Be satisfied, my reverend father, I can answer for myself."

"Mundane presumption!"

"I know myself, Father; my resolution is irrevocable."

"Then you persist in continuing that thesis?"

"I feel myself called upon to treat that, and no other. I will

see about the continuation of it, and tomorrow I hope you will be

satisfied with the corrections I shall have made in consequence

of your advice."

"Work slowly," said the curate; "we leave you in an excellent

tone of mind."

"Yes, the ground is all sown," said the Jesuit, "and we have not

to fear that one portion of the seed may have fallen upon stone,

another upon the highway, or that the birds of heaven have eaten

the rest, AVES COELI COMEDERUNT ILLAM."

"Plague stifle you and your Latin!" said d'Artagnan, who began to

feel all his patience exhausted.

"Farewell, my son," said the curate, "till tomorrow."

"Till tomorrow, rash youth," said the Jesuit. "You promise to

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become one of the lights of the Church. Heaven grant that this

light prove not a devouring fire!"

D'Artagnan, who for an hour past had been gnawing his nails with

impatience, was beginning to attack the quick.

The two men in black rose, bowed to Aramis and d'Artagnan, and

advanced toward the door. Bazin, who had been standing listening

to all this controversy with a pious jubilation, sprang toward

them, took the breviary of the curate and the missal of the

Jesuit, and walked respectfully before them to clear their way.

Aramis conducted them to the foot of the stairs, and then

immediately came up again to d'Artagnan, whose senses were still

in a state of confusion.

When left alone, the two friends at first kept an embarrassed

silence. It however became necessary for one of them to break it

first, and as d'Artagnan appeared determined to leave that honor

to his companion, Aramis said, "you see that I am returned to my

fundamental ideas."

"Yes, efficacious grace has touched you, as that gentleman said

just now."

"Oh, these plans of retreat have been formed for a long time.

You have often heard me speak of them, have you not, my friend?"

"Yes; but I confess I always thought you jested."

"With such things! Oh, d'Artagnan!"

"The devil! Why, people jest with death."

"And people are wrong, d'Artagnan; for death is the door which

leads to perdition or to salvation."

"Granted; but if you please, let us not theologize, Aramis. You

must have had enough for today. As for me, I have almost

forgotten the little Latin I have ever known. Then I confess to

you that I have eaten nothing since ten o'clock this morning, and

I am devilish hungry."

"We will dine directly, my friend; only you must please to

remember that this is Friday. Now, on such a day I can neither

eat flesh nor see it eaten. If you can be satisfied with my

dinner-it consists of cooked tetragones and fruits."

"What do you mean by tetragones?" asked d'Artagnan, uneasily.

"I mean spinach," replied Aramis; "but on your account I will add

some eggs, and that is a serious infraction of the rule-for eggs

are meat, since they engender chickens."

"This feast is not very succulent; but never mind, I will put up

with it for the sake of remaining with you."

"I am grateful to you for the sacrifice," said Aramis; "but if

your body be not greatly benefited by it, be assured your soul

will."

"And so, Aramis, you are decidedly going into the Church? What

will our two friends say? What will Monsieur de Treville say?

They will treat you as a deserter, I warn you."

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"I do not enter the Church; I re-enter it. I deserted the Church

for the world, for you know that I forced myself when I became a

Musketeer."

"I? I know nothing about it."

"You don't know I quit the seminary?"

"Not at all."

"This is my story, then. Besides, the Scriptures say, 'Confess

yourselves to one another,' and I confess to you, d'Artagnan."

"And I give you absolution beforehand. You see I am a good sort

of a man."

"Do not jest about holy things, my friend."

"Go on, then, I listen."

"I had been at the seminary from nine years old; in three days I

should have been twenty. I was about to become an abbe, and all

was arranged. One evening I went, according to custom, to a

house which I frequented with much pleasure: when one is young,

what can be expected?--one is weak. An officer who saw me, with

a jealous eye, reading the LIVES OF THE SAINTS to the mistress of

the house, entered suddenly and without being announced. That

evening I had translated an episode of Judith, and had just

communicated my verses to the lady, who gave me all sorts of

compliments, and leaning on my shoulder, was reading them a

second time with me. Her pose, which I must admit was rather

free, wounded this officer. He said nothing; but when I went out

he followed, and quickly came up with me. 'Monsieur the Abbe,'

said he, 'do you like blows with a cane?' 'I cannot say,

monsieur,' answered I; 'no one has ever dared to give me any.'

'Well, listen to me, then, Monsieur the Abbe! If you venture

again into the house in which I have met you this evening, I will

dare it myself.' I really think I must have been frightened. I

became very pale; I felt my legs fail me; I sought for a reply,

but could find none-I was silent. The officer waited for his

reply, and seeing it so long coming, he burst into a laugh,

turned upon his heel, and re-entered the house. I returned to

the seminary.

"I am a gentleman born, and my blood is warm, as you may have

remarked, my dear d'Artagnan. The insult was terrible, and

although unknown to the rest of the world, I felt it live and

fester at the bottom of my heart. I informed my superiors that I

did not feel myself sufficiently prepared for ordination, and at

my request the ceremony was postponed for a year. I sought out

the best fencing master in Paris, I made an agreement with him to

take a lesson every day, and every day for a year I took that

lesson. Then, on the anniversary of the day on which I had been

insulted, I hung my cassock on a peg, assumed the costume of a

cavalier, and went to a ball given by a lady friend of mine and

to which I knew my man was invited. It was in the Rue des

France-Bourgeois, close to La Force. As I expected, my officer

was there. I went up to him as he was singing a love ditty and

looking tenderly at a lady, and interrupted him exactly in the

middle of the second couplet. 'Monsieur,' said I, 'does it still

displease you that I should frequent a certain house of La Rue

Payenne? And would you still cane me if I took it into my head

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to disobey you? The officer looked at me with astonishment, and

then said, 'What is your business with me, monsieur? I do not

know you.' 'I am,' said I, 'the little abbe who reads LIVES OF

THE SAINTS, and translates Judith into verse.' 'Ah, ah! I

recollect now,' said the officer, in a jeering tone; 'well, what

do you want with me?' 'I want you to spare time to take a walk

with me.' 'Tomorrow morning, if you like, with the greatest

pleasure.' 'No, not tomorrow morning, if you please, but

immediately.' 'If you absolutely insist.' 'I do insist upon

it.' 'Come, then. Ladies,' said the officer, 'do not disturb

yourselves; allow me time just to kill this gentleman, and I will

return and finish the last couplet.'

"We went out. I took him to the Rue Payenne, to exactly the same

spot where, a year before, at the very same hour, he had paid me

the compliment I have related to you. It was a superb moonlight

night. We immediately drew, and at the first pass I laid him

stark dead."

"The devil!" cried d'Artagnan.

"Now," continued Aramis, "as the ladies did not see the singer

come back, and as he was found in the Rue Payenne with a great

sword wound through his body, it was supposed that I had

accommodated him thus; and the matter created some scandal which

obliged me to renounce the cassock for a time. Athos, whose

acquaintance I made about that period, and Porthos, who had in

addition to my lessons taught me some effective tricks of fence,

prevailed upon me to solicit the uniform of a Musketeer. The

king entertained great regard for my father, who had fallen at

the siege of Arras, and the uniform was granted. You may understand

that the moment has come for me to re-enter the bosom of the

Church."

"And why today, rather than yesterday or tomorrow? What has

happened to you today, to raise all these melancholy ideas?"

"This wound, my dear d'Artagnan, has been a warning to me from

heaven."

"This wound? Bah, it is now nearly healed, and I am sure it is

not that which gives you the most pain."

"What, then?" said Aramis, blushing.

"You have one at heart, Aramis, one deeper and more painful--a

wound made by a woman."

The eye of Aramis kindled in spite of himself.

"Ah," said he, dissembling his emotion under a feigned

carelessness, "do not talk of such things, and suffer love pains?

VANITAS VANITATUM! According to your idea, then, my brain is

turned. And for whom-for some GRISETTE, some chambermaid with

whom I have trifled in some garrison? Fie!"

"Pardon, my dear Aramis, but I thought you carried your eyes

higher."

"Higher? And who am I, to nourish such ambition? A poor

Musketeer, a beggar, an unknown-who hates slavery, and finds

himself ill-placed in the world."

"Aramis, Aramis!" cried d'Artagnan, looking at his friend with an

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air of doubt.

"Dust I am, and to dust I return. Life is full of humiliations

and sorrows," continued he, becoming still more melancholy; "all

the ties which attach him to life break in the hand of man,

particularly the golden ties. Oh, my dear d'Artagnan," resumed

Aramis, giving to his voice a slight tone of bitterness, "trust

me! Conceal your wounds when you have any; silence is the last

joy of the unhappy. Beware of giving anyone the clue to your

griefs; the curious suck our tears as flies suck the blood of a

wounded hart."

"Alas, my dear Aramis," said d'Artagnan, in his turn heaving a

profound sigh, "that is my story you are relating!"

"How?"

"Yes; a woman whom I love, whom I adore, has just been torn from

me by force. I do not know where she is or whither they have

conducted her. She is perhaps a prisoner; she is perhaps dead!"

"Yes, but you have at least this consolation, that you can say to

yourself she has not quit you voluntarily, that if you learn no

news of her, it is because all communication with you in

interdicted; while I--"

"Well?"

"Nothing," replied Aramis, "nothing."

"So you renounce the world, then, forever; that is a settled

thing--a resolution registered!"

"Forever! You are my friend today; tomorrow you will be no more

to me than a shadow, or rather, even, you will no longer exist.

As for the world, it is a sepulcher and nothing else."

"The devil! All this is very sad which you tell me."

"What will you? My vocation commands me; it carries me away."

D'Artagnan smiled, but made no answer.

Aramis continued, "And yet, while I do belong to the earth, I

wish to speak of you--of our friends."

"And on my part," said d'Artagnan, "I wished to speak of you, but

I find you so completely detached from everything! To love you

cry, 'Fie! Friends are shadows! The world is a sepulcher!'"

"Alas, you will find it so yourself," said Aramis, with a sigh.

"Well, then, let us say no more about it," said d'Artagnan; "and

let us burn this letter, which, no doubt, announces to you some

fresh infidelity of your GRISETTE or your chambermaid."

"What letter?" cried Aramis, eagerly.

"A letter which was sent to your abode in your absence, and which

was given to me for you."

"But from whom is that letter?"

"Oh, from some heartbroken waiting woman, some desponding

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GRISETTE; from Madame de Chevreuse's chambermaid, perhaps, who

was obliged to return to Tours with her mistress, and who, in

order to appear smart and attractive, stole some perfumed paper,

and sealed her letter with a duchess's coronet."

"What do you say?"

"Hold! I must have lost it," said the young man maliciously,

pretending to search for it. "But fortunately the world is a

sepulcher; the men, and consequently the women, are but shadows,

and love is a sentiment to which you cry, 'Fie! Fie!'"

"d'Artagnan, d'Artagnan," cried Aramis, "you are killing me!"

"Well, here it is at last!" said d'Artagnan, as he drew the

letter from his pocket.

Aramis made a bound, seized the letter, read it, or rather

devoured it, his countenance radiant.

"This same waiting maid seems to have an agreeable style," said

the messenger, carelessly.

"Thanks, d'Artagnan, thanks!" cried Aramis, almost in a state of

delirium. "She was forced to return to Tours; she is not

faithless; she still loves me! Come, my friend, come, let me

embrace you. Happiness almost stifles me!"

The two friends began to dance around the venerable St.

Chrysostom, kicking about famously the sheets of the thesis,

which had fallen on the floor.

At that moment Bazin entered with the spinach and the omelet.

"Be off, you wretch!" cried Aramis, throwing his skullcap in his

face. "Return whence you came; take back those horrible

vegetables, and that poor kickshaw! Order a larded hare, a fat

capon, mutton leg dressed with garlic, and four bottles of old

Burgundy."

Bazin, who looked at his master, without comprehending the cause

of this change, in a melancholy manner, allowed the omelet to

slip into the spinach, and the spinach onto the floor.

"Now this is the moment to consecrate your existence to the King

of kings," said d'Artagnan, "if you persist in offering him a

civility. NON INUTILE DESIDERIUM OBLATIONE."

"Go to the devil with your Latin. Let us drink, my dear

d'Artagnan, MORBLEU! Let us drink while the wine is fresh! Let

us drink heartily, and while we do so, tell me a little of what

is going on in the world yonder."

27 THE WIFE OF ATHOS

"We have now to search for Athos," said d'Artagnan to the

vivacious Aramis, when he had informed him of all that had passed

since their departure from the capital, and an excellent dinner

had made one of them forget his thesis and the other his fatigue.

"Do you think, then, that any harm can have happened to him?"

asked Aramis. "Athos is so cool, so brave, and handles his sword

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so skillfully."

"No doubt. Nobody has a higher opinion of the courage and skill

of Athos than I have; but I like better to hear my sword clang

against lances than against staves. I fear lest Athos should

have been beaten down by serving men. Those fellows strike hard,

and don't leave off in a hurry. This is why I wish to set out

again as soon as possible."

"I will try to accompany you," said Aramis, "though I scarcely

feel in a condition to mount on horseback. Yesterday I undertook

to employ that cord which you see hanging against the wall, but

pain prevented my continuing the pious exercise."

"That's the first time I ever heard of anybody trying to cure

gunshot wounds with cat-o'-nine-tails; but you were ill, and

illness renders the head weak, therefore you may be excused."

"When do you mean to set out?"

"Tomorrow at daybreak. Sleep as soundly as you can tonight, and

tomorrow, if you can, we will take our departure together."

"Till tomorrow, then," said Aramis; "for iron-nerved as you are,

you must need repose."

The next morning, when d'Artagnan entered Aramis's chamber, he

found him at the window.

"What are you looking at?" asked d'Artagnan.

"My faith! I am admiring three magnificent horses which the

stable boys are leading about. It would be a pleasure worthy of

a prince to travel upon such horses."

"Well, my dear Aramis, you may enjoy that pleasure, for one of

those three horses is yours."

"Ah, bah! Which?"

"Whichever of the three you like, I have no preference."

"And the rich caparison, is that mine, too?"

"Without doubt."

"You laugh, d'Artagnan."

"No, I have left off laughing, now that you speak French."

"What, those rich holsters, that velvet housing, that saddle

studded with silver-are they all for me?"

"For you and nobody else, as the horse which paws the ground is

mine, and the other horse, which is caracoling, belongs to

Athos."

"PESTE! They are three superb animals!"

"I am glad they please you."

"Why, it must have been the king who made you such a present."

"Certainly it was not the cardinal; but don't trouble yourself

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whence they come, think only that one of the three is your

property."

"I choose that which the red-headed boy is leading."

"It is yours!"

"Good heaven! That is enough to drive away all my pains; I could

mount him with thirty balls in my body. On my soul, handsome

stirrups! HOLA, Bazin, come here this minute."

Bazin appeared on the threshold, dull and spiritless.

"That last order is useless," interrupted d'Artagnan; "there are

loaded pistols in your holsters."

Bazin sighed.

"Come, Monsieur Bazin, make yourself easy," said d'Artagnan;

"people of all conditions gain the kingdom of heaven."

"Monsieur was already such a good theologian," said Bazin, almost

weeping; "he might have become a bishop, and perhaps a cardinal."

"Well, but my poor Bazin, reflect a little. Of what use is it to

be a churchman, pray? You do not avoid going to war by that

means; you see, the cardinal is about to make the next campaign,

helm on head and partisan in hand. And Monsieur de Nogaret de la

Valette, what do you say of him? He is a cardinal likewise. Ask

his lackey how often he has had to prepare lint of him."

"Alas!" sighed Bazin. "I know it, monsieur; everything is turned

topsy-turvy in the world nowadays."

While this dialogue was going on, the two young men and the poor

lackey descended.

"Hold my stirrup, Bazin," cried Aramis; and Aramis sprang into

the saddle with his usual grace and agility, but after a few

vaults and curvets of the noble animal his rider felt his pains

come on so insupportably that he turned pale and became unsteady

in his seat. D'Artagnan, who, foreseeing such an event, had kept

his eye on him, sprang toward him, caught him in his arms, and

assisted him to his chamber.

"That's all right, my dear Aramis, take care of yourself," said

he; "I will go alone in search of Athos."

"You are a man of brass," replied Aramis.

"No, I have good luck, that is all. But how do you mean to pass

your time till I come back? No more theses, no more glosses upon

the fingers or upon benedictions, hey?"

Aramis smiled. "I will make verses," said he.

"Yes, I dare say; verses perfumed with the odor of the billet

from the attendant of Madame de Chevreuse. Teach Bazin prosody;

that will console him. As to the horse, ride him a little every

day, and that will accustom you to his maneuvers."

"Oh, make yourself easy on that head," replied Aramis. "You will

find me ready to follow you."

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They took leave of each other, and in ten minutes, after having

commended his friend to the cares of the hostess and Bazin,

d'Artagnan was trotting along in the direction of Ameins.

How was he going to find Athos? Should he find him at all? The

position in which he had left him was critical. He probably had

succumbed. This idea, while darkening his brow, drew several

sighs from him, and caused him to formulate to himself a few vows

of vengeance. Of all his friends, Athos was the eldest, and the

least resembling him in appearance, in his tastes and sympathies.

Yet he entertained a marked preference for this gentleman. The

noble and distinguished air of Athos, those flashes of greatness

which from time to time broke out from the shade in which he

voluntarily kept himself, that unalterable equality of temper

which made him the most pleasant companion in the world, that

forced and cynical gaiety, that bravery which might have been

termed blind if it had not been the result of the rarest

coolness--such qualities attracted more than the esteem, more than

the friendship of d'Artagnan; they attracted his admiration.

Indeed, when placed beside M. de Treville, the elegant and noble

courtier, Athos in his most cheerful days might advantageously

sustain a comparison. He was of middle height; but his person

was so admirably shaped and so well proportioned that more than

once in his struggles with Porthos he had overcome the giant

whose physical strength was proverbial among the Musketeers. His

head, with piercing eyes, a straight nose, a chin cut like that

of Brutus, had altogether an indefinable character of grandeur

and grace. His hands, of which he took little care, were the

despair of Aramis, who cultivated his with almond paste and

perfumed oil. The sound of his voice was at once penetrating and

melodious; and then, that which was inconceivable in Athos, who

was always retiring, was that delicate knowledge of the world and

of the usages of the most brilliant society--those manners of a

high degree which appeared, as if unconsciously to himself, in

his least actions.

If a repast were on foot, Athos presided over it better than any

other, placing every guest exactly in the rank which his

ancestors had earned for him or that he had made for himself. If

a question in heraldry were started, Athos knew all the noble

families of the kingdom, their genealogy, their alliances, their

coats of arms, and the origin of them. Etiquette had no minutiae

unknown to him. He knew what were the rights of the great land

owners. He was profoundly versed in hunting and falconry, and

had one day when conversing on this great art astonished even

Louis XIII himself, who took a pride in being considered a past

master therein.

Like all the great nobles of that period, Athos rode and fenced

to perfection. But still further, his education had been so

little neglected, even with respect to scholastic studies, so

rare at this time among gentlemen, that he smiled at the scraps

of Latin which Aramis sported and which Porthos pretended to

understand. Two or three times, even, to the great astonishment

of his friends, he had, when Aramis allowed some rudimental error

to escape him, replaced a verb in its right tense and a noun in

its case. Besides, his probity was irreproachable, in an age in

which soldiers compromised so easily with their religion and

their consciences, lovers with the rigorous delicacy of our era,

and the poor with God's Seventh Commandment. This Athos, then,

was a very extraordinary man.

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And yet this nature so distinguished, this creature so beautiful,

this essence so fine, was seen to turn insensibly toward material

life, as old men turn toward physical and moral imbecility.

Athos, in his hours of gloom--and these hours were frequent--was

extinguished as to the whole of the luminous portion of him, and

his brilliant side disappeared as into profound darkness.

Then the demigod vanished; he remained scarcely a man. His head

hanging down, his eye dull, his speech slow and painful, Athos

would look for hours together at his bottle, his glass, or at

Grimaud, who, accustomed to obey him by signs, read in the faint

glance of his master his least desire, and satisfied it

immediately. If the four friends were assembled at one of these

moments, a word, thrown forth occasionally with a violent effort,

was the share Athos furnished to the conversation. In exchange

for his silence Athos drank enough for four, and without

appearing to be otherwise affected by wine than by a more marked

constriction of the brow and by a deeper sadness.

D'Artagnan, whose inquiring disposition we are acquainted with,

had not--whatever interest he had in satisfying his curiosity on

this subject--been able to assign any cause for these fits of for

the periods of their recurrence. Athos never received any

letters; Athos never had concerns which all his friends did not

know.

It could not be said that it was wine which produced this

sadness; for in truth he only drank to combat this sadness, which

wine however, as we have said, rendered still darker. This

excess of bilious humor could not be attributed to play; for

unlike Porthos, who accompanied the variations of chance with

songs or oaths, Athos when he won remained as unmoved as when he

lost. He had been known, in the circle of the Musketeers, to win

in one night three thousand pistoles; to lose them even to the

gold-embroidered belt for gala days, win all this again with the

addition of a hundred louis, without his beautiful eyebrow being

heightened or lowered half a line, without his hands losing their

pearly hue, without his conversation, which was cheerful that

evening, ceasing to be calm and agreeable.

Neither was it, as with our neighbors, the English, an

atmospheric influence which darkened his countenance; for the

sadness generally became more intense toward the fine season of

the year. June and July were the terrible months with Athos.

For the present he had no anxiety. He shrugged his shoulders

when people spoke of the future. His secret, then, was in the

past, as had often been vaguely said to d'Artagnan.

This mysterious shade, spread over his whole person, rendered

still more interesting the man whose eyes or mouth, even in the

most complete intoxication, had never revealed anything, however

skillfully questions had been put to him.

"Well," thought d'Artagnan, "poor Athos is perhaps at this moment

dead, and dead by my fault--for it was I who dragged him into this

affair, of which he did not know the origin, of which he is

ignorant of the result, and from which he can derive no

advantage."

"Without reckoning, monsieur," added Planchet to his master's

audibly expressed reflections, "that we perhaps owe our lives to

him. Do you remember how he cried, 'On, d'Artagnan, on, I am

taken'? And when he had discharged his two pistols, what a

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terrible noise he made with his sword! One might have said that

twenty men, or rather twenty mad devils, were fighting."

These words redoubled the eagerness of d'Artagnan, who urged his

horse, though he stood in need of no incitement, and they

proceeded at a rapid pace. About eleven o'clock in the morning

they perceived Ameins, and at half past eleven they were at the

door of the cursed inn.

D'Artagnan had often meditated against the perfidious host one of

those hearty vengeances which offer consolation while they are

hoped for. He entered the hostelry with his hat pulled over his

eyes, his left hand on the pommel of the sword, and cracking his

whip with his right hand.

"Do you remember me?" said he to the host, who advanced to greet

him.

"I have not that honor, monseigneur," replied the latter, his

eyes dazzled by the brilliant style in which d'Artagnan traveled.

"What, you don't know me?"

"No, monseigneur."

"Well, two words will refresh your memory. What have you done

with that gentleman against whom you had the audacity, about

twelve days ago, to make an accusation of passing false money?"

The host became as pale as death; for d'Artagnan had assumed a

threatening attitude, and Planchet modeled himself after his

master.

"Ah, monseigneur, do not mention it!" cried the host, in the most

pitiable voice imaginable. "Ah, monseigneur, how dearly have I

paid for that fault, unhappy wretch as I am!"

"That gentleman, I say, what has become of him?"

"Deign to listen to me, monseigneur, and be merciful! Sit down,

in mercy!"

D'Artagnan, mute with anger and anxiety, took a seat in the

threatening attitude of a judge. Planchet glared fiercely over

the back of his armchair.

"Here is the story, monseigneur," resumed the trembling host;

"for I now recollect you. It was you who rode off at the moment

I had that unfortunate difference with the gentleman you speak

of."

"Yes, it was I; so you may plainly perceive that you have no

mercy to expect of you do not tell me the whole truth."

"Condescend to listen to me, and you shall know all."

"I listen."

"I had been warned by the authorities that a celebrated coiner of

bad money would arrive at my inn, with several of his companions,

all disguised as Guards or Musketeers. Monseigneur, I was

furnished with a description of your horses, your lackeys, your

countenances--nothing was omitted."

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"Go on, go on!" said d'Artagnan, who quickly understood whence

such an exact description had come.

"I took then, in conformity with the orders of the authorities,

who sent me a reinforcement of six men, such measures as I

thought necessary to get possession of the persons of the

pretended coiners."

"Again!" said d'Artagnan, whose ears chafed terribly under the

repetition of this word COINERs.

"Pardon me, monseigneur, for saying such things, but they form my

excuse. The authorities had terrified me, and you know that an

innkeeper must keep on good terms with the authorities."

"But once again, that gentleman--where is he? What has become of

him? Is he dead? Is he living?"

"Patience, monseigneur, we are coming to it. There happened then

that which you know, and of which your precipitate departure,"

added the host, with an acuteness that did not escape d'Artagnan,

"appeared to authorize the issue. That gentleman, your friend,

defended himself desperately. His lackey, who, by an unforeseen

piece of ill luck, had quarreled with the officers, disguised as

stable lads--"

"Miserable scoundrel!" cried d'Artagnan, "you were all in the

plot, then! And I really don't know what prevents me from

exterminating you all."

"Alas, monseigneur, we were not in the plot, as you will soon

see. Monsieur your friend (pardon for not calling him by the

honorable name which no doubt he bears, but we do not know that

name), Monsieur your friend, having disabled two men with his

pistols, retreated fighting with his sword, with which he disable

one of my men, and stunned me with a blow of the flat side of

it."

"You villian, will you finish?" cried d'Artagnan, "Athos--what has

become of Athos?"

"While fighting and retreating, as I have told Monseigneur, he

found the door of the cellar stairs behind him, and as the door

was open, he took out the key, and barricaded himself inside. As

we were sure of finding him there, we left him alone."

"Yes," said d'Artagnan, "you did not really wish to kill; you

only wished to imprison him."

"Good God! To imprison him, monseigneur? Why, he imprisoned

himself, I swear to you he did. In the first place he had made

rough work of it; one man was killed on the spot, and two others

were severely wounded. The dead man and the two wounded were

carried off by their comrades, and I have heard nothing of either

of them since. As for myself, as soon as I recovered my senses I

went to Monsieur the Governor, to whom I related all that had

passed, and asked, what I should do with my prisoner. Monsieur

the Governor was all astonishment. He told me he knew nothing

about the matter, that the orders I had received did not come

from him, and that if I had the audacity to mention his name as

being concerned in this disturbance he would have me hanged. It

appears that I had made a mistake, monsieur, that I had arrested

the wrong person, and that he whom I ought to have arrested had

escaped."

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"But Athos!" cried d'Artagnan, whose impatience was increased by

the disregard of the authorities, "Athos, where is he?"

"As I was anxious to repair the wrongs I had done the prisoner,"

resumed the innkeeper, "I took my way straight to the cellar in

order to set him at liberty. Ah, monsieur, he was no longer a

man, he was a devil! To my offer of liberty, he replied that it

was nothing but a snare, and that before he came out he intended

to impose his own conditions. I told him very humbly--for I could

not conceal from myself the scrape I had got into by laying hands

on one of his Majesty's Musketeers--I told him I was quite ready

to submit to his conditions.

"'In the first place,' said he, 'I wish my lackey placed with me,

fully armed.' We hastened to obey this order; for you will

please to understand, monsieur, we were disposed to do everything

your friend could desire. Monsieur Grimaud (he told us his name,

although he does not talk much)--Monsieur Grimaud, then, went down

to the cellar, wounded as he was; then his master, having

admitted him, barricaded the door afresh, and ordered us to

remain quietly in our own bar."

"But where is Athos now?" cried d'Artagnan. "Where is Athos?"

"In the cellar, monsieur."

"What, you scoundrel! Have you kept him in the cellar all this

time?"

"Merciful heaven! No, monsieur! We keep him in the cellar! You

do not know what he is about in the cellar. Ah! If you could

but persuade him to come out, monsieur, I should owe you the

gratitude of my whole life; I should adore you as my patron

saint!"

"Then he is there? I shall find him there?"

"Without doubt you will, monsieur; he persists in remaining

there. We every day pass through the air hole some bread at the

end of a fork, and some meat when he asks for it; but alas! It

is not of bread and meat of which he makes the greatest

consumption. I once endeavored to go down with two of my

servants; but he flew into terrible rage. I heard the noise he

made in loading his pistols, and his servant in loading his

musketoon. Then, when we asked them what were their intentions,

the master replied that he had forty charges to fire, and that he

and his lackey would fire to the last one before he would allow a

single soul of us to set foot in the cellar. Upon this I went

and complained to the governor, who replied that I only had what

I deserved, and that it would teach me to insult honorable

gentlemen who took up their abode in my house."

"So that since that time--" replied d'Artagnan, totally unable to

refrain from laughing at the pitiable face of the host.

"So from that time, monsieur," continued the latter, "we have led

the most miserable life imaginable; for you must know, monsieur,

that all our provisions are in the cellar. There is our wine in

bottles, and our wine in casks; the beer, the oil, and the

spices, the bacon, and sausages. And as we are prevented from

going down there, we are forced to refuse food and drink to the

travelers who come to the house; so that our hostelry is daily

going to ruin. If your friend remains another week in my cellar

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I shall be a ruined man."

"And not more than justice, either, you ass! Could you not

perceive by our appearance that we were people of quality, and

not coiners--say?"

"Yes, monsieur, you are right," said the host. "But, hark, hark!

There he is!"

"Somebody has disturbed him, without doubt," said d'Artagnan.

"But he must be disturbed," cried the host; "Here are two English

gentlemen just arrived."

"well?"

"Well, the English like good wine, as you may know, monsieur;

these have asked for the best. My wife has perhaps requested

permission of Monsieur Athos to go into the cellar to satisfy

these gentlemen; and he, as usual, has refused. Ah, good heaven!

There is the hullabaloo louder than ever!"

D'Artagnan, in fact, heard a great noise on the side next the

cellar. He rose, and preceded by the host wringing his hands,

and followed by Planchet with his musketoon ready for use, he

approached the scene of action.

The two gentlemen were exasperated; they had had a long ride, and

were dying with hunger and thirst.

"But this is tyranny!" cried one of them, in very good French,

though with a foreign accent, "that this madman will not allow

these good people access to their own wine! Nonsense, let us

break open the door, and if he is too far gone in his madness,

well, we will kill him!"

"Softly, gentlemen!" said d'Artagnan, drawing his pistols from

his belt, "you will kill nobody, if you please!"

"Good, good!" cried the calm voice of Athos, from the other side

of the door, "let them just come in, these devourers of little

children, and we shall see!"

Brave as they appeared to be, the two English gentlemen looked at

each other hesitatingly. One might have thought there was in

that cellar one of those famished ogres--the gigantic heroes of

popular legends, into whose cavern nobody could force their way

with impunity.

There was a moment of silence; but at length the two Englishmen

felt ashamed to draw back, and the angrier one descended the five

or six steps which led to the cellar, and gave a kick against the

door enough to split a wall.

"Planchet," said d'Artagnan, cocking his pistols, "I will take

charge of the one at the top; you look to the one below. Ah,

gentlemen, you want battle; and you shall have it."

"Good God!" cried the hollow voice of Athos, "I can hear

d'Artagnan, I think."

"Yes," cried d'Artagnan, raising his voice in turn, "I am here,

my friend."

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"Ah, good, then," replied Athos, "we will teach them, these door

breakers!"

The gentlemen had drawn their swords, but they found themselves

taken between two fires. They still hesitated an instant; but, as

before, pride prevailed, and a second kick split the door from

bottom to top.

"Stand on one side, d'Artagnan, stand on one side," cried Athos.

"I am going to fire!"

"Gentlemen," exclaimed d'Artagnan, whom reflection never

abandoned, "gentlemen, think of what you are about. Patience,

Athos! You are running your heads into a very silly affair; you

will be riddled. My lackey and I will have three shots at you,

and you will get as many from the cellar. You will then have out

swords, with which, I can assure you, my friend and I can play

tolerably well. Let me conduct your business and my own. You

shall soon have something to drink; I give you my word."

"If there is any left," grumbled the jeering voice of Athos.

The host felt a cold sweat creep down his back.

"How! 'If there is any left!'" murmured he.

"What the devil! There must be plenty left," replied d'Artagnan.

"Be satisfied of that; these two cannot have drunk all the

cellar. Gentlemen, return your swords to their scabbards."

"Well, provided you replace your pistols in your belt."

"Willingly."

And d'Artagnan set the example. Then, turning toward Planchet,

he made him a sign to uncock his musketoon.

The Englishmen, convinced of these peaceful proceedings, sheathed

their swords grumblingly. The history of Athos's imprisonment

was then related to them; and as they were really gentlemen, they

pronounced the host in the wrong.

"Now, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, "go up to your room again; and

in ten minutes, I will answer for it, you shall have all you

desire."

The Englishmen bowed and went upstairs.

"Now I am alone, my dear Athos," said d'Artagnan; "open the door,

I beg of you."

"Instantly," said Athos.

Then was heard a great noise of fagots being removed and of the

groaning of posts; these were the counterscarps and bastions of

Athos, which the besieged himself demolished.

An instant after, the broken door was removed, and the pale face

of Athos appeared, who with a rapid glance took a survey of the

surroundings.

D'Artagnan threw himself on his neck and embraced him tenderly.

He then tried to draw him from his moist abode, but to his

surprise he perceived that Athos staggered.

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"You are wounded," said he.

"I! Not at all. I am dead drunk, that's all, and never did a

man more strongly set about getting so. By the Lord, my good

host! I must at least have drunk for my part a hundred and fifty

bottles."

"Mercy!" cried the host, "if the lackey has drunk only half as

much as the master, I am a ruined man."

"Grimaud is a well-bred lackey. He would never think of faring

in the same manner as his master; he only drank from the cask.

Hark! I don't think he put the faucet in again. Do you hear it?

It is running now."

D'Artagnan burst into a laugh which changed the shiver of the

host into a burning fever.

In the meantime, Grimaud appeared in his turn behind his master,

with the musketoon on his shoulder, and his head shaking. Like

one of those drunken satyrs in the pictures of Rubens. He was

moistened before and behind with a greasy liquid which the host

recognized as his best olive oil.

The four crossed the public room and proceeded to take possession

of the best apartment in the house, which d'Artagnan occupied

with authority.

In the meantime the host and his wife hurried down with lamps

into the cellar, which had so long been interdicted to them and

where a frightful spectacle awaited them.

Beyond the fortifications through which Athos had made a breach

in order to get out, and which were composed of fagots, planks,

and empty casks, heaped up according to all the rules of the

strategic art, they found, swimming in puddles of oil and wine,

the bones and fragments of all the hams they had eaten; while a

heap of broken bottles filled the whole left-hand corner of the

cellar, and a tun, the cock of which was left running, was

yielding, by this means, the last drop of its blood. "The image

of devastation and death," as the ancient poet says, "reigned as

over a field of battle."

Of fifty large sausages, suspended from the joists, scarcely ten

remained.

Then the lamentations of the host and hostess pierced the vault

of the cellar. D'Artagnan himself was moved by them. Athos did

not even turn his head.

To grief succeeded rage. The host armed himself with a spit, and

rushed into the chamber occupied by the two friends.

"Some wine!" said Athos, on perceiving the host.

"Some wine!" cried the stupefied host, "some wine? Why you have

drunk more than a hundred pistoles' worth! I am a ruined man,

lost, destroyed!"

"Bah," said Athos, "we were always dry."

"If you had been contented with drinking, well and good; but you

have broken all the bottles."

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"You pushed me upon a heap which rolled down. That was your

fault."

"All my oil is lost!"

"Oil is a sovereign balm for wounds; and my poor Grimaud here was

obliged to dress those you had inflicted on him."

"All my sausages are gnawed!"

"There is an enormous quantity of rats in that cellar."

"You shall pay me for all this," cried the exasperated host.

"Triple ass!" said Athos, rising; but he sank down again

immediately. He had tried his strength to the utmost.

d'Artagnan came to his relief with his whip in his hand.

The host drew back and burst into tears.

"This will teach you," said d'Artagnan, "to treat the guests God

sends you in a more courteous fashion."

"God? Say the devil!"

"My dear friend," said d'Artagnan, "if you annoy us in this

manner we will all four go and shut ourselves up in your cellar,

and we will see if the mischief is as great as you say."

"Oh, gentlemen," said the host, "I have been wrong. I confess

it, but pardon to every sin! You are gentlemen, and I am a poor

innkeeper. You will have pity on me."

"Ah, if you speak in that way," said Athos, "you will break my

heart, and the tears will flow from my eyes as the wine flowed

from the cask. We are not such devils as we appear to be. Come

hither, and let us talk."

The host approached with hesitation.

"Come hither, I say, and don't be afraid," continued Athos. "At

the very moment when I was about to pay you, I had placed my

purse on the table."

"Yes, monsieur."

"That purse contained sixty pistoles; where is it?"

"Deposited with the justice; they said it was bad money."

"Very well; get me my purse back and keep the sixty pistoles."

"But Monseigneur knows very well that justice never lets go that

which it once lays hold of. If it were bad money, there might be

some hopes; but unfortunately, those were all good pieces."

"Manage the matter as well as you can, my good man; it does not

concern me, the more so as I have not a livre left."

"Come," said d'Artagnan, "let us inquire further. Athos's horse,

where is that?"

"In the stable."

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"How much is it worth?"

"Fifty pistoles at most."

"It's worth eighty. Take it, and there ends the matter."

"What," cried Athos, "are you selling my horse--my Bajazet? And

pray upon what shall I make my campaign; upon Grimaud?"

"I have brought you another," said d'Artagnan.

"Another?"

"And a magnificent one!" cried the host.

"Well, since there is another finer and younger, why, you may

take the old one; and let us drink."

"What?" asked the host, quite cheerful again.

"Some of that at the bottom, near the laths. There are twentyfive

bottles of it left; all the rest were broken by my fall.

Bring six of them."

"Why, this man is a cask!" said the host, aside. "If he only

remains here a fortnight, and pays for what he drinks, I shall

soon re-establish my business."

"And don't forget," said d'Artagnan, "to bring up four bottles of

the same sort for the two English gentlemen."

"And now," said Athos, "while they bring the wine, tell me,

d'Artagnan, what has become of the others, come!"

D'Artagnan related how he had found Porthos in bed with a

strained knee, and Aramis at a table between two theologians. As

he finished, the host entered with the wine ordered and a ham

which, fortunately for him, had been left out of the cellar.

"That's well!" said Athos, filling his glass and that of his

friend; "here's to Porthos and Aramis! But you, d'Artagnan, what

is the matter with you, and what has happened to you personally?

You have a sad air."

"Alas," said d'Artagnan, "it is because I am the most

unfortunate."

"Tell me."

"Presently," said d'Artagnan.

"Presently! And why presently? Because you think I am drunk?

d'Artagnan, remember this! My ideas are never so clear as when I

have had plenty of wine. Speak, then, I am all ears."

D'Artagnan related his adventure with Mme. Bonacieux. Athos

listened to him without a frown; and when he had finished, said,

"Trifles, only trifles!" That was his favorite word.

"You always say TRIFLES, my dear Athos!" said d'Artagnan, "and

that come very ill from you, who have never loved."

The drink-deadened eye of Athos flashed out, but only for a

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moment; it became as dull and vacant as before.

"That's true," said he, quietly, "for my part I have never

loved."

"Acknowledge, then, you stony heart," said d'Artagnan, "that you

are wrong to be so hard upon us tender hearts."

"Tender hearts! Pierced hearts!" said Athos.

"What do you say?"

"I say that love is a lottery in which he who wins, wins death!

You are very fortunate to have lost, believe me, my dear

d'Artagnan. And if I have any counsel to give, it is, always

lose!"

"She seemed to love me so!"

"She SEEMED, did she?"

"Oh, she DID love me!"

"You child, why, there is not a man who has not believed, as you

do, that his mistress loved him, and there lives not a man who

has not been deceived by his mistress."

"Except you, Athos, who never had one."

"That's true," said Athos, after a moment's silence, "that's

true! I never had one! Let us drink!"

"But then, philosopher that you are," said d'Artagnan, "instruct

me, support me. I stand in need of being taught and consoled."

"Consoled for what?"

"For my misfortune."

"Your misfortune is laughable," said Athos, shrugging his

shoulders; "I should like to know what you would say if I were to

relate to you a real tale of love!"

"Which has happened to you?"

"Or one of my friends, what matters?"

"Tell it, Athos, tell it."

"Better if I drink."

"Drink and relate, then."

"Not a bad idea!" said Athos, emptying and refilling his glass.

"The two things agree marvelously well."

"I am all attention," said d'Artagnan.

Athos collected himself, and in proportion as he did so,

d'Artagnan saw that he became pale. He was at that period of

intoxication in which vulgar drinkers fall on the floor and go to

sleep. He kept himself upright and dreamed, without sleeping.

This somnambulism of drunkenness had something frightful in it.

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"You particularly wish it?" asked he.

"I pray for it," said d'Artagnan.

"Be it then as you desire. One of my friends--one of my friends,

please to observe, not myself," said Athos, interrupting himself

with a melancholy smile, "one of the counts of my province--that

is to say, of Berry--noble as a Dandolo or a Montmorency, at

twenty-five years of age fell in love with a girl of sixteen,

beautiful as fancy can paint. Through the ingenuousness of her

age beamed an ardent mind, not of the woman, but of the poet.

She did not please; she intoxicated. She lived in a small town

with her brother, who was a curate. Both had recently come into

the country. They came nobody knew whence; but when seeing her

so lovely and her brother so pious, nobody thought of asking

whence they came. They were said, however, to be of good

extraction. My friend, who was seigneur of the country, might

have seduced her, or taken her by force, at his will--for he was

master. Who would have come to the assistance of two strangers,

two unknown persons? Unfortunately he was an honorable man; he

married her. The fool! The ass! The idiot!"

"How so, if he love her?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Wait," said Athos. "He took her to his chateau, and made her

the first lady in the province; and in justice it must be allowed

that she supported her rank becomingly."

"Well?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Well, one day when she was hunting with her husband," continued

Athos, in a low voice, and speaking very quickly," she fell from

her horse and fainted. The count flew to her to help, and as she

appeared to be oppressed by her clothes, he ripped them open with

his poinard, and in so doing laid bare her shoulder.

d'Artagnan," said Athos, with a maniacal burst of laughter,

"guess what she had on her shoulder."

"How can I tell?" said d'Artagnan.

"A FLEUR-DE-LIS," said Athos. "She was branded."

Athos emptied at a single draught the glass he held in his hand.

"Horror!" cried d'Artagnan. "What do you tell me?"

"Truth, my friend. The angel was a demon; the poor young girl

had stolen the sacred vessels from a church."

"And what did the count do?"

"The count was of the highest nobility. He had on his estates

the rights of high and low tribunals. He tore the dress of the

countess to pieces; he tied her hands behind her, and hanged her

on a tree."

"Heavens, Athos, a murder?" cried d'Artagnan.

"No less," said Athos, as pale as a corpse. "But methinks I need

wine!" and he seized by the neck the last bottle that was left,

put it to his mouth, and emptied it at a single draught, as he

would have emptied an ordinary glass.

Then he let his head sink upon his two hands, while d'Artagnan

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stood before him, stupefied.

"That has cured me of beautiful, poetical, and loving women,"

said Athos, after a considerable pause, raising his head, and

forgetting to continue the fiction of the count. "God grant you

as much! Let us drink."

"Then she is dead?" stammered d'Artagnan.

"PARBLEU!" said Athos. "But hold out your glass. Some ham, my

boy, or we can't drink."

"And her brother?" added d'Artagnan, timidly.

"Her brother?" replied Athos.

"Yes, the priest."

"Oh, I inquired after him for the purpose of hanging him

likewise; but he was beforehand with me, he had quit the curacy

the night before."

"Was it ever known who this miserable fellow was?"

"He was doubtless the first lover and accomplice of the fair

lady. A worthy man, who had pretended to be a curate for the

purpose of getting his mistress married, and securing her a

position. He has been hanged and quartered, I hope."

"My God, my God!" cried d'Artagnan, quite stunned by the relation

of this horrible adventure.

"Taste some of this ham, d'Artagnan; it is exquisite," said

Athos, cutting a slice, which he placed on the young man's plate.

"What a pity it is there were only four like this in the cellar.

I could have drunk fifty bottles more."

D'Artagnan could no longer endure this conversation, which had

made him bewildered. Allowing his head to sink upon his two

hands, he pretended to sleep.

"These young fellows can none of them drink," said Athos, looking

at him with pity, "and yet this is one of the best!"

28 THE RETURN

D'Artagnan was astounded by the terrible confidence of Athos; yet

many things appeared very obscure to him in this half revelation.

In the first place it had been made by a man quite drunk to one

who was half drunk; and yet, in spite of the incertainty which

the vapor of three or four bottles of Burgundy carries with it to

the brain, d'Artagnan, when awaking on the following morning, had

all the words of Athos as present to his memory as if they then

fell from his mouth--they had been so impressed upon his mind.

All this doubt only gave rise to a more lively desire of arriving

at a certainty, and he went into his friend's chamber with a

fixed determination of renewing the conversation of the preceding

evening; but he found Athos quite himself again--that is to say,

the most shrewd and impenetrable of men. Besides which, the

Musketeer, after having exchanged a hearty shake of the hand with

him, broached the matter first.

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"I was pretty drunk yesterday, d'Artagnan," said he, "I can tell

that by my tongue, which was swollen and hot this morning, and by

my pulse, which was very tremulous. I wager that I uttered a

thousand extravagances."

While saying this he looked at his friend with an earnestness

that embarrassed him.

"No," replied d'Artagnan, "if I recollect well what you said, it

was nothing out of the common way."

"Ah, you surprise me. I thought I had told you a most lamentable

story." And he looked at the young man as if he would read the

bottom of his heart.

"My faith," said d'Artagnan, "it appears that I was more drunk

than you, since I remember nothing of the kind."

Athos did not trust this reply, and he resumed; "you cannot have

failed to remark, my dear friend, that everyone has his

particular kind of drunkenness, sad or gay. My drunkenness is

always sad, and when I am thoroughly drunk my mania is to relate

all the lugubrious stories which my foolish nurse inculcated into

my brain. That is my failing--a capital failing, I admit; but

with that exception, I am a good drinker."

Athos spoke this in so natural a manner that d'Artagnan was

shaken in his conviction.

"It is that, then," replied the young man, anxious to find out

the truth, "it is that, then, I remember as we remember a dream.

We were speaking of hanging."

"Ah, you see how it is," said Athos, becoming still paler, but

yet attempting to laugh; "I was sure it was so--the hanging of

people is my nightmare."

"Yes, yes," replied d'Artagnan. "I remember now; yes, it was

about--stop a minute--yes, it was about a woman."

"That's it," replied Athos, becoming almost livid; "that is my

grand story of the fair lady, and when I relate that, I must be

very drunk."

"Yes, that was it," said d'Artagnan, "the story of a tall, fair

lady, with blue eyes."

"Yes, who was hanged."

"By her husband, who was a nobleman of your acquaintance,"

continued d'Artagnan, looking intently at Athos.

"Well, you see how a man may compromise himself when he does not

know what he says," replied Athos, shrugging his shoulders as if

he thought himself an object of pity. "I certainly never will

get drunk again, d'Artagnan; it is too bad a habit."

D'Artagnan remained silent; and then changing the conversation

all at once, Athos said:

"By the by, I thank you for the horse you have brought me."

"Is it to your mind?" asked d'Artagnan.

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"Yes; but it is not a horse for hard work."

"You are mistaken; I rode him nearly ten leagues in less than an

hour and a half, and he appeared no more distressed than if he

had only made the tour of the Place St. Sulpice."

"Ah, you begin to awaken my regret."

"Regret?"

"Yes; I have parted with him."

"How?"

"Why, here is the simple fact. This morning I awoke at six

o'clock. You were still fast asleep, and I did not know what to

do with myself; I was still stupid from our yesterday's debauch.

As I came into the public room, I saw one of our Englishman

bargaining with a dealer for a horse, his own having died

yesterday from bleeding. I drew yesterday from bleeding. I drew near, and found he

was bidding a

hundred pistoles for a chestnut nag. 'PARDIEU,' said I, 'my good

gentleman, I have a horse to sell, too.' 'Ay, and a very fine

one! I saw him yesterday; your friend's lackey was leading him.'

'Do you think he is worth a hundred pistoles?' 'Yes! Will you

sell him to me for that sum?' 'No; but I will play for him.'

'What?' 'At dice.' No sooner said than done, and I lost the

horse. Ah, ah! But please to observe I won back the equipage,'

cried Athos.

D'Artagnan looked much disconcerted.

"This vexes you?" said Athos.

"Well, I must confess it does," replied d'Artagnan. "That horse

was to have identified us in the day of battle. It was a pledge,

a remembrance. Athos, you have done wrong."

"But, my dear friend, put yourself in my place," replied the

Musketeer. "I was hipped to death; and still further, upon my

honor, I don't like English horses. If it is only to be

recognized, why the saddle will suffice for that; it is quite

remarkable enough. As to the horse, we can easily find some

excuse for its disappearance. Why the devil! A horse is mortal;

suppose mine had had the glanders or the farcy?"

D'Artagnan did not smile.

"It vexes me greatly," continued Athos, "that you attach so much

importance to these animals, for I am not yet at the end of my

story."

"What else have you done."

"After having lost my own horse, nine against ten--see how near--

I formed an idea of staking yours."

"Yes; but you stopped at the idea, I hope?"

"No; for I put it in execution that very minute."

"And the consequence?" said d'Artagnan, in great anxiety.

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"I threw, and I lost."

"What, my horse?"

"Your horse, seven against eight; a point short--you know the

proverb."

"Athos, you are not in your right senses, I swear."

"My dear lad, that was yesterday, when I was telling you silly

stories, it was proper to tell me that, and not this morning. I

lost him then, with all his appointments and furniture."

"Really, this is frightful."

"Stop a minute; you don't know all yet. I should make an

excellent gambler if I were not too hot-headed; but I was hotheaded,

just as if I had been drinking. Well, I was not hotheaded

then--"

"Well, but what else could you play for? You had nothing left?"

'Oh, yes, my friend; there was still that diamond left which

sparkles on your finger, and which I had observed yesterday."

"This diamond!" said d'Artagnan, placing his hand eagerly on his

ring.

"And as I am a connoisseur in such things, having had a few of my

own once, I estimated it at a thousand pistoles."

"I hope," said d'Artagnan, half dead with fright, "you made no

mention of my diamond?"

"On the contrary, my dear friend, this diamond became our only

resource; with it I might regain our horses and their harnesses,

and even money to pay our expenses on the road."

"Athos, you make me tremble!" cried d'Artagnan.

"I mentioned your diamond then to my adversary, who had likewise

remarked it. What the devil, my dear, do you think you can wear

a star from heaven on your finger, and nobody observe it?

Impossible!"

"Go on, go on, my dear fellow!" said d'Artagnan; "for upon my

honor, you will kill me with your indifference."

"We divided, then, this diamond into ten parts of a hundred

pistoles each."

"You are laughing at me, and want to try me!" said d'Artagnan,

whom anger began to take by the hair, as Minerva takes Achilles,

in the ILLIAD.

"No, I do not jest, MORDIEU! I should like to have seen you in

my place! I had been fifteen days without seeing a human face,

and had been left to brutalize myself in the company of bottles."

"That was no reason for staking my diamond!" replied d'Artagnan,

closing his hand with a nervous spasm.

"Hear the end. Ten parts of a hundred pistoles each, in ten

throws, without revenge; in thirteen throws I had lost all--in

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thirteen throws. The number thirteen was always fatal to me; it

was on the thirteenth of July that--"

"VENTREBLEU!" cried d'Artagnan, rising from the table, the story

of the present day making him forget that of the preceding one.

"Patience!" said Athos; "I had a plan. The Englishman was an

original; I had seen him conversing that morning with Grimaud,

and Grimaud had told me that he had made him proposals to enter

into his service. I staked Grimaud, the silent Grimaud, divided

into ten portions."

"Well, what next?" said d'Artagnan, laughing in spite of himself.

"Grimaud himself, understand; and with the ten parts of Grimaud,

which are not worth a ducatoon, I regained the diamond. Tell me,

now, if persistence is not a virtue?"

"My faith! But this is droll," cried d'Artagnan, consoled, and

holding his sides with laughter.

"You may guess, finding the luck turned, that I again staked the

diamond."

"The devil!" said d'Artagnan, becoming angry again.

"I won back your harness, then your horse, then my harness, then

my horse, and then I lost again. In brief, I regained your

harness and then mine. That's where we are. That was a superb

throw, so I left off there."

D'Artagnan breathed as if the whole hostelry had been removed

from his breast.

"Then the diamond is safe?" said he, timidly.

"Intact, my dear friend; besides the harness of your Bucephalus

and mine."

"But what is the use of harnesses without horses?"

"I have an idea about them."

"Athos, you make me shudder."

"Listen to me. You have not played for a long time, d'Artagnan."

"And I have no inclination to play."

"Swear to nothing. You have not played for a long time, I said;

you ought, then, to have a good hand."

"Well, what then?"

"Well; the Englishman and his companion are still here. I

remarked that he regretted the horse furniture very much. You

appear to think much of your horse. In your place I would stake

the furniture against the horse."

"But he will not wish for only one harness."

"Stake both, PARDIEU! I am not selfish, as you are."

"You would do so?" said d'Artagnan, undecided, so strongly did

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the confidence of Athos begin to prevail, in spite of himself.

"On my honor, in one single throw."

"But having lost the horses, I am particularly anxious to

preserve the harnesses."

"Stake your diamond, then."

"This? That's another matter. Never, never!"

"The devil!" said Athos. "I would propose to you to stake

Planchet, but as that has already been done, the Englishman would

not, perhaps, be willing."

"Decidedly, my dear Athos," said d'Artagnan, "I should like

better not to risk anything."

"That's a pity," said Athos, cooly. "The Englishman is

overflowing with pistoles. Good Lord, try one throw! One throw

is soon made!"

"And if I lose?"

"You will win."

"But if I lose?"

"Well, you will surrender the harnesses."

"Have with you for one throw!" said d'Artagnan.

Athos went in quest of the Englishman, whom he found in the

stable, examining the harnesses with a greedy eye. The

opportunity was good. He proposed the conditions--the two

harnesses, either against one horse or a hundred pistoles. The

Englishman calculated fast; the two harnesses were worth three

hundred pistoles. He consented.

D'Artagnan threw the dice with a trembling hand, and turned up

the number three; his paleness terrified Athos, who, however,

consented himself with saying, "That's a sad throw, comrade; you

will have the horses fully equipped, monsieur."

The Englishman, quite triumphant, did not even give himself the

trouble to shake the dice. He threw them on the table without

looking at them, so sure was he of victory; d'Artagnan turned

aside to conceal his ill humor.

"Hold, hold, hold!" said Athos, wit his quiet tone; "that throw

of the dice is extraordinary. I have not seen such a one four

times in my life. Two aces!"

The Englishman looked, and was seized with astonishment.

d'Artagnan looked, and was seized with pleasure.

"Yes," continued Athos, "four times only; once at the house of

Monsieur Crequy; another time at my own house in the country, in

my chateau at--when I had a chateau; a third time at Monsieur de

Treville's where it surprised us all; and the fourth time at a

cabaret, where it fell to my lot, and where I lost a hundred

louis and a supper on it."

"Then Monsieur takes his horse back again," said the Englishman.

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"Certainly," said d'Artagnan.

"Then there is no revenge?"

"Our conditions said, 'No revenge,' you will please to

recollect."

"That is true; the horse shall be restored to your lackey,

monsieur."

"A moment," said Athos; "with your permission, monsieur, I wish

to speak a word with my friend."

"Say on."

Athos drew d'Artagnan aside.

"Well, Tempter, what more do you want with me?" said d'Artagnan.

"You want me to throw again, do you not?"

"No, I would wish you to reflect."

"On what?"

"You mean to take your horse?"

"Without doubt."

"You are wrong, then. I would take the hundred pistoles. You

know you have staked the harnesses against the horse or a hundred

pistoles, at your choice."

"Yes."

"Well, then, I repeat, you are wrong. What is the use of one

horse for us two? I could not ride behind. We should look like

the two sons of Anmon, who had lost their brother. You cannot

think of humiliating me by prancing along by my side on that

magnificent charger. For my part, I should not hesitate a

moment; I should take the hundred pistoles. We want money for

our return to Paris."

"I am much attached to that horse, Athos."

"And there again you are wrong. A horse slips and injures a

joint; a horse stumbles and breaks his knees to the bone; a horse

eats out of a manger in which a glandered horse has eaten. There

is a horse, while on the contrary, the hundred pistoles feed

their master."

"But how shall we get back?"

"Upon our lackey's horses, PARDIEU. Anybody may see by our

bearing that we are people of condition."

"Pretty figures we shall cut on ponies while Aramis and Porthos

caracole on their steeds."

"Aramis! Porthos!" cried Athos, and laughed aloud.

"What is it?" asked d'Artagnan, who did not at all comprehend the

hilarity of his friend.

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"Nothing, nothing! Go on!"

"Your advice, then?"

"To take the hundred pistoles, d'Artagnan. With the hundred

pistoles we can live well to the end of the month. We have

undergone a great deal of fatigue, remember, and a little rest

will do no harm."

"I rest? Oh, no, Athos. Once in Paris, I shall prosecute my

search for that unfortunate woman!"

"Well, you may be assured that your horse will not be half so

serviceable to you for that purpose as good golden louis. Take

the hundred pistoles, my friend; take the hundred pistoles!"

D'Artagnan only required one reason to be satisfied. This last

reason appeared convincing. Besides, he feared that by resisting

longer he should appear selfish in the eyes of Athos. He

acquiesced, therefore, and chose the hundred pistoles, which the

Englishman paid down on the spot.

They then determined to depart. Peace with the landlord, in

addition to Athos's old horse, cost six pistoles. D'Artagnan and

Athos took the nags of Planchet and Grimaud, and the two lackeys

started on foot, carrying the saddles on their heads.

However ill our two friends were mounted, they were soon far in

advance of their servants, and arrived at Creveccoeur. From a

distance they perceived Aramis, seated in a melancholy manner at

his window, looking out, like Sister Anne, at the dust in the

horizon.

"HOLA, Aramis! What the devil are you doing there?" cried the

two friends.

"Ah, is that you, d'Artagnan, and you, Athos?" said the young

man. "I was reflecting upon the rapidity with which the

blessings of this world leave us. My English horse, which has

just disappeared amid a cloud of dust, has furnished me with a

living image of the fragility of the things of the earth. Life

itself may be resolved into three words: ERAT, EST, FUIT."

"Which means--" said d'Artagnan, who began to suspect the truth.

"Which means that I have just been duped-sixty louis for a horse

which by the manner of his gait can do at least five leagues an

hour."

D'Artagnan and Athos laughed aloud.

"My dear d'Artagnan," said Aramis, "don't be too angry with me, I

beg. Necessity has no law; besides, I am the person punished, as

that rascally horsedealer has robbed me of fifty louis, at least.

Ah, you fellows are good managers! You ride on our lackey's

horses, and have your own gallant steeds led along carefully by

hand, at short stages."

At the same instant a market cart, which some minutes before had

appeared upon the Amiens road, pulled up at the inn, and Planchet

and Grimaud came out of it with the saddles on their heads. The

cart was returning empty to Paris, and the two lackeys had

agreed, for their transport, to slake the wagoner's thirst along

the route.

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"What is this?" said Aramis, on seeing them arrive. "Nothing but

saddles?"

"Now do you understand?" said Athos.

"My friends, that's exactly like me! I retained my harness by

instinct. HOLA, Bazin! Bring my new saddle and carry it along

with those of these gentlemen."

"And what have you done with your ecclesiastics?" asked

d'Artagnan.

"My dear fellow, I invited them to a dinner the next day,"

replied Aramis. "They have some capital wine here--please to

observe that in passing. I did my best to make them drunk. Then

the curate forbade me to quit my uniform, and the Jesuit

entreated me to get him made a Musketeer."

"Without a thesis?" cried d'Artagnan, "without a thesis? I

demand the suppression of the thesis."

"Since then," continued Aramis, "I have lived very agreeably. I

have begun a poem in verses of one syllable. That is rather

difficult, but the merit in all things consists in the

difficulty. The matter is gallant. I will read you the first

canto. It has four hundred lines, and lasts a minute."

"My faith, my dear Aramis," said d'Artagnan, who detested verses

almost as much as he did Latin, "add to the merit of the

difficulty that of the brevity, and you are sure that your poem

will at least have two merits."

"You will see," continued Aramis, "that it breathes

irreproachable passion. And so, my friends, we return to Paris?

Bravo! I am ready. We are going to rejoin that good fellow,

Porthos. So much the better. You can't think how I have missed

him, the great simpleton. To see him so self-satisfied

reconciles me with myself. He would not sell his horse; not for

a kingdom! I think I can see him now, mounted upon his superb

animal and seated in his handsome saddle. I am sure he will look

like the Great Mogul!"

They made a halt for an hour to refresh their horses. Aramis

discharged his bill, placed Bazin in the cart with his comrades,

and they set forward to join Porthos.

They found him up, less pale than when d'Artagnan left him after

his first visit, and seated at a table on which, though he was

alone, was spread enough for four persons. This dinner consisted

of meats nicely dressed, choice wines, and superb fruit.

"Ah, PARDIEU!" said he, rising, "you come in the nick of time,

gentlemen. I was just beginning the soup, and you will dine with

me."

"Oh, oh!" said d'Artagnan, "Mousqueton has not caught these

bottles with his lasso. Besides, here is a piquant FRICANDEAU

and a fillet of beef."

"I am recruiting myself," said Porthos, "I am recruiting myself.

Nothing weakens a man more than these devilish strains. Did you

ever suffer from a strain, Athos?"

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"Never! Though I remember, in our affair of the Rue Ferou, I

received a sword wound which at the end of fifteen or eighteen

days produced the same effect."

"But this dinner was not intended for you alone, Porthos?" said

Aramis.

"No," said Porthos, "I expected some gentlemen of the

neighborhood, who have just sent me word they could not come.

You will take their places and I shall not lose by the exchange.

HOLA, Mousqueton, seats, and order double the bottles!"

"Do you know what we are eating here?" said Athos, at the end of

ten minutes.

"PARDIEU!" replied d'Artagnan, "for my part, I am eating veal

garnished with shrimps and vegetables."

"And I some lamb chops," said Porthos.

"And I a plain chicken," said Aramis.

"You are all mistaken, gentlemen," answered Athos, gravely; "you

are eating horse."

"Eating what?" said d'Artagnan.

"Horse!" said Aramis, with a grimace of disgust.

Porthos alone made no reply.

"Yes, horse. Are we not eating a horse, Porthos? And perhaps

his saddle, therewith."

"No, gentlemen, I have kept the harness," said Porthos.

"My faith," said Aramis, "we are all alike. One would think we

had tipped the wink."

"What could I do?" said Porthos. "This horse made my visitors

ashamed of theirs, and I don't like to humiliate people."

"Then your duchess is still at the waters?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Still," replied Porthos. "And, my faith, the governor of the

province--one of the gentlemen I expected today--seemed to have

such a wish for him, that I gave him to him."

"Gave him?" cried d'Artagnan.

"My God, yes, GAVE, that is the word," said Porthos; "for the

animal was worth at least a hundred and fifty louis, and the

stingy fellow would only give me eighty."

"Without the saddle?" said Aramis.

"Yes, without the saddle."

"You will observe, gentlemen," said Athos, "that Porthos has made

the best bargain of any of us."

And then commenced a roar of laughter in which they all joined,

to the astonishment of poor Porthos; but when he was informed of

the cause of their hilarity, he shared it vociferously according

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to his custom.

"There is one comfort, we are all in cash," said d'Artagnan.

"Well, for my part," said Athos, "I found Aramis's Spanish wine

so good that I sent on a hamper of sixty bottles of it in the

wagon with the lackeys. That has weakened my purse."

"And I," said Aramis, "imagined that I had given almost my last

sou to the church of Montdidier and the Jesuits of Amiens, with

whom I had made engagements which I ought to have kept. I have

ordered Masses for myself, and for you, gentlemen, which will be

said, gentlemen, for which I have not the least doubt you will be

marvelously benefited."

"And I," said Porthos, "do you think my strain cost me nothing?--

without reckoning Mousqueton's wound, for which I had to have the

surgeon twice a day, and who charged me double on account of that

foolish Mousqueton having allowed himself a ball in a part which

people generally only show to an apothecary; so I advised him to

try never to get wounded there any more."

"Ay, ay!" said Athos, exchanging a smile with d'Artagnan and

Aramis, "it is very clear you acted nobly with regard to the poor

lad; that is like a good master."

"In short," said Porthos, "when all my expenses are paid, I shall

have, at most, thirty crowns left."

"And I about ten pistoles," said Aramis.

"Well, then it appears that we are the Croesuses of the society.

How much have you left of your hundred pistoles, d'Artagnan.?"

"Of my hundred pistoles? Why, in the first place I gave you

fifty."

"You think so?"

"PARDIEU!"

"Ah, that is true. I recollect."

"Then I paid the host six."

"What a brute of a host! Why did you give him six pistoles?"

"You told me to give them to him."

"It is true; I am too good-natured. In brief, how much remains?"

"Twenty-five pistoles," said d'Artagnan.

"And I," said Athos, taking some small change from his pocket,

I--"

"You? Nothing!"

"My faith! So little that it is not worth reckoning with the

general stock."

"Now, then, let us calculate how much we posses in all."

"Porthos?"

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"Thirty crowns."

"Aramis?"

"Ten pistoles."

"And you, d'Artagnan?"

"Twenty-five."

"That makes in all?" said Athos.

"Four hundred and seventy-five livres," said d'Artagnan, who

reckoned like Archimedes.

"On our arrival in Paris, we shall still have four hundred,

besides the harnesses," said Porthos.

"But our troop horses?" said Aramis.

"Well, of the four horses of our lackeys we will make two for the

masters, for which we will draw lots. With the four hundred

livres we will make the half of one for one of the unmounted, and

then we will give the turnings out of our pockets to d'Artagnan,

who has a steady hand, and will go and play in the first gaming

house we come to. There!"

"Let us dine, then," said Porthos; "it is getting cold."

The friends, at ease with regard to the future, did honor to the

repast, the remains of which were abandoned to Mousqueton, Bazin,

Planchet, and Grimaud.

On arriving in Paris, d'Artagnan found a letter from M. de

Treville, which informed him that, at his request, the king had

promised that he should enter the company of the Musketeers.

As this was the height of d'Artagnan's worldly ambition--apart,

be it well understood, from his desire of finding Mme.

Bonacieux--he ran, full of joy, to seek his comrades, whom he had

left only half an hour before, but whom he found very sad and

deeply preoccupied. They were assembled in council at the

residence of Athos, which always indicated an event of some

gravity. M. de Treville had intimated to them his Majesty's

fixed intention to open the campaign on the first of May, and

they must immediately prepare their outfits.

The four philosophers looked at one another in a state of

bewilderment. M. de Treville never jested in matters relating to

discipline.

"And what do you reckon your outfit will cost?" said d'Artagnan.

"Oh, we can scarcely say. We have made our calculations with

Spartan economy, and we each require fifteen hundred livres."

"Four times fifteen makes sixty--six thousand livres," said

Athos.

"It seems to me," said d'Artagnan, "with a thousand livres each--

I do not speak as a Spartan, but as a procurator--"

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This word PROCURATOR roused Porthos. "Stop," said he, "I have an

idea."

"Well, that's something, for I have not the shadow of one," said

Athos cooly; "but as to d'Artagnan, gentlemen, the idea of

belonging to OURS has driven him out of his senses. A thousand

livres! For my part, I declare I want two thousand."

"Four times two makes eight," then said Aramis; "it is eight

thousand that we want to complete our outfits, toward which, it

is true, we have already the saddles."

"Besides," said Athos, waiting till d'Artagnan, who went to thank

Monsieur de Treville, had shut the door, "besides, there is that

beautiful ring which beams from the finger of our friend. What

the devil! D'Artagnan is too good a comrade to leave his

brothers in embarrassment while he wears the ransom of a king on

his finger."

29 HUNTING FOR THE EQUIPMENTS

The most preoccupied of the four friends was certainly

d'Artagnan, although he, in his quality of Guardsman, would be

much more easily equipped than Messieurs the Musketeers, who were

all of high rank; but our Gascon cadet was, as may have been

observed, of a provident and almost avaricious character, and

with that (explain the contradiction) so vain as almost to rival

Porthos. To this preoccupation of his vanity, d'Artagnan at this

moment joined an uneasiness much less selfish. Notwithstanding

all his inquiries respecting Mme. Bonacieux, he could obtain no

intelligence of her. M. de Treville had spoken of her to the

queen. The queen was ignorant where the mercer's young wife was,

but had promised to have her sought for; but this promise was

very vague and did not at all reassure d'Artagnan.

Athos did not leave his chamber; he made up his mind not to take

a single step to equip himself.

"We have still fifteen days before us," said he to his friends.

"well, if at the end of a fortnight I have found nothing, or

rather if nothing has come to find me, as I, too good a

Catholic to kill myself with a pistol bullet, I will seek a good

quarrel with four of his Eminence's Guards or with eight

Englishmen, and I will fight until one of them has killed me,

which, considering the number, cannot fail to happen. It will

then be said of me that I died for the king; so that I shall have

performed my duty without the expense of an outfit."

Porthos continued to walk about with his hands behind him,

tossing his head and repeating, "I shall follow up on my idea."

Aramis, anxious and negligently dressed, said nothing.

It may be seen by these disastrous details that desolation

reigned in the community.

The lackeys on their part, like the coursers of Hippolytus,

shared the sadness of their masters. Mousqueton collected a

store of crusts; Bazin, who had always been inclined to devotion,

never quit the churches; Planchet watched the flight of flies;

and Grimaud, whom the general distress could not induce to break

the silence imposed by his master, heaved sighs enough to soften

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the stones.

The three friends--for, as we have said, Athos had sworn not to

stir a foot to equip himself--went out early in the morning, and

returned late at night. They wandered about the streets, looking

at the pavement a if to see whether the passengers had not left a

purse behind them. They might have been supposed to be following

tracks, so observant were they wherever they went. When they met

they looked desolately at one another, as much as to say, "Have

you found anything?"

However, as Porthos had first found an idea, and had thought of

it earnestly afterward, he was the first to act. He was a man of

execution, this worthy Porthos. D'Artagnan perceived him one day

walking toward the church of St. Leu, and followed him

instinctively. He entered, after having twisted his mustache and

elongated his imperial, which always announced on his part the

most triumphant resolutions. As d'Artagnan took some precautions

to conceal himself, Porthos believed he had not been seen.

d'Artagnan entered behind him. Porthos went and leaned against

the side of a pillar. D'Artagnan, still unperceived, supported

himself against the other side.

There happened to be a sermon, which made the church very full of

people. Porthos took advantage of this circumstance to ogle the

women. Thanks to the cares of Mousqueton, the exterior was far

from announcing the distress of the interior. His hat was a

little napless, his feather was a little faded, his gold lace was

a little tarnished, his laces were a trifle frayed; but in the

obscurity of the church these things were not seen, and Porthos

was still the handsome Porthos.

D'Artagnan observed, on the bench nearest to the pillar against

which Porthos leaned, a sort of ripe beauty, rather yellow and

rather dry, but erect and haughty under her black hood. The eyes

of Porthos were furtively cast upon this lady, and then roved

about at large over the nave.

On her side the lady, who from time to time blushed, darted with

the rapidity of lightning a glance toward the inconstant Porthos;

and then immediately the eyes of Porthos wandered anxiously. It

was plain that this mode of proceeding piqued the lady in the

black hood, for she bit her lips till they bled, scratched the

end of her nose, and could not sit still in her seat.

Porthos, seeing this, retwisted his mustache, elongated his

imperial a second time, and began to make signals to a beautiful

lady who was near the choir, and who not only was a beautiful

lady, but still further, no doubt, a great lady--for she had

behind her a Negro boy who had brought the cushion on which she

knelt, and a female servant who held the emblazoned bag in which

was placed the book from which she read the Mass.

The lady with the black hood followed through all their

wanderings the looks of Porthos, and perceived that they rested

upon the lady with the velvet cushion, the little Negro, and the

maid-servant.

During this time Porthos played close. It was almost

imperceptible motions of his eyes, fingers placed upon the lips,

little assassinating smiles, which really did assassinate the

disdained beauty.

Then she cried, "Ahem!" under cover of the MEA CULPA, striking

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her breast so vigorously that everybody, even the lady with the

red cushion, turned round toward her. Porthos paid no attention.

Nevertheless, he understood it all, but was deaf.

The lady with the red cushion produced a great effect--for she

was very handsome--upon the lady with he black hood, who saw in

her a rival really to be dreaded; a great effect upon Porthos,

who thought her much prettier than the lady with the black hood;

a great effect upon d'Artagnan, who recognized in her the lady of

Meung, of Calais, and of Dover, whom his persecutor, the man with

the scar, had saluted by the name of Milady.

D'Artagnan, without losing sight of the lady of the red cushion,

continued to watch the proceedings of Porthos, which amused him

greatly. He guessed that the lady of the black hood was the

procurator's wife of the Rue aux Ours, which was the more

probable from the church of St. Leu being not far from that

locality.

He guessed, likewise, by induction, that Porthos was taking his

revenge for the defeat of Chantilly, when the procurator's wife

had proved so refractory with respect to her purse.

Amid all this, d'Artagnan remarked also that not one countenance

responded to the gallantries of Porthos. There were only

chimeras and illusions; but for real love, for true jealousy, is

there any reality except illusions and chimeras?

The sermon over, the procurator's wife advanced toward the holy

font. Porthos went before her, and instead of a finger, dipped

his whole hand in. The procurator's wife smiled, thinking that

it was for her Porthos had put himself to this trouble; but she

was cruelly and promptly undeceived. When she was only about

three steps from him, he turned his head round, fixing his eyes

steadfastly upon the lady with the red cushion, who had risen and

was approaching, followed by her black boy and her woman.

When the lady of the red cushion came close to Porthos, Porthos

drew his dripping hand from the font. The fair worshipper

touched the great hand of Porthos with her delicate fingers,

smiled, made the sign of the cross, and left the church.

This was too much for the procurator's wife; she doubted not

there was an intrigue between this lady and Porthos. If she had

been a great lady she would have fainted; but as she was only a

procurator's wife, she contented herself saying to the Musketeer

with concentrated fury, "Eh, Monsieur Porthos, you don't offer me

any holy water?"

Porthos, at the sound of that voice, started like a man awakened

from a sleep of a hundred years.

"Ma-madame!" cried he; "is that you? How is your husband, our

dear Monsieur Coquenard? Is he still as stingy as ever? Where

can my eyes have been not to have seen you during the two hours

of the sermon?"

"I was within two paces of you, monsieur," replied the

procurator's wife; "but you did not perceive me because you had

no eyes but for the pretty lady to whom you just now gave the

holy water."

Porthos pretended to be confused. "Ah," said he, "you have

remarked--"

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"I must have been blind not to have seen."

"Yes," said Porthos, "that is a duchess of my acquaintance whom I

have great trouble to meet on account of the jealousy of her

husband, and who sent me word that she should come today to this

poor church, buried in this vile quarter, solely for the sake of

seeing me."

"Monsieur Porthos," said the procurator's wife, "will you have

the kindness to offer me your arm for five minutes? I have

something to say to you."

"Certainly, madame," said Porthos, winking to himself, as a

gambler does who laughs at the dupe he is about to pluck.

At that moment d'Artagnan passed in pursuit of Milady; he cast a

passing glance at Porthos, and beheld this triumphant look.

"Eh, eh!" said he, reasoning to himself according to the

strangely easy morality of that gallant period, "there is one who

will be equipped in good time!"

Porthos, yielding to the pressure of the arm of the procurator's

wife, as a bark yields to the rudder, arrived at the cloister St.

Magloire--a little-frequented passage, enclosed with a turnstile

at each end. In the daytime nobody was seen there but mendicants

devouring their crusts, and children at play.

"Ah, Monsieur Porthos," cried the procurator's wife, when she was

assured that no one who was a stranger to the population of the

locality could either see or hear her, "ah, Monsieur Porthos, you

are a great conqueror, as it appears!"

"I, madame?" said Porthos, drawing himself up proudly; "how so?"

"The signs just now, and the holy water! But that must be a

princess, at least--that lady with her Negro boy and her maid!"

"My God! Madame, you are deceived," said Porthos; "she is simply

a duchess."

"And that running footman who waited at the door, and that

carriage with a coachman in grand livery who sat waiting on his

seat?"

Porthos had seen neither the footman nor the carriage, but with

he eye of a jealous woman, Mme. Coquenard had seen everything.

Porthos regretted that he had not at once made the lady of the

red cushion a princess.

"Ah, you are quite the pet of the ladies, Monsieur Porthos!"

resumed the procurator's wife, with a sigh.

"Well," responded Porthos, "you may imagine, with the physique

with which nature has endowed me, I am not in want of good luck."

"Good Lord, how quickly men forget!" cried the procurator's wife,

raising her eyes toward heaven.

"Less quickly than the women, it seems to me," replied Porthos;

"for I, madame, I may say I was your victim, when wounded, dying,

I was abandoned by the surgeons. I, the offspring of a noble

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family, who placed reliance upon your friendship--I was near

dying of my wounds at first, and of hunger afterward, in a

beggarly inn at Chantilly, without you ever deigning once to

reply to the burning letters I addressed to you."

"But, Monsieur Porthos," murmured the procurator's wife, who

began to feel that, to judge by the conduct of the great ladies

of the time, she was wrong.

"I, who had sacrificed for you the Baronne de--"

"I know it well."

"The Comtesse de--"

"Monsieur Porthos, be generous!"

"You are right, madame, and I will not finish."

"But it was my husband who would not hear of lending."

"Madame Coquenard," said Porthos, "remember the first letter you

wrote me, and which I preserve engraved in my memory."

The procurator's wife uttered a groan.

"Besides," said she, "the sum you required me to borrow was

rather large."

"Madame Coquenard, I gave you the preference. I had but to write

to the Duchesse--but I won't repeat her name, for I am incapable

of compromising a woman; but this I know, that I had but to write

to her and she would have sent me fifteen hundred."

The procurator's wife shed a tear.

"Monsieur Porthos," said she, "I can assure you that you have

severely punished me; and if in the time to come you should find

yourself in a similar situation, you have but to apply to me."

"Fie, madame, fie!" said Porthos, as if disgusted. "Let us not

talk about money, if you please; it is humiliating."

"Then you no longer love me!" said the procurator's wife, slowly

and sadly.

Porthos maintained a majestic silence.

"And that is the only reply you make? Alas, I understand."

"Think of the offense you have committed toward me, madame! It

remains HERE!" said Porthos, placing his hand on his heart, and

pressing it strongly.

"I will repair it, indeed I will, my dear Porthos."

"Besides, what did I ask of you?" resumed Porthos, with a

movement of the shoulders full of good fellowship. "A loan,

nothing more! After all, I am not an unreasonable man. I know

you are not rich, Madame Coquenard, and that your husband is

obliged to bleed his poor clients to squeeze a few paltry crowns

from them. Oh! If you were a duchess, a marchioness, or a

countess, it would be quite a different thing; it would be

unpardonable."

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The procurator's wife was piqued.

"Please to know, Monsieur Porthos," said she, "that my strongbox,

the strongbox of a procurator's wife though if may be, is better

filled than those of your affected minxes."

"The doubles the offense," said Porthos, disengaging his arm from

that of the procurator's wife; "for if you are rich, Madame

Coquenard, then there is no excuse for your refusal."

"When I said rich," replied the procurator's wife, who saw that

she had gone too far, "you must not take the word literally. I

am not precisely rich, though I am pretty well off."

"Hold, madame," said Porthos, "let us say no more upon the

subject, I beg of you. You have misunderstood me, all sympathy

is extinct between us."

"Ingrate that you are!"

"Ah! I advise you to complain!" said Porthos.

"Begone, then, to your beautiful duchess; I will detain you no

longer."

"And she is not to be despised, in my opinion."

"Now, Monsieur Porthos, once more, and this is the last! Do you

love me still?"

"Ah, madame," said Porthos, in the most melancholy tone he could

assume, "when we are about to enter upon a campaign--a campaign,

in which my presentiments tell me I shall be killed--"

"Oh, don't talk of such things!" cried the procurator's wife,

bursting into tears.

"Something whispers me so," continued Porthos, becoming more and

more melancholy.

"Rather say that you have a new love."

"Not so; I speak frankly to you. No object affects me; and I

even feel here, at the bottom of my heart, something which speaks

for you. But in fifteen days, as you know, or as you do not

know, this fatal campaign is to open. I shall be fearfully

preoccupied with my outfit. Then I must make a journey to see my

family, in the lower part of Brittany, to obtain the sum

necessary for my departure."

Porthos observed a last struggle between love and avarice.

"And as," continued he, "the duchess whom you saw at the church

has estates near to those of my family, we mean to make the

journey together. Journeys, you know, appear much shorter when

we travel two in company."

"Have you no friends in Paris, then, Monsieur Porthos?" said the

procurator's wife.

"I thought I had," said Porthos, resuming his melancholy air;

"but I have been taught my mistake."

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"You have some!" cried the procurator's wife, in a transport that

surprised even herself. "Come to our house tomorrow. You are

the son of my aunt, consequently my cousin; you come from Noyon,

in Picardy; you have several lawsuits and no attorney. Can you

recollect all that?"

"Perfectly, madame."

"Cone at dinnertime."

"Very well."

"And be upon your guard before my husband, who is rather shrewd,

notwithstanding his seventy-six years."

"Seventy-six years! PESTE! That's a fine age!" replied Porthos.

"A great age, you mean, Monsieur Porthos. Yes, the poor man may

be expected to leave me a widow, any hour," continued she,

throwing a significant glance at Porthos. "Fortunately, by our

marriage contract, the survivor takes everything."

"All?"

"Yes, all."

"You are a woman of precaution, I see, my dear Madame Coquenard,"

said Porthos, squeezing the hand of the procurator's wife

tenderly.

"We are then reconciled, dear Monsieur Porthos?" said she,

simpering.

"For life," replied Porthos, in the same manner.

"Till we meet again, then, dear traitor!"

"Till we meet again, my forgetful charmer!"

"Tomorrow, my angel!"

"Tomorrow, flame of my life!"

30 D'ARTAGNAN AND THE ENGLISHMAN

D'Artagnan followed Milady without being perceived by her.

He saw her get into her carriage, and heard her order the

coachman to drive to St. Germain.

It was useless to try to keep pace on foot with a carriage

drawn by two powerful horses. d'Artagnan therefore returned

to the Rue Ferou.

In the Rue de Seine he met Planchet, who had stopped before

the house of a pastry cook, and was contemplating with

ecstasy a cake of the most appetizing appearance.

He ordered him to go and saddle two horses in M. de

Treville's stables--one for himself, d'Artagnan, and one for

Planchet--and bring them to Athens's place. Once for all,

Treville had placed his stable at d'Artagnan's service.

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Planchet proceeded toward the Rue du Colombier, and

d'Artagnan toward the Rue Ferou. Athos was at home,

emptying sadly a bottle of the famous Spanish wine he had

brought back with him from his journey into Picardy. He

made a sign for Grimaud to bring a glass for d'Artagnan, and

Grimaud obeyed as usual.

D'Artagnan related to Athos all that had passed at the

church between Porthos and the procurator's wife, and how

their comrade was probably by that time in a fair way to be

equipped.

"As for me," replied Athos to this recital, "I am quite at

my ease; it will not be women that will defray the expense

of my outfit."

"Handsome, well-bred, noble lord as you are, my dear Athos,

neither princesses nor queens would be secure from your

amorous solicitations."

"How young this d'Artagnan is!" said Athos, shrugging his

shoulders; and he made a sign to Grimaud to bring another

bottle.

At that moment Planchet put his head modestly in at the

half-open door, and told his master that the horses were

ready.

"What horses?" asked Athos.

"Two horses that Monsieur de Treville lends me at my

pleasure, and with which I am now going to take a ride to

St. Germain."

"Well, and what are you going to do at St. Germain?" then

demanded Athos.

Then d'Artagnan described the meeting which he had at the

church, and how he had found that lady who, with the

seigneur in the black cloak and with the scar near his

temple, filled his mind constantly.

"That is to say, you are in love with this lady as you were

with Madame Bonacieux," said Athos, shrugging his shoulders

contemptuously, as if he pitied human weakness.

"I? not at all!" said d'Artagnan. "I am only curious to

unravel the mystery to which she is attached. I do not know

why, but I imagine that this woman, wholly unknown to me as

she is, and wholly unknown to her as I am, has an influence

over my life."

"Well, perhaps you are right," said Athos. "I do not know a

woman that is worth the trouble of being sought for when she

is once lost. Madame Bonacieux is lost; so much the worse

for her if she is found."

"No, Athos, no, you are mistaken," said d'Artagnan; "I love

my poor Constance more than ever, and if I knew the place in

which she is, were it at the end of the world, I would go to

free her from the hands of her enemies; but I am ignorant.

All my researches have been useless. What is to be said? I

must divert my attention!"

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"Amuse yourself with Milady, my dear d'Artagnan; I wish you

may with all my heart, if that will amuse you."

"Hear me, Athos," said d'Artagnan. "Instead of shutting

yourself up here as if you were under arrest, get on

horseback and come and take a ride with me to St. Germain."

"My dear fellow," said Athos, "I ride horses when I have

any; when I have none, I go afoot."

"Well," said d'Artagnan, smiling at the misanthropy of

Athos, which from any other person would have offended him,

"I ride what I can get; I am not so proud as you. So AU

REVOIR, dear Athos."

"AU REVOIR," said the Musketeer, making a sign to Grimaud to

uncork the bottle he had just brought.

D'Artagnan and Planchet mounted, and took the road to St.

Germain.

All along the road, what Athos had said respecting Mme.

Bonacieux recurred to the mind of the young man. Although

d'Artagnan was not of a very sentimental character, the

mercer's pretty wife had made a real impression upon his

heart. As he said, he was ready to go to the end of the

world to seek her; but the world, being round, has many

ends, so that he did not know which way to turn. Meantime,

he was going to try to find out Milady. Milady had spoken

to the man in the black cloak; therefore she knew him. Now,

in the opinion of d'Artagnan, it was certainly the man in

the black cloak who had carried off Mme. Bonacieux the

second time, as he had carried her off the first.

d'Artagnan then only half-lied, which is lying but little,

when he said that by going in search of Milady he at the

same time went in search of Constance.

Thinking of all this, and from time to time giving a touch

of the spur to his horse, d'Artagnan completed his short

journey, and arrived at St. Germain. He had just passed by

the pavilion in which ten years later Louis XIV was born.

He rode up a very quiet street, looking to the right and the

left to see if he could catch any vestige of his beautiful

Englishwoman, when from the ground floor of a pretty house,

which, according to the fashion of the time, had no window

toward the street, he saw a face peep out with which he

thought he was acquainted. This person walked along the

terrace, which was ornamented with flowers. Planchet

recognized him first.

"Eh, monsieur!" said he, addressing d'Artagnan, "don't you

remember that face which is blinking yonder?"

"No," said d'Artagnan, "and yet I am certain it is not the

first time I have seen that visage."

"PARBLEU, I believe it is not," said Planchet. "Why, it is

poor Lubin, the lackey of the Comte de Wardes--he whom you

took such good care of a month ago at Calais, on the road to

the governor's country house!"

"So it is!" said d'Artagnan; "I know him now. Do you think

he would recollect you?"

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"My faith, monsieur, he was in such trouble that I doubt if

he can have retained a very clear recollection of me."

"Well, go and talk with the boy," said d'Artagnan, "and make

out if you can from his conversation whether his master is

dead."

Planchet dismounted and went straight up to Lubin, who did

not at all remember him, and the two lackeys began to chat

with the best understanding possible; while d'Artagnan

turned the two horses into a lane, went round the house, and

came back to watch the conference from behind a hedge of

filberts.

At the end of an instant's observation he heard the noise of

a vehicle, and saw Milady's carriage stop opposite to him.

He could not be mistaken; Milady was in it. D'Artagnan

leaned upon the neck of his horse, in order that he might

see without being seen.

Milady put her charming blond head out at the window, and

gave her orders to her maid.

The latter--a pretty girl of about twenty or twenty-two

years, active and lively, the true SOUBRETTE of a great

lady--jumped from the step upon which, according to the

custom of the time, she was seated, and took her way toward

the terrace upon which d'Artagnan had perceived Lubin.

D'Artagnan followed the soubrette with his eyes, and saw her

go toward the terrace; but it happened that someone in the

house called Lubin, so that Planchet remained alone, looking

in all directions for the road where d'Artagnan had disappeared.

The maid approached Planchet, whom she took for Lubin, and

holding out a little billet to him said, "For your master."

"For my master?" replied Planchet, astonished.

"Yes, and important. Take it quickly."

Thereupon she ran toward the carriage, which had turned

round toward the way it came, jumped upon the step, and the

carriage drove off.

Planchet turned and returned the billet. Then, accustomed

to passive obedience, he jumped down from the terrace, ran

toward the lane, and at the end of twenty paces met

d'Artagnan, who, having seen all, was coming to him.

"For you, monsieur," said Planchet, presenting the billet to

the young man.

"For me?" said d'Artagnan; "are you sure of that?"

"PARDIEU, monsieur, I can't be more sure. The SOUBRETTE said,

'For your master.' I have no other master but you; soa

pretty little lass, my faith, is that SOUBRETTE!"

D'Artagnan opened the letter, and read these words:

"A person who takes more interest in you than she is willing

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to confess wishes to know on what day it will suit you to

walk in the forest? Tomorrow, at the Hotel Field of the

Cloth of Gold, a lackey in black and red will wait for your

reply."

"Oh!" said d'Artagnan, "this is rather warm; it appears that

Milady and I are anxious about the health of the same

person. Well, Planchet, how is the good Monsieur de Wardes?

He is not dead, then?"

"No, monsieur, he is as well as a man can be with four sword

wounds in his body; for you, without question, inflicted

four upon the dear gentleman, and he is still very weak,

having lost almost all his blood. As I said, monsieur,

Lubin did not know me, and told me our adventure from one

end to the other."

"Well done, Planchet! you are the king of lackeys. Now jump

onto your horse, and let us overtake the carriage."

This did not take long. At the end of five minutes they

perceived the carriage drawn up by the roadside; a cavalier,

richly dressed, was close to the door.

The conversation between Milady and the cavalier was so

animated that d'Artagnan stopped on the other side of the

carriage without anyone but the pretty SOUBRETTE perceiving

his presence.

The conversation took place in English--a language which

d'Artagnan could not understand; but by the accent the young

man plainly saw that the beautiful Englishwoman was in a

great rage. She terminated it by an action which left no

doubt as to the nature of this conversation; this was a blow

with her fan, applied with such force that the little

feminine weapon flew into a thousand pieces.

The cavalier laughed aloud, which appeared to exasperate

Milady still more.

D'Artagnan thought this was the moment to interfere. He

approached the other door, and taking off his hat

respectfully, said, "Madame, will you permit me to offer you

my services? It appears to me that this cavalier has made

you very angry. Speak one word, madame, and I take upon

myself to punish him for his want of courtesy."

At the first word Milady turned, looking at the young man

with astonishment; and when he had finished, she said in

very good French, "Monsieur, I should with great confidence

place myself under your protection if the person with whom I

quarrel were not my brother."

"Ah, excuse me, then," said d'Artagnan. "You must be aware

that I was ignorant of that, madame."

"What is that stupid fellow troubling himself about?" cried

the cavalier whom Milady had designated as her brother,

stooping down to the height of the coach window. "Why does

not he go about his business?"

"Stupid fellow yourself!" said d'Artagnan, stooping in his

turn on the neck of his horse, and answering on his side

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through the carriage window. "I do not go on because it

pleases me to stop here."

The cavalier addressed some words in English to his sister.

"I speak to you in French," said d'Artagnan; "be kind

enough, then, to reply to me in the same language. You are

Madame's brother, I learn--be it so; but fortunately you are

not mine."

It might be thought that Milady, timid as women are in

general, would have interposed in this commencement of

mutual provocations in order to prevent the quarrel from

going too far; but on the contrary, she threw herself back

in her carriage, and called out coolly to the coachman,

"Go on--home!"

The pretty SOUBRETTE cast an anxious glance at d'Artagnan,

whose good looks seemed to have made an impression on her.

The carriage went on, and left the two men facing each

other; no material obstacle separated them.

The cavalier made a movement as if to follow the carriage;

but d'Artagnan, whose anger, already excited, was much

increased by recognizing in him the Englishman of Amiens who

had won his horse and had been very near winning his diamond

of Athos, caught at his bridle and stopped him.

"Well, monsieur," said he, "you appear to be more stupid

than I am, for you forget there is a little quarrel to

arrange between us two."

"Ah," said the Englishman, "is it you, my master? It seems

you must always be playing some game or other."

"Yes; and that reminds me that I have a revenge to take. We

will see, my dear monsieur, if you can handle a sword as

skillfully as you can a dice box."

"You see plainly that I have no sword," said the Englishman.

"Do you wish to play the braggart with an unarmed man?"

"I hope you have a sword at home; but at all events, I have

two, and if you like, I will throw with you for one of

them."

"Needless," said the Englishman; "I am well furnished with

such playthings."

"Very well, my worthy gentleman," replied d'Artagnan, "pick

out the longest, and come and show it to me this evening."

"Where, if you please?"

"Behind the Luxembourg; that's a charming spot for such

amusements as the one I propose to you."

"That will do; I will be there."

"Your hour?"

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"Six o'clock."

"A PROPOS, you have probably one or two friends?"

"I have three, who would be honored by joining in the sport

with me."

"Three? Marvelous! That falls out oddly! Three is just my

number!"

"Now, then, who are you?" asked the Englishman.

"I am Monsieur d'Artagnan, a Gascon gentleman, serving in

the king's Musketeers. And you?"

"I am Lord de Winter, Baron Sheffield."

"Well, then, I am your servant, Monsieur Baron," said

d'Artagnan, "though you have names rather difficult to

recollect." And touching his horse with the spur, he

cantered back to Paris. As he was accustomed to do in all

cases of any consequence, d'Artagnan went straight to the

residence of Athos.

He found Athos reclining upon a large sofa, where he was

waiting, as he said, for his outfit to come and find him.

He related to Athos all that had passed, except the letter

to M. de Wardes.

Athos was delighted to find he was going to fight an

Englishman. We might say that was his dream.

They immediately sent their lackeys for Porthos and Aramis,

and on their arrival made them acquainted with the

situation.

Porthos drew his sword from the scabbard, and made passes at

the wall, springing back from time to time, and making

contortions like a dancer.

Aramis, who was constantly at work at his poem, shut himself

up in Athos's closet, and begged not to be disturbed before

the moment of drawing swords.

Athos, by signs, desired Grimaud to bring another bottle of

wine.

D'Artagnan employed himself in arranging a little plan, of

which we shall hereafter see the execution, and which

promised him some agreeable adventure, as might be seen by

the smiles which from time to time passed over his

countenance, whose thoughtfulness they animated.

31 ENGLISH AND FRENCH

The hour having come, they went with their four lackeys to a

spot behind the Luxembourg given up to the feeding of goats.

Athos threw a piece of money to the goatkeeper to withdraw.

The lackeys were ordered to act as sentinels.

A silent party soon drew near to the same enclosure,

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entered, and joined the Musketeers. Then, according to

foreign custom, the presentations took place.

The Englishmen were all men of rank; consequently the odd

names of their adversaries were for them not only a matter

of surprise, but of annoyance.

"But after all," said Lord de Winter, when the three friends

had been named, "we do not know who you are. We cannot

fight with such names; they are names of shepherds."

"Therefore your lordship may suppose they are only assumed

names," said Athos.

"Which only gives us a greater desire to know the real

ones," replied the Englishman.

"You played very willingly with us without knowing our

names," said Athos, "by the same token that you won our

horses."

"That is true, but we then only risked our pistoles; this

time we risk our blood. One plays with anybody; but one

fights only with equals."

"And that is but just," said Athos, and he took aside the

one of the four Englishmen with whom he was to fight, and

communicated his name in a low voice.

Porthos and Aramis did the same.

"Does that satisfy you?" said Athos to his adversary. "Do

you find me of sufficient rank to do me the honor of

crossing swords with me?"

"Yes, monsieur," said the Englishman, bowing.

"Well! now tell I tell you something?" added Athos, coolly.

"What?" replied the Englishman.

"Why, that is that you would have acted much more wisely if

you had not required me to make myself known."

"Why so?"

"Because I am believed to be dead, and have reasons for

wishing nobody to know I am living; so that I shall be

obliged to kill you to prevent my secret from roaming over

the fields."

The Englishman looked at Athos, believing that he jested,

but Athos did not jest the least in the world.

"Gentlemen," said Athos, addressing at the same time his

companions and their adversaries, "are we ready?"

"Yes!" answered the Englishmen and the Frenchmen, as with

one voice.

"On guard, then!" cried Athos.

Immediately eight swords glittered in the rays of the

setting sun, and the combat began with an animosity very

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natural between men twice enemies.

Athos fenced with as much calmness and method as if he had

been practicing in a fencing school.

Porthos, abated, no doubt, of his too-great confidence by

his adventure of Chantilly, played with skill and prudence.

Aramis, who had the third canto of his poem to finish,

behaved like a man in haste.

Athos killed his adversary first. He hit him but once, but

as he had foretold, that hit was a mortal one; the sword

pierced his heart.

Second, Porthos stretched his upon the grass with a wound

through his thigh, As the Englishman, without making any

further resistance, then surrendered his sword, Porthos took

him up in his arms and bore him to his carriage.

Aramis pushed his so vigorously that after going back fifty

paces, the man ended by fairly taking to his heels, and

disappeared amid the hooting of the lackeys.

As to d'Artagnan, he fought purely and simply on the

defensive; and when he saw his adversary pretty well

fatigued, with a vigorous side thrust sent his sword flying.

The baron, finding himself disarmed, took two or three steps

back, but in this movement his foot slipped and he fell

backward.

D'Artagnan was over him at a bound, and said to the

Englishman, pointing his sword to his throat, "I could kill

you, my Lord, you are completely in my hands; but I spare

your life for the sake of your sister."

D'Artagnan was at the height of joy; he had realized the

plan he had imagined beforehand, whose picturing had

produced the smiles we noted upon his face.

The Englishman, delighted at having to do with a gentleman

of such a kind disposition, pressed d'Artagnan in his arms,

and paid a thousand compliments to the three Musketeers, and

as Porthos's adversary was already installed in the

carriage, and as Aramis's had taken to his heels, they had

nothing to think about but the dead.

As Porthos and Aramis were undressing him, in the hope of

finding his wound not mortal, a large purse dropped from his

clothes. d'Artagnan picked it up and offered it to Lord de

Winter.

"What the devil would you have me do with that?" said the

Englishman.

"You can restore it to his family," said d'Artagnan.

"His family will care much about such a trifle as that! His

family will inherit fifteen thousand louis a year from him.

Keep the purse for your lackeys."

D'Artagnan put the purse into his pocket.

"And now, my young friend, for you will permit me, I hope,

to give you that name," said Lord de Winter, "on this very

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evening, if agreeable to you, I will present you to my

sister, Milady Clarik, for I am desirous that she should

take you into her good graces; and as she is not in bad odor

at court, she may perhaps on some future day speak a word

that will not prove useless to you.

D'Artagnan blushed with pleasure, and bowed a sign of

assent.

At this time Athos came up to d'Artagnan.

"What do you mean to do with that purse?" whispered he.

"Why, I meant to pass it over to you, my dear Athos."

"Me! why to me?"

"Why, you killed him! They are the spoils of victory."

"I, the heir of an enemy!" said Athos; "for whom, then, do

you take me?"

"It is the custom in war," said d'Artagnan, "why should it

not be the custom in a duel?"

"Even on the field of battle, I have never done that."

Porthos shrugged his shoulders; Aramis by a movement of his

lips endorsed Athos.

"Then," said d'Artagnan, "let us give the money to the

lackeys, as Lord de Winter desired us to do."

"Yes," said Athos; "let us give the money to the lackeys--not

to our lackeys, but to the lackeys of the Englishmen."

Athos took the purse, and threw it into the hand of the

coachman. "For you and your comrades."

This greatness of spirit in a man who was quite destitute

struck even Porthos; and this French generosity, repeated by

Lord de Winter and his friend, was highly applauded, except

by MM. Grimaud, Bazin, Mousqueton and Planchet.

Lord de Winter, on quitting d'Artagnan, gave him his

sister's address. She lived in the Place Royale--then the

fashionable quarter--at Number 6, and he undertook to call

and take d'Artagnan with him in order to introduce him.

d'Artagnan appointed eight o'clock at Athos's residence.

This introduction to Milady Clarik occupied the head of our

Gascon greatly. He remembered in what a strange manner this

woman had hitherto been mixed up in his destiny. According

to his conviction, she was some creature of the cardinal,

and yet he felt himself invincibly drawn toward her by one

of those sentiments for which we cannot account. His only

fear was that Milady would recognize in him the man of Meung

and of Dover. Then she knew that he was one of the friends

of M. de Treville, and consequently, that he belonged body

and soul to the king; which would make him lose a part of

his advantage, since when known to Milady as he knew her, he

played only an equal game with her. As to the commencement

of an intrigue between her and M. de Wardes, our

presumptuous hero gave but little heed to that, although the

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marquis was young, handsome, rich, and high in the

cardinal's favor. It is not for nothing we are but twenty years old,

above all if we were born at Tarbes.

D'Artagnan began by making his most splendid toilet, then

returned to Athos's, and according to custom, related

everything to him. Athos listened to his projects, then

shook his head, and recommended prudence to him with a shade

of bitterness.

"What!" said he, "you have just lost one woman, whom you

call good, charming, perfect; and here you are, running

headlong after another."

D'Artagnan felt the truth of this reproach.

"I loved Madame Bonacieux with my heart, while I only love

Milady with my head," said he. "In getting introduced to

her, my principal object is to ascertain what part she plays

at court."

"The part she plays, PARDIEU! It is not difficult to divine

that, after all you have told me. She is some emissary of

the cardinal; a woman who will draw you into a snare in

which you will leave your head."

"The devil! my dear Athos, you view things on the dark side,

methinks."

"My dear fellow, I mistrust women. Can it be otherwise? I

bought my experience dearly--particularly fair women. Milady

is fair, you say?"

"She has the most beautiful light hair imaginable!"

"Ah, my poor d'Artagnan!" said Athos.

"Listen to me! I want to be enlightened on a subject; then,

when I shall have learned what I desire to know, I will

withdraw."

"Be enlightened!" said Athos, phlegmatically.

Lord de Winter arrived at the appointed time; but Athos,

being warned of his coming, went into the other chamber. He

therefore found d'Artagnan alone, and as it was nearly eight

o'clock he took the young man with him.

An elegant carriage waited below, and as it was drawn by two

excellent horses, they were soon at the Place Royale.

Milady Clarik received d'Artagnan ceremoniously. Her hotel

was remarkably sumptuous, and while the most part of the

English had quit, or were about to quit, France on account

of the war, Milady had just been laying out much money upon

her residence; which proved that the general measure which

drove the English from France did not affect her.

"You see," said Lord de Winter, presenting d'Artagnan to his

sister, "a young gentleman who has held my life in his

hands, and who has not abused his advantage, although we

have been twice enemies, although it was I who insulted him,

and although I am an Englishman. Thank him, then, madame,

if you have any affection for me."

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Milady frowned slightly; a scarcely visible cloud passed

over her brow, and so peculiar a smile appeared upon her

lips that the young man, who saw and observed this triple

shade, almost shuddered at it.

The brother did not perceive this; he had turned round to

play with Milady's favorite monkey, which had pulled him by

the doublet.

"You are welcome, monsieur," said Milady, in a voice whose

singular sweetness contrasted with the symptoms of ill-humor

which d'Artagnan had just remarked; "you have today acquired

eternal rights to my gratitude."

The Englishman then turned round and described the combat

without omitting a single detail. Milady listened with the

greatest attention, and yet it was easily to be perceived,

whatever effort she made to conceal her impressions, that

this recital was not agreeable to her. The blood rose to

her head, and her little foot worked with impatience beneath

her robe.

Lord de Winter perceived nothing of this. When he had

finished, he went to a table upon which was a salver with

Spanish wine and glasses. He filled two glasses, and by a

sign invited d'Artagnan to drink.

D'Artagnan knew it was considered disobliging by an

Englishman to refuse to pledge him. He therefore drew near

to the table and took the second glass. He did not,

however, lose sight of Milady, and in a mirror he perceived

the change that came over her face. Now that she believed

herself to be no longer observed, a sentiment resembling

ferocity animated her countenance. She bit her handkerchief

with her beautiful teeth.

That pretty little SOUBRETTE whom d'Artagnan had already

observed then came in. She spoke some words to Lord de

Winter in English, who thereupon requested d'Artagnan's

permission to retire, excusing himself on account of the

urgency of the business that had called him away, and

charging his sister to obtain his pardon.

D'Artagnan exchanged a shake of the hand with Lord de

Winter, and then returned to Milady. Her countenance, with

surprising mobility, had recovered its gracious expression;

but some little red spots on her handkerchief indicated that

she had bitten her lips till the blood came. Those lips

were magnificent; they might be said to be of coral.

The conversation took a cheerful turn. Milady appeared to

have entirely recovered. She told d'Artagnan that Lord de

Winter was her brother-in-law, and not her brother. She had

married a younger brother of the family, who had left her a

widow with one child. This child was the only heir to Lord

de Winter, if Lord de Winter did not marry. All this showed

d'Artagnan that there was a veil which concealed something;

but he could not yet see under this veil.

In addition to this, after a half hour's conversation

d'Artagnan was convinced that Milady was his compatriot; she

spoke French with an elegance and a purity that left no

doubt on that head.

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D'Artagnan was profuse in gallant speeches and protestations

of devotion. To all the simple things which escaped our

Gascon, Milady replied with a smile of kindness. The hour

came for him to retire. D'Artagnan took leave of Milady,

and left the saloon the happiest of men.

On the staircase he met the pretty SOUBRETTE, who brushed

gently against him as she passed, and then, blushing to the

eyes, asked his pardon for having touched him in a voice so

sweet that the pardon was granted instantly.

D'Artagnan came again on the morrow, and was still better

received than on the evening before. Lord de Winter was not

at home; and it was Milady who this time did all the honors

of the evening. She appeared to take a great interest in

him, asked him whence he came, who were his friends, and

whether he had not sometimes thought of attaching himself to

the cardinal.

D'Artagnan, who, as we have said, was exceedingly prudent

for a young man of twenty, then remembered his suspicions

regarding Milady. He launched into a eulogy of his

Eminence, and said that he should not have failed to enter

into the Guards of the cardinal instead of the king's Guards

if he had happened to know M. de Cavois instead of M. de

Treville.

Milady changed the conversation without any appearance of

affectation, and asked d'Artagnan in the most careless

manner possible if he had ever been in England.

D'Artagnan replied that he had been sent thither by M. de

Treville to treat for a supply of horses, and that he had

brought back four as specimens.

Milady in the course of the conversation twice or thrice bit

her lips; she had to deal with a Gascon who played close.

At the same hour as on the preceding evening, d'Artagnan

retired. In the corridor he again met the pretty Kitty; that

was the name of the SOUBRETTE. She looked at him with an

expression of kindness which it was impossible to mistake;

but d'Artagnan was so preoccupied by the mistress that he

noticed absolutely nothing but her.

D'Artagnan came again on the morrow and the day after that,

and each day Milady gave him a more gracious reception.

Every evening, either in the antechamber, the corridor, or

on the stairs, he met the pretty SOUBRETTE. But, as we have

said, d'Artagnan paid no attention to this persistence of

poor Kitty.

32 A PROCURATOR'S DINNER

However brilliant had been the part played by Porthos in the

duel, it had not made him forget the dinner of the

procurator's wife.

On the morrow he received the last touches of Mousqueton's

brush for an hour, and took his way toward the Rue aux Ours

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with the steps of a man who was doubly in favor with

fortune.

His heart beat, but not like d'Artagnan's with a young and

impatient love. No; a more material interest stirred his

blood. He was about at last to pass that mysterious

threshold, to climb those unknown stairs by which, one by

one, the old crowns of M. Coquenard had ascended. He was

about to see in reality a certain coffer of which he had

twenty times beheld the image in his dreams--a coffer long

and deep, locked, bolted, fastened in the wall; a coffer of

which he had so often heard, and which the hands--a little

wrinkled, it is true, but still not without elegance--of the

procurator's wife were about to open to his admiring looks.

And then he--a wanderer on the earth, a man without fortune,

a man without family, a soldier accustomed to inns,

cabarets, taverns, and restaurants, a lover of wine forced

to depend upon chance treats--was about to partake of family

meals, to enjoy the pleasures of a comfortable

establishment, and to give himself up to those little

attentions which "the harder one is, the more they please,"

as old soldiers say.

To come in the capacity of a cousin, and seat himself every

day at a good table; to smooth the yellow, wrinkled brow of

the old procurator; to pluck the clerks a little by teaching

them BASSETTE, PASSE-DIX, and LANSQUENET, in their utmost

nicety, and winning from them, by way of fee for the lesson

he would give them in an hour, their savings of a month--all

this was enormously delightful to Porthos.

The Musketeer could not forget the evil reports which then

prevailed, and which indeed have survived them, of the

procurators of the period--meanness, stinginess, fasts; but

as, after all, excepting some few acts of economy which

Porthos had always found very unseasonable, the procurator's

wife had been tolerably liberal--that is, be it understood,

for a procurator's wife--he hoped to see a household of a

highly comfortable kind.

And yet, at the very door the Musketeer began to entertain

some doubts. The approach was not such as to prepossess

people--an ill-smelling, dark passage, a staircase halflighted

by bars through which stole a glimmer from a

neighboring yard; on the first floor a low door studded with

enormous nails, like the principal gate of the Grand

Chatelet.

Porthos knocked with his hand. A tall, pale clerk, his face

shaded by a forest of virgin hair, opened the door, and

bowed with the air of a man forced at once to respect in

another lofty stature, which indicated strength, the

military dress, which indicated rank, and a ruddy

countenance, which indicated familiarity with good living.

A shorter clerk came behind the first, a taller clerk behind

the second, a stripling of a dozen years rising behind the

third. In all, three clerks and a half, which, for the

time, argued a very extensive clientage.

Although the Musketeer was not expected before one o'clock,

the procurator's wife had been on the watch ever since

midday, reckoning that the heart, or perhaps the stomach, of

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her lover would bring him before his time.

Mme. Coquenard therefore entered the office from the house

at the same moment her guest entered from the stairs, and

the appearance of the worthy lady relieved him from an

awkward embarrassment. The clerks surveyed him with great

curiosity, and he, not knowing well what to say to this

ascending and descending scale, remained tongue-tied.

"It is my cousin!" cried the procurator's wife. "Come in,

come in, Monsieur Porthos!"

The name of Porthos produced its effect upon the clerks, who

began to laugh; but Porthos turned sharply round, and every

countenance quickly recovered its gravity.

They reached the office of the procurator after having

passed through the antechamber in which the clerks were, and

the study in which they ought to have been. This last

apartment was a sort of dark room, littered with papers. On

quitting the study they left the kitchen on the right, and

entered the reception room.

All these rooms, which communicated with one another, did

not inspire Porthos favorably. Words might be heard at a

distance through all these open doors. Then, while passing,

he had cast a rapid, investigating glance into the kitchen;

and he was obliged to confess to himself, to the shame of

the procurator's wife and his own regret, that he did not

see that fire, that animation, that bustle, which when a

good repast is on foot prevails generally in that sanctuary

of good living.

The procurator had without doubt been warned of his visit,

as he expressed no surprise at the sight of Porthos, who

advanced toward him with a sufficiently easy air, and

saluted him courteously.

"We are cousins, it appears, Monsieur Porthos?" said the

procurator, rising, yet supporting his weight upon the arms

of his cane chair.

The old man, wrapped in a large black doublet, in which the

whole of his slender body was concealed, was brisk and dry.

His little gray eyes shone like carbuncles, and appeared,

with his grinning mouth, to be the only part of his face in

which life survived. Unfortunately the legs began to refuse

their service to this bony machine. During the last five or

six months that this weakness had been felt, the worthy

procurator had nearly become the slave of his wife.

The cousin was received with resignation, that was all. M.

Coquenard, firm upon his legs, would have declined all

relationship with M. Porthos.

"Yes, monsieur, we are cousins," said Porthos, without being

disconcerted, as he had never reckoned upon being received

enthusiastically by the husband.

"By the female side, I believe?" said the procurator,

maliciously.

Porthos did not feel the ridicule of this, and took it for a

piece of simplicity, at which he laughed in his large

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mustache. Mme. Coquenard, who knew that a simple-minded

procurator was a very rare variety in the species, smiled a

little, and colored a great deal.

M. Coquenard had, since the arrival of Porthos, frequently

cast his eyes with great uneasiness upon a large chest

placed in front of his oak desk. Porthos comprehended that

this chest, although it did not correspond in shape with

that which he had seen in his dreams, must be the blessed

coffer, and he congratulated himself that the reality was

several feet higher than the dream.

M. Coquenard did not carry his genealogical investigations

any further; but withdrawing his anxious look from the chest

and fixing it upon Porthos, he contented himself with saying,

"Monsieur our cousin will do us the favor of dining with us

once before his departure for the campaign, will he not,

Madame Coquenard?"

This time Porthos received the blow right in his stomach,

and felt it. It appeared likewise that Mme. Coquenard was

not less affected by it on her part, for she added, "My

cousin will not return if he finds that we do not treat him

kindly; but otherwise he has so little time to pass in Paris,

and consequently to spare to us, that we must entreat him to

give us every instant he can call his own previous to his

departure."

"Oh, my legs, my poor legs! where are you?" murmured

Coquenard, and he tried to smile.

This succor, which came to Porthos at the moment in which he

was attacked in his gastronomic hopes, inspired much

gratitude in the Musketeer toward the procurator's wife.

The hour of dinner soon arrived. They passed into the eating

room--a large dark room situated opposite the kitchen.

The clerks, who, as it appeared, had smelled unusual perfumes

in the house, were of military punctuality, and held their

stools in hand quite ready to sit down. Their jaws moved

preliminarily with fearful threatenings.

"Indeed!" thought Porthos, casting a glance at the three hungry

clerks--for the errand boy, as might be expected, was not

admitted to the honors of the magisterial table, "in my

cousin's place, I would not keep such gourmands! They look

like shipwrecked sailors who have not eaten for six weeks."

M. Coquenard entered, pushed along upon his armchair with

casters by Mme. Coquenard, whom Porthos assisted in rolling

her husband up to the table. He had scarcely entered when

he began to agitate his nose and his jaws after the example

of his clerks.

"Oh, oh!" said he; "here is a soup which is rather

inviting."

"What the devil can they smell so extraordinary in this

soup?" said Porthos, at the sight of a pale liquid, abundant

but entirely free from meat, on the surface of which a few

crusts swam about as rare as the islands of an archipelago.

Mme. Coquenard smiled, and upon a sign from her everyone

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eagerly took his seat.

M. Coquenard was served first, then Porthos. Afterward Mme.

Coquenard filled her own plate, and distributed the crusts

without soup to the impatient clerks. At this moment the

door of the dining room unclosed with a creak, and Porthos

perceived through the half-open flap the little clerk who,

not being allowed to take part in the feast, ate his dry

bread in the passage with the double odor of the dining room

and kitchen.

After the soup the maid brought a boiled fowl--a piece of

magnificence which caused the eyes of the diners to dilate

in such a manner that they seemed ready to burst.

"One may see that you love your family, Madame Coquenard,"

said the procurator, with a smile that was almost tragic.

"You are certainly treating your cousin very handsomely!"

The poor fowl was thin, and covered with one of those thick,

bristly skins through which the teeth cannot penetrate with

all their efforts. The fowl must have been sought for a

long time on the perch, to which it had retired to die of

old age.

"The devil!" thought Porthos, "this is poor work. I respect

old age, but I don't much like it boiled or roasted."

And he looked round to see if anybody partook of his

opinion; but on the contrary, he saw nothing but eager eyes

which were devouring, in anticipation, that sublime fowl

which was the object of his contempt.

Mme. Coquenard drew the dish toward her, skillfully detached

the two great black feet, which she placed upon her

husband's plate, cut off the neck, which with the head she

put on one side for herself, raised the wing for Porthos,

and then returned the bird otherwise intact to the servant

who had brought it in, who disappeared with it before the

Musketeer had time to examine the variations which

disappointment produces upon faces, according to the

characters and temperaments of those who experience it.

In the place of the fowl a dish of haricot beans made its

appearance--an enormous dish in which some bones of mutton

that at first sight one might have believed to have some

meat on them pretended to show themselves.

But the clerks were not the dupes of this deceit, and their

lugubrious looks settled down into resigned countenances.

Mme. Coquenard distributed this dish to the young men with

the moderation of a good housewife.

The time for wine came. M. Coquenard poured from a very

small stone bottle the third of a glass for each of the

young men, served himself in about the same proportion, and

passed the bottle to Porthos and Mme. Coquenard.

The young men filled up their third of a glass with water;

then, when they had drunk half the glass, they filled it up

again, and continued to do so. This brought them, by the

end of the repast, to swallowing a drink which from the

color of the ruby had passed to that of a pale topaz.

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Porthos ate his wing of the fowl timidly, and shuddered when

he felt the knee of the procurator's wife under the table,

as it came in search of his. He also drank half a glass of

this sparingly served wine, and found it to be nothing but

that horrible Montreuil--the terror of all expert palates.

M. Coquenard saw him swallowing this wine undiluted, and

sighed deeply.

"Will you eat any of these beans, Cousin Porthos?" said Mme.

Coquenard, in that tone which says, "Take my advice, don't

touch them."

"Devil take me if I taste one of them!" murmured Porthos to

himself, and then said aloud, "Thank you, my cousin, I am no

longer hungry."

There was silence. Porthos could hardly keep his

countenance.

The procurator repeated several times, "Ah, Madame

Coquenard! Accept my compliments; your dinner has been a

real feast. Lord, how I have eaten!"

M. Coquenard had eaten his soup, the black feet of the fowl,

and the only mutton bone on which there was the least

appearance of meat.

Porthos fancied they were mystifying him, and began to curl

his mustache and knit his eyebrows; but the knee of Mme.

Coquenard gently advised him to be patient.

This silence and this interruption in serving, which were

unintelligible to Porthos, had, on the contrary, a terrible

meaning for the clerks. Upon a look from the procurator,

accompanied by a smile from Mme. Coquenard, they arose

slowly from the table, folded their napkins more slowly

still, bowed, and retired.

"Go, young men! go and promote digestion by working," said

the procurator, gravely.

The clerks gone, Mme. Coquenard rose and took from a buffet

a piece of cheese, some preserved quinces, and a cake which

she had herself made of almonds and honey.

M. Coquenard knit his eyebrows because there were too many

good things. Porthos bit his lips because he saw not the

wherewithal to dine. He looked to see if the dish of beans

was still there; the dish of beans had disappeared.

"A positive feast!" cried M. Coquenard, turning about in his

chair, "a real feast, EPULCE EPULORUM. Lucullus dines with

Lucullus."

Porthos looked at the bottle, which was near him, and hoped

that with wine, bread, and cheese, he might make a dinner;

but wine was wanting, the bottle was empty. M. and Mme.

Coquenard did not seem to observe it.

"This is fine!" said Porthos to himself; "I am prettily

caught!"

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He passed his tongue over a spoonful of preserves, and stuck

his teeth into the sticky pastry of Mme. Coquenard.

"Now," said he, "the sacrifice is consummated! Ah! if I had

not the hope of peeping with Madame Coquenard into her

husband's chest!"

M. Coquenard, after the luxuries of such a repast, which he

called an excess, felt the want of a siesta. Porthos began

to hope that the thing would take place at the present

sitting, and in that same locality; but the procurator would

listen to nothing, he would be taken to his room, and was

not satisfied till he was close to his chest, upon the edge

of which, for still greater precaution, he placed his feet.

The procurator's wife took Porthos into an adjoining room,

and they began to lay the basis of a reconciliation.

"You can come and dine three times a week," said Mme.

Coquenard.

"Thanks, madame!" said Porthos, "but I don't like to abuse

your kindness; besides, I must think of my outfit!"

"That's true," said the procurator's wife, groaning, "that

unfortunate outfit!"

"Alas, yes," said Porthos, "it is so."

"But of what, then, does the equipment of your company

consist, Monsieur Porthos?"

"Oh, of many things!" said Porthos. "The Musketeers are, as

you know, picked soldiers, and they require many things

useless to the Guardsmen or the Swiss."

"But yet, detail them to me."

"Why, they may amount to--", said Porthos, who preferred

discussing the total to taking them one by one.

The procurator's wife waited tremblingly.

"To how much?" said she. "I hope it does not exceed--" She

stopped; speech failed her.

"Oh, no," said Porthos, "it does not exceed two thousand

five hundred livres! I even think that with economy I could

manage it with two thousand livres."

"Good God!" cried she, "two thousand livres! Why, that is a

fortune!"

Porthos made a most significant grimace; Mme. Coquenard

understood it.

"I wished to know the detail," said she, "because, having

many relatives in business, I was almost sure of obtaining

things at a hundred per cent less than you would pay

yourself."

"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, "that is what you meant to say!"

"Yes, dear Monsieur Porthos. Thus, for instance, don't you

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in the first place want a horse?"

"Yes, a horse."

"Well, then! I can just suit you."

"Ah!" said Porthos, brightening, "that's well as regards my

horse; but I must have the appointments complete, as they

include objects which a Musketeer alone can purchase, and

which will not amount, besides, to more than three hundred

livres."

"Three hundred livres? Then put down three hundred livres,"

said the procurator's wife, with a sigh.

Porthos smiled. It may be remembered that he had the saddle

which came from Buckingham. These three hundred livres he

reckoned upon putting snugly into his pocket.

"Then," continued he, "there is a horse for my lackey, and

my valise. As to my arms, it is useless to trouble you

about them; I have them."

"A horse for your lackey?" resumed the procurator's wife,

hesitatingly; "but that is doing things in lordly style, my

friend."

"Ah, madame!" said Porthos, haughtily; "do you take me for a

beggar?"

"No; I only thought that a pretty mule makes sometimes as

good an appearance as a horse, and it seemed to me that by

getting a pretty mule for Mousqueton--"

"Well, agreed for a pretty mule," said Porthos; "you are

right, I have seen very great Spanish nobles whose whole

suite were mounted on mules. But then you understand,

Madame Coquenard, a mule with feathers and bells."

"Be satisfied," said the procurator's wife.

"There remains the valise," added Porthos.

"Oh, don't let that disturb you," cried Mme. Coquenard. "My

husband has five or six valises; you shall choose the best.

There is one in particular which he prefers in his journeys,

large enough to hold all the world."

"Your valise is then empty?" asked Porthos, with simplicity.

"Certainly it is empty," replied the procurator's wife, in

real innocence.

"Ah, but the valise I want," cried Porthos, "is a wellfilled

one, my dear."

Madame uttered fresh sighs. Moliere had not written his

scene in "L'Avare" then. Mme. Coquenard was in the dilemma

of Harpagan.

Finally, the rest of the equipment was successively debated

in the same manner; and the result of the sitting was that

the procurator's wife should give eight hundred livres in

money, and should furnish the horse and the mule which

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should have the honor of carrying Porthos and Mousqueton to

glory.

These conditions being agreed to, Porthos took leave of Mme.

Coquenard. The latter wished to detain him by darting

certain tender glances; but Porthos urged the commands of

duty, and the procurator's wife was obliged to give place to

the king.

The Musketeer returned home hungry and in bad humor.

33 SOUBRETTE AND MISTRESS

Meantime, as we have said, despite the cries of his

conscience and the wise counsels of Athos, d'Artagnan became

hourly more in love with Milady. Thus he never failed to

pay his diurnal court to her; and the self-satisfied Gascon

was convinced that sooner or later she could not fail to

respond.

One day, when he arrived with his head in the air, and as

light at heart as a man who awaits a shower of gold, he

found the SOUBRETTE under the gateway of the hotel; but this

time the pretty Kitty was not contented with touching him as

he passed, she took him gently by the hand.

"Good!" thought d'Artagnan, "She is charged with some

message for me from her mistress; she is about to appoint

some rendezvous of which she had not courage to speak." And

he looked down at the pretty girl with the most triumphant

air imaginable.

"I wish to say three words to you, Monsieur Chevalier,"

stammered the SOUBRETTE.

"Speak, my child, speak," said d'Artagnan; "I listen."

"Here? Impossible! That which I have to say is too long,

and above all, too secret."

"Well, what is to be done?"

"If Monsieur Chevalier would follow me?" said Kitty,

timidly.

"Where you please, my dear child."

"Come, then."

And Kitty, who had not let go the hand of d'Artagnan, led

him up a little dark, winding staircase, and after ascending

about fifteen steps, opened a door.

"Come in here, Monsieur Chevalier," said she; "here we shall

be alone, and can talk."

"And whose room is this, my dear child?"

"It is mine, Monsieur Chevalier; it communicates with my

mistress's by that door. But you need not fear. She will

not hear what we say; she never goes to bed before

midnight,.

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D'Artagnan cast a glance around him. The little apartment

was charming for its taste and neatness; but in spite of

himself, his eyes were directed to that door which Kitty

said led to Milady's chamber.

Kitty guessed what was passing in the mind of the young man,

and heaved a deep sigh.

"You love my mistress, then, very dearly, Monsieur

Chevalier?" said she.

"Oh, more than I can say, Kitty! I am mad for her!"

Kitty breathed a second sigh.

"Alas, monsieur," said she, "that is too bad."

"What the devil do you see so bad in it?" said d'Artagnan.

"Because, monsieur," replied Kitty, "my mistress loves you

not at all."

"HEIN!" said d'Artagnan, "can she have charged you to tell

me so?"

"Oh, no, monsieur; but out of the regard I have for you, I

have taken the resolution to tell you so."

"Much obliged, my dear Kitty; but for the intention only--for

the information, you must agree, is not likely to be at all

agreeable."

"That is to say, you don't believe what I have told you; is

it not so?"

"We have always some difficulty in believing such things, my

pretty dear, were it only from self-love."

"Then you don't believe me?"

"I confess that unless you deign to give me some proof of

what you advance--"

"What do you think of this?"

Kitty drew a little note from her bosom.

"For me?" said Derogation, seizing the letter.

"No; for another."

"For another?"

"Yes."

"His name; his name!" cried d'Artagnan.

"Read the address."

"Monsieur El Comte de Wardes."

The remembrance of the scene at St. Germain presented itself

to the mind of the presumptuous Gascon. As quick as

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thought, he tore open the letter, in spite of the cry which

Kitty uttered on seeing what he was going to do, or rather,

what he was doing.

"Oh, good Lord, Monsieur Chevalier," said she, "what are you

doing?"

"I?" said d'Artagnan; "nothing," and he read,

"You have not answered my first note. Are you indisposed,

or have you forgotten the glances you favored me with at the

ball of Mme. de Guise? You have an opportunity now, Count;

do not allow it to escape."

d'Artagnan became very pale; he was wounded in his SELFlove:

he thought that it was in his LOVE.

"Poor dear Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Kitty, in a voice full

of compassion, and pressing anew the young man's hand.

"You pity me, little one?" said d'Artagnan.

"Oh, yes, and with all my heart; for I know what it is to be

in love."

"You know what it is to be in love?" said d'Artagnan,

looking at her for the first time with much attention.

"Alas, yes."

"Well, then, instead of pitying me, you would do much better

to assist me in avenging myself on your mistress."

"And what sort of revenge would you take?"

"I would triumph over her, and supplant my rival."

"I will never help you in that, Monsieur Chevalier," said

Kitty, warmly.

"And why not?" demanded d'Artagnan.

"For two reasons."

"What ones?"

"The first is that my mistress will never love you."

"How do you know that?"

"You have cut her to the heart."

"I? In what can I have offended her--I who ever since I have

known her have lived at her feet like a slave? Speak, I beg

you!"

"I will never confess that but to the man--who should read to

the bottom of my soul!"

D'Artagnan looked at Kitty for the second time. The young

girl had freshness and beauty which many duchesses would

have purchased with their coronets.

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"Kitty," said he, "I will read to the bottom of your soul

when-ever you like; don't let that disturb you." And he gave

her a kiss at which the poor girl became as red as a cherry.

"Oh, no," said Kitty, "it is not me you love! It is my

mistress you love; you told me so just now."

"And does that hinder you from letting me know the second

reason?"

"The second reason, Monsieur the Chevalier," replied Kitty,

emboldened by the kiss in the first place, and still further

by the expression of the eyes of the young man, "is that in

love, everyone for herself!"

Then only d'Artagnan remembered the languishing glances of

Kitty, her constantly meeting him in the antechamber, the

corridor, or on the stairs, those touches of the hand every

time she met him, and her deep sighs; but absorbed by his

desire to please the great lady, he had disdained the

soubrette. He whose game is the eagle takes no heed of the

sparrow.

But this time our Gascon saw at a glance all the advantage

to be derived from the love which Kitty had just confessed

so innocently, or so boldly: the interception of letters

addressed to the Comte de Wardes, news on the spot, entrance

at all hours into Kitty's chamber, which was contiguous to

her mistress's. The perfidious deceiver was, as may plainly

be perceived, already sacrificing, in intention, the poor

girl in order to obtain Milady, willy-nilly.

"Well," said he to the young girl, "are you willing, my dear

Kitty, that I should give you a proof of that love which you

doubt?"

"What love?" asked the young girl.

"Of that which I am ready to feel toward you."

"And what is that proof?"

"Are you willing that I should this evening pass with you

the time I generally spend with your mistress?"

"Oh, yes," said Kitty, clapping her hands, "very willing."

"Well, then, come here, my dear," said d'Artagnan,

establishing himself in an easy chair; "come, and let me

tell you that you are the prettiest SOUBRETTE I ever saw!"

And he did tell her so much, and so well, that the poor

girl, who asked nothing better than to believe him, did

believe him. Nevertheless, to d'Artagnan's great

astonishment, the pretty Kitty defended herself resolutely.

Time passes quickly when it is passed in attacks and

defenses. Midnight sounded, and almost at the same time the

bell was rung in Milady's chamber.

"Good God," cried Kitty, "there is my mistress calling me!

Go; go directly!"

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D'Artagnan rose, took his hat, as if it had been his

intention to obey, then, opening quickly the door of a large

closet instead of that leading to the staircase, he buried

himself amid the robes and dressing gowns of Milady.

"What are you doing?" cried Kitty.

D'Artagnan, who had secured the key, shut himself up in the

closet without reply.

"Well," cried Milady, in a sharp voice. "Are you asleep,

that you don't answer when I ring?"

And d'Artagnan heard the door of communication opened

violently.

"Here am I, Milady, here am I!" cried Kitty, springing

forward to meet her mistress.

Both went into the bedroom, and as the door of communication

remained open, d'Artagnan could hear Milady for some time

scolding her maid. She was at length appeased, and the

conversation turned upon him while Kitty was assisting her

mistress.

"Well," said Milady, "I have not seen our Gascon this

evening."

"What, Milady! has he not come?" said Kitty. "Can he be

inconstant before being happy?"

"Oh, no; he must have been prevented by Monsieur de Treville

or Monsieur Dessessart. I understand my game, Kitty; I have

this one safe."

"What will you do with him, madame?"

"What will I do with him? Be easy, Kitty, there is

something between that man and me that he is quite ignorant

of: he nearly made me lose my credit with his Eminence. Oh,

I will be revenged!"

"I believed that Madame loved him."

"I love him? I detest him! An idiot, who held the life of

Lord de Winter in his hands and did not kill him, by which I

missed three hundred thousand livres' income."

"That's true," said Kitty; "your son was the only heir of

his uncle, and until his majority you would have had the

enjoyment of his fortune."

D'Artagnan shuddered to the marrow at hearing this suave

creature reproach him, with that sharp voice which she took

such pains to conceal in conversation, for not having killed

a man whom he had seen load her with kindnesses.

"For all this," continued Milady, "I should long ago have

revenged myself on him if, and I don't know why, the

cardinal had not requested me to conciliate him."

"Oh, yes; but Madame has not conciliated that little woman

he was so fond of."

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"What, the mercer's wife of the Rue des Fossoyeurs? Has he

not already forgotten she ever existed? Fine vengeance

that, on my faith!"

A cold sweat broke from d'Artagnan's brow. Why, this woman

was a monster! He resumed his listening, but unfortunately

the toilet was finished.

"That will do," said Milady; "go into your own room, and

tomorrow endeavor again to get me an answer to the letter I

gave you."

"For Monsieur de Wardes?" said Kitty.

"To be sure; for Monsieur de Wardes."

"Now, there is one," said Kitty, "who appears to me quite a

different sort of a man from that poor Monsieur d'Artagnan."

"Go to bed, mademoiselle," said Milady; "I don't like

comments."

D'Artagnan heard the door close; then the noise of two bolts

by which Milady fastened herself in. On her side, but as

softly as possible, Kitty turned the key of the lock, and

then d'Artagnan opened the closet door.

"Oh, good Lord!" said Kitty, in a low voice, "what is the

matter with you? How pale you are!"

"The abominable creature" murmured d'Artagnan.

"Silence, silence, begone!" said Kitty. "There is nothing

but a wainscot between my chamber and Milady's; every word

that is uttered in one can be heard in the other."

"That's exactly the reason I won't go," said d'Artagnan.

"What!" said Kitty, blushing.

"Or, at least, I will go--later."

He drew Kitty to him. She had the less motive to resist,

resistance would make so much noise. Therefore Kitty

surrendered.

It was a movement of vengeance upon Milady. D'Artagnan

believed it right to say that vengeance is the pleasure of

the gods. With a little more heart, he might have been

contented with this new conquest; but the principal features

of his character were ambition and pride. It must, however,

be confessed in his justification that the first use he made

of his influence over Kitty was to try and find out what had

become of Mme. Bonacieux; but the poor girl swore upon the

crucifix to d'Artagnan that she was entirely ignorant on

that head, her mistress never admitting her into half her

secrets--only she believed she could say she was not dead.

As to the cause which was near making Milady lose her credit

with the cardinal, Kitty knew nothing about it; but this

time d'Artagnan was better informetime d'Artagnan was better informed than she was.

As he had

seen Milady on board a vessel at the moment he was leaving

England, he suspected that it was, almost without a doubt,

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on account of the diamond studs.

But what was clearest in all this was that the true hatred,

the profound hatred, the inveterate hatred of Milady, was

increased by his not having killed her brother-in-law.

D'Artagnan came the next day to Milady's, and finding her in

a very ill-humor, had no doubt that it was lack of an answer

from M. de Wardes that provoked her thus. Kitty came in,

but Milady was very cross with her. The poor girl ventured

a glance at d'Artagnan which said, "See how I suffer on your

account!"

Toward the end of the evening, however, the beautiful

lioness became milder; she smilingly listened to the soft

speeches of d'Artagnan, and even gave him her hand to kiss.

D'Artagnan departed, scarcely knowing what to think, but as

he was a youth who did not easily lose his head, while

continuing to pay his court to Milady, he had framed a

little plan in his mind.

He found Kitty at the gate, and, as on the preceding

evening, went up to her chamber. Kitty had been accused of

negligence and severely scolded. Milady could not at all

comprehend the silence of the Comte de Wardes, and she

ordered Kitty to come at nine o'clock in the morning to take

a third letter.

D'Artagnan made Kitty promise to bring him that letter on

the following morning. The poor girl promised all her lover

desired; she was mad.

Things passed as on the night before. D'Artagnan concealed

himself in his closet; Milady called, undressed, sent away

Kitty, and shut the door. As the night before, d'Artagnan

did not return home till five o'clock in the morning.

At eleven o'clock Kitty came to him. She held in her hand a

fresh billet from Milady. This time the poor girl did not

even argue with d'Artagnan; she gave it to him at once. She

belonged body and soul to her handsome soldier.

D'Artagnan opened the letter and read as follows:

This is the third time I have written to you to tell you

that I love you. Beware that I do not write to you a fourth

time to tell you that I detest you.

If you repent of the manner in which you have acted toward

me, the young girl who brings you this will tell you how a

man of spirit may obtain his pardon.

d'Artagnan colored and grew pale several times in reading

this billet.

"Oh, you love her still," said Kitty, who had not taken her

eyes off the young man's countenance for an instant.

"No, Kitty, you are mistaken. I do not love her, but I will

avenge myself for her contempt."

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"Oh, yes, I know what sort of vengeance! You told me that!"

"What matters it to you, Kitty? You know it is you alone

whom I love."

"How can I know that?"

"By the scorn I will throw upon her."

D'Artagnan took a pen and wrote:

Madame, Until the present moment I could not believe that it

was to me your first two letters were addressed, so unworthy

did I feel myself of such an honor; besides, I was so

seriously indisposed that I could not in any case have

replied to them.

But now I am forced to believe in the excess of your

kindness, since not only your letter but your servant

assures me that I have the good fortune to be beloved by

you.

She has no occasion to teach me the way in which a man of

spirit may obtain his pardon. I will come and ask mine at

eleven o'clock this evening.

To delay it a single day would be in my eyes now to commit a

fresh offense.

From him whom you have rendered the happiest of men,

Comte de Wardes

This note was in the first place a forgery; it was likewise

an indelicacy. It was even, according to our present

manners, something like an infamous action; but at that

period people did not manage affairs as they do today.

Besides, d'Artagnan from her own admission knew Milady

culpable of treachery in matters more important, and could

entertain no respect for her. And yet, notwithstanding this

want of respect, he felt an uncontrollable passion for this

woman boiling in his veins--passion drunk with contempt; but

passion or thirst, as the reader pleases.

D'Artagnan's plan was very simple. By Kitty's chamber he

could gain that of her mistress. He would take advantage of

the first moment of surprise, shame, and terror, to triumph

over her. He might fail, but something must be left to

chance. In eight days the campaign would open, and he would

be compelled to leave Paris; d'Artagnan had no time for a

prolonged love siege.

"There," said the young man, handing Kitty the letter

sealed; "give that to Milady. It is the count's reply."

Poor Kitty became as pale as death; she suspected what the

letter contained.

"Listen, my dear girl," said d'Artagnan; "you cannot but

perceive that all this must end, some way or other. Milady

may discover that you gave the first billet to my lackey

instead of to the count's; that it is I who have opened the

others which ought to have been opened by de Wardes. Milady

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will then turn you out of doors, and you know she is not the

woman to limit her vengeance. "Alas!" said Kitty, "for whom

have I exposed myself to all that?"

"For me, I well know, my sweet girl," said d'Artagnan. "But

I am grateful, I swear to you."

"But what does this note contain?"

"Milady will tell you."

"Ah, you do not love me!" cried Kitty, "and I am very

wretched."

To this reproach there is always one response which deludes

women. D'Artagnan replied in such a manner that Kitty

remained in her great delusion. Although she cried freely

before deciding to transmit the letter to her mistress, she

did at last so decide, which was all d'Artagnan wished.

Finally he promised that he would leave her mistress's

presence at an early hour that evening, and that when he

left the mistress he would ascend with the maid. This

promise completed poor Kitty's consolation.

34 IN WHICH THE EQUIPMENT OF ARAMIS AND PORTHOS IS TREATED

OF

Since the four friends had been each in search of his

equipments, there had been no fixed meeting between them.

They dined apart from one another, wherever they might

happen to be, or rather where they could. Duty likewise on

its part took a portion of that precious time which was

gliding away so rapidly--only they had agreed to meet once a

week, about one o'clock, at the residence of Athos, seeing

that he, in agreement with the vow he had formed, did not

pass over the threshold of his door.

This day of reunion was the same day as that on which Kitty

came to find d'Artagnan. Soon as Kitty left him, d'Artagnan

directed his steps toward the Rue Ferou.

He found Athos and Aramis philosophizing. Aramis had some

slight inclination to resume the cassock. Athos, according

to his system, neither encouraged nor dissuaded him. Athos

believed that everyone should be left to his own free will.

He never gave advice but when it was asked, and even then he

required to be asked twice.

"People, in general," he said, "only ask advice not to

follow it; or if they do follow it, it is for the sake of

having someone to blame for having given it."

Porthos arrived a minute after d'Artagnan. The four friends

were reunited.

The four countenances expressed four different feelings:

that of Porthos, tranquillity; that of d'Artagnan, hope;

that of Aramis, uneasiness; that of Athos, carelessness.

At the end of a moment's conversation, in which Porthos

hinted that a lady of elevated rank had condescended to

relieve him from his embarrassment, Mousqueton entered. He

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came to request his master to return to his lodgings, where

his presence was urgent, as he piteously said.

"Is it my equipment?"

"Yes and no," replied Mousqueton.

"Well, but can't you speak?"

"Come, monsieur."

Porthos rose, saluted his friends, and followed Mousqueton.

An instant after, Bazin made his appearance at the door.

"What do you want with me, my friend?" said Aramis, with

that mildness of language which was observable in him every

time that his ideas were directed toward the Church.

"A man wishes to see Monsieur at home," replied Bazin.

"A man! What man?"

"A mendicant."

"Give him alms, Bazin, and bid him pray for a poor sinner."

"This mendicant insists upon speaking to you, and pretends

that you will be very glad to see him."

"Has he sent no particular message for me?"

"Yes. If Monsieur Aramis hesitates to come," he said, "tell

him I am from Tours."

"From Tours!" cried Aramis. "A thousand pardons, gentlemen;

but no doubt this man brings me the news I expected." And

rising also, he went off at a quick pace. There remained

Athos and d'Artagnan.

"I believe these fellows have managed their business. What

do you think, d'Artagnan?" said Athos.

"I know that Porthos was in a fair way," replied d'Artagnan;

"and as to Aramis to tell you the truth, I have never been

seriously uneasy on his account. But you, my dear Athos--

you, who so generously distributed the Englishman's

pistoles, which were our legitimate property--what do you

mean to do?"

"I am satisfied with having killed that fellow, my boy,

seeing that it is blessed bread to kill an Englishman; but

if I had pocketed his pistoles, they would have weighed me

down like a remorse.

"Go to, my dear Athos; you have truly inconceivable ideas."

"Let it pass. What do you think of Monsieur de Treville

telling me, when he did me the honor to call upon me

yesterday, that you associated with the suspected English,

whom the cardinal protects?"

"That is to say, I visit an Englishwoman--the one I named."

"Oh, ay! the fair woman on whose account I gave you advice,

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which naturally you took care not to adopt."

"I gave you my reasons."

"Yes; you look there for your outfit, I think you said."

"Not at all. I have acquired certain knowledge that that

woman was concerned in the abduction of Madame Bonacieux."

"Yes, I understand now: to find one woman, you court

another. It is the longest road, but certainly the most

amusing."

D'Artagnan was on the point of telling Athos all; but one

consideration restrained him. Athos was a gentleman,

punctilious in points of honor; and there were in the plan

which our lover had devised for Milady, he was sure, certain

things that would not obtain the assent of this Puritan. He

was therefore silent; and as Athos was the least inquisitive

of any man on earth, d'Artagnan's confidence stopped there.

We will therefore leave the two friends, who had nothing

important to say to each other, and follow Aramis.

Upon being informed that the person who wanted to speak to

him came from Tours, we have seen with what rapidity the

young man followed, or rather went before, Bazin; he ran

without stopping from the Rue Ferou to the Rue de Vaugirard.

On entering he found a man of short stature and intelligent

eyes, but covered with rags.

"You have asked for me?" said the Musketeer.

"I wish to speak with Monsieur Aramis. Is that your name,

monsieur?"

"My very own. You have brought me something?"

"Yes, if you show me a certain embroidered handkerchief."

"Here it is," said Aramis, taking a small key from his

breast and opening a little ebony box inlaid with mother of

pearl, "here it is. Look."

"That is right," replied the mendicant; "dismiss your lackey."

In fact, Bazin, curious to know what the mendicant could

want with his master, kept pace with him as well as he

could, and arrived almost at the same time he did; but his

quickness was not of much use to him. At the hint from the

mendicant his master made him a sign to retire, and he was

obliged to obey.

Bazin gone, the mendicant cast a rapid glance around him in

order to be sure that nobody could either see or hear him,

and opening his ragged vest, badly held together by a

leather strap, he began to rip the upper part of his

doublet, from which he drew a letter.

Aramis uttered a cry of joy at the sight of the seal, kissed

the superscription with an almost religious respect, and

opened the epistle, which contained what follows:

"My Friend, it is the will of fate that we should be still

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for some time separated; but the delightful days of youth

are not lost beyond return. Perform your duty in camp; I

will do mine elsewhere. Accept that which the bearer brings

you; make the campaign like a handsome true gentleman, and

think of me, who kisses tenderly your black eyes.

"Adieu; or rather, AU REVOIR."

The mendicant continued to rip his garments; and drew from

amid his rags a hundred and fifty Spanish double pistoles,

which he laid down on the table; then he opened the door,

bowed, and went out before the young man, stupefied by his

letter, had ventured to address a word to him.

Aramis then reperused the letter, and perceived a

postscript:

P.S. You may behave politely to the bearer, who is a count

and a grandee of Spain!

"Golden dreams!" cried Aramis. "Oh, beautiful life! Yes, we

are young; yes, we shall yet have happy days! My love, my

blood, my life! all, all, all, are thine, my adored

mistress!"

And he kissed the letter with passion, without even

vouchsafing a look at the gold which sparkled on the table.

Bazin scratched at the door, and as Aramis had no longer any

reason to exclude him, he bade him come in.

Bazin was stupefied at the sight of the gold, and forgot

that he came to announce d'Artagnan, who, curious to know

who the mendicant could be, came to Aramis on leaving Athos.

Now, as d'Artagnan used no ceremony with Aramis, seeing that

Bazin forgot to announce him, he announced himself.

"The devil! my dear Aramis," said d'Artagnan, "if these are

the prunes that are sent to you from Tours, I beg you will

make my compliments to the gardener who gathers them."

"You are mistaken, friend d'Artagnan," said Aramis, always

on his guard; "this is from my publisher, who has just sent

me the price of that poem in one-syllable verse which I

began yonder."

"Ah, indeed," said d'Artagnan. "Well, your publisher is

very generous, my dear Aramis, that's all I can say."

"How, monsieur?" cried Bazin, "a poem sell so dear as that!

It is incredible! Oh, monsieur, you can write as much as you

like; you may become equal to Monsieur de Voiture and

Monsieur de Benserade. I like that. A poet is as good as

an abbe. Ah! Monsieur Aramis, become a poet, I beg of you."

"Bazin, my friend," said Aramis, "I believe you meddle with

my conversation."

Bazin perceived he was wrong; he bowed and went out.

"Ah!" said d'Artagnan with a smile, "you sell your

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productions at their weight in gold. You are very

fortunate, my friend; but take care or you will lose that

letter which is peeping from your doublet, and which also

comes, no doubt, from your publisher."

Aramis blushed to the eyes, crammed in the letter, and

re-buttoned his doublet.

"My dear d'Artagnan," said he, "if you please, we will join

our friends; as I am rich, we will today begin to dine

together again, expecting that you will be rich in your

turn."

"My faith!" said d'Artagnan, with great pleasure. "It is

long since we have had a good dinner; and I, for my part,

have a somewhat hazardous expedition for this evening, and

shall not be sorry, I confess, to fortify myself with a few

glasses of good old Burgundy."

"Agreed, as to the old Burgundy; I have no objection to

that," said Aramis, from whom the letter and the gold had

removed, as by magic, his ideas of conversion.

And having put three or four double pistoles into his pocket

to answer the needs of the moment, he placed the others in

the ebony box, inlaid with mother of pearl, in which was the

famous handkerchief which served him as a talisman.

The two friends repaired to Athos's, and he, faithful to his

vow of not going out, took upon him to order dinner to be

brought to them. As he was perfectly acquainted with the

details of gastronomy, d'Artagnan and Aramis made no

objection to abandoning this important care to him.

They went to find Porthos, and at the corner of the Rue Bac

met Mousqueton, who, with a most pitiable air, was driving

before him a mule and a horse.

D'Artagnan uttered a cry of surprise, which was not quite

free from joy.

"Ah, my yellow horse," cried he. "Aramis, look at that

horse!"

"Oh, the frightful brute!" said Aramis.

"Ah, my dear," replied d'Artagnan, "upon that very horse I

came to Paris."

"What, does Monsieur know this horse?" said Mousqueton.

"It is of an original color," said Aramis; "I never saw one

with such a hide in my life."

"I can well believe it," replied d'Artagnan, "and that was

why I got three crowns for him. It must have been for his

hide, for, CERTESf, the carcass is not worth eighteen livres.

But how did this horse come into your bands, Mousqueton?"

"Pray," said the lackey, "say nothing about it, monsieur; it

is a frightful trick of the husband of our duchess!"

"How is that, Mousqueton?"

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"Why, we are looked upon with a rather favorable eye by a

lady of quality, the Duchesse de--but, your pardon; my master

has commanded me to be discreet. She had forced us to

accept a little souvenir, a magnificent Spanish GENET and an

Andalusian mule, which were beautiful to look upon. The

husband heard of the affair; on their way he confiscated the

two magnificent beasts which were being sent to us, and

substituted these horrible animals."

"Which you are taking back to him?" said d'Artagnan.

"Exactly!" replied Mousqueton. "You may well believe that we

will not accept such steeds as these in exchange for those

which had been promised to us."

"No, PARDIEU; though I should like to have seen Porthos on

my yellow horse. That would give me an idea of how I looked

when I arrived in Paris. But don't let us hinder you,

Mousqueton; go and perform your master's orders. Is he at

home?"

"Yes, monsieur," said Mousqueton, "but in a very ill humor.

Get up!"

He continued his way toward the Quai des Grands Augustins,

while the two friends went to ring at the bell of the

unfortunate Porthos. He, having seen them crossing the

yard, took care not to answer, and they rang in vain.

Meanwhile Mousqueton continued on his way, and crossing the

Pont Neuf, still driving the two sorry animals before him,

he reached the Rue aux Ours. Arrived there, he fastened,

according to the orders of his master, both horse and mule

to the knocker of the procurator's door; then, without

taking any thought for their future, he returned to Porthos,

and told him that his commission was completed.

In a short time the two unfortunate beasts, who had not

eaten anything since the morning, made such a noise in

raising and letting fall the knocker that the procurator

ordered his errand boy to go and inquire in the neighborhood

to whom this horse and mule belonged.

Mme. Coquenard recognized her present, and could not at

first comprehend this restitution; but the visit of Porthos

soon enlightened her. The anger which fired the eyes of the

Musketeer, in spite of his efforts to suppress it, terrified

his sensitive inamorata. In fact, Mousqueton had not

concealed from his master that he had met d'Artagnan and

Aramis, and that d'Artagnan in the yellow horse had

recognized the Bearnese pony upon which he had come to

Paris, and which he had sold for three crowns.

Porthos went away after having appointed a meeting with the

procurator's wife in the cloister of St. Magloire. The

procurator, seeing he was going, invited him to dinner--an

invitation which the Musketeer refused with a majestic air.

Mme. Coquenard repaired trembling to the cloister of St.

Magloire, for she guessed the reproaches that awaited her

there; but she was fascinated by the lofty airs of Porthos.

All that which a man wounded in his self-love could let fall

in the shape of imprecations and reproaches upon the head of

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a woman Porthos let fall upon the bowed head of the

procurator's wife.

"Alas," said she, "I did all for the best! One of our

clients is a horsedealer; he owes money to the office, and

is backward in his pay. I took the mule and the horse for

what he owed us; he assured me that they were two noble

steeds."

"Well, madame," said Porthos, "if he owed you more than five

crowns, your horsedealer is a thief."

"There is no harm in trying to buy things cheap, Monsieur

Porthos," said the procurator's wife, seeking to excuse

herself.

"No, madame; but they who so assiduously try to buy things

cheap ought to permit others to seek more generous friends."

And Porthos, turning on his heel, made a step to retire.

"Monsieur Porthos! Monsieur Porthos!" cried the

procurator's wife. "I have been wrong; I see it. I ought

not to have driven a bargain when it was to equip a cavalier

like you."

Porthos, without reply, retreated a second step. The

procurator's wife fancied she saw him in a brilliant cloud,

all surrounded by duchesses and marchionesses, who cast bags

of money at his feet.

"Stop, in the name of heaven, Monsieur Porthos!" cried she.

"Stop, and let us talk."

"Talking with you brings me misfortune," said Porthos.

"But, tell me, what do you ask?"

"Nothing; for that amounts to the same thing as if I asked

you for something."

The procurator's wife hung upon the arm of Porthos, and in

the violence of her grief she cried out, "Monsieur Porthos,

I am ignorant of all such matters! How should I know what a

horse is? How should I know what horse furniture is?"

"You should have left it to me, then, madame, who know what

they are; but you wished to be frugal, and consequently to

lend at usury."

"It was wrong, Monsieur Porthos; but I will repair that

wrong, upon my word of honor."

"How so?" asked the Musketeer.

"Listen. This evening M. Coquenard is going to the house of

the Due de Chaulnes, who has sent for him. It is for a

consultation, which will last three hours at least. Come!

We shall be alone, and can make up our accounts."

"In good time. Now you talk, my dear."

"You pardon me?"

"We shall see," said Porthos, majestically; and the two

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separated saying, "Till this evening."

"The devil!" thought Porthos, as he walked away, "it appears

I am getting nearer to Monsieur Coquenard's strongbox at

last."

35 A GASCON A MATCH FOR CUPID

The evening so impatiently waited for by Porthos and by

d'Artagnan at last arrived.

As was his custom, d'Artagnan presented himself at Milady's

at about nine o'clock. He found her in a charming humor.

Never had he been so well received. Our Gascon knew, by the

first glance of his eye, that his billet had been delivered,

and that this billet had had its effect.

Kitty entered to bring some sherbet. Her mistress put on a

charming face, and smiled on her graciously; but alas! the

poor girl was so sad that she did not even notice Milady's

condescension.

D'Artagnan looked at the two women, one after the other, and

was forced to acknowledge that in his opinion Dame Nature

had made a mistake in their formation. To the great lady

she had given a heart vile and venal; to the SOUBRETTE she

had given the heart of a duchess.

At ten o'clock Milady began to appear restless. D'Artagnan

knew what she wanted. She looked at the clock, rose,

reseated herself, smiled at d'Artagnan with an air which

said, "You are very amiable, no doubt, but you would be

charming if you would only depart."

D'Artagnan rose and took his hat; Milady gave him her hand

to kiss. The young man felt her press his hand, and

comprehended that this was a sentiment, not of coquetry, but

of gratitude because of his departure.

"She loves him devilishly," he murmured. Then he went out.

This time Kitty was nowhere waiting for him; neither in the

antechamber, nor in the corridor, nor beneath the great

door. It was necessary that d'Artagnan should find alone

the staircase and the little chamber. She heard him enter,

but she did not raise her head. The young man went to her

and took her hands; then she sobbed aloud.

As d'Artagnan had presumed, on receiving his letter, Milady

in a delirium of joy had told her servant everything; and by

way of recompense for the manner in which she had this time

executed the commission, she had given Kitty a purse.

Returning to her own room, Kitty had thrown the purse into a

corner, where it lay open, disgorging three or four gold

pieces on the carpet. The poor girl, under the caresses of

d'Artagnan, lifted her head. D'Artagnan himself was

frightened by the change in her countenance. She joined her

hands with a suppliant air, but without venturing to speak a

word. As little sensitive as was the heart of d'Artagnan,

he was touched by this mute sorrow; but he held too

tenaciously to his projects, above all to this one, to

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change the program which he had laid out in advance. He did

not therefore allow her any hope that he would flinch; only

he represented his action as one of simple vengeance.

For the rest this vengeance was very easy; for Milady,

doubtless to conceal her blushes from her lover, had ordered

Kitty to extinguish all the lights in the apartment, and

even in the little chamber itself. Before daybreak M. de

Wardes must take his departure, still in obscurity.

Presently they heard Milady retire to her room. D'Artagnan

slipped into the wardrobe. Hardly was he concealed when the

little bell sounded. Kitty went to her mistress, and did

not leave the door open; but the partition was so thin that

one could hear nearly all that passed between the two women.

Milady seemed overcome with joy, and made Kitty repeat the

smallest details of the pretended interview of the soubrette

with de Wardes when he received the letter; how he had

responded; what was the expression of his face; if he seemed

very amorous. And to all these questions poor Kitty, forced

to put on a pleasant face, responded in a stifled voice

whose dolorous accent her mistress did not however remark,

solely because happiness is egotistical.

Finally, as the hour for her interview with the count

approached, Milady had everything about her darkened, and

ordered Kitty to return to her own chamber, and introduce de

Wardes whenever he presented himself.

Kitty's detention was not long. Hardly had d'Artagnan seen,

through a crevice in his closet, that the whole apartment

was in obscurity, than he slipped out of his concealment, at

the very moment when Kitty reclosed the door of

communication.

"What is that noise?" demanded Milady.

"It is I," said d'Artagnan in a subdued voice, "I, the Comte

de Wardes."

"Oh, my God, my God!" murmured Kitty, "he has not even

waited for the hour he himself named!"

"Well," said Milady, in a trembling voice, "why do you not

enter? Count, Count," added she, "you know that I wait for

you."

At this appeal d'Artagnan drew Kitty quietly away, and

slipped into the chamber.

If rage or sorrow ever torture the heart, it is when a lover

receives under a name which is not his own protestations of

love addressed to his happy rival. D'Artagnan was in a

dolorous situation which he had not foreseen. Jealousy

gnawed his heart; and he suffered almost as much as poor

Kitty, who at that very moment was crying in the next

chamber.

"Yes, Count," said Milady, in her softest voice, and

pressing his hand in her own, "I am happy in the love which

your looks and your words have expressed to me every time we

have met. I also--I love you. Oh, tomorrow, tomorrow, I

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must have some pledge from you which will prove that you

think of me; and that you may not forget me, take this!" and

she slipped a ring from her finger onto d'Artagnan's.

d'Artagnan remembered having seen this ring on the finger of

Milady; it was a magnificent sapphire, encircled with

brilliants.

The first movement of d'Artagnan was to return it, but

Milady added, "No, no! Keep that ring for love of me.

Besides, in accepting it," she added, in a voice full of

emotion, "you render me a much greater service than you

imagine."

"This woman is full of mysteries," murmured d'Artagnan to

himself. At that instant he felt himself ready to reveal

all. He even opened his mouth to tell Milady who he was,

and with what a revengeful purpose he had come; but she

added, "Poor angel, whom that monster of a Gascon barely

failed to kill."

The monster was himself.

"Oh," continued Milady, "do your wounds still make you

suffer?"

"Yes, much," said d'Artagnan, who did not well know how to

answer.

"Be tranquil," murmured Milady; "I will avenge you--and

cruelly!"

"PESTE!" said d'Artagnan to himself, "the moment for

confidences has not yet come."

It took some time for d'Artagnan to resume this little

dialogue; but then all the ideas of vengeance which he had

brought with him had completely vanished. This woman

exercised over him an unaccountable power; he hated and

adored her at the same time. He would not have believed

that two sentiments so opposite could dwell in the same

heart, and by their union constitute a passion so strange,

and as it were, diabolical.

Presently it sounded one o'clock. It was necessary to

separate. D'Artagnan at the moment of quitting Milady felt

only the liveliest regret at the parting; and as they

addressed each other in a reciprocally passionate adieu,

another interview was arranged for the following week.

Poor Kitty hoped to speak a few words to d'Artagnan when he

passed through her chamber; but Milady herself reconducted

him through the darkness, and only quit him at the

staircase.

The next morning d'Artagnan ran to find Athos. He was

engaged in an adventure so singular that he wished for

counsel. He therefore told him all.

"Your Milady," said he, "appears to be an infamous creature,

but not the less you have done wrong to deceive her. In one

fashion or another you have a terrible enemy on your hands."

While thus speaking Athos regarded with attention the

sapphire set with diamonds which had taken, on d'Artagnan's

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finger, the place of the queen's ring, carefully kept in a

casket.

"You notice my ring?" said the Gascon, proud to display so

rich a gift in the eyes of his friends.

"Yes," said Athos, "it reminds me of a family jewel."

"It is beautiful, is it not?" said d'Artagnan.

"Yes," said Athos, "magnificent. I did not think two

sapphires of such a fine water existed. Have you traded it

for your diamond?"

"No. It is a gift from my beautiful Englishwoman, or rather

Frenchwoman--for I am convinced she was born in France,

though I have not questioned her."

"That ring comes from Milady?" cried Athos, with a voice in

which it was easy to detect strong emotion.

"Her very self; she gave it me last night. Here it is,"

replied d'Artagnan, taking it from his finger.

Athos examined it and became very pale. He tried it on his

left hand; it fit his finger as if made for it.

A shade of anger and vengeance passed across the usually

calm brow of this gentleman.

"It is impossible it can be she," said be. "How could this

ring come into the hands of Milady Clarik? And yet it is

difficult to suppose such a resemblance should exist between

two jewels."

"Do you know this ring?" said d'Artagnan.

"I thought I did," replied Athos; "but no doubt I was

mistaken." And he returned d'Artagnan the ring without,

however, ceasing to look at it.

"Pray, d'Artagnan," said Athos, after a minute, "either take

off that ring or turn the mounting inside; it recalls such

cruel recollections that I shall have no head to converse

with you. Don't ask me for counsel; don't tell me you are

perplexed what to do. But stop! let me look at that

sapphire again; the one I mentioned to you had one of its

faces scratched by accident."

D'Artagnan took off the ring, giving it again to Athos.

Athos started. "Look," said he, "is it not strange?" and he

pointed out to d'Artagnan the scratch he had remembered.

"But from whom did this ring come to you, Athos?"

"From my mother, who inherited it from her mother. As I

told you, it is an old family jewel."

"And you--sold it?" asked d'Artagnan, hesitatingly.

"No," replied Athos, with a singular smile. "I gave it away

in a night of love, as it has been given to you."

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D'Artagnan became pensive in his turn; it appeared as if

there were abysses in Milady's soul whose depths were dark

and unknown. He took back the ring, but put it in his

pocket and not on his finger.

"d'Artagnan," said Athos, taking his hand, "you know I love

you; if I had a son I could not love him better. Take my

advice, renounce this woman. I do not know her, but a sort

of intuition tells me she is a lost creature, and that there

is something fatal about her."

"You are right," said d'Artagnan; "I will have done with

her. I own that this woman terrifies me."

"Shall you have the courage?" said Athos.

"I shall," replied d'Artagnan, "and instantly."

"In truth, my young friend, you will act rightly," said the

gentleman, pressing the Gascon's hand with an affection

almost paternal; "and God grant that this woman, who has

scarcely entered into your life, may not leave a terrible

trace in it!" And Athos bowed to d'Artagnan like a man who

wishes it understood that he would not be sorry to be left

alone with his thoughts.

On reaching home d'Artagnan found Kitty waiting for him. A

month of fever could not have changed her more than this one

night of sleeplessness and sorrow.

She was sent by her mistress to the false de Wardes. Her

mistress was mad with love, intoxicated with joy. She

wished to know when her lover would meet her a second night;

and poor Kitty, pale and trembling, awaited d'Artagnan's

reply. The counsels of his friend, joined to the cries of

his own heart, made him determine, now his pride was saved

and his vengeance satisfied, not to see Milady again. As a

reply, he wrote the following letter:

Do not depend upon me, madame, for the next meeting. Since

my convalescence I have so many affairs of this kind on my

hands that I am forced to regulate them a little. When your

turn comes, I shall have the honor to inform you of it. I

kiss your hands.

Comte de Wardes

Not a word about the sapphire. Was the Gascon determined to

keep it as a weapon against Milady, or else, let us be

frank, did he not reserve the sapphire as a last resource

for his outfit? It would be wrong to judge the actions of

one period from the point of view of another. That which

would now be considered as disgraceful to a gentleman was at

that time quite a simple and natural affair, and the younger

sons of the best families were frequently supported by their

mistresses. D'Artagnan gave the open letter to Kitty, who

at first was unable to comprehend it, but who became almost

wild with joy on reading it a second time. She could

scarcely believe in her happiness; and d'Artagnan was forced

to renew with the living voice the assurances which he had

written. And whatever might be--considering the violent

character of Milady--the danger which the poor girl incurred

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in giving this billet to her mistress, she ran back to the

Place Royale as fast as her legs could carry her.

The heart of the best woman is pitiless toward the sorrows

of a rival.

Milady opened the letter with eagerness equal to Kitty's in

bringing it; but at the first words she read she became

livid. She crushed the paper in her band, and turning with

flashing eyes upon Kitty, she cried, "What is this letter?"

"The answer to Madame's," replied Kitty, all in a tremble.

"Impossible!" cried Milady. "It is impossible a gentleman

could have written such a letter to a woman." Then all at

once, starting, she cried, "My God! can he have--" and she

stopped. She ground her teeth; she was of the color of

ashes. She tried to go toward the window for air, but she

could only stretch forth her arms; her legs failed her, and

she sank into an armchair. Kitty, fearing she was ill,

hastened toward her and was beginning to open her dress; but

Milady started up, pushing her away. "What do you want with

me?" said she, "and why do you place your hand on me?"

"I thought that Madame was ill, and I wished to bring her

help," responded the maid, frightened at the terrible

expression which had come over her mistress's face.

"I faint? I? I? Do you take me for half a woman? When I am

insulted I do not faint; I avenge myself!"

And she made a sign for Kitty to leave the room.

36 DREAM OF VENGEANCE

That evening Milady gave orders that when M. d'Artagnan came

as usual, he should be immediately admitted; but he did not

come.

The next day Kitty went to see the young man again, and

related to him all that had passed on the preceding evening.

d'Artagnan smiled; this jealous anger of Milady was his

revenge.

That evening Milady was still more impatient than on the

preceding evening. She renewed the order relative to the

Gascon; but as before she expected him in vain.

The next morning, when Kitty presented herself at

d'Artagnan's, she was no longer joyous and alert as on the

two preceding days; but on the contrary sad as death.

D'Artagnan asked the poor girl what was the matter with her;

but she, as her only reply, drew a letter from her pocket

and gave it to him.

This letter was in Milady's handwriting; only this time it

was addressed to M. d'Artagnan, and not to M. de Wardes.

He opened it and read as follows:

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Dear M. d'Artagnan, It is wrong thus to neglect your

friends, particularly at the moment you are about to leave

them for so long a time. My brother-in-law and myself

expected you yesterday and the day before, but in vain.

Will it be the same this evening?

Your very grateful,

Milady Clarik

"That's all very simple," said d'Artagnan; "I expected this

letter. My credit rises by the fall of that of the Comte de

Wardes."

"And will you go?" asked Kitty.

"Listen to me, my dear girl," said the Gascon, who sought

for an excuse in his own eyes for breaking the promise he

had made Athos; "you must understand it would be impolitic

not to accept such a positive invitation. Milady, not

seeing me come again, would not be able to understand what

could cause the interruption of my visits, and might suspect

something; who could say how far the vengeance of such a

woman would go?"

"Oh, my God!" said Kitty, "you know how to represent things

in such a way that you are always in the right. You are

going now to pay your court to her again, and if this time

you succeed in pleasing her in your own name and with your

own face, it will be much worse than before."

Instinct made poor Kitty guess a part of what was to happen.

d'Artagnan reassured her as well as he could, and promised

to remain insensible to the seductions of Milady.

He desired Kitty to tell her mistress that he could not be

more grateful for her kindnesses than he was, and that he

would be obedient to her orders. He did not dare to write

for fear of not being able--to such experienced eyes as those

of Milady--to disguise his writing sufficiently.

As nine o'clock sounded, d'Artagnan was at the Place Royale.

It was evident that the servants who waited in the

antechamber were warned, for as soon as d'Artagnan appeared,

before even he had asked if Milady were visible, one of them

ran to announce him.

"Show him in," said Milady, in a quick tone, but so piercing

that d'Artagnan heard her in the antechamber.

He was introduced.

"I am at home to nobody," said Milady; "observe, to nobody."

The servant went out.

D'Artagnan cast an inquiring glance at Milady. She was

pale, and looked fatigued, either from tears or want of

sleep. The number of lights had been intentionally

diminished, but the young woman could not conceal the traces

of the fever which had devoured her for two days.

D'Artagnan approached her with his usual gallantry. She

then made an extraordinary effort to receive him, but never

did a more distressed countenance give the lie to a more

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amiable smile.

To the questions which d'Artagnan put concerning her health,

she replied, "Bad, very bad."

"Then," replied he, "my visit is ill-timed; you, no doubt,

stand in need of repose, and I will withdraw."

"No. no!" said Milady. "On the contrary, stay, Monsieur

d'Artagnan; your agreeable company will divert me."

"Oh, oh!" thought d'Artagnan. "She has never been so kind

before. On guard!"

Milady assumed the most agreeable air possible, and

conversed with more than her usual brilliancy. At the same

time the fever, which for an instant abandoned her, returned

to give luster to her eyes, color to her cheeks, and

vermillion to her lips. D'Artagnan was again in the

presence of the Circe who had before surrounded him with her

enchantments. His love, which he believed to be extinct but

which was only asleep, awoke again in his heart. Milady

smiled, and d'Artagnan felt that he could damn himself for

that smile. There was a moment at which he felt something

like remorse.

By degrees, Milady became more communicative. She asked

d'Artagnan if he had a mistress.

"Alas!" said d'Artagnan, with the most sentimental air he

could assume, "can you be cruel enough to put such a

question to me--to me, who, from the moment I saw you, have

only breathed and sighed through you and for you?"

Milady smiled with a strange smile.

"Then you love me?" said she.

"Have I any need to tell you so? Have you not perceived

it?"

"It may be; but you know the more hearts are worth the

capture, the more difficult they are to be won."

"Oh, difficulties do not affright me," said d'Artagnan. "I

shrink before nothing but impossibilities."

"Nothing is impossible," replied Milady, "to true love."

"Nothing, madame?"

"Nothing," replied Milady.

"The devil!" thought d'Artagnan. "The note is changed. Is

she going to fall in love with me, by chance, this fair

inconstant; and will she be disposed to give me myself

another sapphire like that which she gave me for de Wardes?"

D'Artagnan rapidly drew his seat nearer to Milady's.

"Well, now," she said, "let us see what you would do to

prove this love of which you speak."

"All that could be required of me. Order; I am ready."

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"For everything?"

"For everything," cried d'Artagnan, who knew beforehand that

he had not much to risk in engaging himself thus.

"Well, now let us talk a little seriously," said Milady, in

her turn drawing her armchair nearer to d'Artagnan's chair.

"I am all attention, madame," said he.

Milady remained thoughtful and undecided for a moment; then,

as if appearing to have formed a resolution, she said, "I

have an enemy."

"You, madame!" said d'Artagnan, affecting surprise; "is

that possible, my God?--good and beautiful as you are!"

"A mortal enemy."

"Indeed!"

"An enemy who has insulted me so cruelly that between him

and me it is war to the death. May I reckon on you as an

auxiliary?"

D'Artagnan at once perceived the ground which the vindictive

creature wished to reach.

"You may, madame," said he, with emphasis. "My arm and my

life belong to you, like my love."

"Then," said Milady, "since you are as generous as you are

loving--"

She stopped.

"Well?" demanded d'Artagnan.

"Well," replied Milady, after a moment of silence, "from the

present time, cease to talk of impossibilities."

"Do not overwhelm me with happiness," cried d'Artagnan,

throwing himself on his knees, and covering with kisses the

hands abandoned to him.

"Avenge me of that infamous de Wardes," said Milady, between

her teeth, "and I shall soon know how to get rid of you--you

double idiot, you animated sword blade!"

"Fall voluntarily into my arms, hypocritical and dangerous

woman," said d'Artagnan, likewise to himself, "after having

abused me with such effrontery, and afterward I will laugh

at you with him whom you wish me to kill."

D'Artagnan lifted up his head.

"I am ready," said he.

"You have understood me, then, dear Monsieur d'Artagnan"

said Milady.

"I could interpret one of your looks."

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"Then you would employ for me your arm which has already

acquired so much renown?"

"Instantly!"

"But on my part," said Milady, "how should I repay such a

service? I know these lovers. They are men who do nothing

for nothing."

"You know the only reply that I desire," said d'Artagnan,

"the only one worthy of you and of me!"

And he drew nearer to her.

She scarcely resisted.

"Interested man!" cried she, smiling.

"Ah," cried d'Artagnan, really carried away by the passion

this woman had the power to kindle in his heart, "ah, that

is because my happiness appears so impossible to me; and I

have such fear that it should fly away from me like a dream

that I pant to make a reality of it."

"Well, merit this pretended happiness, then!"

"I am at your orders," said d'Artagnan.

"Quite certain?" said Milady, with a last doubt.

"Only name to me the base man that has brought tears into

your beautiful eyes!"

"Who told you that I had been weeping?" said she.

"It appeared to me--"

"Such women as I never weep," said Milady.

"So much the better! Come, tell me his name!"

"Remember that his name is all my secret."

"Yet I must know his name."

"Yes, you must; see what confidence I have in you!"

"You overwhelm me with joy. What is his name?"

"You know him."

"Indeed."

"Yes."

"It is surely not one of my friends?" replied d'Artagnan,

affecting hesitation in order to make her believe him

ignorant.

"If it were one of your friends you would hesitate, then?"

cried Milady; and a threatening glance darted from her eyes.

"Not if it were my own brother!" cried d'Artagnan, as if

carried away by his enthusiasm.

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Our Gascon promised this without risk, for he knew all that

was meant.

"I love your devotedness," said Milady.

"Alas, do you love nothing else in me?" asked d'Artagnan.

"I love you also, YOU!" said she, taking his hand.

The warm pressure made d'Artagnan tremble, as if by the

touch that fever which consumed Milady attacked himself.

"You love me, you!" cried he. "Oh, if that were so, I should lose my reason!"

And he folded her in his arms, She made no effort to remove

her lips from his kisses; only she did not respond to them.

Her lips were cold; it appeared to d'Artagnan that he had

embraced a statue.

He was not the less intoxicated with joy, electrified by

love. He almost believed in the tenderness of Milady; he

almost believed in the crime of de Wardes. If de Wardes had

at that moment been under his hand, he would have killed

him.

Milady seized the occasion,

"His name is--" said she, in her turn.

"De Wardes; I know it," cried d'Artagnan.

"And how do you know it?" asked Milady, seizing both his

hands, and endeavoring to read with her eyes to the bottom

of his heart.

D'Artagnan felt he had allowed himself to be carried away,

and that he had committed an error.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, I say," repeated Milady, "how do

you know it?"

"How do I know it?" said d'Artagnan.

"Yes."

"I know it because yesterday Monsieur de Wardes, in a saloon

where I was, showed a ring which he said he had received

from you."

"Wretch!" cried Milady.

The epithet, as may be easily understood, resounded to the

very bottom of d'Artagnan's heart.

"Well?" continued she.

"Well, I will avenge you of this wretch," replied

d'Artagnan, giving himself the airs of Don Japhet of

Armenia.

"Thanks, my brave friend!" cried Milady; "and when shall I

be avenged?"

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"Tomorrow--immediately--when you please!"

Milady was about to cry out, "Immediately," but she

reflected that such precipitation would not be very gracious

toward d'Artagnan.

Besides, she had a thousand precautions to take, a thousand

counsels to give to her defender, in order that he might

avoid explanations with the count before witnesses. All

this was answered by an expression of d'Artagnan's.

"Tomorrow," said he, "you will be avenged, or I shall be

dead."

"No," said she, "you will avenge me; but you will not be

dead. He is a coward."

"With women, perhaps; but not with men. I know something of

him."

"But it seems you had not much reason to complain of your

fortune in your contest with him."

"Fortune is a courtesan; favorable yesterday, she may turn

her back tomorrow."

"Which means that you now hesitate?"

"No, I do not hesitate; God forbid! But would it be just to

allow me to go to a possible death without having given me

at least something more than hope?"

Milady answered by a glance which said, "Is that all?--speak,

then." And then accompanying the glance with explanatory

words, "That is but too just," said she, tenderly.

"Oh, you are an angel!" exclaimed the young man.

"Then all is agreed?" said she.

"Except that which I ask of you, dear love."

"But when I assure you that you may rely on my tenderness?"

"I cannot wait till tomorrow."

"Silence! I hear my brother. It will be useless for him to

find you here."

She rang the bell and Kitty appeared.

"Go out this way," said she, opening a small private door,

"and come back at eleven o'clock; we will then terminate

this conversation. Kitty will conduct you to my chamber."

The poor girl almost fainted at hearing these words.

"Well, mademoiselle, what are you thinking about, standing

there like a statue? Do as I bid you: show the chevalier

out; and this evening at eleven o'clock--you have heard what

I said."

"It appears that these appointments are all made for eleven

o'clock," thought d'Artagnan; "that's a settled custom."

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Milady held out her hand to him, which he kissed tenderly.

"But," said he, as he retired as quickly as possible from

the reproaches of Kitty, "I must not play the fool. This

woman is certainly a great liar. I must take care."

37 MILADY'S SECRET

D'Artagnan left the hotel instead of going up at once to

Kitty's chamber, as she endeavored to persuade him to do--and

that for two reasons: the first, because by this means he

should escape reproaches, recriminations, and prayers; the

second, because be was not sorry to have an opportunity of

reading his own thoughts and endeavoring, if possible, to

fathom those of this woman.

What was most clear in the matter was that d'Artagnan loved

Milady like a madman, and that she did not love him at all.

In an instant d'Artagnan perceived that the best way in

which he could act would be to go home and write Milady a

long letter, in which he would confess to her that he and de

Wardes were, up to the present moment absolutely the same,

and that consequently he could not undertake, without

committing suicide, to kill the Comte de Wardes. But he

also was spurred on by a ferocious desire of vengeance. He

wished to subdue this woman in his own name; and as this

vengeance appeared to him to have a certain sweetness in it,

he could not make up his mind to renounce it.

He walked six or seven times round the Place Royale, turning

at every ten steps to look at the light in Milady's

apartment, which was to be seen through the blinds. It was

evident that this time the young woman was not in such haste

to retire to her apartment as she had been the first.

At length the light disappeared. With this light was

extinguished the last irresolution in the heart of

d'Artagnan. He recalled to his mind the details of the

first night, and with a beating heart and a brain on fire he

re-entered the hotel and flew toward Kitty's chamber.

The poor girl, pale as death and trembling in all her limbs,

wished to delay her lover; but Milady, with her ear on the

watch, had heard the noise d'Artagnan had made, and opening

the door, said, "Come in."

All this was of such incredible immodesty, of such monstrous

effrontery, that d'Artagnan could scarcely believe what he

saw or what he heard. He imagined himself to be drawn into

one of those fantastic intrigues one meets in dreams. He,

however, darted not the less quickly toward Milady, yielding

to that magnetic attraction which the loadstone exercises

over iron.

As the door closed after them Kitty rushed toward it.

Jealousy, fury, offended pride, all the passions in short

that dispute the heart of an outraged woman in love, urged

her to make a revelation; but she reflected that she would

be totally lost if she confessed having assisted in such a

machination, and above all, that d'Artagnan would also be

lost to her forever. This last thought of love counseled

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her to make this last sacrifice.

D'Artagnan, on his part, had gained the summit of all his

wishes. It was no longer a rival who was beloved; it was

himself who was apparently beloved. A secret voice

whispered to him, at the bottom of his heart, that he was

but an instrument of vengeance, that he was only caressed

till he had given death; but pride, but self-love, but

madness silenced this voice and stifled its murmurs. And

then our Gascon, with that large quantity of conceit which

we know he possessed, compared himself with de Wardes, and

asked himself why, after all, he should not be beloved for

himself?

He was absorbed entirely by the sensations of the moment.

Milady was no longer for him that woman of fatal intentions

who had for a moment terrified him; she was an ardent,

passionate mistress, abandoning herself to love which she

also seemed to feel. Two hours thus glided away. When the

transports of the two lovers were calmer, Milady, who had

not the same motives for forgetfulness that d'Artagnan had,

was the first to return to reality, and asked the young man

if the means which were on the morrow to bring on the

encounter between him and de Wardes were already arranged in

his mind.

But d'Artagnan, whose ideas had taken quite another course,

forgot himself like a fool, and answered gallantly that it

was too late to think about duels and sword thrusts.

This coldness toward the only interests that occupied her

mind terrified Milady, whose questions became more pressing.

Then d'Artagnan, who had never seriously thought of this

impossible duel, endeavored to turn the conversation; but he

could not succeed. Milady kept him within the limits she

had traced beforehand with her irresistible spirit and her

iron will.

D'Artagnan fancied himself very cunning when advising Milady

to renounce, by pardoning de Wardes, the furious projects

she had formed.

But at the first word the young woman started, and exclaimed

in a sharp, bantering tone. which sounded strangely in the

darkness, "Are you afraid, dear Monsieur d'Artagnan?"

"You cannot think so, dear love!" replied d'Artagnan; "but

now, suppose this poor Comte de Wardes were less guilty than

you think him?"

"At all events," said Milady, seriously, "he has deceived

me, and from the moment he deceived me, he merited death."

"He shall die, then, since you condemn him!" said

d'Artagnan, in so firm a tone that it appeared to Milady an

undoubted proof of devotion. This reassured her.

We cannot say how long the night seemed to Milady, but

d'Artagnan believed it to be hardly two hours before the

daylight peeped through the window blinds, and invaded the

chamber with its paleness. Seeing d'Artagnan about to leave

her, Milady recalled his promise to avenge her on the Comte

de Wardes.

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"I am quite ready," said d'Artagnan; "but in the first place

I should like to be certain of one thing."

"And what is that?" asked Milady.

"That is, whether you really love me?"

"I have given you proof of that, it seems to me."

"And I am yours, body and soul!"

"Thanks, my brave lover; but as you are satisfied of my

love, you must, in your turn, satisfy me of yours. Is it

not so?"

"Certainly; but if you love me as much as you say," replied

d'Artagnan, "do you not entertain a little fear on my

account?"

"What have I to fear?"

"Why, that I may be dangerously wounded--killed even."

"Impossible!" cried Milady, "you are such a valiant man, and

such an expert swordsman."

"You would not, then, prefer a method," resumed d'Artagnan,

"which would equally avenge you while rendering the combat

useless?"

Milady looked at her lover in silence. The pale light of

the first rays of day gave to her clear eyes a strangely

frightful expression.

"Really," said she, "I believe you now begin to hesitate."

"No, I do not hesitate; but I really pity this poor Comte de

Wardes, since you have ceased to love him. I think that a

man must be so severely punished by the loss of your love

that he stands in need of no other chastisement."

"Who told you that I loved him?" asked Milady, sharply.

"At least, I am now at liberty to believe, without too much

fatuity, that you love another," said the young man, in a

caressing tone, "and I repeat that I am really interested

for the count."

"You?" asked Milady.

"Yes, I."

"And why YOU?"

"Because I alone know--"

"What?"

"That he is far from being, or rather having been, so guilty

toward you as he appears."

"Indeed!" said Milady, in an anxious tone; "explain

yourself, for I really cannot tell what you mean."

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And she looked at d'Artagnan, who embraced her tenderly,

with eyes which seemed to burn themselves away.

"Yes; I am a man of honor," said d'Artagnan, determined to

come to an end, "and since your love is mine, and I am

satisfied I possess it--for I do possess it, do I not?"

"Entirely; go on."

"Well, I feel as if transformed--a confession weighs on my

mind."

"A confession!"

"If I had the least doubt of your love I would not make it,

but you love me, my beautiful mistress, do you not?"

"Without doubt."

"Then if through excess of love I have rendered myself

culpable toward you, you will pardon me?"

"Perhaps."

D'Artagnan tried with his sweetest smile to touch his lips

to Milady's, but she evaded him.

"This confession," said she, growing paler, "what is this

confession?"

"You gave de Wardes a meeting on Thursday last in this very

room, did you not?"

"No, no! It is not true," said Milady, in a tone of voice so

firm, and with a countenance so unchanged, that if

d'Artagnan had not been in such perfect possession of the

fact, he would have doubted.

"Do not lie, my angel," said d'Artagnan, smiling; "that

would be useless."

"What do you mean? Speak! you kill me."

"Be satisfied; you are not guilty toward me, and I have

already pardoned you."

"What next? what next?"

"De Wardes cannot boast of anything."

"How is that? You told me yourself that that ring--"

"That ring I have! The Comte de Wardes of Thursday and the

d'Artagnan of today are the same person."

The imprudent young man expected a surprise, mixed with

shame--a slight storm which would resolve itself into tears;

but he was strangely deceived, and his error was not of long

duration.

Pale and trembling, Milady repulsed d'Artagnan's attempted

embrace by a violent blow on the chest, as she sprang out of

bed.

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It was almost broad daylight.

D'Artagnan detained her by her night dress of fine India

linen, to implore her pardon; but she, with a strong

movement, tried to escape. Then the cambric was torn from

her beautiful shoulders; and on one of those lovely

shoulders, round and white, d'Artagnan recognized, with

inexpressible astonishment, the FLEUR-DE-LIS--that indelible

mark which the hand of the infamous executioner had

imprinted.

"Great God!" cried d'Artagnan, loosing his hold of her

dress, and remaining mute, motionless, and frozen.

But Milady felt herself denounced even by his terror. He

had doubtless seen all. The young man now knew her secret,

her terrible secret--the secret she concealed even from her

maid with such care, the secret of which all the world was

ignorant, except himself.

She turned upon him, no longer like a furious woman, but

like a wounded panther.

"Ah, wretch!" cried she, "you have basely betrayed me, and

still more, you have my secret! You shall die."

And she flew to a little inlaid casket which stood upon the

dressing table, opened it with a feverish and trembling

band, drew from it a small poniard, with a golden haft and a

sharp thin blade, and then threw herself with a bound upon

d'Artagnan.

Although the young man was brave, as we know, he was

terrified at that wild countenance, those terribly dilated

pupils, those pale cheeks, and those bleeding lips. He

recoiled to the other side of the room as he would have done

from a serpent which was crawling toward him, and his sword

coming in contact with his nervous hand, he drew it almost

unconsciously from the scabbard. But without taking any

heed of the sword, Milady endeavored to get near enough to

him to stab him, and did not stop till she felt the sharp

point at her throat.

She then tried to seize the sword with her hands; but

d'Artagnan kept it free from her grasp, and presenting the

point, sometimes at her eyes, sometimes at her breast,

compelled her to glide behind the bedstead, while he aimed

at making his retreat by the door which led to Kitty's

apartment.

Milady during this time continued to strike at him with

horrible fury, screaming in a formidable way.

As all this, however, bore some resemblance to a duel,

d'Artagnan began to recover himself little by little.

"Well, beautiful lady, very well," said be; "but, PARDIEU,

if you don't calm yourself, I will design a second

FLEUR-DE-LIS upon one of those pretty checks!"

"Scoundrel, infamous scoundrel!" howled Milady.

But d'Artagnan, still keeping on the defensive, drew near to

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Kitty's door. At the noise they made, she in overturning

the furniture in her efforts to get at him, he in screening

himself behind the furniture to keep out of her reach, Kitty

opened the door. D'Artagnan, who had unceasingly maneuvered

to gain this point, was not at more than three paces from

it. With one spring he flew from the chamber of Milady into

that of the maid, and quick as lightning, he slammed to the

door, and placed all his weight against it, while Kitty

pushed the bolts.

Then Milady attempted to tear down the doorcase, with a

strength apparently above that of a woman; but finding she

could not accomplish this, she in her fury stabbed at the

door with her poniard, the point of which repeatedly

glittered through the wood. Every blow was accompanied with

terrible imprecations.

"Quick, Kitty, quick!" said d'Artagnan, in a low voice, as

soon as the bolts were fast, "let me get out of the hotel;

for if we leave her time to turn round, she will have me

killed by the servants."

"But you can't go out so," said Kitty; "you are naked."

"That's true," said d'Artagnan, then first thinking of the

costume he found himself in, "that's true. But dress me as

well as you are able, only make haste; think, my dear girl,

it's life and death!"

Kitty was but too well aware of that. In a turn of the hand

she muffled him up in a flowered robe, a large hood, and a

cloak. She gave him some slippers, in which he placed his

naked feet, and then conducted him down the stairs. It was

time. Milady had already rung her bell, and roused the

whole hotel. The porter was drawing the cord at the moment

Milady cried from her window, "Don't open!"

The young man fled while she was still threatening him with

an impotent gesture. The moment she lost sight of him,

Milady tumbled fainting into her chamber.

38 HOW, WITHOUT INCOMMODING HIMSELF, ATHOS PROCURES HIS EQUIPMENT

D'Artagnan was so completely bewildered that without taking

any heed of what might become of Kitty he ran at full speed

across half Paris, and did not stop till he came to Athos's

door. The confusion of his mind, the terror which spurred

him on, the cries of some of the patrol who started in

pursuit of him, and the hooting of the people who,

notwithstanding the early hour, were going to their work,

only made him precipitate his course.

He crossed the court, ran up the two flights to Athos's

apartment, and knocked at the door enough to break it down.

Grimaud came, rubbing his half-open eyes, to answer this

noisy summons, and d'Artagnan sprang with such violence into

the room as nearly to overturn the astonished lackey.

In spite of his habitual silence, the poor lad this time

found his speech.

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"Holloa, there!" cried he; "what do you want, you strumpet?

What's your business here, you hussy?"

D'Artagnan threw off his hood, and disengaged his hands from

the folds of the cloak. At sight of the mustaches and the

naked sword, the poor devil perceived he had to deal with a

man. He then concluded it must be an assassin.

"Help! murder! help!" cried he.

"Hold your tongue, you stupid fellow!" said the young man; "I am

d'Artagnan; don't you know me? Where is your master?"

"You, Monsieur d'Artagnan!" cried Grimaud, "impossible."

"Grimaud," said Athos, coming out of his apartment in a

dressing gown, "Grimaud, I thought I heard you permitting

yourself to speak?"

"Ah, monsieur, it is--"

"Silence!"

Grimaud contented himself with pointing d'Artagnan out to

his master with his finger.

Athos recognized his comrade, and phlegmatic as he was, he

burst into a laugh which was quite excused by the strange

masquerade before his eyes--petticoats falling over his

shoes, sleeves tucked up, and mustaches stiff with

agitation.

"Don't laugh, my friend!" cried d'Artagnan; "for heaven's

sake, don't laugh, for upon my soul, it's no laughing

matter!"

And he pronounced these words with such a solemn air and

with such a real appearance of terror, that Athos eagerly

seized his hand, crying, "Are you wounded, my friend? How

pale you are!"

"No, but I have just met with a terrible adventure! Are you

alone, Athos?"

"PARBLEU! whom do you expect to find with me at this hour?"

"Well, well!" and d'Artagnan rushed into Athos's chamber.

"Come, speak!" said the latter, closing the door and bolting

it, that they might not be disturbed. "Is the king dead?

Have you killed the cardinal? You are quite upset! Come,

come, tell me; I am dying with curiosity and uneasiness!"

"Athos," said d'Artagnan, getting rid of his female

garments, and appearing in his shirt, "prepare yourself to

hear an incredible, an unheard-of story."

"Well, but put on this dressing gown first," said the

Musketeer to his friend.

D'Artagnan donned the robe as quickly as he could, mistaking

one sleeve for the other, so greatly was he still agitated.

"Well?" said Athos.

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"Well," replied d'Artagnan, bending his mouth to Athos's

ear, and lowering his voice, "Milady is marked with a

FLEUR-DE-LIS upon her shoulder!"

"Ah!" cried the Musketeer, as if he had received a ball in

his heart.

"Let us see," said d'Artagnan. "Are you SURE that the OTHER

is dead?"

"THE OTHER?" said Athos, in so stifled a voice that

d'Artagnan scarcely heard him.

"Yes, she of whom you told me one day at Amiens."

Athos uttered a groan, and let his head sink on his hands.

"This is a woman of twenty-six or twenty-eight years."

"Fair," said Athos, "is she not?"

"Very."

"Blue and clear eyes, of a strange brilliancy, with black

eyelids and eyebrows?"

"Yes."

"Tall, well-made? She has lost a tooth, next to the

eyetooth on the left?"

"Yes."

"The FLEUR-DE-LIS is small, rosy in color, and looks as if

efforts had been made to efface it by the application of

poultices?"

"Yes."

"But you say she is English?"

"She is called Milady, but she may be French. Lord de

Winter is only her brother-in-law,"

"I will see her, d'Artagnan!"

"Beware, Athos, beware. You tried to kill her; she is a

woman to return you the like, and not to fail."

"She will not dare to say anything; that would be to

denounce herself."

"She is capable of anything or everything. Did you ever see

her furious?"

"No," said Athos.

"A tigress, a panther! Ah, my dear Athos, I am greatly

afraid I have drawn a terrible vengeance on both of us!"

D'Artagnan then related all--the mad passion of Milady and

her menaces of death.

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"You are right; and upon my soul, I would give my life for a

hair," said Athos. "Fortunately, the day after tomorrow we

leave Paris. We are going according to all probability to

La Rochelle, and once gone--"

"She will follow you to the end of the world, Athos, if she

recognizes you. Let her, then, exhaust her vengeance on me

alone!"

"My dear friend, of what consequence is it if she kills me?"

said Athos. "Do you, perchance, think I set any great store

by life?"

"There is something horribly mysterious under all this,

Athos; this woman is one of the cardinal's spies, I am sure

of that."

"In that case, take care! If the cardinal does not hold you

in high admiration for the affair of London, he entertains a

great hatred for you; but as, considering everything, he

cannot accuse you openly, and as hatred must be satisfied,

particularly when it's a cardinal's hatred, take care of

yourself. If you go out, do not go out alone; when you eat,

use every precaution. Mistrust everything, in short, even

your own shadow."

"Fortunately," said d'Artagnan, "all this will be only

necessary till after tomorrow evening, for when once with

the army, we shall have, I hope, only men to dread."

"In the meantime," said Athos, "I renounce my plan of

seclusion, and wherever you go, I will go with you. You

must return to the Rue des Fossoyeurs; I will accompany

you."

"But however near it may be," replied d'Artagnan, "I cannot

go thither in this guise."

"That's true," said Athos, and he rang the bell.

Grimaud entered.

Athos made him a sign to go to d'Artagnan's residence, and

bring back some clothes. Grimaud replied by another sign

that be understood perfectly, and set off.

"All this will not advance your outfit," said Athos; "for if

I am not mistaken, you have left the best of your apparel

with Milady, and she will certainly not have the politeness

to return it to you. Fortunately, you have the sapphire."

"The jewel is yours, my dear Athos! Did you not tell me it

was a family jewel?"

"Yes, my grandfather gave two thousand crowns for it, as he

once told me. It formed part of the nuptial present he made

his wife, and it is magnificent. My mother gave it to me,

and I, fool as I was, instead of keeping the ring as a holy

relic, gave it to this wretch."

"Then, my friend, take back this ring, to which I see you

attach much value."

"I take back the ring, after it has passed through the hands

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of that infamous creature? Never; that ring is defiled,

d'Artagnan."

"Sell it, then."

"Sell a jewel which came from my mother! I vow I should

consider it a profanation."

"Pledge it, then; you can borrow at least a thousand crowns

on it. With that sum you can extricate yourself from your

present difficulties; and when you are full of money again,

you can redeem it, and take it back cleansed from its

ancient stains, as it will have passed through the hands of

usurers."

Athos smiled.

"You are a capital companion, d'Artagnan," said be; "your

never-failing cheerfulness raises poor souls in affliction.

Well, let us pledge the ring, but upon one condition."

"What?"

"That there shall be five hundred crowns for you, and five

hundred crowns for me."

"Don't dream it, Athos. I don't need the quarter of such a

sum--I who am still only in the Guards--and by selling my

saddles, I shall procure it. What do I want? A horse for

Planchet, that's all. Besides, you forget that I have a

ring likewise."

"To which you attach more value, it seems, than I do to

mine; at least, I have thought so."

"Yes, for in any extreme circumstance it might not only

extricate us from some great embarrassment, but even a great

danger. It is not only a valuable diamond, but it is an

enchanted talisman."

"I don't at all understand you, but I believe all you say to

be true. Let us return to my ring, or rather to yours. You

shall take half the sum that will be advanced upon it, or I

will throw it into the Seine; and I doubt, as was the case

with Polycrates, whether any fish will be sufficiently

complaisant to bring it back to us."

"Well, I will take it, then," said d'Artagnan.

At this moment Grimaud returned, accompanied by Planchet;

the latter, anxious about his master and curious to know

what had happened to him, had taken advantage of the

opportunity and brought the garments himself.

d'Artagnan dressed himself, and Athos did the same. When

the two were ready to go out, the latter made Grimaud the

sign of a man taking aim, and the lackey immediately took

down his musketoon, and prepared to follow his master.

They arrived without accident at the Rue des Fossoyeurs.

Bonacieux was standing at the door, and looked at d'Artagnan

hatefully.

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"Make haste, dear lodger," said he; "there is a very pretty

girl waiting for you upstairs; and you know women don't like

to be kept waiting."

"That's Kitty!" said d'Artagnan to himself, and darted into

the passage.

Sure enough! Upon the landing leading to the chamber, and

crouching against the door, he found the poor girl, all in a

tremble. As soon as she perceived him, she cried, "You have

promised your protection; you have promised to save me from

her anger. Remember, it is you who have ruined me!"

"Yes, yes, to be sure, Kitty," said d'Artagnan; "be at ease,

my girl. But what happened after my departure?"

"How can I tell!" said Kitty. "The lackeys were brought by

the cries she made. She was mad with passion. There exist

no imprecations she did not pour out against you. Then I

thought she would remember it was through my chamber you had

penetrated hers, and that then she would suppose I was your

accomplice; so I took what little money I had and the best

of my things, and I got away.

"Poor dear girl! But what can I do with you? I am going

away the day after tomorrow."

"Do what you please, Monsieur Chevalier. Help me out of

Paris; help me out of France!"

"I cannot take you, however, to the siege of La Rochelle,"

aid d'Artagnan.

"No; but you can place me in one of the provinces with some

lady of your acquaintance--in your own country, for

instance."

"My dear little love! In my country the ladies do without

chambermaids. But stop! I can manage your business for

you. Planchet, go and find Aramis. Request him to come

here directly. We have something very important to say to

him."

"I understand," said Athos; "but why not Porthos? I should

have thought that his duchess--"

"Oh, Porthos's duchess is dressed by her husband's clerks,"

said d'Artagnan, laughing. "Besides, Kitty would not like

to live in the Rue aux Ours. Isn't it so, Kitty?"

"I do not care where I live," said Kitty, "provided I am

well concealed, and nobody knows where I am."

"Meanwhile, Kitty, when we are about to separate, and you

are no longer jealous of me--"

"Monsieur Chevalier, far off or near," said Kitty, "I shall

always love you."

"Where the devil will constancy niche itself next?" murmured

Athos.

"And I, also," said d'Artagnan, "I also. I shall always

love you; be sure of that. But now answer me. I attach

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great importance to the question I am about to put to you.

Did you never hear talk of a young woman who was carried off

one night?"

"There, now! Oh, Monsieur Chevalier, do you love that woman

still?"

"No, no; it is one of my friends who loves her--Monsieur

Athos, this gentleman here."

"I?" cried Athos, with an accent like that of a man who

perceives he is about to tread upon an adder.

"You, to be sure!" said d'Artagnan, pressing Athos's hand.

"You know the interest we both take in this poor little

Madame Bonacieux. Besides, Kitty will tell nothing; will

you, Kitty? You understand, my dear girl," continued

d'Artagnan, "she is the wife of that frightful baboon you

saw at the door as you came in."

"Oh, my God! You remind me of my fright! If he should have

known me again!"

"How? know you again? Did you ever see that man before?"

"He came twice to Milady's."

"That's it. About what time?"

"Why, about fifteen or eighteen days ago."

"Exactly so."

"And yesterday evening he came again."

"Yesterday evening?"

"Yes, just before you came."

"My dear Athos, we are enveloped in a network of spies. And

do you believe he knew you again, Kitty?"

"I pulled down my hood as soon as I saw him, but perhaps it

was too

late."

"Go down, Athos--he mistrusts you less than me--and see if he

be still at his door."

Athos went down and returned immediately.

"He has gone," said he, "and the house door is shut."

"He has gone to make his report, and to say that all the

pigeons are at this moment in the dovecot"

"Well, then, let us all fly," said Athos, "and leave nobody

here but Planchet to bring us news."

"A minute. Aramis, whom we have sent for!"

"That's true," said Athos; "we must wait for Aramis."

At that moment Aramis entered.

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The matter was all explained to him, and the friends gave

him to understand that among all his high connections he

must find a place for Kitty.

Aramis reflected for a minute, and then said, coloring,

"Will it be really rendering you a service, d'Artagnan?"

"I shall be grateful to you all my life."

"Very well. Madame de Bois-Tracy asked me, for one of her

friends who resides in the provinces, I believe, for a

trustworthy maid. If you can, my dear d'Artagnan, answer

for Mademoiselle-"

"Oh, monsieur, be assured that I shall be entirely devoted

to the person who will give me the means of quitting Paris."

"Then," said Aramis, "this falls out very well."

He placed himself at the table and wrote a little note which

he sealed with a ring, and gave the billet to Kitty.

"And now, my dear girl," said d'Artagnan, "you know that it

is not good for any of us to be here. Therefore let us

separate. We shall meet again in better days."

"And whenever we find each other, in whatever place it may

be," said Kitty, "you will find me loving you as I love you

today."

"Dicers' oaths!" said Athos, while d'Artagnan went to

conduct Kitty downstairs.

An instant afterward the three young men separated, agreeing

to meet again at four o'clock with Athos, and leaving

Planchet to guard the house.

Aramis returned home, and Athos and d'Artagnan busied

themselves about pledging the sapphire.

As the Gascon had foreseen, they easily obtained three

hundred pistoles on the ring. Still further, the Jew told

them that if they would sell it to him, as it would make a

magnificent pendant for earrings, he would give five hundred

pistoles for it.

Athos and d'Artagnan, with the activity of two soldiers and

the knowledge of two connoisseurs, hardly required three

hours to purchase the entire equipment of the Musketeer.

Besides, Athos was very easy, and a noble to his fingers'

ends. When a thing suited him he paid the price demanded,

without thinking to ask for any abatement. D'Artagnan would

have remonstrated at this; but Athos put his hand upon his

shoulder, with a smile, and d'Artagnan understood that it

was all very well for such a little Gascon gentleman as

himself to drive a bargain, but not for a man who had the

bearing of a prince. The Musketeer met with a superb

Andalusian horse, black as jet, nostrils of fire, legs clean

and elegant, rising six years. He examined him, and found

him sound and without blemish. They asked a thousand livres

for him.

He might perhaps have been bought for less; but while

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d'Artagnan was discussing the price with the dealer, Athos

was counting out the money on the table.

Grimaud had a stout, short Picard cob, which cost three

hundred livres.

But when the saddle and arms for Grimaud were purchased,

Athos had not a sou left of his hundred and fifty pistoles.

d'Artagnan offered his friend a part of his share which he

should return when convenient.

But Athos only replied to this proposal by shrugging his

shoulders.

"How much did the Jew say he would give for the sapphire if

be purchased it?" said Athos.

"Five hundred pistoles."

"That is to say, two hundred more--a hundred pistoles for you

and a hundred pistoles for me. Well, now, that would be a

real fortune to us, my friend; let us go back to the Jew's

again."

"What! "will you--"

"This ring would certainly only recall very bitter

remembrances; then we shall never be masters of three

hundred pistoles to redeem it, so that we really should lose

two hundred pistoles by the bargain. Go and tell him the

ring is his, d'Artagnan, and bring back the two hundred

pistoles with you."

"Reflect, Athos!"

"Ready money is needful for the present time, and we must

learn how to make sacrifices. Go, d'Artagnan, go; Grimaud

will accompany you with his musketoon."

A half hour afterward, d'Artagnan returned with the two

thousand livres, and without having met with any accident.

It was thus Athos found at home resources which he did not

expect.

39 A VISION

At four o'clock the four friends were all assembled with

Athos. Their anxiety about their outfits had all

disappeared, and each countenance only preserved the

expression of its own secret disquiet--for behind all present

happiness is concealed a fear for the future.

Suddenly Planchet entered, bringing two letters for

d'Artagnan.

The one was a little billet, genteelly folded, with a pretty

seal in green wax on which was impressed a dove bearing a

green branch.

The other was a large square epistle, resplendent with the

terrible arms of his Eminence the cardinal duke.

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At the sight of the little letter the heart of d'Artagnan

bounded, for he believed he recognized the handwriting, and

although he had seen that writing but once, the memory of it

remained at the bottom of his heart.

He therefore seized the little epistle, and opened it

eagerly.

"Be," said the letter, "on Thursday next, at from six to

seven o'clock in the evening, on the road to Chaillot, and

look carefully into the carriages that pass; but if you have

any consideration for your own life or that of those who

love you, do not speak a single word, do not make a movement

which may lead anyone to believe you have recognized her who

exposes herself to everything for the sake of seeing you but

for an instant."

No signature.

"That's a snare," said Athos; "don't go, d'Artagnan."

"And yet," replied d'Artagnan, "I think I recognize the

writing."

"It may be counterfeit," said Athos. "Between six and seven

o'clock the road of Chaillot is quite deserted; you might as

well go and ride in the forest of Bondy."

"But suppose we all go," said d'Artagnan; "what the devil!

They won't devour us all four, four lackeys, horses, arms,

and all!"

"And besides, it will be a chance for displaying our new

equipments," said Porthos.

"But if it is a woman who writes," said Aramis, "and that

woman desires not to be seen, remember, you compromise her,

d'Artagnan; which is not the part of a gentleman."

"We will remain in the background," said Porthos, "and he

will advance alone."

"Yes; but a pistol shot is easily fired from a carriage

which goes at a gallop."

"Bah!" said d'Artagnan, "they will miss me; if they fire we

will ride after the carriage, and exterminate those who may

be in it. They must be enemies."

"He is right," said Porthos; "battle. Besides, we must try

our own arms."

"Bah, let us enjoy that pleasure," said Aramis, with his

mild and careless manner.

"As you please," said Athos.

"Gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, "it is half past four, and we

have scarcely time to be on the road of Chaillot by six."

"Besides, if we go out too late, nobody will see us," said

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Porthos, "and that will be a pity. Let us get ready,

gentlemen."

"But this second letter," said Athos, "you forget that; it

appears to me, however, that the seal denotes that it

deserves to be opened. For my part, I declare, d'Artagnan,

I think it of much more consequence than the little piece of

waste paper you have so cunningly slipped into your bosom."

D'Artagnan blushed.

"Well," said he, "let us see, gentlemen, what are his

Eminence's commands," and d'Artagnan unsealed the letter and

read,

"M. d'Artagnan, of the king's Guards, company Dessessart, is

expected at the Palais-Cardinal this evening, at eight

o'clock.

"La Houdiniere, CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS"

"The devil!" said Athos; "here's a rendezvous much more

serious than the other."

"I will go to the second after attending the first," said

d'Artagnan. "One is for seven o'clock, and the other for

eight; there will be time for both."

"Hum! I would not go at all," said Aramis. "A gallant

knight cannot decline a rendezvous with a lady; but a

prudent gentleman may excuse himself from not waiting on his

Eminence, particularly when he has reason to believe he is

not invited to make his compliments."

"I am of Aramis's opinion," said Porthos.

"Gentlemen," replied d'Artagnan, "I have already received by

Monsieur de Cavois a similar invitation from his Eminence.

I neglected it, and on the morrow a serious misfortune

happened to me--Constance disappeared. Whatever may ensue, I

will go."

"If you are determined," said Athos, "do so."

"But the Bastille?" said Aramis.

"Bah! you will get me out if they put me there," said

d'Artagnan.

"To be sure we will," replied Aramis and Porthos, with

admirable promptness and decision, as if that were the

simplest thing in the world, "to be sure we will get you

out; but meantime, as we are to set off the day after

tomorrow, you would do much better not to risk this

Bastille."

"Let us do better than that," said Athos; "do not let us

leave him during the whole evening. Let each of us wait at

a gate of the palace with three Musketeers behind him; if we

see a close carriage, at all suspicious in appearance, come

out, let us fall upon it. It is a long time since we have

had a skirmish with the Guards of Monsieur the Cardinal;

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Monsieur de Treville must think us dead."

"To a certainty, Athos," said Aramis, "you were meant to be

a general of the army! What do you think of the plan,

gentlemen?"

"Admirable!" replied the young men in chorus.

"Well," said Porthos, "I will run to the hotel, and engage

our comrades to hold themselves in readiness by eight

o'clock; the rendezvous, the Place du Palais-Cardinal.

Meantime, you see that the lackeys saddle the horses."

"I have no horse," said d'Artagnan; "but that is of no

consequence, I can take one of Monsieur de Treville's."

"That is not worth while," said Aramis, "you can have one of

mine."

"One of yours! how many have you, then?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Three," replied Aramis, smiling.

"Certes," cried Athos, "you are the best-mounted poet of

France or Navarre."

"Well, my dear Aramis, you don't want three horses? I

cannot comprehend what induced you to buy three!"

"Therefore I only purchased two," said Aramis.

"The third, then, fell from the clouds, I suppose?"

"No, the third was brought to me this very morning by a

groom out of livery, who would not tell me in whose service

he was, and who said he had received orders from his

master."

"Or his mistress," interrupted d'Artagnan.

"That makes no difference," said Aramis, coloring; "and who

affirmed, as I said, that he had received orders from his

master or mistress to place the horse in my stable, without

informing me whence it came."

"It is only to poets that such things happen," said Athos,

gravely.

"Well, in that case, we can manage famously," said

d'Artagnan; "which of the two horses will you ride--that

which you bought or the one that was given to you?"

"That which was given to me, assuredly. You cannot for a

moment imagine, d'Artagnan, that I would commit such an

offense toward--"

"The unknown giver," interrupted d'Artagnan.

"Or the mysterious benefactress," said Athos.

"The one you bought will then become useless to you?"

"Nearly so."

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"And you selected it yourself?"

"With the greatest care. The safety of the horseman, you

know, depends almost always upon the goodness of his horse."

"Well, transfer it to me at the price it cost you?"

"I was going to make you the offer, my dear d'Artagnan,

giving you all the time necessary for repaying me such a

trifle."

"How much did it cost you?"

"Eight hundred livres."

"Here are forty double pistoles, my dear friend," said

d'Artagnan, taking the sum from his pocket; "I know that is

the coin in which you were paid for your poems."

"You are rich, then?" said Aramis.

"Rich? Richest, my dear fellow!"

And d'Artagnan chinked the remainder of his pistoles in his

pocket.

"Send your saddle, then, to the hotel of the Musketeers, and

your horse can be brought back with ours."

"Very well; but it is already five o'clock, so make haste."

A quarter of an hour afterward Porthos appeared at the end

of the Rue Ferou on a very handsome genet. Mousqueton

followed him upon an Auvergne horse, small but very

handsome. Porthos was resplendent with joy and pride.

At the same time, Aramis made his appearance at the other

end of the street upon a superb English charger. Bazin

followed him upon a roan, holding by the halter a vigorous

Mecklenburg horse; this was d'Artagnan mount.

The two Musketeers met at the gate. Athos and d'Artagnan

watched their approach from the window.

"The devil!" cried Aramis, "you have a magnificent horse

there, Porthos."

"Yes," replied Porthos, "it is the one that ought to have

been sent to me at first. A bad joke of the husband's

substituted the other; but the husband has been punished

since, and I have obtained full satisfaction."

Planchet and Grimaud appeared in their turn, leading their

masters' steeds. D'Artagnan and Athos put themselves into

saddle with their companions, and all four set forward;

Athos upon a horse he owed to a woman, Aramis on a horse he

owed to his mistress, Porthos on a horse he owed to his

procurator's wife, and d'Artagnan on a horse he owed to his

good fortune--the best mistress possible.

The lackeys followed.

As Porthos had foreseen, the cavalcade produced a good

effect; and if Mme. Coquenard had met Porthos and seen what

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a superb appearance he made upon his handsome Spanish genet,

she would not have regretted the bleeding she had inflicted

upon the strongbox of her husband.

Near the Louvre the four friends met with M. de Treville,

who was returning from St. Germain; he stopped them to offer

his compliments upon their appointments, which in an instant

drew round them a hundred gapers.

D'Artagnan profited by the circumstance to speak to M. de

Treville of the letter with the great red seal and the

cardinal's arms. It is well understood that he did not

breathe a word about the other.

M. de Treville approved of the resolution he had adopted,

and assured him that if on the morrow he did not appear, he

himself would undertake to find him, let him be where he

might.

At this moment the clock of La Samaritaine struck six; the

four friends pleaded an engagement, and took leave of M. de

Treville.

A short gallop brought them to the road of Chaillot; the day

began to decline, carriages were passing and repassing.

d'Artagnan, keeping at some distance from his friends,

darted a scrutinizing glance into every carriage that

appeared, but saw no face with which he was acquainted.

At length, after waiting a quarter of an hour and just as

twilight was beginning to thicken, a carriage appeared,

coming at a quick pace on the road of Sevres. A

presentiment instantly told d'Artagnan that this carriage

contained the person who had appointed the rendezvous; the

young man was himself astonished to find his heart beat so

violently. Almost instantly a female head was put out at

the window, with two fingers placed upon her mouth, either

to enjoin silence or to send him a kiss. D'Artagnan uttered

a slight cry of joy; this woman, or rather this apparition--

for the carriage passed with the rapidity of a vision--was

Mme. Bonacieux.

By an involuntary movement and in spite of the injunction

given, d'Artagnan put his horse into a gallop, and in a few

strides overtook the carriage; but the window was

hermetically closed, the vision had disappeared.

D'Artagnan then remembered the injunction: "If you value

your own life or that of those who love you, remain

motionless, and as if you had seen nothing."

He stopped, therefore, trembling not for himself but for the

poor woman who had evidently exposed herself to great danger

by appointing this rendezvous.

The carriage pursued its way, still going at a great pace,

till it dashed into Paris, and disappeared.

D'Artagnan remained fixed to the spot, astounded and not

knowing what to think. If it was Mme. Bonacieux and if she

was returning to Paris, why this fugitive rendezvous, why

this simple exchange of a glance, why this lost kiss? If,

on the other side, it was not she--which was still quite

possible--for the little light that remained rendered a

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mistake easy--might it not be the commencement of some plot

against him through the allurement of this woman, for whom

his love was known?

His three companions joined him. All had plainly seen a

woman's head appear at the window, but none of them, except

Athos, knew Mme. Bonacieux. The opinion of Athos was that

it was indeed she; but less preoccupied by that pretty face

than d'Artagnan, he had fancied he saw a second head, a

man's head, inside the carriage.

"If that be the case," said d'Artagnan, "they are doubtless

transporting her from one prison to another. But what can

they intend to do with the poor creature, and how shall I

ever meet her again?"

"Friend," said Athos, gravely, "remember that it is the dead

alone with whom we are not likely to meet again on this

earth. You know something of that, as well as I do, I

think. Now, if your mistress is not dead, if it is she we

have just seen, you will meet with her again some day or

other. And perhaps, my God!" added he, with that

misanthropic tone which was peculiar to him, "perhaps sooner

than you wish."

Half past seven had sounded. The carriage had been twenty

minutes behind the time appointed. D'Artagnan's friends

reminded him that he had a visit to pay, but at the same

time bade him observe that there was yet time to retract.

But d'Artagnan was at the same time impetuous and curious.

He had made up his mind that he would go to the Palais-

Cardinal, and that he would learn what his Eminence had to

say to him. Nothing could turn him from his purpose.

They reached the Rue St. Honore, and in the Place du Palais-

Cardinal they found the twelve invited Musketeers, walking

about in expectation of their comrades. There only they

explained to them the matter in hand.

D'Artagnan was well known among the honorable corps of the

king's Musketeers, in which it was known he would one day

take his place; he was considered beforehand as a comrade.

It resulted from these antecedents that everyone entered

heartily into the purpose for which they met; besides, it

would not be unlikely that they would have an opportunity of

playing either the cardinal or his people an ill turn, and

for such expeditions these worthy gentlemen were always

ready.

Athos divided them into three groups, assumed the command of

one, gave the second to Aramis, and the third to Porthos;

and then each group went and took their watch near an

entrance.

D'Artagnan, on his part, entered boldly at the principal

gate.

Although he felt himself ably supported, the young man was

not without a little uneasiness as he ascended the great

staircase, step by step. His conduct toward Milady bore a

strong resemblance to treachery, and he was very suspicious

of the political relations which existed between that woman

and the cardinal. Still further, de Wardes, whom he had

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treated so ill, was one of the tools of his Eminence; and

d'Artagnan knew that while his Eminence was terrible to his

enemies, he was strongly attached to his friends.

"If de Wardes has related all our affair to the cardinal,

which is not to be doubted, and if he has recognized me, as

is probable, I may consider myself almost as a condemned

man," said d'Artagnan, shaking his head. "But why has he

waited till now? That's all plain enough. Milady has laid

her complaints against me with that hypocritical grief which

renders her so interesting, and this last offense has made

the cup overflow."

"Fortunately," added he, "my good friends are down yonder,

and they will not allow me to be carried away without a

struggle. Nevertheless, Monsieur de Treville's company of

Musketeers alone cannot maintain a war against the cardinal,

who disposes of the forces of all France, and before whom

the queen is without power and the king without will.

d'Artagnan, my friend, you are brave, you are prudent, you

have excellent qualities; but the women will ruin you!"

He came to this melancholy conclusion as he entered the

antechamber. He placed his letter in the hands of the usher

on duty, who led him into the waiting room and passed on

into the interior of the palace.

In this waiting room were five or six of the cardinals

Guards, who recognized d'Artagnan, and knowing that it was

he who had wounded Jussac, they looked upon him with a smile

of singular meaning.

This smile appeared to d'Artagnan to be of bad augury.

Only, as our Gascon was not easily intimidated--or rather,

thanks to a great pride natural to the men of his country,

he did not allow one easily to see what was passing in his

mind when that which was passing at all resembled fear--he

placed himself haughtily in front of Messieurs the Guards,

and waited with his hand on his hip, in an attitude by no

means deficient in majesty.

The usher returned and made a sign to d'Artagnan to follow

him. It appeared to the young man that the Guards, on

seeing him depart, chuckled among themselves.

He traversed a corridor, crossed a grand saloon, entered a

library, and found himself in the presence of a man seated

at a desk and writing.

The usher introduced him, and retired without speaking a

word. D'Artagnan remained standing and examined this man.

D'Artagnan at first believed that he had to do with some

judge examining his papers; but he perceived that the man at

the desk wrote, or rather corrected, lines of unequal

length, scanning the words on his fingers. He saw then that

he was with a poet. At the end of an instant the poet

closed his manuscript, upon the cover of which was written

"Mirame, a Tragedy in Five Acts," and raised his head.

D'Artagnan recognized the cardinal.

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40 A TERRIBLE VISION

The cardinal leaned his elbow on his manuscript, his cheek

upon his hand, and looked intently at the young man for a

moment. No one had a more searching eye than the Cardinal

de Richelieu, and d'Artagnan felt this glance run through

his veins like a fever.

He however kept a good countenance, holding his hat in his

hand and awaiting the good pleasure of his Eminence, without

too much assurance, but also without too much humility.

"Monsieur," said the cardinal, "are you a d'Artagnan from

Bearn?"

"Yes, monseigneur," replied the young man.

"There are several branches of the d'Artagnans at Tarbes and

in its environs," said the cardinal; "to which do you

belong?"

"I am the son of him who served in the Religious Wars under

the great King Henry, the father of his gracious Majesty."

"That is well. It is you who set out seven or eight months

ago from your country to seek your fortune in the capital?"

"Yes, monseigneur."

"You came through Meung, where something befell you. I

don't very well know what, but still something."

"Monseigneur," said d'Artagnan, "this was what happened to

me--"

"Never mind, never mind!" resumed the cardinal, with a smile

which indicated that he knew the story as well as he who

wished to relate it. "You were recommended to Monsieur de

Treville, were you not?"

"Yes, monseigneur; but in that unfortunate affair at

Meung--"

"The letter was lost," replied his Eminence; "yes, I know

that. But Monsieur de Treville is a skilled physiognomist,

who knows men at first sight; and he placed you in the

company of his brother-in-law, Monsieur Dessessart, leaving

you to hope that one day or other you should enter the

Musketeers."

"Monseigneur is correctly informed," said d'Artagnan.

"Since that time many things have happened to you. You were

walking one day behind the Chartreux, when it would have

been better if you had been elsewhere. Then you took with

your friends a journey to the waters of Forges; they stopped

on the road, but you continued yours. That is all very

simple: you had business in England."

"Monseigneur," said d'Artagnan, quite confused, "I went--"

"Hunting at Windsor, or elsewhere--that concerns nobody. I

know, because it is my office to know everything. On your

return you were received by an august personage, and I

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perceive with pleasure that you preserve the souvenir she

gave you."

D'Artagnan placed his hand upon the queen's diamond, which

he wore, and quickly turned the stone inward; but it was too

late.

"The day after that, you received a visit from Cavois,"

resumed the cardinal. "He went to desire you to come to the

palace. You have not returned that visit, and you were

wrong."

"Monseigneur, I feared I had incurred disgrace with your

Eminence."

"How could that be, monsieur? Could you incur my

displeasure by having followed the orders of your superiors

with more intelligence and courage than another would have

done? It is the people who do not obey that I punish, and

not those who, like you, obey--but too well. As a proof,

remember the date of the day on which I had you bidden to

come to me, and seek in your memory for what happened to you

that very night."

That was the very evening when the abduction of Mme.

Bonacieux took place. D'Artagnan trembled; and he likewise

recollected that during the past half hour the poor woman

had passed close to him, without doubt carried away by the

same power that had caused her disappearance.

"In short," continued the cardinal, "as I have heard nothing

of you for some time past, I wished to know what you were

doing. Besides, you owe me some thanks. You must yourself

have remarked how much you have been considered in all the

circumstances."

D'Artagnan bowed with respect.

"That," continued the cardinal, "arose not only from a

feeling of natural equity, but likewise from a plan I have

marked out with respect to you."

D'Artagnan became more and more astonished.

"I wished to explain this plan to you on the day you

received my first invitation; but you did not come.

Fortunately, nothing is lost by this delay, and you are now

about to hear it. Sit down there, before me, d'Artagnan;

you are gentleman enough not to listen standing." And the

cardinal pointed with his finger to a chair for the young

man, who was so astonished at what was passing that he

awaited a second sign from his interlocutor before he

obeyed.

"You are brave, Monsieur d'Artagnan," continued his

Eminence; "you are prudent, which is still better. I like

men of head and heart. Don't be afraid," said he, smiling.

"By men of heart I mean men of courage. But young as you

are, and scarcely entering into the world, you have powerful

enemies; if you do not take great heed, they will destroy

you."

"Alas, monseigneur!" replied the young man, "very easily, no

doubt, for they are strong and well supported, while I am

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alone."

"Yes, that's true; but alone as you are, you have done much

already, and will do still more, I don't doubt. Yet you

have need, I believe, to be guided in the adventurous career

you have undertaken; for, if I mistake not, you came to

Paris with the ambitious idea of making your fortune."

"I am at the age of extravagant hopes, monseigneur," said

d'Artagnan.

"There are no extravagant hopes but for fools, monsieur, and you

are a man of understanding. Now, what would you say to an

ensign's commission in my Guards, and a company after the

campaign?"

"Ah, monseigneur."

"You accept it, do you not?"

"Monseigneur," replied d'Artagnan, with an embarrassed air.

"How? You refuse?" cried the cardinal, with astonishment.

"I am in his Majesty's Guards, monseigneur, and I have no

reason to be dissatisfied."

"But it appears to me that my Guards--mine--are also his

Majesty's Guards; and whoever serves in a French corps

serves the king."

"Monseigneur, your Eminence has ill understood my words."

"You want a pretext, do you not? I comprehend. Well, you

have this excuse: advancement, the opening campaign, the

opportunity which I offer you--so much for the world. As

regards yourself, the need of protection; for it is fit you

should know, Monsieur d'Artagnan, that I have received heavy

and serious complaints against you. You do not consecrate

your days and nights wholly to the king's service."

D'Artagnan colored.

"In fact," said the cardinal, placing his hand upon a bundle

of papers, "I have here a whole pile which concerns you. I

know you to be a man of resolution; and your services, well

directed, instead of leading you to ill, might be very

advantageous to you. Come; reflect, and decide."

"Your goodness confounds me, monseigneur," replied

d'Artagnan, "and I am conscious of a greatness of soul in

your Eminence that makes me mean as an earthworm; but since

Monseigneur permits me to speak freely--"

D'Artagnan paused.

"Yes; speak."

"Then, I will presume to say that all my friends are in the

king's Musketeers and Guards, and that by an inconceivable

fatality my enemies are in the service of your Eminence; I

should, therefore, be ill received here and ill regarded

there if I accepted what Monseigneur offers me."

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"Do you happen to entertain the haughty idea that I have not

yet made you an offer equal to your value?" asked the

cardinal, with a smile of disdain.

"Monseigneur, your Eminence is a hundred times too kind to

me; and on the contrary, I think I have not proved myself

worthy of your goodness. The siege of La Rochelle is about

to be resumed, monseigneur. I shall serve under the eye of

your Eminence, and if I have the good fortune to conduct

myself at the siege in such a manner as merits your

attention, then I shall at least leave behind me some

brilliant action to justify the protection with which you

honor me. Everything is best in its time, monseigneur.

Hereafter, perhaps, I shall have the right of giving myself;

at present I shall appear to sell myself."

"That is to say, you refuse to serve me, monsieur," said the

cardinal, with a tone of vexation, through which, however,

might be seen a sort of esteem; "remain free, then, and

guard your hatreds and your sympathies."

"Monseigneur--"

"Well, well," said the cardinal, "I don't wish you any ill;

but you must be aware that it is quite trouble enough to

defend and recompense our friends. We owe nothing to our

enemies; and let me give you a piece of advice; take care of

yourself, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for from the moment I

withdraw my hand from behind you, I would not give an obolus

for your life."

"I will try to do so, monseigneur," replied the Gascon, with

a noble confidence.

"Remember at a later period and at a certain moment, if any

mischance should happen to you," said Richelieu,

significantly, "that it was I who came to seek you, and that

I did all in my power to prevent this misfortune befalling

you."

"I shall entertain, whatever may happen," said d'Artagnan,

placing his hand upon his breast and bowing, "an eternal

gratitude toward your Eminence for that which you now do for

me."

"Well, let it be, then, as you have said, Monsieur

d'Artagnan; we shall see each other again after the

campaign. I will have my eye upon you, for I shall be

there," replied the cardinal, pointing with his finger to a

magnificent suit of armor he was to wear, "and on our

return, well--we will settle our account!"

"Young man," said Richelieu, "if I shall be able to say to

you at another time what I have said to you today, I promise

you to do so."

This last expression of Richelieu's conveyed a terrible

doubt; it alarmed d'Artagnan more than a menace would have

done, for it was a warning. The cardinal, then, was seeking

to preserve him from some misfortune which threatened him.

He opened his mouth to reply, but with a haughty gesture the

cardinal dismissed him.

D'Artagnan went out, but at the door his heart almost failed

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him, and he felt inclined to return. Then the noble and

severe countenance of Athos crossed his mind; if he made the

compact with the cardinal which he required, Athos would no

more give him his hand--Athos would renounce him.

It was this fear that restrained him, so powerful is the

influence of a truly great character on all that surrounds

it.

D'Artagnan descended by the staircase at which he had

entered, and found Athos and the four Musketeers waiting his

appearance, and beginning to grow uneasy. With a word,

d'Artagnan reassured them; and Planchet ran to inform the

other sentinels that it was useless to keep guard longer, as

his master had come out safe from the Palais-Cardinal.

Returned home with Athos, Aramis and Porthos inquired

eagerly the cause of the strange interview; but d'Artagnan

confined himself to telling them that M. de Richelieu had

sent for him to propose to him to enter into his guards with

the rank of ensign, and that he had refused.

"And you were right," cried Aramis and Porthos, with one

voice.

Athos fell into a profound reverie and answered nothing.

But when they were alone he said, "You have done that which

you ought to have done, d'Artagnan; but perhaps you have

been wrong."

D'Artagnan sighed deeply, for this voice responded to a

secret voice of his soul, which told him that great

misfortunes awaited him.

The whole of the next day was spent in preparations for

departure. D'Artagnan went to take leave of M. de Treville.

At that time it was believed that the separation of the

Musketeers and the Guards would be but momentary, the king

holding his Parliament that very day and proposing to set

out the day after. M. de Treville contented himself with

asking d'Artagnan if he could do anything for him, but

d'Artagnan answered that he was supplied with all he wanted.

That night brought together all those comrades of the Guards

of M. Dessessart and the company of Musketeers of M. de

Treville who had been accustomed to associate together.

They were parting to meet again when it pleased God, and if

it pleased God. That night, then, was somewhat riotous, as

may be imagined. In such cases extreme preoccupation is

only to be combated by extreme carelessness.

At the first sound of the morning trumpet the friends

separated; the Musketeers hastening to the hotel of M. de

Treville, the Guards to that of M. Dessessart. Each of the

captains then led his company to the Louvre, where the king

held his review.

The king was dull and appeared ill, which detracted a little

from his usual lofty bearing. In fact, the evening before,

a fever had seized him in the midst of the Parliament, while

he was holding his Bed of Justice. He had, not the less,

decided upon setting out that same evening; and in spite of

the remonstrances that had been offered to him, he persisted

in having the review, hoping by setting it at defiance to

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conquer the disease which began to lay hold upon him.

The review over, the Guards set forward alone on their

march, the Musketeers waiting for the king, which allowed

Porthos time to go and take a turn in his superb equipment

in the Rue aux Ours.

The procurator's wife saw him pass in his new uniform and on

his fine horse. She loved Porthos too dearly to allow him

to part thus; she made him a sign to dismount and come to

her. Porthos was magnificent; his spurs jingled, his

cuirass glittered, his sword knocked proudly against his

ample limbs. This time the clerks evinced no inclination to

laugh, such a real ear clipper did Porthos appear.

The Musketeer was introduced to M. Coquenard, whose little

gray eyes sparkled with anger at seeing his cousin all

blazing new. Nevertheless, one thing afforded him inward

consolation; it was expected by everybody that the campaign

would be a severe one. He whispered a hope to himself that

this beloved relative might be killed in the field.

Porthos paid his compliments to M. Coquenard and bade him

farewell. M. Coquenard wished him all sorts of

prosperities. As to Mme. Coquenard, she could not restrain

her tears; but no evil impressions were taken from her grief

as she was known to be very much attached to her relatives,

about whom she was constantly having serious disputes with

her husband.

But the real adieux were made in Mme. Coquenard's chamber;

they were heartrending.

As long as the procurator's wife could follow him with her

eyes, she waved her handkerchief to him, leaning so far out

of the window as to lead people to believe she wished to

precipitate herself. Porthos received all these attentions

like a man accustomed to such demonstrations, only on

turning the corner of the street he lifted his hat

gracefully, and waved it to her as a sign of adieu.

On his part Aramis wrote a long letter. To whom? Nobody

knew. Kitty, who was to set out that evening for Tours, was

waiting in the next chamber.

Athos sipped the last bottle of his Spanish wine.

In the meantime d'Artagnan was defiling with his company.

Arriving at the Faubourg St. Antoine, he turned round to

look gaily at the Bastille; but as it was the Bastille alone

he looked at, he did not observe Milady, who, mounted upon a

light chestnut horse, designated him with her finger to two

ill-looking men who came close up to the ranks to take

notice of him. To a look of interrogation which they made,

Milady replied by a sign that it was he. Then, certain that

there could be no mistake in the execution of her orders,

she started her horse and disappeared.

The two men followed the company, and on leaving the

aubourg St. Antoine, mounted two horses properly equipped,

which a servant without livery had waiting for them.

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41 THE SEIGE OF LA ROCHELLE

The Siege of La Rochelle was one of the great political

events of the reign of Louis XIII, and one of the great

military enterprises of the cardinal. It is, then,

interesting and even necessary that we should say a few

words about it, particularly as many details of this siege

are connected in too important a manner with the story we

have undertaken to relate to allow us to pass it over in

silence.

The political plans of the cardinal when he undertook this

siege were extensive. Let us unfold them first, and then

pass on to the private plans which perhaps had not less

influence upon his Eminence than the others.

Of the important cities given up by Henry IV to the

Huguenots as places of safety, there only remained La

Rochelle. It became necessary, therefore, to destroy this

last bulwark of Calvinism--a dangerous leaven with which the

ferments of civil revolt and foreign war were constantly

mingling.

Spaniards, Englishmen, and Italian malcontents, adventurers

of all nations, and soldiers of fortune of every sect,

flocked at the first summons under the standard of the

Protestants, and organized themselves like a vast

association, whose branches diverged freely over all parts

of Europe.

La Rochelle, which had derived a new importance from the

ruin of the other Calvinist cities, was, then, the focus of

dissensions and ambition. Moreover, its port was the last

in the kingdom of France open to the English, and by closing

it against England, our eternal enemy, the cardinal

completed the work of Joan of Arc and the Duc de Guise.

Thus Bassompierre, who was at once Protestant and Catholic--

Protestant by conviction and Catholic as commander of the

order of the Holy Ghost; Bassompierre, who was a German by

birth and a Frenchman at heart--in short, Bassompierre, who

had a distinguished command at the siege of La Rochelle,

said, in charging at the head of several other Protestant

nobles like himself, "You will see, gentlemen, that we shall

be fools enough to take La Rochelle."

And Bassompierre was right. The cannonade of the Isle of Re

presaged to him the dragonnades of the Cevennes; the taking

of La Rochelle was the preface to the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes.

We have hinted that by the side of these views of the

leveling and simplifying minister, which belong to history,

the chronicler is forced to recognize the lesser motives of

the amorous man and jealous rival.

Richelieu, as everyone knows, had loved the queen. Was this

love a simple political affair, or was it naturally one of

those profound passions which Anne of Austria inspired in

those who approached her? That we are not able to say; but

at all events, we have seen, by the anterior developments of

this story, that Buckingham had the advantage over him, and

in two or three circumstances, particularly that of the

diamond studs, had, thanks to the devotedness of the three

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Musketeers and the courage and conduct of d'Artagnan,

cruelly mystified him.

It was, then, Richelieu's object, not only to get rid of an

enemy of France, but to avenge himself on a rival; but this

vengeance must be grand and striking and worthy in every way

of a man who held in his hand, as his weapon for combat, the

forces of a kingdom.

Richelieu knew that in combating England he combated

Buckingham; that in triumphing over England he triumphed

over Buckingham--in short, that in humiliating England in

the eyes of Europe he humiliated Buckingham in the eyes of

the queen.

On his side Buckingham, in pretending to maintain the honor

of England, was moved by interests exactly like those of the

cardinal. Buckingham also was pursuing a private vengeance.

Buckingham could not under any pretense be admitted into

France as an ambassador; he wished to enter it as a

conqueror.

It resulted from this that the real stake in this game,

which two most powerful kingdoms played for the good

pleasure of two amorous men, was simply a kind look from

Anne of Austria.

The first advantage had been gained by Buckingham. Arriving

unexpectedly in sight of the Isle of Re with ninety vessels

and nearly twenty thousand men, he had surprised the Comte

de Toiras, who commanded for the king in the Isle, and he

had, after a bloody conflict, effected his landing.

Allow us to observe in passing that in this fight perished

the Baron de Chantal; that the Baron de Chantal left a

little orphan girl eighteen months old, and that this little

girl was afterward Mme. de Sevigne.

The Comte de Toiras retired into the citadel St. Martin with

his garrison, and threw a hundred men into a little fort

called the fort of La Pree.

This event had hastened the resolutions of the cardinal; and

till the king and he could take the command of the siege of

La Rochelle, which was determined, he had sent Monsieur to

direct the first operations, and had ordered all the troops

he could dispose of to march toward the theater of war. It

was of this detachment, sent as a vanguard, that our friend

d'Artagnan formed a part.

The king, as we have said, was to follow as soon as his Bed

of Justice had been held; but on rising from his Bed of

Justice on the twenty-eighth of June, he felt himself

attacked by fever. He was, notwithstanding, anxious to set

out; but his illness becoming more serious, he was forced to

stop at Villeroy.

Now, whenever the king halted, the Musketeers halted. It

followed that d'Artagnan, who was as yet purely and simply

in the Guards, found himself, for the time at least,

separated from his good friends--Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

This separation, which was no more than an unpleasant

circumstance, would have certainly become a cause of serious

uneasiness if he had been able to guess by what unknown

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dangers he was surrounded.

He, however, arrived without accident in the camp

established before La Rochelle, of the tenth of the month of

September of the year 1627.

Everything was in the same state. The Duke of Buckingham

and his English, masters of the Isle of Re, continued to

besiege, but without success, the citadel St. Martin and the

fort of La Pree; and hostilities with La Rochelle had

commenced, two or three days before, about a fort which the

Duc d'Angouleme had caused to be constructed near the city.

The Guards, under the command of M. Dessessart, took up

their quarters at the Minimes; but, as we know, d'Artagnan,

possessed with ambition to enter the Musketeers, had formed

but few friendships among his comrades, and he felt himself

isolated and given up to his own reflections.

His reflections were not very cheerful. From the time of

his arrival in Paris, he had been mixed up with public

affairs; but his own private affairs had made no great

progress, either in love or fortune. As to love, the only

woman he could have loved was Mme. Bonacieux; and Mme.

Bonacieux had disappeared, without his being able to

discover what had become of her. As to fortune, he had

made--he, humble as he was--an enemy of the cardinal; that

is to say, of a man before whom trembled the greatest men of

the kingdom, beginning with the king.

That man had the power to crush him, and yet he had not done

so. For a mind so perspicuous as that of d'Artagnan, this

indulgence was a light by which he caught a glimpse of a

better future.

Then he had made himself another enemy, less to be feared,

he thought; but nevertheless, he instinctively felt, not to

be despised. This enemy was Milady.

In exchange for all this, he had acquired the protection and

good will of the queen; but the favor of the queen was at

the present time an additional cause of persecution, and her

protection, as it was known, protected badly--as witness

Chalais and Mme. Bonacieux.

What he had clearly gained in all this was the diamond,

worth five or six thousand livres, which he wore on his

finger; and even this diamond--supposing that d'Artagnan, in

his projects of ambition, wished to keep it, to make it

someday a pledge for the gratitude of the queen--had not in

the meanwhile, since he could not part with it, more value

than the gravel he trod under his feet.

We say the gravel he trod under his feet, for d'Artagnan

made these reflections while walking solitarily along a

pretty little road which led from the camp to the village of

Angoutin. Now, these reflections had led him further than

he intended, and the day was beginning to decline when, by

the last ray of the setting sun, he thought he saw the

barrel of a musket glitter from behind a hedge.

D'Artagnan had a quick eye and a prompt understanding. He

comprehended that the musket had not come there of itself,

and that he who bore it had not concealed himself behind a

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hedge with any friendly intentions. He determined,

therefore, to direct his course as clear from it as he could

when, on the opposite side of the road, from behind a rock,

he perceived the extremity of another musket.

This was evidently an ambuscade.

The young man cast a glance at the first musket and saw,

with a certain degree of inquietude, that it was leveled in

his direction; but as soon as he perceived that the orifice

of the barrel was motionless, he threw himself upon the

ground. At the same instant the gun was fired, and he heard

the whistling of a ball pass over his head.

No time was to be lost. D'Artagnan sprang up with a bound,

and at the same instant the ball from the other musket tore

up the gravel on the very spot on the road where he had

thrown himself with his face to the ground.

D'Artagnan was not one of those foolhardy men who seek a

ridiculous death in order that it may be said of them that

they did not retreat a single step. Besides, courage was

out of the question here; d'Artagnan had fallen into an

ambush.

"If there is a third shot," said he to himself, "I am a lost

man."

He immediately, therefore, took to his heels and ran toward

the camp, with the swiftness of the young men of his

country, so renowned for their agility; but whatever might

be his speed, the first who fired, having had time to

reload, fired a second shot, and this time so well aimed

that it struck his hat, and carried it ten paces from him.

As he, however, had no other hat, he picked up this as he

ran, and arrived at his quarters very pale and quite out of

breath. He sat down without saying a word to anybody, and

began to reflect.

This event might have three causes:

The first and the most natural was that it might be an

ambuscade of the Rochellais, who might not be sorry to kill

one of his Majesty's Guards, because it would be an enemy

the less, and this enemy might have a well-furnished purse

in his pocket.

D'Artagnan took his hat, examined the hole made by the ball,

and shook his head. The ball was not a musket ball--it was

an arquebus ball. The accuracy of the aim had first given

him the idea that a special weapon had been employed. This

could not, then, be a military ambuscade, as the ball was

not of the regular caliber.

This might be a kind remembrance of Monsieur the Cardinal.

It may be observed that at the very moment when, thanks to

the ray of the sun, he perceived the gun barrel, he was

thinking with astonishment on the forbearance of his

Eminence with respect to him.

But d'Artagnan again shook his head. For people toward whom

he had but to put forth his hand, his Eminence had rarely

recourse to such means.

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It might be a vengeance of Milady; that was most probable.

He tried in vain to remember the faces or dress of the

assassins; he had escaped so rapidly that he had not had

leisure to notice anything.

"Ah, my poor friends!" murmured d'Artagnan; "where are you?

And that you should fail me!"

D'Artagnan passed a very bad night. Three or four times he

started up, imagining that a man was approaching his bed for

the purpose of stabbing him. Nevertheless, day dawned

without darkness having brought any accident.

But d'Artagnan well suspected that that which was deferred

was not relinquished.

D'Artagnan remained all day in his quarters, assigning as a

reason to himself that the weather was bad.

At nine o'clock the next morning, the drums beat to arms.

The Duc d'Orleans visited the posts. The guards were under

arms, and d'Artagnan took his place in the midst of his

comrades.

Monsieur passed along the front of the line; then all the

superior officers approached him to pay their compliments,

M. Dessessart, captain of the Guards, as well as the others.

At the expiration of a minute or two, it appeared to

d'Artagnan that M. Dessessart made him a sign to approach.

He waited for a fresh gesture on the part of his superior,

for fear he might be mistaken; but this gesture being

repeated, he left the ranks, and advanced to receive orders.

"Monsieur is about to ask for some men of good will for a

dangerous mission, but one which will do honor to those who

shall accomplish it; and I made you a sign in order that you

might hold yourself in readiness."

"Thanks, my captain!" replied d'Artagnan, who wished for

nothing better than an opportunity to distinguish himself

under the eye of the lieutenant general.

In fact the Rochellais had made a sortie during the night,

and had retaken a bastion of which the royal army had gained

possession two days before. The matter was to ascertain, by

reconnoitering, how the enemy guarded this bastion.

At the end of a few minutes Monsieur raised his voice, and

said, "I want for this mission three or four volunteers, led

by a man who can be depended upon."

"As to the man to be depended upon, I have him under my

hand, monsieur," said M. Dessessart, pointing to d'Artagnan;

"and as to the four or five volunteers, Monsieur has but to

make his intentions known, and the men will not be wanting."

"Four men of good will who will risk being killed with me!"

said d'Artagnan, raising his sword.

Two of his comrades of the Guards immediately sprang

forward, and two other soldiers having joined them, the

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number was deemed sufficient. D'Artagnan declined all

others, being unwilling to take the first chance from those

who had the priority.

It was not known whether, after the taking of the bastion,

the Rochellais had evacuated it or left a garrison in it;

the object then was to examine the place near enough to

verify the reports.

D'Artagnan set out with his four companions, and followed

the trench; the two Guards marched abreast with him, and the

two soldiers followed behind.

They arrived thus, screened by the lining of the trench,

till they came within a hundred paces of the bastion.

There, on turning round, d'Artagnan perceived that the two

soldiers had disappeared.

He thought that, beginning to be afraid, they had stayed

behind, and he continued to advance.

At the turning of the counterscarp they found themselves

within about sixty paces of the bastion. They saw no one,

and the bastion seemed abandoned.

The three composing our forlorn hope were deliberating

whether they should proceed any further, when all at once a

circle of smoke enveloped the giant of stone, and a dozen

balls came whistling around d'Artagnan and his companions.

They knew all they wished to know; the bastion was guarded.

A longer stay in this dangerous spot would have been useless

imprudence. D'Artagnan and his two companions turned their

backs, and commenced a retreat which resembled a flight.

On arriving at the angle of the trench which was to serve

them as a rampart, one of the Guardsmen fell. A ball had

passed through his breast. The other, who was safe and

sound, continued his way toward the camp.

D'Artagnan was not willing to abandon his companion thus,

and stooped to raise him and assist him in regaining the

lines; but at this moment two shots were fired. One ball

struck the head of the already-wounded guard, and the other

flattened itself against a rock, after having passed within

two inches of d'Artagnan.

The young man turned quickly round, for this attack could

not have come from the bastion, which was hidden by the

angle of the trench. The idea of the two soldiers who had

abandoned him occurred to his mind, and with them he

remembered the assassins of two evenings before. He

resolved this time to know with whom he had to deal, and

fell upon the body of his comrade as if he were dead.

He quickly saw two heads appear above an abandoned work

within thirty paces of him; they were the heads of the two

soldiers. D'Artagnan had not been deceived; these two men

had only followed for the purpose of assassinating him,

hoping that the young man's death would be placed to the

account of the enemy.

As he might be only wounded and might denounce their crime,

they came up to him with the purpose of making sure.

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Fortunately, deceived by d'Artagnan's trick, they neglected

to reload their guns.

When they were within ten paces of him, d'Artagnan, who in

falling had taken care not to let go his sword, sprang up

close to them.

The assassins comprehended that if they fled toward the camp

without having killed their man, they should be accused by

him; therefore their first idea was to join the enemy. One

of them took his gun by the barrel, and used it as he would

a club. He aimed a terrible blow at d'Artagnan, who avoided

it by springing to one side; but by this movement he left a

passage free to the bandit, who darted off toward the

bastion. As the Rochellais who guarded the bastion were

ignorant of the intentions of the man they saw coming toward

them, they fired upon him, and he fell, struck by a ball

which broke his shoulder.

Meantime d'Artagnan had thrown himself upon the other

soldier, attacking him with his sword. The conflict was not

long; the wretch had nothing to defend himself with but his

discharged arquebus. The sword of the Guardsman slipped

along the barrel of the now-useless weapon, and passed

through the thigh of the assassin, who fell.

D'Artagnan immediately placed the point of his sword at his

throat.

"Oh, do not kill me!" cried the bandit. "Pardon, pardon, my

officer, and I will tell you all."

"Is your secret of enough importance to me to spare your

life for it?" asked the young man, withholding his arm.

"Yes; if you think existence worth anything to a man of

twenty, as you are, and who may hope for everything, being

handsome and brave, as you are."

"Wretch," cried d'Artagnan, "speak quickly! Who employed

you to assassinate me?"

"A woman whom I don't know, but who is called Milady."

"But if you don't know this woman, how do you know her

name?"

"My comrade knows her, and called her so. It was with him

she agreed, and not with me; he even has in his pocket a

letter from that person, who attaches great importance to

you, as I have heard him say."

"But how did you become concerned in this villainous

affair?"

"He proposed to me to undertake it with him, and I agreed."

"And how much did she give you for this fine enterprise?"

"A hundred louis."

"Well, come!" said the young man, laughing, "she thinks I am

worth something. A hundred louis? Well, that was a

temptation for two wretches like you. I understand why you

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accepted it, and I grant you my pardon; but upon one

condition."

"What is that?" said the soldier, uneasy at perceiving that

all was not over.

"That you will go and fetch me the letter your comrade has

in his pocket."

"But," cried the bandit, "that is only another way of

killing me. How can I go and fetch that letter under the

fire of the bastion?"

"You must nevertheless make up your mind to go and get it,

or I swear you shall die by my hand."

"Pardon, monsieur; pity! In the name of that young lady you

love, and whom you perhaps believe dead but who is not!"

cried the bandit, throwing himself upon his knees and

leaning upon his hand--for he began to lose his strength

with his blood.

"And how do you know there is a young woman whom I love, and

that I believed that woman dead?" asked d'Artagnan.

"By that letter which my comrade has in his pocket."

"You see, then," said d'Artagnan, "that I must have that

letter. So no more delay, no more hesitation; or else

whatever may be my repugnance to soiling my sword a second

time with the blood of a wretch like you, I swear by my

faith as an honest man--" and at these words d'Artagnan made

so fierce a gesture that the wounded man sprang up.

"Stop, stop!" cried he, regaining strength by force of

terror. "I will go--I will go!"

D'Artagnan took the soldier's arquebus, made him go on

before him, and urged him toward his companion by pricking

him behind with his sword.

It was a frightful thing to see this wretch, leaving a long

track of blood on the ground he passed over, pale with

approaching death, trying to drag himself along without

being seen to the body of his accomplice, which lay twenty

paces from him.

Terror was so strongly painted on his face, covered with a

cold sweat, that d'Artagnan took pity on him, and casting

upon him a look of contempt, "Stop," said he, "I will show

you the difference between a man of courage and such a

coward as you. Stay where you are; I will go myself."

And with a light step, an eye on the watch, observing the

movements of the enemy and taking advantage of the accidents

of the ground, d'Artagnan succeeded in reaching the second

soldier.

There were two means of gaining his object--to search him on

the spot, or to carry him away, making a buckler of his

body, and search him in the trench.

D'Artagnan preferred the second means, and lifted the

assassin onto his shoulders at the moment the enemy fired.

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A slight shock, the dull noise of three balls which

penetrated the flesh, a last cry, a convulsion of agony,

proved to d'Artagnan that the would-be assassin had saved

his life.

D'Artagnan regained the trench, and threw the corpse beside

the wounded man, who was as pale as death.

Then he began to search. A leather pocketbook, a purse, in

which was evidently a part of the sum which the bandit had

received, with a dice box and dice, completed the

possessions of the dead man.

He left the box and dice where they fell, threw the purse to

the wounded man, and eagerly opened the pocketbook.

Among some unimportant papers he found the following letter,

that which he had sought at the risk of his life:

"Since you have lost sight of that woman and she is now in

safety in the convent, which you should never have allowed

her to reach, try, at least, not to miss the man. If you

do, you know that my hand stretches far, and that you shall

pay very dearly for the hundred louis you have from me."

No signature. Nevertheless it was plain the letter came

from Milady. He consequently kept it as a piece of

evidence, and being in safety behind the angle of the

trench, he began to interrogate the wounded man. He

confessed that he had undertaken with his comrade--the same

who was killed--to carry off a young woman who was to leave

Paris by the Barriere de La Villette; but having stopped to

drink at a cabaret, they had missed the carriage by ten

minutes.

"But what were you to do with that woman?" asked d'Artagnan,

with anguish.

"We were to have conveyed her to a hotel in the Place

Royale," said the wounded man.

"Yes, yes!" murmured d'Artagnan; "that's the place--Milady's

own residence!"

Then the young man tremblingly comprehended what a terrible

thirst for vengeance urged this woman on to destroy him, as

well as all who loved him, and how well she must be

acquainted with the affairs of the court, since she had

discovered all. There could be no doubt she owed this

information to the cardinal.

But amid all this he perceived, with a feeling of real joy,

that the queen must have discovered the prison in which poor

Mme. Bonacieux was explaining her devotion, and that she had

freed her from that prison; and the letter he had received

from the young woman, and her passage along the road of

Chaillot like an apparition, were now explained.

Then also, as Athos had predicted, it became possible to

find Mme. Bonacieux, and a convent was not impregnable.

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This idea completely restored clemency to his heart. He

turned toward the wounded man, who had watched with intense

anxiety all the various expressions of his countenance, and

holding out his arm to him, said, "Come, I will not abandon

you thus. Lean upon me, and let us return to the camp."

"Yes," said the man, who could scarcely believe in such

magnanimity, "but is it not to have me hanged?"

"You have my word," said he; "for the second time I give you

your life."

The wounded man sank upon his knees, to again kiss the feet

of his preserver; but d'Artagnan, who had no longer a motive

for staying so near the enemy, abridged the testimonials of

his gratitude.

The Guardsman who had returned at the first discharge

announced the death of his four companions. They were

therefore much astonished and delighted in the regiment when

they saw the young man come back safe and sound.

D'Artagnan explained the sword wound of his companion by a

sortie which he improvised. He described the death of the

other soldier, and the perils they had encountered. This

recital was for him the occasion of veritable triumph. The

whole army talked of this expedition for a day, and Monsieur

paid him his compliments upon it. Besides this, as every

great action bears its recompense with it, the brave exploit

of d'Artagnan resulted in the restoration of the tranquility

he had lost. In fact, d'Artagnan believed that he might be

tranquil, as one of his two enemies was killed and the other

devoted to his interests.

This tranquillity proved one thing--that d'Artagnan did not

yet know Milady.

42 THE ANJOU WINE

After the most disheartening news of the king's health, a

report of his convalescence began to prevail in the camp;

and as he was very anxious to be in person at the siege, it

was said that as soon as he could mount a horse he would set

forward.

Meantime, Monsieur, who knew that from one day to the other

he might expect to be removed from his command by the Duc

d'Angouleme, by Bassompierre, or by Schomberg, who were all

eager for his post, did but little, lost his days in

wavering, and did not dare to attempt any great enterprise

to drive the English from the Isle of Re, where they still

besieged the citadel St. Martin and the fort of La Pree, as

on their side the French were besieging La Rochelle.

D'Artagnan, as we have said, had become more tranquil, as

always happens after a post danger, particularly when the

danger seems to have vanished. He only felt one uneasiness,

and that was at not hearing any tidings from his friends.

But one morning at the commencement of the month of November

everything was explained to him by this letter, dated from

Villeroy:

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M. d'Artagnan,

MM. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, after having

had an entertainment at my house and enjoying themselves

very much, created such a disturbance that the provost of

the castle, a rigid man, has ordered them to be confined for

some days; but I accomplish the order they have given me by

forwarding to you a dozen bottles of my Anjou wine, with

which they are much pleased. They are desirous that you

should drink to their health in their favorite wine. I have

done this, and am, monsieur, with great respect,

Your very humble and obedient servant,

Godeau, Purveyor of the Musketeers

"That's all well!" cried d'Artagnan. They think of me in

their pleasures, as I thought of them in my troubles. Well,

I will certainly drink to their health with all my heart,

but I will not drink alone."

And d'Artagnan went among those Guardsmen with whom he had

formed greater intimacy than with the others, to invite them

to enjoy with him this present of delicious Anjou wine which

had been sent him from Villeroy.

One of the two Guardsmen was engaged that evening, and

another the next, so the meeting was fixed for the day after

that.

D'Artagnan, on his return, sent the twelve bottles of wine

to the refreshment room of the Guards, with strict orders

that great care should be taken of it; and then, on the day

appointed, as the dinner was fixed for midday d'Artagnan

sent Planchet at nine in the morning to assist in preparing

everything for the entertainment.

Planchet, very proud of being raised to the dignity of

landlord, thought he would make all ready, like an

intelligent man; and with this view called in the assistance

of the lackey of one of his master's guests, named Fourreau,

and the false soldier who had tried to kill d'Artagnan and

who, belonging to no corps, had entered into the service of

d'Artagnan, or rather of Planchet, after d'Artagnan had

saved his life.

The hour of the banquet being come, the two guards arrived,

took their places, and the dishes were arranged on the

table. Planchet waited, towel on arm; Fourreau uncorked the

bottles; and Brisemont, which was the name of the

convalescent, poured the wine, which was a little shaken by

its journey, carefully into decanters. Of this wine, the

first bottle being a little thick at the bottom, Brisemont

poured the lees into a glass, and d'Artagnan desired him to

drink it, for the poor devil had not yet recovered his

strength.

The guests having eaten the soup, were about to lift the

first glass of wine to their lips, when all at once the

cannon sounded from Fort Louis and Fort Neuf. The

Guardsmen, imagining this to be caused by some unexpected

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attack, either of the besieged or the English, sprang to

their swords. D'Artagnan, not less forward than they, did

likewise, and all ran out, in order to repair to their

posts.

But scarcely were they out of the room before they were made

aware of the cause of this noise. Cries of "Live the king!

Live the cardinal!" resounded on every side, and the drums

were beaten in all directions.

In short, the king, impatient, as has been said, had come by

forced marches, and had that moment arrived with all his

household and a reinforcement of ten thousand troops. His

Musketeers proceeded and followed him. D'Artagnan, placed

in line with his company, saluted with an expressive gesture

his three friends, whose eyes soon discovered him, and M. de

Treville, who detected him at once.

The ceremony of reception over, the four friends were soon

in one another's arms.

"Pardieu!" cried d'Artagnan, "you could not have arrived in

better time; the dinner cannot have had time to get cold!

Can it, gentlemen?" added the young man, turning to the two

Guards, whom he introduced to his friends.

"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, "it appears we are feasting!"

"I hope," said Aramis, "there are no women at your dinner."

"Is there any drinkable wine in your tavern?" asked Athos.

"Well, pardieu! there is yours, my dear friend," replied

d'Artagnan.

"Our wine!" said Athos, astonished.

"Yes, that you sent me."

"We sent you wine?"

"You know very well--the wine from the hills of Anjou."

"Yes, I know what brand you are talking about."

"The wine you prefer."

"Well, in the absence of champagne and chambertin, you must

content yourselves with that."

"And so, connoisseurs in wine as we are, we have sent you

some Anjou wine?" said Porthos.

"Not exactly, it is the wine that was sent by your order."

"On our account?" said the three Musketeers.

"Did you send this wine, Aramis?" said Athos.

"No; and you, Porthos?"

"No; and you, Athos?"

"No!"

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"If it was not you, it was your purveyor," said d'Artagnan.

"Our purveyor!"

"Yes, your purveyor, Godeau--the purveyor of the

Musketeers."

"My faith! never mind where it comes from," said Porthos,

"let us taste it, and if it is good, let us drink it."

"No," said Athos; "don't let us drink wine which comes from

an unknown source."

"You are right, Athos," said d'Artagnan. "Did none of you

charge your purveyor, Godeau, to send me some wine?"

"No! And yet you say he has sent you some as from us?"

"Here is his letter," said d'Artagnan, and he presented the

note to his comrades.

"This is not his writing!" said Athos. "I am acquainted

with it; before we left Villeroy I settled the accounts of

the regiment."

"A false letter altogether," said Porthos, "we have not been

disciplined."

"d'Artagnan," said Aramis, in a reproachful tone, "how could

you believe that we had made a disturbance?"

D'Artagnan grew pale, and a convulsive trembling shook all

his limbs.

"Thou alarmest me!" said Athos, who never used thee and thou

but upon very particular occasions, "what has happened?"

"Look you, my friends!" cried d'Artagnan, "a horrible

suspicion crosses my mind! Can this be another vengeance of

that woman?"

It was now Athos who turned pale.

D'Artagnan rushed toward the refreshment room, the three

Musketeers and the two Guards following him.

The first object that met the eyes of d'Artagnan on entering

the room was Brisemont, stretched upon the ground and

rolling in horrible convulsions.

Planchet and Fourreau, as pale as death, were trying to give

him succor; but it was plain that all assistance was

useless--all the features of the dying man were distorted

with agony.

"Ah!" cried he, on perceiving d'Artagnan, "ah! this is

frightful! You pretend to pardon me, and you poison me!"

"I!" cried d'Artagnan. "I, wretch? What do you say?"

"I say that it was you who gave me the wine; I say that it

was you who desired me to drink it. I say you wished to

avenge yourself on me, and I say that it is horrible!"

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"Do not think so, Brisemont," said d'Artagnan; "do not think

so. I swear to you, I protest--"

"Oh, but God is above! God will punish you! My God, grant

that he may one day suffer what I suffer!"

"Upon the Gospel," said d'Artagnan, throwing himself down by

the dying man, "I swear to you that the wine was poisoned

and that I was going to drink of it as you did."

"I do not believe you," cried the soldier, and he expired

amid horrible tortures.

"Frightful! frightful!" murmured Athos, while Porthos broke

the bottles and Aramis gave orders, a little too late, that

a confessor should be sent for.

"Oh, my friends," said d'Artagnan, "you come once more to

save my life, not only mine but that of these gentlemen.

Gentlemen," continued he, addressing the Guardsmen, "I

request you will be silent with regard to this adventure.

Great personages may have had a hand in what you have seen,

and if talked about, the evil would only recoil upon us."

"Ah, monsieur!" stammered Planchet, more dead than alive,

"ah, monsieur, what an escape I have had!"

"How, sirrah! you were going to drink my wine?"

"To the health of the king, monsieur; I was going to drink a

small glass of it if Fourreau had not told me I was called."

"Alas!" said Fourreau, whose teeth chattered with terror,

"I wanted to get him out of the way that I might drink myself."

"Gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, addressing the Guardsmen, "you

may easily comprehend that such a feast can only be very

dull after what has taken place; so accept my excuses, and

put off the party till another day, I beg of you."

The two Guardsmen courteously accepted d'Artagnan's excuses,

and perceiving that the four friends desired to be alone,

retired.

When the young Guardsman and the three Musketeers were

without witnesses, they looked at one another with an air

which plainly expressed that each of them perceived the

gravity of their situation.

"In the first place," said Athos, "let us leave this

chamber; the dead are not agreeable company, particularly

when they have died a violent death."

"Planchet," said d'Artagnan, "I commit the corpse of this

poor devil to your care. Let him be interred in holy

ground. He committed a crime, it is true; but he repented

of it."

And the four friends quit the room, leaving to Planchet and

Fourreau the duty of paying mortuary honors to Brisemont.

The host gave them another chamber, and served them with

fresh eggs and some water, which Athos went himself to draw

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at the fountain. In a few words, Porthos and Aramis were

posted as to the situation.

"Well," said d'Artagnan to Athos, "you see, my dear friend,

that this is war to the death."

Athos shook his head.

"Yes, yes," replied he, "I perceive that plainly; but do you

really believe it is she?"

"I am sure of it."

"Nevertheless, I confess I still doubt."

"But the fleur-de-lis on her shoulder?"

"She is some Englishwoman who has committed a crime in

France, and has been branded in consequence."

"Athos, she is your wife, I tell you," repeated d'Artagnan;

"only reflect how much the two descriptions resemble each

other."

"Yes; but I should think the other must be dead, I hanged

her so effectually."

It was d'Artagnan who now shook his head in his turn.

"But in either case, what is to be done?" said the young

man.

"The fact is, one cannot remain thus, with a sword hanging

eternally over his head," said Athos. "We must extricate

ourselves from this position."

"But how?"

"Listen! You must try to see her, and have an explanation

with her. Say to her: 'Peace or war! My word as a

gentleman never to say anything of you, never to do anything

against you; on your side, a solemn oath to remain neutral

with respect to me. If not, I will apply to the chancellor,

I will apply to the king, I will apply to the hangman, I

will move the courts against you, I will denounce you as

branded, I will bring you to trial; and if you are

acquitted, well, by the faith of a gentleman, I will kill

you at the corner of some wall, as I would a mad dog.'"

"I like the means well enough," said d'Artagnan, "but where

and how to meet with her?"

"Time, dear friend, time brings round opportunity;

opportunity is the martingale of man. The more we have

ventured the more we gain, when we know how to wait."

"Yes; but to wait surrounded by assassins and poisoners."

"Bah!" said Athos. "God has preserved us hitherto, God will

preserve us still."

"Yes, we. Besides, we are men; and everything considered,

it is our lot to risk our lives; but she," asked he, in an

undertone.

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"What she?" asked Athos.

"Constance."

"Madame Bonacieux! Ah, that's true!" said Athos. "My poor

friend, I had forgotten you were in love."

"Well, but," said Aramis, "have you not learned by the

letter you found on the wretched corpse that she is in a

convent? One may be very comfortable in a convent; and as

soon as the siege of La Rochelle is terminated, I promise

you on my part--"

"Good," cried Athos, "good! Yes, my dear Aramis, we all

know that your views have a religious tendency."

"I am only temporarily a Musketeer," said Aramis, humbly.

"It is some time since we heard from his mistress," said

Athos, in a low voice. "But take no notice; we know all

about that."

"Well," said Porthos, "it appears to me that the means are

very simple."

"What?" asked d'Artagnan.

"You say she is in a convent?" replied Porthos.

"Yes."

"Very well. As soon as the siege is over, we'll carry her

off from that convent."

"But we must first learn what convent she is in."

"That's true," said Porthos.

"But I think I have it," said Athos. "Don't you say, dear

d'Artagnan, that it is the queen who has made choice of the

convent for her?"

"I believe so, at least."

"In that case Porthos will assist us."

"And how so, if you please?"

"Why, by your marchioness, your duchess, your princess. She

must have a long arm."

"Hush!" said Porthos, placing a finger on his lips. "I

believe her to be a cardinalist; she must know nothing of

the matter."

"Then," said Aramis, "I take upon myself to obtain

intelligence of her."

"You, Aramis?" cried the three friends. "You! And how?"

"By the queen's almoner, to whom I am very intimately

allied," said Aramis, coloring.

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And on this assurance, the four friends, who had finished

their modest repast, separated, with the promise of meeting

again that evening. D'Artagnan returned to less important

affairs, and the three Musketeers repaired to the king's

quarters, where they had to prepare their lodging.

43 The Sign of the Red Dovecot

Meanwhile the king, who, with more reason than the cardinal,

showed his hatred for Buckingham, although scarcely arrived

was in such a haste to meet the enemy that he commanded

every disposition to be made to drive the English from the

Isle of Re, and afterward to press the siege of La Rochelle;

but notwithstanding his earnest wish, he was delayed by the

dissensions which broke out between MM. Bassompierre and

Schomberg, against the Duc d'Angouleme.

MM. Bassompierre and Schomberg were marshals of France, and

claimed their right of commanding the army under the orders

of the king; but the cardinal, who feared that Bassompierre,

a Huguenot at heart, might press but feebly the English and

Rochellais, his brothers in religion, supported the Duc

d'Angouleme, whom the king, at his instigation, had named

lieutenant general. The result was that to prevent MM.

Bassompierre and Schomberg from deserting the army, a

separate command had to be given to each. Bassompierre took

up his quarters on the north of the city, between Leu and

Dompierre; the Duc d'Angouleme on the east, from Dompierre

to Perigny; and M. de Schomberg on the south, from Perigny

to Angoutin.

The quarters of Monsieur were at Dompierre; the quarters of

the king were sometimes at Estree, sometimes at Jarrie; the

cardinal's quarters were upon the downs, at the bridge of La

Pierre, in a simple house without any entrenchment. So that

Monsieur watched Bassompierre; the king, the Duc

d'Angouleme; and the cardinal, M. de Schomberg.

As soon as this organization was established, they set about

driving the English from the Isle.

The juncture was favorable. The English, who require, above

everything, good living in order to be good soldiers, only

eating salt meat and bad biscuit, had many invalids in their

camp. Still further, the sea, very rough at this period of

the year all along the sea coast, destroyed every day some

little vessel; and the shore, from the point of l'Aiguillon

to the trenches, was at every tide literally covered with

the wrecks of pinnacles, roberges, and feluccas. The result

was that even if the king's troops remained quietly in their

camp, it was evident that some day or other, Buckingham, who

only continued in the Isle from obstinacy, would be obliged

to raise the siege.

But as M. de Toiras gave information that everything was

preparing in the enemy's camp for a fresh assault, the king

judged that it would be best to put an end to the affair,

and gave the necessary orders for a decisive action.

As it is not our intention to give a journal of the siege,

but on the contrary only to describe such of the events of

it as are connected with the story we are relating, we will

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content ourselves with saying in two words that the

expedition succeeded, to the great astonishment of the king

and the great glory of the cardinal. The English, repulsed

foot by foot, beaten in all encounters, and defeated in the

passage of the Isle of Loie, were obliged to re-embark,

leaving on the field of battle two thousand men, among whom

were five colonels, three lieutenant colonels, two hundred

and fifty captains, twenty gentlemen of rank, four pieces of

cannon, and sixty flags, which were taken to Paris by Claude

de St. Simon, and suspended with great pomp in the arches of

Notre Dame.

Te Deums were chanted in camp, and afterward throughout

France.

The cardinal was left free to carry on the siege, without

having, at least at the present, anything to fear on the

part of the English.

But it must be acknowledged, this response was but

momentary. An envoy of the Duke of Buckingham, named

Montague, was taken, and proof was obtained of a league

between the German Empire, Spain, England, and Lorraine.

This league was directed against France.

Still further, in Buckingham's lodging, which he had been

forced to abandon more precipitately than he expected,

papers were found which confirmed this alliance and which,

as the cardinal asserts in his memoirs, strongly compromised

Mme. de Chevreuse and consequently the queen.

It was upon the cardinal that all the responsibility fell,

for one is not a despotic minister without responsibility.

All, therefore, of the vast resources of his genius were at

work night and day, engaged in listening to the least report

heard in any of the great kingdoms of Europe.

The cardinal was acquainted with the activity, and more

particularly the hatred, of Buckingham. If the league which

threatened France triumphed, all his influence would be

lost. Spanish policy and Austrian policy would have their

representatives in the cabinet of the Louvre, where they had

as yet but partisans; and he, Richelieu--the French

minister, the national minister--would be ruined. The king,

even while obeying him like a child, hated him as a child

hates his master, and would abandon him to the personal

vengeance of Monsieur and the queen. He would then be lost,

and France, perhaps, with him. All this must be prepared

against.

Courtiers, becoming every instant more numerous, succeeded

one another, day and night, in the little house of the

bridge of La Pierre, in which the cardinal had established

his residence.

There were monks who wore the frock with such an ill grace

that it was easy to perceive they belonged to the church

militant; women a little inconvenienced by their costume as

pages and whose large trousers could not entirely conceal

their rounded forms; and peasants with blackened hands but

with fine limbs, savoring of the man of quality a league

off.

There were also less agreeable visits--for two or three

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times reports were spread that the cardinal had nearly been

assassinated.

It is true that the enemies of the cardinal said that it was

he himself who set these bungling assassins to work, in

order to have, if wanted, the right of using reprisals; but

we must not believe everything ministers say, nor everything

their enemies say.

These attempts did not prevent the cardinal, to whom his

most inveterate detractors have never denied personal

bravery, from making nocturnal excursions, sometimes to

communicate to the Duc d'Angouleme important orders,

sometimes to confer with the king, and sometimes to have an

interview with a messenger whom he did not wish to see at

home.

On their part the Musketeers, who had not much to do with

the siege, were not under very strict orders and led a

joyous life. The was the more easy for our three companions

in particular; for being friends of M. de Treville, they

obtained from him special permission to be absent after the

closing of the camp.

Now, one evening when d'Artagnan, who was in the trenches,

was not able to accompany them, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis,

mounted on their battle steeds, enveloped in their war

cloaks, with their hands upon their pistol butts, were

returning from a drinking place called the Red Dovecot,

which Athos had discovered two days before upon the route to

Jarrie, following the road which led to the camp and quite

on their guard, as we have stated, for fear of an ambuscade,

when, about a quarter of a league from the village of

Boisnau, they fancied they heard the sound of horses

approaching them. They immediately all three halted, closed

in, and waited, occupying the middle of the road. In an

instant, and as the moon broke from behind a cloud, they saw

at a turning of the road two horsemen who, on perceiving

them, stopped in their turn, appearing to deliberate whether

they should continue their route or go back. The hesitation

created some suspicion in the three friends, and Athos,

advancing a few paces in front of the others, cried in a

firm voice, "Who goes there?"

"Who goes there, yourselves?" replied one of the horsemen.

"That is not an answer," replied Athos. "Who goes there?

Answer, or we charge."

"Beware of what you are about, gentlemen!" said a clear

voice which seemed accustomed to command.

"It is some superior officer making his night rounds," said

Athos. "What do you wish, gentlemen?"

"Who are you?" said the same voice, in the same commanding

tone. "Answer in your turn, or you may repent of your

disobedience."

"King's Musketeers," said Athos, more and more convinced

that he who interrogated them had the right to do so.

"What company?"

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"Company of Treville."

"Advance, and give an account of what you are doing here at

this hour."

The three companions advanced rather humbly--for all were

now convinced that they had to do with someone more powerful

than themselves--leaving Athos the post of speaker.

One of the two riders, he who had spoken second, was ten

paces in front of his companion. Athos made a sign to

Porthos and Aramis also to remain in the rear, and advanced

alone.

"Your pardon, my officer," said Athos; "but we were ignorant

with whom we had to do, and you may see that we were good

guard."

"Your name?" said the officer, who covered a part of his

face with his cloak.

"But yourself, monsieur," said Athos, who began to be

annoyed by this inquisition, "give me, I beg you, the proof

that you have the right to question me."

"Your name?" repeated the cavalier a second time, letting

his cloak fall, and leaving his face uncovered.

"Monsieur the Cardinal!" cried the stupefied Musketeer.

"Your name?" cried his Eminence, for the third time.

"Athos," said the Musketeer.

The cardinal made a sign to his attendant, who drew near.

"These three Musketeers shall follow us," said he, in an

undertone. "I am not willing it should be known I have left

the camp; and if they follow us we shall be certain they

will tell nobody."

"We are gentlemen, monseigneur," said Athos; "require our

parole, and give yourself no uneasiness. Thank God, we can

keep a secret."

The cardinal fixed his piercing eyes on this courageous

speaker.

"You have a quick ear, Monsieur Athos," said the cardinal;

"but now listen to this. It is not from mistrust that I

request you to follow me, but for my security. Your

companions are no doubt Messieurs Porthos and Aramis."

"Yes, your Eminence," said Athos, while the two Musketeers

who had remained behind advanced hat in hand.

"I know you, gentlemen," said the cardinal, "I know you. I

know you are not quite my friends, and I am sorry you are

not so; but I know you are brave and loyal gentlemen, and

that confidence may be placed in you. Monsieur Athos, do

me, then, the honor to accompany me; you and your two

friends, and then I shall have an escort to excite envy in

his Majesty, if we should meet him."

The three Musketeers bowed to the necks of their horses.

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"Well, upon my honor," said Athos, "your Eminence is right

in taking us with you; we have seen several ill-looking

faces on the road, and we have even had a quarrel at the Red

Dovecot with four of those faces."

"A quarrel, and what for, gentlemen?" said the cardinal;

"you know I don't like quarrelers."

"And that is the reason why I have the honor to inform your

Eminence of what has happened; for you might learn it from

others, and upon a false account believe us to be in fault."

"What have been the results of your quarrel?" said the

cardinal, knitting his brow.

"My friend, Aramis, here, has received a slight sword wound

in the arm, but not enough to prevent him, as your Eminence

may see, from mounting to the assault tomorrow, if your

Eminence orders an escalade."

"But you are not the men to allow sword wounds to be

inflicted upon you thus," said the cardinal. "Come, be

frank, gentlemen, you have settled accounts with somebody!

Confess; you know I have the right of giving absolution."

"I, monseigneur?" said Athos. "I did not even draw my

sword, but I took him who offended me round the body, and

threw him out of the window. It appears that in falling,"

continued Athos, with some hesitation, "he broke his thigh."

"Ah, ah!" said the cardinal; "and you, Monsieur Porthos?"

"I, monseigneur, knowing that dueling is prohibited--I

seized a bench, and gave one of those brigands such a blow

that I believe his shoulder is broken."

"Very well," said the cardinal; "and you, Monsieur Aramis?"

"Monseigneur, being of a very mild disposition, and being,

likewise, of which Monseigneur perhaps is not aware, about

to enter into orders, I endeavored to appease my comrades,

when one of these wretches gave me a wound with a sword,

treacherously, across my left arm. Then I admit my patience

failed me; I drew my sword in my turn, and as he came back

to the charge, I fancied I felt that in throwing himself

upon me, he let it pass through his body. I only know for a

certainty that he fell; and it seemed to me that he was

borne away with his two companions."

"The devil, gentlemen!" said the cardinal, "three men placed

hors de combat in a cabaret squabble! You don't do your

work by halves. And pray what was this quarrel about?"

"These fellows were drunk," said Athos. "and knowing there

was a lady who had arrived at the cabaret this evening, they

wanted to force her door."

"Force her door!" said the cardinal, "and for what purpose?"

"To do her violence, without doubt," said Athos. "I have

had the honor of informing your Eminence that these men were

drunk."

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"And was this lady young and handsome?" asked the cardinal,

with a certain degree of anxiety.

"We did not see her, monseigneur," said Athos.

"You did not see her? Ah, very well," replied the cardinal,

quickly. "You did well to defend the honor of a woman; and

as I am going to the Red Dovecot myself, I shall know if you

have told me the truth."

"Monseigneur," said Athos, haughtily, "we are gentlemen, and

to save our heads we would not be guilty of a falsehood."

"Therefore I do not doubt what you say, Monsieur Athos, I do

not doubt it for a single instant; but," added he, "to

change the conversation, was this lady alone?"

"The lady had a cavalier shut up with her," said Athos, "but

as notwithstanding the noise, this cavalier did not show

himself, it is to be presumed that he is a coward."

"'Judge not rashly', says the Gospel," replied the cardinal.

Athos bowed.

"And now, gentlemen, that's well," continued the cardinal.

"I know what I wish to know; follow me."

The three Musketeers passed behind his Eminence, who again

enveloped his face in his cloak, and put his horse in

motion, keeping from eight to ten paces in advance of his

four companions.

They soon arrived at the silent, solitary inn. No doubt the

host knew what illustrious visitor was expected, and had

consequently sent intruders out of the way.

Ten paces from the door the cardinal made a sign to his

esquire and the three Musketeers to halt. A saddled horse

was fastened to the window shutter. The cardinal knocked

three times, and in a peculiar manner.

A man, enveloped in a cloak, came out immediately, and

exchanged some rapid words with the cardinal; after which he

mounted his horse, and set off in the direction of Surgeres,

which was likewise the way to Paris.

"Advance, gentlemen," said the cardinal.

"You have told me the truth, my gentlemen," said he,

addressing the Musketeers, "and it will not be my fault if

our encounter this evening be not advantageous to you. In

the meantime, follow me."

The cardinal alighted; the three Musketeers did likewise.

The cardinal threw the bridle of his horse to his esquire;

the three Musketeers fastened the horses to the shutters.

The host stood at the door. For him, the cardinal was only

an officer coming to visit a lady.

"Have you any chamber on the ground floor where these

gentlemen can wait near a good fire?" said the cardinal.

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The host opened the door of a large room, in which an old

stove had just been replaced by a large and excellent

chimney.

"I have this," said he.

"That will do," replied the cardinal. "Enter, gentlemen,

and be kind enough to wait for me; I shall not be more than

half an hour."

And while the three Musketeers entered the ground floor

room, the cardinal, without asking further information,

ascended the staircase like a man who has no need of having

his road pointed out to him.

44 THE UTILITY OF STOVEPIPES

It was evident that without suspecting it, and actuated

solely by their chivalrous and adventurous character, our

three friends had just rendered a service to someone the

cardinal honored with his special protection.

Now, who was that someone? That was the question the three

Musketeers put to one another. Then, seeing that none of

their replies could throw any light on the subject, Porthos

called the host and asked for dice.

Porthos and Aramis placed themselves at the table and began

to play. Athos walked about in a contemplative mood.

While thinking and walking, Athos passed and repassed before

the pipe of the stove, broken in halves, the other extremity

passing into the chamber above; and every time he passed and

repassed he heard a murmur of words, which at length fixed

his attention. Athos went close to it, and distinguished

some words that appeared to merit so great an interest that

he made a sign to his friends to be silent, remaining

himself bent with his ear directed to the opening of the

lower orifice.

"Listen, Milady," said the cardinal, "the affair is

important. Sit down, and let us talk it over."

"Milady!" murmured Athos.

"I listen to your Eminence with greatest attention," replied

a female voice which made the Musketeer start.

"A small vessel with an English crew, whose captain is on my

side, awaits you at the mouth of Charente, at fort of the

Point. He will set sail tomorrow morning."

"I must go thither tonight?"

"Instantly! That is to say, when you have received my

instructions. Two men, whom you will find at the door on

going out, will serve you as escort. You will allow me to

leave first; then, after half an hour, you can go away in

your turn."

"Yes, monseigneur. Now let us return to the mission with

which you wish to charge me; and as I desire to continue to

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merit the confidence of your Eminence, deign to unfold it to

me in terms clear and precise, that I may not commit an

error."

There was an instant of profound silence between the two

interlocutors. It was evident that the cardinal was

weighing beforehand the terms in which he was about to

speak, and that Milady was collecting all her intellectual

faculties to comprehend the things he was about to say, and

to engrave them in her memory when they should be spoken.

Athos took advantage of this moment to tell his two

companions to fasten the door inside, and to make them a

sign to come and listen with him.

The two Musketeers, who loved their ease, brought a chair

for each of themselves and one for Athos. All three then

sat down with their heads together and their ears on the

alert.

"You will go to London," continued the cardinal. "Arrived

in London, you will seek Buckingham."

"I must beg your Eminence to observe," said Milady, "that

since the affair of the diamond studs, about which the duke

always suspected me, his Grace distrusts me."

"Well, this time," said the cardinal, "it is not necessary

to steal his confidence, but to present yourself frankly and

loyally as a negotiator."

"Frankly and loyally," repeated Milady, with an unspeakable

expression of duplicity.

"Yes, frankly and loyally," replied the cardinal, in the

same tone. "All this negotiation must be carried on

openly."

"I will follow your Eminence's instructions to the letter.

I only wait till you give them."

"You will go to Buckingham in my behalf, and you will tell

him I am acquainted with all the preparations he has made;

but that they give me no uneasiness, since at the first step

he takes I will ruin the queen."

"Will he believe that your Eminence is in a position to

accomplish the threat thus made?"

"Yes; for I have the proofs."

"I must be able to present these proofs for his

appreciation."

"Without doubt. And you will tell him I will publish the

report of Bois-Robert and the Marquis de Beautru, upon the

interview which the duke had at the residence of Madame the

Constable with the queen on the evening Madame the Constable

gave a masquerade. You will tell him, in order that he may

not doubt, that he came there in the costume of the Great

Mogul, which the Chevalier de Guise was to have worn, and

that he purchased this exchange for the sum of three

thousand pistoles."

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"Well, monseigneur?"

"All the details of his coming into and going out of the

palace--on the night when he introduced himself in the

character of an Italian fortune teller--you will tell him,

that he may not doubt the correctness of my information;

that he had under his cloak a large white robe dotted with

black tears, death's heads, and crossbones--for in case of a

surprise, he was to pass for the phantom of the White Lady

who, as all the world knows, appears at the Louvre every

time any great event is impending."

"Is that all, monseigneur?"

"Tell him also that I am acquainted with all the details of

the adventure at Amiens; that I will have a little romance

made of it, wittily turned, with a plan of the garden and

portraits of the principal actors in that nocturnal

romance."

"I will tell him that."

"Tell him further that I hold Montague in my power; that

Montague is in the Bastille; that no letters were found upon

him, it is true, but that torture may make him tell much of

what he knows, and even what he does not know."

"Exactly."

"Then add that his Grace has, in the precipitation with

which he quit the Isle of Re, forgotten and left behind him

in his lodging a certain letter from Madame de Chevreuse

which singularly compromises the queen, inasmuch as it

proves not only that her Majesty can love the enemies of the

king but that she can conspire with the enemies of France.

You recollect perfectly all I have told you, do you not?"

"Your Eminence will judge: the ball of Madame the Constable;

the night at the Louvre; the evening at Amiens; the arrest

of Montague; the letter of Madame de Chevreuse."

"That's it," said the cardinal, "that's it. You have an

excellent memory, Milady."

"But," resumed she to whom the cardinal addressed this

flattering compliment, "if, in spite of all these reasons,

the duke does not give way and continues to menace France?"

"The duke is in love to madness, or rather to folly,"

replied Richelieu, with great bitterness. "Like the ancient

paladins, he has only undertaken this war to obtain a look

from his lady love. If he becomes certain that this war

will cost the honor, and perhaps the liberty, of the lady of

his thoughts, as he says, I will answer for it he will look

twice."

"And yet," said Milady, with a persistence that proved she

wished to see clearly to the end of the mission with which

she was about to be charged, "if he persists?"

"If he persists?" said the cardinal. "That is not

probable."

"It is possible," said Milady.

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"If he persists--" His Eminence made a pause, and resumed:

"If he persists--well, then I shall hope for one of those

events which change the destinies of states."

"If your Eminence would quote to me some one of these events

in history," said Milady, "perhaps I should partake of your

confidence as to the future."

"Well, here, for example," said Richelieu: "when, in 1610,

for a cause similar to that which moves the duke, King Henry

IV, of glorious memory, was about, at the same time, to

invade Flanders and Italy, in order to attack Austria on

both sides. Well, did there not happen an event which saved

Austria? Why should not the king of France have the same

chance as the emperor?"

"Your Eminence means, I presume, the knife stab in the Rue

de la Feronnerie?"

"Precisely," said the cardinal.

"Does not your Eminence fear that the punishment inflicted

upon Ravaillac may deter anyone who might entertain the idea

of imitating him?"

"There will be, in all times and in all countries,

particularly if religious divisions exist in those

countries, fanatics who ask nothing better than to become

martyrs. Ay, and observe--it just occurs to me that the

Puritans are furious against Buckingham, and their preachers

designate him as the Antichrist."

"Well?" said Milady.

"Well," continued the cardinal, in an indifferent tone, "the

only thing to be sought for at this moment is some woman,

handsome, young, and clever, who has cause of quarrel with

the duke. The duke has had many affairs of gallantry; and

if he has fostered his amours by promises of eternal

constancy, he must likewise have sown the seeds of hatred by

his eternal infidelities."

"No doubt," said Milady, coolly, "such a woman may be

found."

"Well, such a woman, who would place the knife of Jacques

Clement or of Ravaillac in the hands of a fanatic, would

save France."

"Yes; but she would then be the accomplice of an

assassination."

"Were the accomplices of Ravaillac or of Jacques Clement

ever known?"

"No; for perhaps they were too high-placed for anyone to

dare look for them where they were. The Palace of Justice

would not be burned down for everybody, monseigneur."

"You think, then, that the fire at the Palace of Justice was

not caused by chance?" asked Richelieu, in the tone with

which he would have put a question of no importance.

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"I, monseigneur?" replied Milady. "I think nothing; I quote

a fact, that is all. Only I say that if I were named Madame

de Montpensier, or the Queen Marie de Medicis, I should use

less precautions than I take, being simply called Milady

Clarik."

"That is just," said Richelieu. "What do you require,

then?"

"I require an order which would ratify beforehand all that I

should think proper to do for the greatest good of France."

"But in the first place, this woman I have described must be

found who is desirous of avenging herself upon the duke."

"She is found," said Milady.

"Then the miserable fanatic must be found who will serve as

an instrument of God's justice."

"He will be found."

"Well," said the cardinal, "then it will be time to claim

the order which you just now required."

"Your Eminence is right," replied Milady; "and I have been

wrong in seeing in the mission with which you honor me

anything but that which it really is--that is, to announce

to his Grace, on the part of your Eminence, that you are

acquainted with the different disguises by means of which he

succeeded in approaching the queen during the fete given by

Madame the Constable; that you have proofs of the interview

granted at the Louvre by the queen to a certain Italian

astrologer who was no other than the Duke of Buckingham;

that you have ordered a little romance of a satirical nature

to be written upon the adventures of Amiens, with a plan of

the gardens in which those adventures took place, and

portraits of the actors who figured in them; that Montague

is in the Bastille, and that the torture may make him say

things he remembers, and even things he has forgotten; that

you possess a certain letter from Madame de Chevreuse, found

in his Grace's lodging, which singularly compromises not

only her who wrote it, but her in whose name it was written.

Then, if he persists, notwithstanding all this--as that is,

as I have said, the limit of my mission--I shall have

nothing to do but to pray God to work a miracle for the

salvation of France. That is it, is it not, monseigneur,

and I shall have nothing else to do?"

"That is it," replied the cardinal, dryly.

"And now," said Milady, without appearing to remark the

change of the duke's tone toward her--"now that I have

received the instructions of your Eminence as concerns your

enemies, Monseigneur will permit me to say a few words to

him of mine?"

"Have you enemies, then?" asked Richelieu.

"Yes, monseigneur, enemies against whom you owe me all your

support, for I made them by serving your Eminence."

"Who are they?" replied the duke.

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"In the first place, there is a little intrigante named

Bonacieux."

"She is in the prison of Nantes."

"That is to say, she was there," replied Milady; "but the

queen has obtained an order from the king by means of which

she has been conveyed to a convent."

"To a convent?" said the duke.

"Yes, to a convent."

"And to which?"

"I don't know; the secret has been well kept."

"But I will know!"

"And your Eminence will tell me in what convent that woman

is?"

"I can see nothing inconvenient in that," said the cardinal.

"Well, now I have an enemy much more to be dreaded by me

than this little Madame Bonacieux."

"Who is that?"

"Her lover."

"What is his name?"

"Oh, your Eminence knows him well," cried Milady, carried

away by her anger. "He is the evil genius of both of us.

It is he who in an encounter with your Eminence's Guards

decided the victory in favor of the king's Musketeers; it is

he who gave three desperate wounds to de Wardes, your

emissary, and who caused the affair of the diamond studs to

fail; it is he who, knowing it was I who had Madame

Bonacieux carried off, has sworn my death."

"Ah, ah!" said the cardinal, "I know of whom you speak."

"I mean that miserable d'Artagnan."

"He is a bold fellow," said the cardinal.

"And it is exactly because he is a bold fellow that he is

the more to be feared."

"I must have," said the duke, "a proof of his connection

with Buckingham."

"A proof?" cried Milady; "I will have ten."

"Well, then, it becomes the simplest thing in the world; get

me that proof, and I will send him to the Bastille."

"So far good, monseigneur; but afterwards?"

"When once in the Bastille, there is no afterward!" said the

cardinal, in a low voice. "Ah, pardieu!" continued he, "if

it were as easy for me to get rid of my enemy as it is easy

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to get rid of yours, and if it were against such people you

require impunity--"

"Monseigneur," replied Milady, "a fair exchange. Life for

life, man for man; give me one, I will give you the other."

"I don't know what you mean, nor do I even desire to know

what you mean," replied the cardinal; "but I wish to please

you, and see nothing out of the way in giving you what you

demand with respect to so infamous a creature--the more so

as you tell me this d'Artagnan is a libertine, a duelist,

and a traitor."

"An infamous scoundrel, monseigneur, a scoundrel!"

"Give me paper, a quill, and some ink, then," said the

cardinal.

"Here they are, monseigneur."

There was a moment of silence, which proved that the

cardinal was employed in seeking the terms in which he

should write the note, or else in writing it. Athos, who

had not lost a word of the conversation, took his two

companions by the hand, and led them to the other end of the

room.

"Well," said Porthos, "what do you want, and why do you not

let us listen to the end of the conversation?"

"Hush!" said Athos, speaking in a low voice. "We have heard

all it was necessary we should hear; besides, I don't

prevent you from listening, but I must be gone."

"You must be gone!" said Porthos; "and if the cardinal asks

for you, what answer can we make?"

"You will not wait till he asks; you will speak first, and

tell him that I am gone on the lookout, because certain

expressions of our host have given me reason to think the

road is not safe. I will say two words about it to the

cardinal's esquire likewise. The rest concerns myself;

don't be uneasy about that."

"Be prudent, Athos," said Aramis.

"Be easy on that head," replied Athos; "you know I am cool

enough."

Porthos and Aramis resumed their places by the stovepipe.

As to Athos, he went out without any mystery, took his

horse, which was tied with those of his friends to the

fastenings of the shutters, in four words convinced the

attendant of the necessity of a vanguard for their return,

carefully examined the priming of his pistols, drew his

sword, and took, like a forlorn hope, the road to the camp.

45 A CONJUGAL SCENE

As Athos had foreseen, it was not long before the cardinal

came down. He opened the door of the room in which the

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Musketeers were, and found Porthos playing an earnest game

of dice with Aramis. He cast a rapid glance around the

room, and perceived that one of his men was missing.

"What has become of Monseigneur Athos?" asked he.

"Monseigneur," replied Porthos, "he has gone as a scout, on

account of some words of our host, which made him believe

the road was not safe."

"And you, what have you done, Monsieur Porthos?"

"I have won five pistoles of Aramis."

"Well; now will you return with me?"

"We are at your Eminence's orders."

"To horse, then, gentlemen; for it is getting late."

The attendant was at the door, holding the cardinal's horse

by the bridle. At a short distance a group of two men and

three horses appeared in the shade. These were the two men

who were to conduct Milady to the fort of the Point, and

superintend her embarkation.

The attendant confirmed to the cardinal what the two

Musketeers had already said with respect to Athos. The

cardinal made an approving gesture, and retraced his route

with the same precautions he had used incoming.

Let us leave him to follow the road to the camp protected by

his esquire and the two Musketeers, and return to Athos.

For a hundred paces he maintained the speed at which he

started; but when out of sight he turned his horse to the

right, made a circuit, and came back within twenty paces of

a high hedge to watch the passage of the little troop.

Having recognized the laced hats of his companions and the

golden fringe of the cardinal's cloak, he waited till the

horsemen had turned the angle of the road, and having lost

sight of them, he returned at a gallop to the inn, which was

opened to him without hesitation.

The host recognized him.

"My officer," said Athos, "has forgotten to give a piece of

very important information to the lady, and has sent me back

to repair his forgetfulness."

"Go up," said the host; "she is still in her chamber."

Athos availed himself of the permission, ascended the stairs

with his lightest step, gained the landing, and through the

open door perceived Milady putting on her hat.

He entered the chamber and closed the door behind him. At

the noise he made in pushing the bolt, Milady turned round.

Athos was standing before the door, enveloped in his cloak,

with his hat pulled down over his eyes. On seeing this

figure, mute and immovable as a statue, Milady was

frightened.

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"Who are you, and what do you want?" cried she.

"Humph," murmured Athos, "it is certainly she!"

And letting fall his cloak and raising his hat, he advanced

toward Milady.

"Do you know me, madame?" said he.

Milady made one step forward, and then drew back as if she

had seen a serpent.

"So far, well," said Athos, "I perceive you know me."

"The Comte de la Fere!" murmured Milady, becoming

exceedingly pale, and drawing back till the wall prevented

her from going any farther.

"Yes, Milady," replied Athos; "the Comte de la Fere in

person, who comes expressly from the other world to have the

pleasure of paying you a visit. Sit down, madame, and let

us talk, as the cardinal said."

Milady, under the influence of inexpressible terror, sat

down without uttering a word.

"You certainly are a demon sent upon the earth!" said Athos.

"Your power is great, I know; but you also know that with

the help of God men have often conquered the most terrible

demons. You have once before thrown yourself in my path. I

thought I had crushed you, madame; but either I was deceived

or hell has resuscitated you!"

Milady at these words, which recalled frightful

remembrances, hung down her head with a suppressed groan.

"Yes, hell has resuscitated you," continued Athos. "Hell

has made you rich, hell has given you another name, hell has

almost made you another face; but it has neither effaced the

stains from your soul nor the brand from your body."

Milady arose as if moved by a powerful spring, and her eyes

flashed lightning. Athos remained sitting.

"You believed me to be dead, did you not, as I believed you

to be? And the name of Athos as well concealed the Comte de

la Fere, as the name Milady Clarik concealed Anne de Breuil.

Was it not so you were called when your honored brother

married us? Our position is truly a strange one," continued

Athos, laughing. "We have only lived up to the present time

because we believed each other dead, and because a

remembrance is less oppressive than a living creature,

though a remembrance is sometimes devouring."

"But," said Milady, in a hollow, faint voice, "what brings

you back to me, and what do you want with me?"

"I wish to tell you that though remaining invisible to your

eyes, I have not lost sight of you."

"You know what I have done?"

"I can relate to you, day by day, your actions from your

entrance to the service of the cardinal to this evening."

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A smile of incredulity passed over the pale lips of Milady.

"Listen! It was you who cut off the two diamond studs from

the shoulder of the Duke of Buckingham; it was you had the

Madame Bonacieux carried off; it was you who, in love with

de Wardes and thinking to pass the night with him, opened

the door to Monsieur d'Artagnan; it was you who, believing

that de Wardes had deceived you, wished to have him killed

by his rival; it was you who, when this rival had discovered

your infamous secret, wished to have him killed in his turn

by two assassins, whom you sent in pursuit of him; it was

you who, finding the balls had missed their mark, sent

poisoned wine with a forged letter, to make your victim

believe that the wine came from his friends. In short, it

was you who have but now in this chamber, seated in this

chair I now fill, made an engagement with Cardinal Richelieu

to cause the Duke of Buckingham to be assassinated, in

exchange for the promise he has made you to allow you to

assassinate d'Artagnan."

Milady was livid.

"You must be Satan!" cried she.

"Perhaps," said Athos; "But at all events listen well to

this. Assassinate the Duke of Buckingham, or cause him to

be assassinated--I care very little about that! I don't

know him. Besides, he is an Englishman. But do not touch

with the tip of your finger a single hair of d'Artagnan, who

is a faithful friend whom I love and defend, or I swear to

you by the head of my father the crime which you shall have

endeavored to commit, or shall have committed, shall be the

last."

"Monsieur d'Artagnan has cruelly insulted me," said Milady,

in a hollow tone; "Monsieur d'Artagnan shall die!"

"Indeed! Is it possible to insult you, madame?" said Athos,

laughing; "he has insulted you, and he shall die!"

"He shall die!" replied Milady; "she first, and he

afterward."

Athos was seized with a kind of vertigo. The sight of this

creature, who had nothing of the woman about her, recalled

awful remembrances. He thought how one day, in a less

dangerous situation than the one in which he was now placed,

he had already endeavored to sacrifice her to his honor.

His desire for blood returned, burning his brain and

pervading his frame like a raging fever; he arose in his

turn, reached his hand to his belt, drew forth a pistol, and

cocked it.

Milady, pale as a corpse, endeavored to cry out; but her

swollen tongue could utter no more than a hoarse sound which

had nothing human in it and resembled the rattle of a wild

beast. Motionless against the dark tapestry, with her hair

in disorder, she appeared like a horrid image of terror.

Athos slowly raised his pistol, stretched out his arm so

that the weapon almost touched Milady's forehead, and then,

in a voice the more terrible from having the supreme

calmness of a fixed resolution, "Madame," said he, "you will

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this instant deliver to me the paper the cardinal signed; or

upon my soul, I will blow your brains out."

With another man, Milady might have preserved some doubt;

but she knew Athos. Nevertheless, she remained motionless.

"You have one second to decide," said he.

Milady saw by the contraction of his countenance that the

trigger was about to be pulled; she reached her hand quickly

to her bosom, drew out a paper, and held it toward Athos.

"Take it," said she, "and be accursed!"

Athos took the paper, returned the pistol to his belt,

approached the lamp to be assured that it was the paper,

unfolded it, and read:

Dec. 3, 1627

It is by my order and for the good of the state that the

bearer of this has done what he has done.

Richelieu

"And now," said Athos, resuming his cloak and putting on his

hat, "now that I have drawn your teeth, viper, bite if you

can."

And he left the chamber without once looking behind him.

At the door he found the two men and the spare horse which

they held.

"Gentlemen," said he, "Monseigneur's order is, you know, to

conduct that woman, without losing time, to the fort of the

Point, and never to leave her till she is on board."

As these words agreed wholly with the order they had

received, they bowed their heads in sign of assent.

With regard to Athos, he leaped lightly into the saddle and

set out at full gallop; only instead of following the road,

he went across the fields, urging his horse to the utmost

and stopping occasionally to listen.

In one of those halts he heard the steps of several horses

on the road. He had no doubt it was the cardinal and his

escort. He immediately made a new point in advance, rubbed

his horse down with some heath and leaves of trees, and

placed himself across the road, about two hundred paces from

the camp.

"Who goes there?" cried he, as soon as he perceived the

horsemen.

"That is our brave Musketeer, I think," said the cardinal.

"Yes, monseigneur," said Porthos, "it is he."

"Monsieur Athos," said Richelieu, "receive my thanks for the

good guard you have kept. Gentlemen, we are arrived; take

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the gate on the left. The watchword is, 'King and Re.'"

Saying these words, the cardinal saluted the three friends

with an inclination of his head, and took the right hand,

followed by his attendant--for that night he himself slept

in the camp.

"Well!" said Porthos and Aramis together, as soon as the

cardinal was out of hearing, "well, he signed the paper she

required!"

"I know it," said Athos, coolly, "since here it is."

And the three friends did not exchange another word till

they reached their quarters, except to give the watchword to

the sentinels. Only they sent Mousqueton to tell Planchet

that his master was requested, the instant that he left the

trenches, to come to the quarters of the Musketeers.

Milady, as Athos had foreseen, on finding the two men that

awaited her, made no difficulty in following them. She had

had for an instant an inclination to be reconducted to the

cardinal, and relate everything to him; but a revelation on

her part would bring about a revelation on the part of

Athos. She might say that Athos had hanged her; but then

Athos would tell that she was branded. She thought it was

best to preserve silence, to discreetly set off to

accomplish her difficult mission with her usual skill; and

then, all things being accomplished to the satisfaction of

the cardinal, to come to him and claim her vengeance.

In consequence, after having traveled all night, at seven

o'clock she was at the fort of the Point; at eight o'clock

she had embarked; and at nine, the vessel, which with

letters of marque from the cardinal was supposed to be

sailing for Bayonne, raised anchor, and steered its course

toward England.

46 THE BASTION SAINT-GERVAIS

On arriving at the lodgings of his three friends, d'Artagnan

found them assembled in the same chamber. Athos was

meditating; Porthos was twisting his mustache; Aramis was

saying his prayers in a charming little Book of Hours, bound

in blue velvet.

"Pardieu, gentlemen," said he. "I hope what you have to

tell me is worth the trouble, or else, I warn you, I will

not pardon you for making me come here instead of getting a

little rest after a night spent in taking and dismantling a

bastion. Ah, why were you not there, gentlemen? It was

warm work."

"We were in a place where it was not very cold," replied

Porthos, giving his mustache a twist which was peculiar to

him.

"Hush!" said Athos.

"Oh, oh!" said d'Artagnan, comprehending the slight frown of

the Musketeer. "It appears there is something fresh

aboard."

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"Aramis," said Athos, "you went to breakfast the day before

yesterday at the inn of the Parpaillot, I believe?"

"Yes."

"How did you fare?"

"For my part, I ate but little. The day before yesterday

was a fish day, and they had nothing but meat."

"What," said Athos, "no fish at a seaport?"

"They say," said Aramis, resuming his pious reading, "that

the dyke which the cardinal is making drives them all out

into the open sea."

"But that is not quite what I mean to ask you, Aramis,"

replied Athos. "I want to know if you were left alone, and

nobody interrupted

you."

"Why, I think there were not many intruders. Yes, Athos, I

know what you mean: we shall do very well at the

Parpaillot."

"Let us go to the Parpaillot, then, for here the walls are

like sheets of paper."

D'Artagnan, who was accustomed to his friend's manner of

acting, and who perceived immediately, by a word, a gesture,

or a sign from him, that the circumstances were serious,

took Athos's arm, and went out without saying anything.

Porthos followed, chatting with Aramis.

On their way they met Grimaud. Athos made him a sign to

come with them. Grimaud, according to custom, obeyed in

silence; the poor lad had nearly come to the pass of

forgetting how to speak.

They arrived at the drinking room of the Parpaillot. It was

seven o'clock in the morning, and daylight began to appear.

The three friends ordered breakfast, and went into a room in

which the host said they would not be disturbed.

Unfortunately, the hour was badly chosen for a private

conference. The morning drum had just been beaten; everyone

shook off the drowsiness of night, and to dispel the humid

morning air, came to take a drop at the inn. Dragoons,

Swiss, Guardsmen, Musketeers, light-horsemen, succeeded one

another with a rapidity which might answer the purpose of

the host very well, but agreed badly with the views of the

four friends. Thus they applied very curtly to the

salutations, healths, and jokes of their companions.

"I see how it will be," said Athos: "we shall get into some

pretty quarrel or other, and we have no need of one just

now. D'Artagnan, tell us what sort of a night you have had,

and we will describe ours afterward."

"Ah, yes," said a light-horseman, with a glass of brandy in

his hand, which he sipped slowly. "I hear you gentlemen of

the Guards have been in the trenches tonight, and that you

did not get much the best of the Rochellais."

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D'Artagnan looked at Athos to know if he ought to reply to

this intruder who thus mixed unmasked in their conversation.

"Well," said Athos, "don't you hear Monsieur de Busigny, who

does you the honor to ask you a question? Relate what has

passed during the night, since these gentlemen desire to

know it."

"Have you not taken a bastion?" said a Swiss, who was

drinking rum out of beer glass.

"Yes, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, bowing, "we have had that

honor. We even have, as you may have heard, introduced a

barrel of powder under one of the angles, which in blowing

up made a very pretty breach. Without reckoning that as the

bastion was not built yesterday all the rest of the building

was badly shaken."

"And what bastion is it?" asked a dragoon, with his saber

run through a goose which he was taking to be cooked.

"The bastion St. Gervais," replied d'Artagnan, "from behind

which the Rochellais annoyed our workmen."

"Was that affair hot?"

"Yes, moderately so. We lost five men, and the Rochellais

eight or ten."

"Balzempleu!" said the Swiss, who, notwithstanding the

admirable collection of oaths possessed by the German

language, had acquired a habit of swearing in French.

"But it is probable," said the light-horseman, "that they

will send pioneers this morning to repair the bastion."

"Yes, that's probable," said d'Artagnan.

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "a wager!"

"Ah, wooi, a vager!" cried the Swiss.

"What is it?" said the light-horseman.

"Stop a bit," said the dragoon, placing his saber like a

spit upon the two large iron dogs which held the firebrands

in the chimney, "stop a bit, I am in it. You cursed host! a

dripping pan immediately, that I may not lose a drop of the

fat of this estimable bird."

"You was right," said the Swiss; "goose grease is kood with

basdry."

"There!" said the dragoon. "Now for the wager! We listen, Monsieur Athos."

"Yes, the wager!" said the light-horseman.

"Well, Monsieur de Busigny, I will bet you," said Athos,

"that my three companions, Messieurs Porthos, Aramis, and

d'Artagnan, and myself, will go and breakfast in the bastion

St. Gervais, and we will remain there an hour, by the watch,

whatever the enemy may do to dislodge us."

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Porthos and Aramis looked at each other; they began to

comprehend.

"But," said d'Artagnan, in the ear of Athos, "you are going

to get us all killed without mercy."

"We are much more likely to be killed," said Athos, "if we

do not go."

"My faith, gentlemen," said Porthos, turning round upon his

chair and twisting his mustache, "that's a fair bet, I

hope."

"I take it," said M. de Busigny; "so let us fix the stake."

"You are four gentlemen," said Athos, "and we are four; an

unlimited dinner for eight. Will that do?"

"Capitally," replied M. de Busigny.

"Perfectly," said the dragoon.

"That shoots me," said the Swiss.

The fourth auditor, who during all this conversation had

played a mute part, made a sign of the head in proof that he

acquiesced in the proposition.

"The breakfast for these gentlemen is ready," said the host.

"Well, bring it," said Athos.

The host obeyed. Athos called Grimaud, pointed to a large

basket which lay in a corner, and made a sign to him to wrap

the viands up in the napkins.

Grimaud understood that it was to be a breakfast on the

grass, took the basket, packed up the viands, added the

bottles, and then took the basket on his arm.

"But where are you going to eat my breakfast?" asked the

host.

"What matter, if you are paid for it?" said Athos, and he

threw two pistoles majestically on the table.

"Shall I give you the change, my officer?" said the host.

"No, only add two bottles of champagne, and the difference

will be for the napkins."

The host had not quite so good a bargain as he at first

hoped for, but he made amends by slipping in two bottles of

Anjou wine instead of two bottles of champagne.

"Monsieur de Busigny," said Athos, "will you be so kind as

to set your watch with mine, or permit me to regulate mine

by yours?"

"Which you please, monsieur!" said the light-horseman,

drawing from his fob a very handsome watch, studded with

diamonds; "half past seven."

"Thirty-five minutes after seven," said Athos, "by which you

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perceive I am five minutes faster than you."

And bowing to all the astonished persons present, the young

men took the road to the bastion St. Gervais, followed by

Grimaud, who carried the basket, ignorant of where he was

going but in the passive obedience which Athos had taught

him not even thinking of asking.

As long as they were within the circle of the camp, the four

friends did not exchange one word; besides, they were

followed by the curious, who, hearing of the wager, were

anxious to know how they would come out of it. But when

once they passed the line of circumvallation and found

themselves in the open plain, d'Artagnan, who was completely

ignorant of what was going forward, thought it was time to

demand an explanation.

"And now, my dear Athos," said he, "do me the kindness to

tell me where we are going?"

"Why, you see plainly enough we are going to the bastion."

"But what are we going to do there?"

"You know well that we go to breakfast there."

"But why did we not breakfast at the Parpaillot?"

"Because we have very important matters to communicate to

one another, and it was impossible to talk five minutes in

that inn without being annoyed by all those importunate

fellows, who keep coming in, saluting you, and addressing

you. Here at least," said Athos, pointing to the bastion,

"they will not come and disturb us."

"It appears to me," said d'Artagnan, with that prudence

which allied itself in him so naturally with excessive

bravery, "that we could have found some retired place on the

downs or the seashore."

"Where we should have been seen all four conferring

together, so that at the end of a quarter of an hour the

cardinal would have been informed by his spies that we were

holding a council."

"Yes," said Aramis, "Athos is right: ANIMADVERTUNTUR IN

DESERTIS."

"A desert would not have been amiss," said Porthos; "but it

behooved us to find it."

"There is no desert where a bird cannot pass over one's

head, where a fish cannot leap out of the water, where a

rabbit cannot come out of its burrow, and I believe that

bird, fish, and rabbit each becomes a spy of the cardinal.

Better, then, pursue our enterprise; from which, besides, we

cannot retreat without shame. We have made a wager--a wager

which could not have been foreseen, and of which I defy

anyone to divine the true cause. We are going, in order to

win it, to remain an hour in the bastion. Either we shall

be attacked, or not. If we are not, we shall have all the

time to talk, and nobody will hear us--for I guarantee the

walls of the bastion have no ears; if we are, we will talk

of our affairs just the same. Moreover, in defending

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ourselves, we shall cover ourselves with glory. You see

that everything is to our advantage."

"Yes," said d'Artagnan; "but we shall indubitably attract a

ball."

"Well, my dear," replied Athos, "you know well that the

balls most to be dreaded are not from the enemy."

"But for such an expedition we surely ought to have brought

our muskets."

"You are stupid, friend Porthos. Why should we load

ourselves with a useless burden?"

"I don't find a good musket, twelve cartridges, and a powder

flask very useless in the face of an enemy."

"Well," replied Athos, "have you not heard what d'Artagnan

said?"

"What did he say?" demanded Porthos.

"d'Artagnan said that in the attack of last night eight or

ten Frenchmen were killed, and as many Rochellais."

"What then?"

"The bodies were not plundered, were they? It appears the

conquerors had something else to do."

"Well?"

"Well, we shall find their muskets, their cartridges, and

their flasks; and instead of four musketoons and twelve

balls, we shall have fifteen guns and a hundred charges to

fire."

"Oh, Athos!" said Aramis, "truly you are a great man."

Porthos nodded in sign of agreement. D'Artagnan alone did

not seem convinced.

Grimaud no doubt shared the misgivings of the young man, for

seeing that they continued to advance toward the

bastion--something he had till then doubted--he pulled his

master by the skirt of his coat.

"Where are we going?" asked he, by a gesture.

Athos pointed to the bastion.

"But," said Grimaud, in the same silent dialect, "we shall

leave our skins there."

Athos raised his eyes and his finger toward heaven.

Grimaud put his basket on the ground and sat down with a

shake of the head.

Athos took a pistol from his belt, looked to see if it was

properly primed, cocked it, and placed the muzzle close to

Grimaud's ear.

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Grimaud was on his legs again as if by a spring. Athos then

made him a sign to take up his basket and to walk on first.

Grimaud obeyed. All that Grimaud gained by this momentary

pantomime was to pass from the rear guard to the vanguard.

Arrived at the bastion, the four friends turned round.

More than three hundred soldiers of all kinds were assembled

at the gate of the camp; and in a separate group might be

distinguished M. de Busigny, the dragoon, the Swiss, and the

fourth bettor.

Athos took off his hat, placed it on the end of his sword,

and waved it in the air.

All the spectators returned him his salute, accompanying

this courtesy with a loud hurrah which was audible to the

four; after which all four disappeared in the bastion,

whither Grimaud had preceded them.

47 THE COUNCIL OF THE MUSKETEERS

As Athos had foreseen, the bastion was only occupied by a

dozen corpses, French and Rochellais.

"Gentlemen," said Athos, who had assumed the command of the

expedition, "while Grimaud spreads the table, let us begin

by collecting the guns and cartridges together. We can talk

while performing that necessary task. These gentlemen,"

added he, pointing to the bodies, "cannot hear us."

"But we could throw them into the ditch," said Porthos,

"after having assured ourselves they have nothing in their

pockets."

"Yes," said Athos, "that's Grimaud's business."

"Well, then," cried d'Artagnan, "pray let Grimaud search

them and throw them over the walls."

"Heaven forfend!" said Athos; "they may serve us."

"These bodies serve us?" said Porthos. "You are mad, dear

friend."

"Judge not rashly, say the gospel and the cardinal," replied

Athos. "How many guns, gentlemen?"

"Twelve," replied Aramis.

"How many shots?"

"A hundred."

"That's quite as many as we shall want. Let us load the

guns."

The four Musketeers went to work; and as they were loading

the last musket Grimaud announced that the breakfast was

ready.

Athos replied, always by gestures, that that was well, and

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indicated to Grimaud, by pointing to a turret that resembled

a pepper caster, that he was to stand as sentinel. Only, to

alleviate the tediousness of the duty, Athos allowed him to

take a loaf, two cutlets, and a bottle of wine.

"And now to table," said Athos.

The four friends seated themselves on the ground with their

legs crossed like Turks, or even tailors.

"And now," said d'Artagnan, "as there is no longer any fear

of being overheard, I hope you are going to let me into your

secret."

"I hope at the same time to procure you amusement and glory,

gentlemen," said Athos. "I have induced you to take a

charming promenade; here is a delicious breakfast; and

yonder are five hundred persons, as you may see through the

loopholes, taking us for heroes or madmen--two classes of

imbeciles greatly resembling each other."

"But the secret!" said d'Artagnan.

"The secret is," said Athos, "that I saw Milady last night."

D'Artagnan was lifting a glass to his lips; but at the name

of Milady, his hand trembled so, that he was obliged to put

the glass on the ground again for fear of spilling the

contents."

"You saw your wi--"

"Hush!" interrupted Athos. "You forget, my dear, you forget

that these gentlemen are not initiated into my family

affairs like yourself. I have seen Milady."

"Where?" demanded d'Artagnan.

"Within two leagues of this place, at the inn of the Red

Dovecot."

"In that case I am lost," said d'Artagnan.

"Not so bad yet," replied Athos; "for by this time she must

have quit the shores of France."

D'Artagnan breathed again.

"But after all," asked Porthos, "who is Milady?"

"A charming woman!" said Athos, sipping a glass of sparkling

wine. "Villainous host!" cried he, "he has given us Anjou

wine instead of champagne, and fancies we know no better!

Yes," continued he, "a charming woman, who entertained kind

views toward our friend d'Artagnan, who, on his part, has

given her some offense for which she tried to revenge

herself a month ago by having him killed by two musket

shots, a week ago by trying to poison him, and yesterday by

demanding his head of the cardinal."

"What! by demanding my head of the cardinal?" cried

d'Artagnan, pale with terror.

"Yes, that is true as the Gospel," said Porthos; "I heard

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her with my own ears."

"I also," said Aramis.

"Then," said d'Artagnan, letting his arm fall with

discouragement, "it is useless to struggle longer. I may as

well blow my brains out, and all will be over."

"That's the last folly to be committed," said Athos, "seeing

it is the only one for which there is no remedy."

"But I can never escape," said d'Artagnan, "with such

enemies. First, my stranger of Meung; then de Wardes, to

whom I have given three sword wounds; next Milady, whose

secret I have discovered; finally, the cardinal, whose

vengeance I have balked."

"Well," said Athos, "that only makes four; and we are

four--one for one. Pardieu! if we may believe the signs

Grimaud is making, we are about to have to do with a very

different number of people. What is it, Grimaud?

Considering the gravity of the occasion, I permit you to

speak, my friend; but be laconic, I beg. What do you see?"

"A troop."

"Of how many persons?"

"Twenty men."

"What sort of men?"

"Sixteen pioneers, four soldiers."

"How far distant?"

"Five hundred paces."

"Good! We have just time to finish this fowl and to drink

one glass of wine to your health, d'Artagnan."

"To your health!" repeated Porthos and Aramis.

"Well, then, to my health! although I am very much afraid

that your good wishes will not be of great service to me."

"Bah!" said Athos, "God is great, as say the followers of

Mohammed, and the future is in his hands."

Then, swallowing the contents of his glass, which he put

down close to him, Athos arose carelessly, took the musket

next to him, and drew near to one of the loopholes.

Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan followed his example. As to

Grimaud, he received orders to place himself behind the four

friends in order to reload their weapons.

"Pardieu!" said Athos, "it was hardly worth while to

distribute ourselves for twenty fellows armed with pickaxes,

mattocks, and shovels. Grimaud had only to make them a sign

to go away, and I am convinced they would have left us in

peace."

"I doubt that," replied d'Artagnan, "for they are advancing

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very resolutely. Besides, in addition to the pioneers,

there are four soldiers and a brigadier, armed with

muskets."

"That's because they don't see us," said Athos.

"My faith," said Aramis, "I must confess I feel a great

repugnance to fire on these poor devils of civilians."

"He is a bad priest," said Porthos, "who has pity for

heretics."

"In truth," said Athos, "Aramis is right. I will warn

them."

"What the devil are you going to do?" cried d'Artagnan, "you

will be shot."

But Athos heeded not his advice. Mounting on the breach,

with his musket in one hand and his hat in the other, he

said, bowing courteously and addressing the soldiers and the

pioneers, who, astonished at this apparition, stopped fifty

paces from the bastion: "Gentlemen, a few friends and

myself are about to breakfast in this bastion. Now, you

know nothing is more disagreeable than being disturbed when

one is at breakfast. We request you, then, if you really

have business here, to wait till we have finished or repast,

or to come again a short time hence, unless; unless, which

would be far better, you form the salutary resolution to

quit the side of the rebels, and come and drink with us to

the health of the King of France."

"Take care, Athos!" cried d'Artagnan; "don't you see they

are aiming?"

"Yes, yes," said Athos; "but they are only civilians--very

bad marksmen, who will be sure not to hit me."

In fact, at the same instant four shots were fired, and the

balls were flattened against the wall around Athos, but not

one touched him.

Four shots replied to them almost instantaneously, but much

better aimed than those of the aggressors; three soldiers

fell dead, and one of the pioneers was wounded.

"Grimaud," said Athos, still on the breach, "another

musket!"

Grimaud immediately obeyed. On their part, the three

friends had reloaded their arms; a second discharge followed

the first. The brigadier and two pioneers fell dead; the

rest of the troop took to flight.

"Now, gentlemen, a sortie!" cried Athos.

And the four friends rushed out of the fort, gained the

field of battle, picked up the four muskets of the privates

and the half-pike of the brigadier, and convinced that the

fugitives would not stop till they reached the city, turned

again toward the bastion, bearing with them the trophies of

their victory.

"Reload the muskets, Grimaud," said Athos, "and we,

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gentlemen, will go on with our breakfast, and resume our

conversation. Where were we?"

"I recollect you were saying," said d'Artagnan, "that after

having demanded my head of the cardinal, Milady had quit the

shores of France. Whither goes she?" added he, strongly

interested in the route Milady followed.

"She goes into England," said Athos.

"With what view?"

"With the view of assassinating, or causing to be

assassinated, the Duke of Buckingham."

D'Artagnan uttered an exclamation of surprise and

indignation.

"But this is infamous!" cried he.

"As to that," said Athos, "I beg you to believe that I care

very little about it. Now you have done, Grimaud, take our

brigadier's half-pike, tie a napkin to it, and plant it on

top of our bastion, that these rebels of Rochellais may see

that they have to deal with brave and loyal soldiers of the

king."

Grimaud obeyed without replying. An instant afterward, the

white flag was floating over the heads of the four friends.

A thunder of applause saluted its appearance; half the camp

was at the barrier.

"How?" replied d'Artagnan, "you care little if she kills

Buckingham or causes him to be killed? But the duke is our

friend."

"The duke is English; the duke fights against us. Let her

do what she likes with the duke; I care no more about him

than an empty bottle." And Athos threw fifteen paces from

him an empty bottle from which he had poured the last drop

into his glass.

"A moment," said d'Artagnan. "I will not abandon Buckingham

thus. He gave us some very fine horses."

"And moreover, very handsome saddles," said Porthos, who at

the moment wore on his cloak the lace of his own.

"Besides," said Aramis, "God desires the conversion and not

the death of a sinner."

"Amen!" said Athos, "and we will return to that subject

later, if such be your pleasure; but what for the moment

engaged my attention most earnestly, and I am sure you will

understand me, d'Artagnan, was the getting from this woman a

kind of carte blanche which she had extorted from the

cardinal, and by means of which she could with impunity get

rid of you and perhaps of us."

"But this creature must be a demon!" said Porthos, holding

out his plate to Aramis, who was cutting up a fowl.

"And this carte blanche," said d'Artagnan, "this carte

blanche, does it remain in her hands?"

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"No, it passed into mine; I will not say without trouble,

for if I did I should tell a lie."

"My dear Athos, I shall no longer count the number of times

I am indebted to you for my life."

"Then it was to go to her that you left us?" said Aramis.

"Exactly."

"And you have that letter of the cardinal?" said d'Artagnan.

"Here it is," said Athos; and he took the invaluable paper

from the pocket of his uniform. D'Artagnan unfolded it with

one hand, whose trembling he did not even attempt to

conceal, to read:

Dec. 3, 1627

It is by my order and for the good of the state that the

bearer of this has done what he has done.

"Richelieu"

"In fact," said Aramis, "it is an absolution according to rule."

"That paper must be torn to pieces," said d'Artagnan, who

fancied he read in it his sentence of death.

"On the contrary," said Athos, "it must be preserved

carefully. I would not give up this paper if covered with

as many gold pieces."

"And what will she do now?" asked the young man.

"Why," replied Athos, carelessly, "she is probably going to

write to the cardinal that a damned Musketeer, named Athos,

has taken her safe-conduct from her by force; she will

advise him in the same letter to get rid of his two friends,

Aramis and Porthos, at the same time. The cardinal will

remember that these are the same men who have often crossed

his path; and then some fine morning he will arrest

d'Artagnan, and for fear he should feel lonely, he will send

us to keep him company in the Bastille."

"Go to! It appears to me you make dull jokes, my dear,"

said Porthos.

"I do not jest," said Athos.

"Do you know," said Porthos, "that to twist that damned

Milady's neck would be a smaller sin than to twist those of

these poor devils of Huguenots, who have committed no other

crime than singing in French the psalms we sing in Latin?"

"What says the abbe?" asked Athos, quietly.

"I say I am entirely of Porthos's opinion," replied Aramis.

"And I, too," said d'Artagnan.

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"Fortunately, she is far off," said Porthos, "for I confess

she would worry me if she were here."

"She worries me in England as well as in France," said

Athos.

"She worries me everywhere," said d'Artagnan.

"But when you held her in your power, why did you not drown

her, strangle her, hang her?" said Porthos. "It is only the

dead who do not return."

"You think so, Porthos?" replied the Musketeer, with a sad

smile which d'Artagnan alone understood.

"I have an idea," said d'Artagnan.

"What is it?" said the Musketeers.

"To arms!" cried Grimaud.

The young men sprang up, and seized their muskets.

This time a small troop advanced, consisting of from twenty

to twenty-five men; but they were not pioneers, they were

soldiers of the garrison.

"Shall we return to the camp?" said Porthos. "I don't think

the sides are equal."

"Impossible, for three reasons," replied Athos. "The first,

that we have not finished breakfast; the second, that we

still have some very important things to say; and the third,

that it yet wants ten minutes before the lapse of the hour."

"Well, then," said Aramis, "we must form a plan of battle."

"That's very simple," replied Athos. "As soon as the enemy

are within musket shot, we must fire upon them. If they

continue to advance, we must fire again. We must fire as

long as we have loaded guns. If those who remain of the

troop persist in coming to the assault, we will allow the

besiegers to get as far as the ditch, and then we will push

down upon their heads that strip of wall which keeps its

perpendicular by a miracle."

"Bravo!" cried Porthos. "Decidedly, Athos, you were born to

be a general, and the cardinal, who fancies himself a great

soldier, is nothing beside you."

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "no divided attention, I beg; let

each one pick out his man."

"I cover mine," said d'Artagnan.

"And I mine," said Porthos.

"And I mine," said Aramis.

"Fire, then," said Athos.

The four muskets made but one report, but four men fell.

The drum immediately beat, and the little troop advanced at

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charging pace.

Then the shots were repeated without regularity, but always

aimed with the same accuracy. Nevertheless, as if they had

been aware of the numerical weakness of the friends, the

Rochellais continued to advance in quick time.

With every three shots at least two men fell; but the march

of those who remained was not slackened.

Arrived at the foot of the bastion, there were still more

than a dozen of the enemy. A last discharge welcomed them,

but did not stop them; they jumped into the ditch, and

prepared to scale the breach.

"Now, my friends," said Athos, "finish them at a blow. To

the wall; to the wall!"

And the four friends, seconded by Grimaud, pushed with the

barrels of their muskets an enormous sheet of the wall,

which bent as if pushed by the wind, and detaching itself

from its base, fell with a horrible crash into the ditch.

Then a fearful crash was heard; a cloud of dust mounted

toward the sky--and all was over!

"Can we have destroyed them all, from the first to the

last?" said Athos.

"My faith, it appears so!" said d'Artagnan.

"No," cried Porthos; "there go three or four, limping away."

In fact, three or four of these unfortunate men, covered

with dirt and blood, fled along the hollow way, and at

length regained the city. These were all who were left of

the little troop.

Athos looked at his watch.

"Gentlemen," said he, "we have been here an hour, and our

wager is won; but we will be fair players. Besides,

d'Artagnan has not told us his idea yet."

And the Musketeer, with his usual coolness, reseated himself

before the remains of the breakfast.

"My idea?" said d'Artagnan.

"Yes; you said you had an idea," said Athos.

"Oh, I remember," said d'Artagnan. "Well, I will go to

England a second time; I will go and find Buckingham."

"You shall not do that, d'Artagnan," said Athos, coolly.

"And why not? Have I not been there once?"

"Yes; but at that period we were not at war. At that period

Buckingham was an ally, and not an enemy. What you would

now do amounts to treason."

D'Artagnan perceived the force of this reasoning, and was

silent.

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"But," said Porthos, "I think I have an idea, in my turn."

"Silence for Monsieur Porthos's idea!" said Aramis.

"I will ask leave of absence of Monsieur de Treville, on

some pretext or other which you must invent; I am not very

clever at pretexts. Milady does not know me; I will get

access to her without her suspecting me, and when I catch my

beauty, I will strangle her."

"Well," replied Athos, "I am not far from approving the idea

of Monsieur Porthos."

"For shame!" said Aramis. "Kill a woman? No, listen to me;

I have the true idea."

"Let us see your idea, Aramis," said Athos, who felt much

deference for the young Musketeer.

"We must inform the queen."

"Ah, my faith, yes!" said Porthos and d'Artagnan, at the

same time; "we are coming nearer to it now."

"Inform the queen!" said Athos; "and how? Have we relations

with the court? Could we send anyone to Paris without its

being known in the camp? From here to Paris it is a hundred

and forty leagues; before our letter was at Angers we should

be in a dungeon."

"As to remitting a letter with safety to her Majesty," said

Aramis, coloring, "I will take that upon myself. I know a

clever person at Tours--"

Aramis stopped on seeing Athos smile.

"Well, do you not adopt this means, Athos?" said d'Artagnan.

"I do not reject it altogether," said Athos; "but I wish to

remind Aramis that he cannot quit the camp, and that nobody

but one of ourselves is trustworthy; that two hours after

the messenger has set out, all the Capuchins, all the

police, all the black caps of the cardinal, will know your

letter by heart, and you and your clever person will be

arrested."

"Without reckoning," objected Porthos, "that the queen would

save Monsieur de Buckingham, but would take no heed of us."

"Gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, "what Porthos says is full of

sense."

"Ah, ah! but what's going on in the city yonder?" said

Athos.

"They are beating the general alarm."

The four friends listened, and the sound of the drum plainly

reached them.

"You see, they are going to send a whole regiment against

us," said Athos.

"You don't think of holding out against a whole regiment, do

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you?" said Porthos.

"Why not?" said Musketeer. "I feel myself quite in a humor

for it; and I would hold out before an army if we had taken

the precaution to bring a dozen more bottles of wine."

"Upon my word, the drum draws near," said d'Artagnan.

"Let it come," said Athos. "It is a quarter of an hour's

journey from here to the city, consequently a quarter of an

hour's journey from the city to hither. That is more than

time enough for us to devise a plan. If we go from this

place we shall never find another so suitable. Ah, stop! I

have it, gentlemen; the right idea has just occurred to me."

"Tell us."

"Allow me to give Grimaud some indispensable orders."

Athos made a sign for his lackey to approach.

"Grimaud," said Athos, pointing to the bodies which lay

under the wall of the bastion, "take those gentlemen, set

them up against the wall, put their hats upon their heads,

and their guns in their hands."

"Oh, the great man!" cried d'Artagnan. "I comprehend now."

"You comprehend?" said Porthos.

"And do you comprehend, Grimaud?" said Aramis.

Grimaud made a sign in the affirmative.

"That's all that is necessary," said Athos; "now for my

idea."

"I should like, however, to comprehend," said Porthos.

"That is useless."

"Yes, yes! Athos's idea!" cried Aramis and d'Artagnan, at

the same time.

"This Milady, this woman, this creature, this demon, has a

brother-in-law, as I think you told me, d'Artagnan?"

"Yes, I know him very well; and I also believe that he has

not a very warm affection for his sister-in-law."

"There is no harm in that. If he detested her, it would be

all the better," replied Athos.

"In that case we are as well off as we wish."

"And yet," said Porthos, "I would like to know what Grimaud

is about."

"Silence, Porthos!" said Aramis.

"What is her brother-in-law's name?"

"Lord de Winter."

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"Where is he now?"

"He returned to London at the first sound of war."

"Well, there's just the man we want," said Athos. "It is he

whom we must warn. We will have him informed that his

sister-in-law is on the point of having someone

assassinated, and beg him not to lose sight of her. There

is in London, I hope, some establishment like that of the

Magdalens, or of the Repentant Daughters. He must place his

sister in one of these, and we shall be in peace."

"Yes," said d'Artagnan, "till she comes out."

"Ah, my faith!" said Athos, "you require too much,

d'Artagnan. I have given you all I have, and I beg leave to

tell you that this is the bottom of my sack."

"But I think it would be still better," said Aramis, "to

inform the queen and Lord de Winter at the same time."

"Yes; but who is to carry the letter to Tours, and who to

London?"

"I answer for Bazin," said Aramis.

"And I for Planchet," said d'Artagnan.

"Ay," said Porthos, "if we cannot leave the camp, our

lackeys may."

"To be sure they may; and this very day we will write the

letters," said Aramis. "Give the lackeys money, and they

will start."

"We will give them money?" replied Athos. "Have you any

money?"

The four friends looked at one another, and a cloud came

over the brows which but lately had been so cheerful.

"Look out!" cried d'Artagnan, "I see black points and red

points moving yonder. Why did you talk of a regiment,

Athos? It is a veritable army!"

"My faith, yes," said Athos; "there they are. See the

sneaks come, without drum or trumpet. Ah, ah! have you

finished, Grimaud?"

Grimaud made a sign in the affirmative, and pointed to a

dozen bodies which he had set up in the most picturesque

attitudes. Some carried arms, others seemed to be taking

aim, and the remainder appeared merely to be sword in hand.

"Bravo!" said Athos; "that does honor to your imagination."

"All very well," said Porthos, "but I should like to

understand."

"Let us decamp first, and you will understand afterward."

"A moment, gentlemen, a moment; give Grimaud time to clear

away the breakfast."

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"Ah, ah!" said Aramis, "the black points and the red points

are visibly enlarging. I am of d'Artagnan's opinion; we

have no time to lose in regaining our camp."

"My faith," said Athos, "I have nothing to say against a

retreat. We bet upon one hour, and we have stayed an hour

and a half. Nothing can be said; let us be off, gentlemen,

let us be off!"

Grimaud was already ahead, with the basket and the dessert.

The four friends followed, ten paces behind him.

"What the devil shall we do now, gentlemen?" cried Athos.

"Have you forgotten anything?" said Aramis.

"The white flag, morbleu! We must not leave a flag in the

hands of the enemy, even if that flag be but a napkin."

And Athos ran back to the bastion, mounted the platform, and

bore off the flag; but as the Rochellais had arrived within

musket range, they opened a terrible fire upon this man, who

appeared to expose himself for pleasure's sake.

But Athos might be said to bear a charmed life. The balls

passed and whistled all around him; not one struck him.

Athos waved his flag, turning his back on the guards of the

city, and saluting those of the camp. On both sides loud

cries arose--on the one side cries of anger, on the other

cries of enthusiasm.

A second discharge followed the first, and three balls, by

passing through it, made the napkin really a flag. Cries

were heard from the camp, "Come down! come down!"

Athos came down; his friends, who anxiously awaited him, saw

him returned with joy.

"Come along, Athos, come along!" cried d'Artagnan; "now we

have found everything except money, it would be stupid to be

killed."

But Athos continued to march majestically, whatever remarks

his companions made; and they, finding their remarks

useless, regulated their pace by his.

Grimaud and his basket were far in advance, out of the range

of the balls.

At the end of an instant they heard a furious fusillade.

"What's that?" asked Porthos, "what are they firing at now?

I hear no balls whistle, and I see nobody!"

"They are firing at the corpses," replied Athos.

"But the dead cannot return their fire."

"Certainly not! They will then fancy it is an ambuscade,

they will deliberate; and by the time they have found out

the pleasantry, we shall be out of the range of their balls.

That renders it useless to get a pleurisy by too much

haste."

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"Oh, I comprehend now," said the astonished Porthos.

"That's lucky," said Athos, shrugging his shoulders.

On their part, the French, on seeing the four friends return

at such a step, uttered cries of enthusiasm.

At length a fresh discharge was heard, and this time the

balls came rattling among the stones around the four

friends, and whistling sharply in their ears. The

Rochellais had at last taken possession of the bastion.

"These Rochellais are bungling fellows," said Athos; "how

many have we killed of them--a dozen?"

"Or fifteen."

"How many did we crush under the wall?"

"Eight or ten."

"And in exchange for all that not even a scratch! Ah, but

what is the matter with your hand, d'Artagnan? It bleeds,

seemingly."

"Oh, it's nothing," said d'Artagnan.

"A spent ball?"

"Not even that."

"What is it, then?"

We have said that Athos loved d'Artagnan like a child, and

this somber and inflexible personage felt the anxiety of a

parent for the young man.

"Only grazed a little," replied d'Artagnan; "my fingers were

caught between two stones--that of the wall and that of my

ring--and the skin was broken."

"That comes of wearing diamonds, my master," said Athos,

disdainfully.

"Ah, to be sure," cried Porthos, "there is a diamond. Why

the devil, then, do we plague ourselves about money, when

there is a diamond?"

"Stop a bit!" said Aramis.

"Well thought of, Porthos; this time you have an idea."

"Undoubtedly," said Porthos, drawing himself up at Athos's

compliment; "as there is a diamond, let us sell it."

"But," said d'Artagnan, "it is the queen's diamond."

"The stronger reason why it should be sold," replied Athos.

The queen saving Monsieur de Buckingham, her lover; nothing

more just. The queen saving us, her friends; nothing more

moral. Let us sell the diamond. What says Monsieur the

Abbe? I don't ask Porthos; his opinion has been given."

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"Why, I think," said Aramis, blushing as usual, "that his

ring not coming from a mistress, and consequently not being

a love token, d'Artagnan may sell it."

"My dear Aramis, you speak like theology personified. Your

advice, then, is--"

"To sell the diamond," replied Aramis.

"Well, then," said d'Artagnan, gaily, "let us sell the

diamond, and say no more about it."

The fusillade continued; but the four friends were out of

reach, and the Rochellais only fired to appease their

consciences.

"My faith, it was time that idea came into Porthos's head.

Here we are at the camp; therefore, gentlemen, not a word

more of this affair. We are observed; they are coming to

meet us. We shall be carried in triumph."

In fact, as we have said, the whole camp was in motion.

More than two thousand persons had assisted, as at a

spectacle, in this fortunate but wild undertaking of the

four friends--and undertaking of which they were far from

suspecting the real motive. Nothing was heard but cried of

"Live the Musketeers! Live the Guards!" M. de Busigny was

the first to come and shake Athos by the hand, and

acknowledge that the wager was lost. The dragoon and the

Swiss followed him, and all their comrades followed the

dragoon and the Swiss. There was nothing but felicitations,

pressures of the hand, and embraces; there was no end to the

inextinguishable laughter at the Rochellais. The tumult at

length became so great that the cardinal fancied there must

be some riot, and sent La Houdiniere, his captain of the

Guards, to inquire what was going on.

The affair was described to the messenger with all the

effervescence of enthusiasm.

"Well?" asked the cardinal, on seeing La Houdiniere return.

"Well, monseigneur," replied the latter, "three Musketeers

and a Guardsman laid a wager with Monsieur de Busigny that

they would go and breakfast in the bastion St. Gervais; and

while breakfasting they held it for two hours against the

enemy, and have killed I don't know how many Rochellais."

"Did you inquire the names of those three Musketeers?"

"Yes, monseigneur."

"What are their names?"

"Messieurs Athos, Porthos, and Aramis."

"Still my three brave fellows!" murmured the cardinal. "And

the Guardsman?"

"d'Artagnan."

"Still my young scapegrace. Positively, these four men must

be on my side."

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The same evening the cardinal spoke to M. de Treville of the

exploit of the morning, which was the talk of the whole

camp. M. de Treville, who had received the account of the

adventure from the mouths of the heroes of it, related it in

all its details to his Eminence, not forgetting the episode

of the napkin.

"That's well, Monsieur de Treville," said the cardinal;

"pray let that napkin be sent to me. I will have three

fleur-de-lis embroidered on it in gold, and will give it to

your company as a standard."

"Monseigneur," said M. de Treville, "that will be unjust to

the Guardsmen. Monsieur d'Artagnan is not with me; he

serves under Monsieur Dessessart."

"Well, then, take him," said the cardinal; "when four men

are so much attached to one another, it is only fair that

they should serve in the same company."

That same evening M. de Treville announced this good news to

the three Musketeers and d'Artagnan, inviting all four to

breakfast with him next morning.

D'Artagnan was beside himself with joy. We know that the

dream of his life had been to become a Musketeer. The three

friends were likewise greatly delighted.

"My faith," said d'Artagnan to Athos, "you had a triumphant

idea! As you said, we have acquired glory, and were enabled

to carry on a conversation of the highest importance."

"Which we can resume now without anybody suspecting us, for,

with the help of God, we shall henceforth pass for

cardinalists."

That evening d'Artagnan went to present his respects to M.

Dessessart, and inform him of his promotion.

M. Dessessart, who esteemed d'Artagnan, made him offers of

help, as this change would entail expenses for equipment.

D'Artagnan refused; but thinking the opportunity a good one, he

begged him to have the diamond he put into his hand valued,

as he wished to turn it into money.

The next day, M. Dessessart's valet came to d'Artagnan's

lodging, and gave him a bag containing seven thousand

livres.

This was the price of the queen's diamond.

48 A FAMILY AFFAIR

Athos had invented the phrase, family affair. A family

affair was not subject to the investigation of the cardinal;

a family affair concerned nobody. People might employ

themselves in a family affair before all the world.

Therefore Athos had invented the phrase, family affair.

Aramis had discovered the idea, the lackeys.

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Porthos had discovered the means, the diamond.

D'Artagnan alone had discovered nothing--he, ordinarily the

most inventive of the four; but it must be also said that

the very name of Milady paralyzed him.

Ah! no, we were mistaken; he had discovered a purchaser for

his diamond.

The breakfast at M. de Treville's was as gay and cheerful as

possible. D'Artagnan already wore his uniform--for being

nearly of the same size as Aramis, and as Aramis was so

liberally paid by the publisher who purchased his poem as to

allow him to buy everything double, he sold his friend a

complete outfit.

D'Artagnan would have been at the height of his wishes if he

had not constantly seen Milady like a dark cloud hovering in

the horizon.

After breakfast, it was agreed that they should meet again

in the evening at Athos's lodging, and there finish their

plans.

D'Artagnan passed the day in exhibiting his Musketeer's

uniform in every street of the camp.

In the evening, at the appointed hour, the four friends met.

There only remained three things to decide--what they

should write to Milady's brother; what they should write to

the clever person at Tours; and which should be the lackeys

to carry the letters.

Everyone offered his own. Athos talked of the discretion of

Grimaud, who never spoke a word but when his master unlocked

his mouth. Porthos boasted of the strength of Mousqueton,

who was big enough to thrash four men of ordinary size.

Aramis, confiding in the address of Bazin, made a pompous

eulogium on his candidate. Finally, d'Artagnan had entire

faith in the bravery of Planchet, and reminded them of the

manner in which he had conducted himself in the ticklish

affair of Boulogne.

These four virtues disputed the prize for a length of time,

and gave birth to magnificent speeches which we do not

repeat here for fear they should be deemed too long.

"Unfortunately," said Athos, "he whom we send must possess

in himself alone the four qualities united."

"But where is such a lackey to be found?"

"Not to be found!" cried Athos. "I know it well, so take

Grimaud."

"Take Mousqueton."

"Take Bazin."

"Take Planchet. Planchet is brave and shrewd; they are two

qualities out of the four."

"Gentlemen," said Aramis, "the principal question is not to

know which of our four lackeys is the most discreet, the

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most strong, the most clever, or the most brave; the

principal thing is to know which loves money the best."

"What Aramis says is very sensible," replied Athos; "we must

speculate upon the faults of people, and not upon their

virtues. Monsieur Abbe, you are a great moralist."

"Doubtless," said Aramis, "for we not only require to be

well served in order to succeed, but moreover, not to fail;

for in case of failure, heads are in question, not for our

lackeys--"

"Speak lower, Aramis," said Athos.

"That's wise--not for the lackeys," resumed Aramis, "but for

the master--for the masters, we may say. Are our lackeys

sufficiently devoted to us to risk their lives for us? No."

"My faith," said d'Artagnan. "I would almost answer for

Planchet."

"Well, my dear friend, add to his natural devotedness a good

sum of money, and then, instead of answering for him once,

answer for him twice."

"Why, good God! you will be deceived just the same," said

Athos, who was an optimist when things were concerned, and a

pessimist when men were in question. "They will promise

everything for the sake of the money, and on the road fear

will prevent them from acting. Once taken, they will be

pressed; when pressed, they will confess everything. What

the devil! we are not children. To reach England"--Athos

lowered his voice--"all France, covered with spies and

creatures of the cardinal, must be crossed. A passport for

embarkation must be obtained; and the party must be

acquainted with English in order to ask the way to London.

Really, I think the thing very difficult."

"Not at all," cried d'Artagnan, who was anxious the matter

should be accomplished; "on the contrary, I think it very

easy. It would be, no doubt, parbleu, if we write to Lord

de Winter about affairs of vast importance, of the horrors

of the cardinal--"

"Speak lower!" said Athos.

"--of intrigues and secrets of state," continued d'Artagnan,

complying with the recommendation. "there can be no doubt

we would all be broken on the wheel; but for God's sake, do

not forget, as you yourself said, Athos, that we only write

to him concerning a family affair; that we only write to him

to entreat that as soon as Milady arrives in London he will

put it out of her power to injure us. I will write to him,

then, nearly in these terms."

"Let us see," said Athos, assuming in advance a critical

look.

"Monsieur and dear friend--"

"Ah, yes! Dear friend to an Englishman," interrupted Athos;

"well commenced! Bravo, d'Artagnan! Only with that word

you would be quartered instead of being broken on the

wheel."

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"Well, perhaps. I will say, then, Monsieur, quite short."

"You may even say, My Lord," replied Athos, who stickled for

propriety.

"My Lord, do you remember the little goat pasture of the

Luxembourg?"

"Good, the Luxembourg! One might believe this is an

allusion to the queen-mother! That's ingenious," said

Athos.

"Well, then, we will put simply, My Lord, do you remember a

certain little enclosure where your life was spared?"

"My dear d'Artagnan, you will never make anything but a very

bad secretary. Where your life was spared! For shame!

that's unworthy. A man of spirit is not to be reminded of

such services. A benefit reproached is an offense

committed."

"The devil!" said d'Artagnan, "you are insupportable. If

the letter must be written under your censure, my faith, I

renounce the task."

"And you will do right. Handle the musket and the sword, my

dear fellow. You will come off splendidly at those two

exercises; but pass the pen over to Monsieur Abbe. That's

his province."

"Ay, ay!" said Porthos; "pass the pen to Aramis, who writes

theses in Latin."

"Well, so be it," said d'Artagnan. "Draw up this note for

us, Aramis; but by our Holy Father the Pope, cut it short,

for I shall prune you in my turn, I warn you."

"I ask no better," said Aramis, with that ingenious air of

confidence which every poet has in himself; "but let me be

properly acquainted with the subject. I have heard here and

there that this sister-in-law was a hussy. I have obtained

proof of it by listening to her conversation with the

cardinal."

"Lower! SACRE BLEU!" said Athos.

"But," continued Aramis, "the details escape me."

"And me also," said Porthos.

D'Artagnan and Athos looked at each other for some time in

silence. At length Athos, after serious reflection and

becoming more pale than usual, made a sign of assent to

d'Artagnan, who by it understood he was at liberty to speak.

"Well, this is what you have to say," said d'Artagnan: "My

Lord, your sister-in-law is an infamous woman, who wished to

have you killed that she might inherit your wealth; but she

could not marry your brother, being already married in

France, and having been--" d'Artagnan stopped, as if

seeking for the word, and looked at Athos.

"Repudiated by her husband," said Athos.

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"Because she had been branded," continued d'Artagnan.

"Bah!" cried Porthos. "Impossible! What do you say--that

she wanted to have her brother-in-law killed?"

"Yes."

"She was married?" asked Aramis.

"Yes."

"And her husband found out that she had a fleur-de-lis on

her shoulder?" cried Porthos.

"Yes."

These three yeses had been pronounced by Athos, each with a

sadder intonation.

"And who has seen this fleur-de-lis?" inquired Aramis.

"d'Artagnan and I. Or rather, to observe the chronological

order, I and d'Artagnan," replied Athos.

"And does the husband of this frightful creature still

live?" said Aramis.

"He still lives."

"Are you quite sure of it?"

"I am he."

There was a moment of cold silence, during which everyone

was affected according to his nature.

"This time," said Athos, first breaking the silence,

"d'Artagnan has given us an excellent program, and the

letter must be written at once."

"The devil! You are right, Athos," said Aramis; "and it is

a rather difficult matter. The chancellor himself would be

puzzled how to write such a letter, and yet the chancellor

draws up an official report very readily. Never mind! Be

silent, I will write."

Aramis accordingly took the quill, reflected for a few

moments, wrote eight or ten lines in a charming little

female hand, and then with a voice soft and slow, as if each

word had been scrupulously weighed, he read the following:

"My Lord, The person who writes these few lines had the

honor of crossing swords with you in the little enclosure of

the Rue d'Enfer. As you have several times since declared

yourself the friend of that person, he thinks it his duty to

respond to that friendship by sending you important

information. Twice you have nearly been the victim of a near relative,

whom you believe to be your heir because you

are ignorant that before she contracted a marriage in

England she was already married in France. But the third

time, which is the present, you may succumb. Your relative

left La Rochelle for England during the night. Watch her

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arrival, for she has great and terrible projects. If you

require to know positively what she is capable of, read her

past history on her left shoulder."

"Well, now that will do wonderfully well," said Athos. "My

dear Aramis, you have the pen of a secretary of state. Lord

de Winter will now be upon his guard if the letter should

reach him; and even if it should fall into the hands of the

cardinal, we shall not be compromised. But as the lackey

who goes may make us believe he has been to London and may

stop at Chatellerault, let us give him only half the sum

promised him, with the letter, with an agreement that he

shall have the other half in exchange for the reply. Have

you the diamond?" continued Athos.

"I have what is still better. I have the price"; and

d'Artagnan threw the bag upon the table. At the sound of

the gold Aramis raised his eyes and Porthos started. As to

Athos, he remained unmoved.

"How much in that little bag?"

"Seven thousand livres, in louis of twelve francs."

"Seven thousand livres!" cried Porthos. "That poor little

diamond was worth seven thousand livres?"

"It appears so," said Athos, "since here they are. I don't

suppose that our friend d'Artagnan has added any of his own

to the amount."

"But, gentlemen, in all this," said d'Artagnan, "we do not

think of the queen. Let us take some heed of the welfare of

her dear Buckingham. That is the least we owe her."

"That's true," said Athos; "but that concerns Aramis."

"Well," replied the latter, blushing, "what must I say?"

"Oh, that's simple enough!" replied Athos. "Write a second

letter for that clever personage who lives at Tours."

Aramis resumed his pen, reflected a little, and wrote the

following lines, which he immediately submitted to the

approbation of his friends.

"My dear cousin."

"Ah, ah!" said Athos. "This clever person is your relative,

then?"

"Cousin-german."

"Go on, to your cousin, then!"

Aramis continued:

"My dear Cousin, His Eminence, the cardinal, whom God

preserve for the happiness of France and the confusion of

the enemies of the kingdom, is on the point of putting an

end to the hectic rebellion of La Rochelle. It is probable

that the succor of the English fleet will never even arrive

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in sight of the place. I will even venture to say that I am

certain M. de Buckingham will be prevented from setting out

by some great event. His Eminence is the most illustrious

politician of times past, of times present, and probably of

times to come. He would extinguish the sun if the sun

incommoded him. Give these happy tidings to your sister, my

dear cousin. I have dreamed that the unlucky Englishman was

dead. I cannot recollect whether it was by steel or by

poison; only of this I am sure, I have dreamed he was dead,

and you know my dreams never deceive me. Be assured, then,

of seeing me soon return."

"Capital!" cried Athos; "you are the king of poets, my dear

Aramis. You speak like the Apocalypse, and you are as true

as the Gospel. There is nothing now to do but to put the

address to this letter."

"That is easily done," said Aramis.

He folded the letter fancifully, and took up his pen and

wrote:

"To Mlle. Michon, seamstress, Tours."

The three friends looked at one another and laughed; they

were caught.

"Now," said Aramis, "you will please to understand,

gentlemen, that Bazin alone can carry this letter to Tours.

My cousin knows nobody but Bazin, and places confidence in

nobody but him; any other person would fail. Besides, Bazin

is ambitious and learned; Bazin has read history, gentlemen,

he knows that Sixtus the Fifth became Pope after having kept

pigs. Well, as he means to enter the Church at the same

time as myself, he does not despair of becoming Pope in his

turn, or at least a cardinal. You can understand that a man

who has such views will never allow himself to be taken, or

if taken, will undergo martyrdom rather than speak."

"Very well," said d'Artagnan, "I consent to Bazin with all

my heart, but grant me Planchet. Milady had him one day

turned out of doors, with sundry blows of a good stick to

accelerate his motions. Now, Planchet has an excellent

memory; and I will be bound that sooner than relinquish any

possible means of vengeance, he will allow himself to be

beaten to death. If your arrangements at Tours are your

arrangements, Aramis, those of London are mine. I request,

then, that Planchet may be chosen, more particularly as he

has already been to London with me, and knows how to speak

correctly: London, sir, if you please, and my master, Lord

d'Artagnan. With that you may be satisfied he can make his

way, both going and returning."

"In that case," said Athos, "Planchet must receive seven

hundred livres for going, and seven hundred livres for

coming back; and Bazin, three hundred livres for going, and

three hundred livres for returning--that will reduce the sum

to five thousand livres. We will each take a thousand

livres to be employed as seems good, and we will leave a

fund of a thousand livres under the guardianship of Monsieur

Abbe here, for extraordinary occasions or common wants.

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Will that do?"

"My dear Athos," said Aramis, "you speak like Nestor, who

was, as everyone knows, the wisest among the Greeks."

"Well, then," said Athos, "it is agreed. Planchet and Bazin

shall go. Everything considered, I am not sorry to retain

Grimaud; he is accustomed to my ways, and I am particular.

Yesterday's affair must have shaken him a little; his voyage

would upset him quite."

Planchet was sent for, and instructions were given him. The

matter had been named to him by d'Artagnan, who in the first

place pointed out the money to him, then the glory, and then

the danger.

"I will carry the letter in the lining of my coat," said

Planchet; "and if I am taken I will swallow it."

"Well, but then you will not be able to fulfill your

commission," said d'Artagnan.

"You will give me a copy this evening, which I shall know by

heart tomorrow."

D'Artagnan looked at his friends, as if to say, "Well, what

did I tell you?"

"Now," continued he, addressing Planchet, "you have eight

days to get an interview with Lord de Winter; you have eight

days to return--in all sixteen days. If, on the sixteenth

day after your departure, at eight o'clock in the evening

you are not here, no money--even if it be but five minutes

past eight."

"Then, monsieur," said Planchet, "you must buy me a watch."

"Take this," said Athos, with his usual careless generosity,

giving him his own, "and be a good lad. Remember, if you

talk, if you babble, if you get drunk, you risk your

master's head, who has so much confidence in your fidelity,

and who answers for you. But remember, also, that if by

your fault any evil happens to d'Artagnan, I will find you,

wherever you may be, for the purpose of ripping up your

belly."

"Oh, monsieur!" said Planchet, humiliated by the suspicion,

and moreover, terrified at the calm air of the Musketeer.

"And I," said Porthos, rolling his large eyes, "remember, I

will skin you alive."

"Ah, monsieur!"

"And I," said Aramis, with his soft, melodius voice,

"remember that I will roast you at a slow fire, like a

savage."

"Ah, monsieur!"

Planchet began to weep. We will not venture to say whether

it was from terror created by the threats or from tenderness

at seeing four friends so closely united.

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D'Artagnan took his hand. "See, Planchet," said he, "these

gentlemen only say this out of affection for me, but at

bottom they all like you."

"Ah, monsieur," said Planchet, "I will succeed or I will

consent to be cut in quarters; and if they do cut me in

quarters, be assured that not a morsel of me will speak."

It was decided that Planchet should set out the next day, at

eight o'clock in the morning, in order, as he had said, that

he might during the night learn the letter by heart. He

gained just twelve hours by this engagement; he was to be

back on the sixteenth day, by eight o'clock in the evening.

In the morning, as he was mounting his horse, d'Artagnan,

who felt at the bottom of his heart a partiality for the

duke, took Planchet aside.

"Listen," said he to him. "When you have given the letter

to Lord de Winter and he has read it, you will further say

to him: Watch over his Grace Lord Buckingham, for they wish

to assassinate him. But this, Planchet, is so serious and

important that I have not informed my friends that I would

entrust this secret to you; and for a captain's commission I

would not write it."

"Be satisfied, monsieur," said Planchet, "you shall see if

confidence can be placed in me."

Mounted on an excellent horse, which he was to leave at the

end of twenty leagues in order to take the post, Planchet

set off at a gallop, his spirits a little depressed by the

triple promise made him by the Musketeers, but otherwise as

light-hearted as possible.

Bazin set out the next day for Tours, and was allowed eight

days for performing his commission.

The four friends, during the period of these two absences,

had, as may well be supposed, the eye on the watch, the nose

to the wind, and the ear on the hark. Their days were

passed in endeavoring to catch all that was said, in

observing the proceeding of the cardinal, and in looking out

for all the couriers who arrived. More than once an

involuntary trembling seized them when called upon for some

unexpected service. They had, besides, to look constantly

to their own proper safety; Milady was a phantom which, when

it had once appeared to people, did not allow them to sleep

very quietly.

On the morning of the eighth day, Bazin, fresh as ever, and

smiling, according to custom, entered the cabaret of the

Parpaillot as the four friends were sitting down to

breakfast, saying, as had been agreed upon: "Monsieur

Aramis, the answer from your cousin."

The four friends exchanged a joyful glance; half of the work

was done. It is true, however, that it was the shorter and

easier part.

Aramis, blushing in spite of himself, took the letter, which

was in a large, coarse hand and not particular for its

orthography.

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"Good God!" cried he, laughing, "I quite despair of my poor

Michon; she will never write like Monsieur de Voiture."

"What does you mean by boor Michon?" said the Swiss, who was

chatting with the four friends when the letter came.

"Oh, pardieu, less than nothing," said Aramis; "a charming

little seamstress, whom I love dearly and from whose hand I

requested a few lines as a sort of keepsake."

"The duvil!" said the Swiss, "if she is as great a lady as

her writing is large, you are a lucky fellow, gomrade!"

Aramis read the letter, and passed it to Athos.

"See what she writes to me, Athos," said he.

Athos cast a glance over the epistle, and to disperse all

the suspicions that might have been created, read aloud:

"My cousin, My sister and I are skillful in interpreting

dreams, and even entertain great fear of them; but of yours

it may be said, I hope, every dream is an illusion. Adieu!

Take care of yourself, and act so that we may from time to

time hear you spoken of.

"Marie Michon"

"And what dream does she mean?" asked the dragoon, who had

approached during the reading.

"Yez; what's the dream?" said the Swiss.

"Well, pardieu!" said Aramis, "it was only this: I had a

dream, and I related it to her."

"Yez, yez," said the Swiss; "it's simple enough to dell a

dream, but I neffer dream."

"You are very fortunate," said Athos, rising; "I wish I

could say as much!"

"Neffer," replied the Swiss, enchanted that a man like Athos

could envy him anything. "Neffer, neffer!"

D'Artagnan, seeing Athos rise, did likewise, took his arm,

and went out.

Porthos and Aramis remained behind to encounter the jokes of

the dragoon and the Swiss.

As to Bazin, he went and lay down on a truss of straw; and

as he had more imagination than the Swiss, he dreamed that

Aramis, having become pope, adorned his head with a

cardinal's hat.

But, as we have said, Bazin had not, by his fortunate

return, removed more than a part of the uneasiness which

weighed upon the four friends. The days of expectation are

long, and d'Artagnan, in particular, would have wagered that

the days were forty-four hours. He forgot the necessary

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slowness of navigation; he exaggerated to himself the power

of Milady. He credited this woman, who appeared to him the

equal of a demon, with agents as supernatural as herself; at

the least noise, he imagined himself about to be arrested,

and that Planchet was being brought back to be confronted

with himself and his friends. Still further, his confidence

in the worthy Picard, at one time so great, diminished day

by day. This anxiety became so great that it even extended

to Aramis and Porthos. Athos alone remained unmoved, as if

no danger hovered over him, and as if he breathed his

customary atmosphere.

On the sixteenth day, in particular, these signs were so

strong in d'Artagnan and his two friends that they could not

remain quiet in one place, and wandered about like ghosts on

the road by which Planchet was expected.

"Really," said Athos to them, "you are not men but children,

to let a woman terrify you so! And what does it amount to,

after all? To be imprisoned. Well, but we should be taken

out of prison; Madame Bonacieux was released. To be

decapitated? Why, every day in the trenches we go

cheerfully to expose ourselves to worse than that--for a

bullet may break a leg, and I am convinced a surgeon would

give us more pain in cutting off a thigh than an executioner

in cutting off a head. Wait quietly, then; in two hours, in

four, in six hours at latest, Planchet will be here. He

promised to be here, and I have very great faith in

Planchet, who appears to me to be a very good lad."

"But if he does not come?" said d'Artagnan.

"Well, if he does not come, it will be because he has been

delayed, that's all. He may have fallen from his horse, he

may have cut a caper from the deck; he may have traveled so

fast against the wind as to have brought on a violent

catarrh. Eh, gentlemen, let us reckon upon accidents! Life

is a chaplet of little miseries which the philosopher counts

with a smile. Be philosophers, as I am, gentlemen; sit down

at the table and let us drink. Nothing makes the future

look so bright as surveying it through a glass of

chambertin."

"That's all very well," replied d'Artagnan; "but I am tired

of fearing when I open a fresh bottle that the wine may come

from the cellar of Milady."

"You are very fastidious," said Athos; "such a beautiful

woman!"

"A woman of mark!" said Porthos, with his loud laugh.

Athos started, passed his hand over his brow to remove the

drops of perspiration that burst forth, and rose in his turn

with a nervous movement he could not repress.

The day, however, passed away; and the evening came on

slowly, but finally it came. The bars were filled with

drinkers. Athos, who had pocketed his share of the diamond,

seldom quit the Parpaillot. He had found in M. de Busigny,

who, by the by, had given them a magnificent dinner, a

partner worthy of his company. They were playing together,

as usual, when seven o'clock sounded; the patrol was heard

passing to double the posts. At half past seven the retreat

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was sounded.

"We are lost," said d'Artagnan, in the ear of Athos.

"You mean to say we have lost," said Athos, quietly, drawing

four pistoles from his pocket and throwing them upon the

table. "Come, gentlemen," said he, "they are beating the

tattoo. Let us to bed!"

And Athos went out of the Parpaillot, followed by

d'Artagnan. Aramis came behind, giving his arm to Porthos.

Aramis mumbled verses to himself, and Porthos from time to

time pulled a hair or two from his mustache, in sign of

despair.

But all at once a shadow appeared in the darkness the

outline of which was familiar to d'Artagnan, and a wellknown

voice said, "Monsieur, I have brought your cloak; it

is chilly this evening."

"Planchet!" cried d'Artagnan, beside himself with joy.

"Planchet!" repeated Aramis and Porthos.

"Well, yes, Planchet, to be sure," said Athos, "what is

there so astonishing in that? He promised to be back by

eight o'clock, and eight is striking. Bravo, Planchet, you

are a lad of your word, and if ever you leave your master, I

will promise you a place in my service."

"Oh, no, never," said Planchet, "I will never leave Monsieur

d'Artagnan."

At the same time d'Artagnan felt that Planchet slipped a

note into his hand.

D'Artagnan felt a strong inclination to embrace Planchet as

he had embraced him on his departure; but he feared lest

this mark of affection, bestowed upon his lackey in the open

street, might appear extraordinary to passers-by, and he

restrained himself.

"I have the note," said he to Athos and to his friends.

"That's well," said Athos, "let us go home and read it."

The note burned the hand of d'Artagnan. He wished to hasten

their steps; but Athos took his arm and passed it under his

own, and the young man was forced to regulate his pace by

that of his friend.

At length they reached the tent, lit a lamp, and while

Planchet stood at the entrance that the four friends might

not be surprised, d'Artagnan, with a trembling hand, broke

the seal and opened the so anxiously expected letter.

It contained half a line, in a hand perfectly British, and

with a conciseness as perfectly Spartan:

Thank you; be easy.

d'Artagnan translated this for the others.

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Athos took the letter from the hands of d'Artagnan,

approached the lamp, set fire to the paper, and did not let

go till it was reduced to a cinder.

Then, calling Planchet, he said, "Now, my lad, you may claim

your seven hundred livres, but you did not run much risk

with such a note as that."

"I am not to blame for having tried every means to compress

it," said Planchet.

"Well!" cried d'Artagnan, "tell us all about it."

"Dame, that's a long job, monsieur."

"You are right, Planchet," said Athos; "besides, the tattoo

has been sounded, and we should be observed if we kept a

light burning much longer than the others."

"So be it," said d'Artagnan. "Go to bed, Planchet, and

sleep soundly."

"My faith, monsieur! that will be the first time I have done

so for sixteen days."

"And me, too!" said d'Artagnan.

"And me, too!" said Porthos.

"And me, too!" said Aramis.

"Well, if you will have the truth, and me, too!" said Athos.

49 FATALITY

Meantime Milady, drunk with passion, roaring on the deck like a

lioness that has been embarked, had been tempted to throw herself

into the sea that she might regain the coast, for she could not

get rid of the thought that she had been insulted by d'Artagnan,

threatened by Athos, and that she had quit France without being

revenged on them. This idea soon became so insupportable to her

that at the risk of whatever terrible consequences might result

to herself from it, she implored the captain to put her on shore;

but the captain, eager to escape from his false position--placed

between French and English cruisers, like the bat between the

mice and the birds--was in great haste to regain England, and

positively refused to obey what he took for a woman's caprice,

promising his passenger, who had been particularly recommended to

him by the cardinal, to land her, if the sea and the French

permitted him, at one of the ports of Brittany, either at Lorient

or Brest. But the wind was contrary, the sea bad; they tacked

and kept offshore. Nine days after leaving the Charente, pale

with fatigue and vexation, Milady saw only the blue coasts of

Finisterre appear.

She calculated that to cross this corner of France and return to

the cardinal it would take her at least three days. Add another

day for landing, and that would make four. Add these four to the

nine others, that would be thirteen days lost--thirteen days,

during which so many important events might pass in London. She

reflected likewise that the cardinal would be furious at her

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return, and consequently would be more disposed to listen to the

complaints brought against her than to the accusations she

brought against others.

She allowed the vessel to pass Lorient and Brest without

repeating her request to the captain, who, on his part, took care

not to remind her of it. Milady therefore continued her voyage,

and on the very day that Planchet embarked at Portsmouth for

France, the messenger of his Eminence entered the port in

triumph.

All the city was agitated by an extraordinary movement. Four

large vessels, recently built, had just been launched. At the

end of the jetty, his clothes richly laced with gold, glittering,

as was customary with him, with diamonds and precious stones, his

hat ornamented with a white feather which drooped upon his

shoulder, Buckingham was seen surrounded by a staff almost as

brilliant as himself.

It was one of those rare and beautiful days in winter when

England remembers that there is a sun. The star of day, pale but

nevertheless still splendid, was setting in the horizon,

glorifying at once the heavens and the sea with bands of fire,

and casting upon the towers and the old houses of the city a last

ray of gold which made the windows sparkle like the reflection of

a conflagration. Breathing that sea breeze, so much more

invigorating and balsamic as the land is approached,

contemplating all the power of those preparations she was

commissioned to destroy, all the power of that army which she was

to combat alone--she, a woman with a few bags of gold--Milady

compared herself mentally to Judith, the terrible Jewess, when

she penetrated the camp of the Assyrians and beheld the enormous

mass of chariots, horses, men, and arms, which a gesture of her

hand was to dissipate like a cloud of smoke.

They entered the roadstead; but as they drew near in order to

cast anchor, a little cutter, looking like a coastguard

formidably armed, approached the merchant vessel and dropped into

the sea a boat which directed its course to the ladder. This

boat contained an officer, a mate, and eight rowers. The officer

alone went on board, where he was received with all the deference

inspired by the uniform.

The officer conversed a few instants with the captain, gave him

several papers, of which he was the bearer, to read, and upon the

order of the merchant captain the whole crew of the vessel, both

passengers and sailors, were called upon deck.

When this species of summons was made the officer inquired aloud

the point of the brig's departure, its route, its landings; and

to all these questions the captain replied without difficulty and

without hesitation. Then the officer began to pass in review all

the people, one after the other, and stopping when he came to

Milady, surveyed her very closely, but without addressing a

single word to her.

He then returned to the captain, said a few words to him, and as

if from that moment the vessel was under his command, he ordered

a maneuver which the crew executed immediately. Then the vessel

resumed its course, still escorted by the little cutter, which

sailed side by side with it, menacing it with the mouths of its

six cannon. The boat followed in the wake of the ship, a speck

near the enormous mass.

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During the examination of Milady by the officer, as may well be

imagined, Milady on her part was not less scrutinizing in her

glances. But however great was the power of this woman with eyes

of flame in reading the hearts of those whose secrets she wished

to divine, she met this time with a countenance of such

impassivity that no discovery followed her investigation. The

officer who had stopped in front of her and studied her with so

much care might have been twenty-five or twenty-six years of age.

He was of pale complexion, with clear blue eyes, rather deeply

set; his mouth, fine and well cut, remained motionless in its

correct lines; his chin, strongly marked, denoted that strength

of will which in the ordinary Britannic type denotes mostly

nothing but obstinacy; a brow a little receding, as is proper for

poets, enthusiasts, and soldiers, was scarcely shaded by short

thin hair which, like the beard which covered the lower part of

his face, was of a beautiful deep chestnut color.

When they entered the port, it was already night. The fog

increased the darkness, and formed round the sternlights and

lanterns of the jetty a circle like that which surrounds the moon

when the weather threatens to become rainy. The air they

breathed was heavy, damp, and cold.

Milady, that woman so courageous and firm, shivered in spite of

herself.

The officer desired to have Milady's packages pointed out to him,

and ordered them to be placed in the boat. When this operation

was complete, he invited her to descend by offering her his hand.

Milady looked at this man, and hesitated. "Who are you, sir,"

asked she, "who has the kindness to trouble yourself so

particularly on my account?"

"You may perceive, madame, by my uniform, that I am an officer in

the English navy," replied the young man.

"But is it the custom for the officers in the English navy to

place themselves at the service of their female compatriots when

they land in a port of Great Britain, and carry their gallantry

so far as to conduct them ashore?"

"Yes, madame, it is the custom, not from gallantry but prudence,

that in time of war foreigners should be conducted to particular

hotels, in order that they may remain under the eye of the

government until full information can be obtained about them."

These words were pronounced with the most exact politeness and

the most perfect calmness. Nevertheless, they had not the power

of convincing Milady.

"But I am not a foreigner, sir," said she, with an accent as pure

as ever was heard between Portsmouth and Manchester; "my name is

Lady Clarik, and this measure--"

"This measure is general, madame; and you will seek in vain to

evade it."

"I will follow you, then, sir."

Accepting the hand of the officer, she began the descent of the

ladder, at the foot of which the boat waited. The officer

followed her. A large cloak was spread at the stern; the officer

requested her to sit down upon this cloak, and placed himself

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beside her.

"Row!" said he to the sailors.

The eight oars fell at once into the sea, making but a single

sound, giving but a single stroke, and the boat seemed to fly

over the surface of the water.

In five minutes they gained the land.

The officer leaped to the pier, and offered his hand to Milady.

A carriage was in waiting.

"Is this carriage for us?" asked Milady.

"Yes, madame," replied the officer.

"The hotel, then, is far away?"

"At the other end of the town."

"Very well," said Milady; and she resolutely entered the

carriage.

The officer saw that the baggage was fastened carefully behind

the carriage; and this operation ended, he took his place beside

Milady, and shut the door.

Immediately, without any order being given or his place of

destination indicated, the coachman set off at a rapid pace, and

plunged into the streets of the city.

So strange a reception naturally gave Milady ample matter for

reflection; so seeing that the young officer did not seem at all

disposed for conversation, she reclined in her corner of the

carriage, and one after the other passed in review all the

surmises which presented themselves to her mind.

At the end of a quarter of an hour, however, surprised at the

length of the journey, she leaned forward toward the door to see

whither she was being conducted. Houses were no longer to be

seen; trees appeared in the darkness like great black phantoms

chasing one another. Milady shuddered.

"But we are no longer in the city, sir," said she.

The young officer preserved silence.

"I beg you to understand, sir, I will go no farther unless you

tell me whither you are taking me."

This threat brought no reply.

"Oh, this is too much," cried Milady. "Help! help!"

No voice replied to hers; the carriage continued to roll on with

rapidity; the officer seemed a statue.

Milady looked at the officer with one of those terrible

expressions peculiar to her countenance, and which so rarely

failed of their effect; anger made her eyes flash in the

darkness.

The young man remained immovable.

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Milady tried to open the door in order to throw herself out.

"Take care, madame," said the young man, coolly, "you will kill

yourself in jumping."

Milady reseated herself, foaming. The officer leaned forward,

looked at her in his turn, and appeared surprised to see that

face, just before so beautiful, distorted with passion and almost

hideous. The artful creature at once comprehended that she was

injuring herself by allowing him thus to read her soul; she

collected her features, and in a complaining voice said: "In the

name of heaven, sir, tell me if it is to you, if it is to your

government, if it is to an enemy I am to attribute the violence

that is done me?"

"No violence will be offered to you, madame, and what happens to

you is the result of a very simple measure which we are obliged

to adopt with all who land in England."

"Then you don't know me, sir?"

"It is the first time I have had the honor of seeing you."

"And on your honor, you have no cause of hatred against me?"

"None, I swear to you."

There was so much serenity, coolness, mildness even, in the voice

of the young man, that Milady felt reassured.

At length after a journey of nearly an hour, the carriage stopped

before an iron gate, which closed an avenue leading to a castle

severe in form, massive, and isolated. Then, as the wheels

rolled over a fine gravel, Milady could hear a vast roaring,

which she at once recognized as the noise of the sea dashing

against some steep cliff.

The carriage passed under two arched gateways, and at length

stopped in a court large, dark, and square. Almost immediately

the door of the carriage was opened, the young man sprang lightly

out and presented his hand to Milady, who leaned upon it, and in

her turn alighted with tolerable calmness.

"Still, then, I am a prisoner," said Milady, looking around her,

and bringing back her eyes with a most gracious smile to the

young officer; "but I feel assured it will not be for long,"

added she. "My own conscience and your politeness, sir, are the

guarantees of that."

However flattering this compliment, the officer made no reply;

but drawing from his belt a little silver whistle, such as

boatswains use in ships of war, he whistled three times, with

three different modulations. Immediately several men appeared,

who unharnessed the smoking horses, and put the carriage into a

coach house.

Then the officer, with the same calm politeness, invited his

prisoner to enter the house. She, with a still-smiling

countenance, took his arm, and passed with him under a low arched

door, which by a vaulted passage, lighted only at the farther

end, led to a stone staircase around an angle of stone. They

then came to a massive door, which after the introduction into

the lock of a key which the young man carried with him, turned

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heavily upon its hinges, and disclosed the chamber destined for

Milady.

With a single glance the prisoner took in the apartment in its

minutest details. It was a chamber whose furniture was at once

appropriate for a prisoner or a free man; and yet bars at the

windows and outside bolts at the door decided the question in

favor of the prison.

In an instant all the strength of mind of this creature, though

drawn from the most vigorous sources, abandoned her; she sank

into a large easy chair, with her arms crossed, her head lowered,

and expecting every instant to see a judge enter to interrogate

her.

But no one entered except two or three marines, who brought her

trunks and packages, deposited them in a corner, and retired

without speaking.

The officer superintended all these details with the same

calmness Milady had constantly seen in him, never pronouncing a

word himself, and making himself obeyed by a gesture of his hand

or a sound of his whistle.

It might have been said that between this man and his inferiors

spoken language did not exist, or had become useless.

At length Milady could hold out no longer; she broke the silence.

"In the name of heaven, sir," cried she, "what means all that is

passing? Put an end to my doubts; I have courage enough for any

danger I can foresee, for every misfortune which I understand.

Where am I, and why am I here? If I am free, why these bars and

these doors? If I am a prisoner, what crime have I committed?"

"You are here in the apartment destined for you, madame. I

received orders to go and take charge of you on the sea, and to

conduct you to this castle. This order I believe I have

accomplished with all the exactness of a soldier, but also with

the courtesy of a gentleman. There terminates, at least to the

present moment, the duty I had to fulfill toward you; the rest

concerns another person."

"And who is that other person?" asked Milady, warmly. "Can you

not tell me his name?"

At the moment a great jingling of spurs was heard on the stairs.

Some voices passed and faded away, and the sound of a single

footstep approached the door.

"That person is here, madame," said the officer, leaving the

entrance open, and drawing himself up in an attitude of respect.

At the same time the door opened; a man appeared on the

threshold. He was without a hat, carried a sword, and flourished

a handkerchief in his hand.

Milady thought she recognized this shadow in the gloom; she

supported herself with one hand upon the arm of the chair, and

advanced her head as if to meet a certainty.

The stranger advanced slowly, and as he advanced, after entering

into the circle of light projected by the lamp, Milady

involuntarily drew back.

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Then when she had no longer any doubt, she cried, in a state of

stupor, "What, my brother, is it you?"

"Yes, fair lady!" replied Lord de Winter, making a bow, half

courteous, half ironical; "it is I, myself."

"But this castle, then?"

"Is mine."

"This chamber?"

"Is yours."

"I am, then, your prisoner?"

"Nearly so."

"But this is a frightful abuse of power!"

"No high-sounding words! Let us sit down and chat quietly, as

brother and sister ought to do."

Then, turning toward the door, and seeing that the young officer

was waiting for his last orders, he said. "All is well, I thank

you; now leave us alone, Mr. Felton."

50 CHAT BETWEEN BROTHER AND SISTER

During the time which Lord de Winter took to shut the door, close

a shutter, and draw a chair near to his sister-in-law's fauteuil,

Milady, anxiously thoughtful, plunged her glance into the depths

of possibility, and discovered all the plan, of which she could

not even obtain a glance as long as she was ignorant into whose

hands she had fallen. She knew her brother-in-law to be a worthy

gentleman, a bold hunter, an intrepid player, enterprising with

women, but by no means remarkable for his skill in intrigues.

How had he discovered her arrival, and caused her to be seized?

Why did he detain her?

Athos had dropped some words which proved that the conversation

she had with the cardinal had fallen into outside ears; but she

could not suppose that he had dug a countermine so promptly and

so boldly. She rather feared that her preceding operations in

England might have been discovered. Buckingham might have

guessed that it was she who had cut off the two studs, and avenge

himself for that little treachery; but Buckingham was incapable

of going to any excess against a woman, particularly if that

woman was supposed to have acted from a feeling of jealousy.

This supposition appeared to her most reasonable. It seemed to

her that they wanted to revenge the past, and not to anticipate

the future. At all events, she congratulated herself upon having

fallen into the hands of her brother-in-law, with whom she

reckoned she could deal very easily, rather than into the hands

of an acknowledged and intelligent enemy.

"Yes, let us chat, brother," said she, with a kind of

cheerfulness, decided as she was to draw from the conversation,

in spite of all the dissimulation Lord de Winter could bring, the

revelations of which she stood in need to regulate her future

conduct.

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"You have, then, decided to come to England again," said Lord de

Winter, "in spite of the resolutions you so often expressed in

Paris never to set your feet on British ground?"

Milady replied to this question by another question. "To begin

with, tell me," said she, "how have you watched me so closely as

to be aware beforehand not only of my arrival, but even of the

day, the hour, and the port at which I should arrive?"

Lord de Winter adopted the same tactics as Milady, thinking that

as his sister-in-law employed them they must be the best.

"But tell me, my dear sister," replied he, "what makes you come

to England?"

"I come to see you," replied Milady, without knowing how much she

aggravated by this reply the suspicions to which d'Artagnan's

letter had given birth in the mind of her brother-in-law, and

only desiring to gain the good will of her auditor by a

falsehood.

"Ah, to see me?" said de Winter, cunningly.

"To be sure, to see you. What is there astonishing in that?"

"And you had no other object in coming to England but to see me?"

"No."

"So it was for me alone you have taken the trouble to cross the

Channel?"

"For you alone."

"The deuce! What tenderness, my sister!"

"But am I not your nearest relative?" demanded Milady, with a

tone of the most touching ingenuousness.

"And my only heir, are you not?" said Lord de Winter in his turn,

fixing his eyes on those of Milady.

Whatever command she had over herself, Milady could not help

starting; and as in pronouncing the last words Lord de Winter

placed his hand upon the arm of his sister, this start did not

escape him.

In fact, the blow was direct and severe. The first idea that

occurred to Milady's mind was that she had been betrayed by

Kitty, and that she had recounted to the baron the selfish

aversion toward himself of which she had imprudently allowed some

marks to escape before her servant. She also recollected the

furious and imprudent attack she had made upon d'Artagnan when he

spared the life of her brother.

"I do not understand, my Lord," said she, in order to gain time

and make her adversary speak out. "What do you mean to say? Is

there any secret meaning concealed beneath your words?"

"Oh, my God, no!" said Lord de Winter, with apparent good nature.

"You wish to see me, and you come to England. I learn this

desire, or rather I suspect that you feel it; and in order to

spare you all the annoyances of a nocturnal arrival in a port and

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all the fatigues of landing, I send one of my officers to meet

you, I place a carriage at his orders, and he brings you hither

to this castle, of which I am governor, whither I come every day,

and where, in order to satisfy our mutual desire of seeing each

other, I have prepared you a chamber. What is there more

astonishing in all that I have said to you than in what you have

told me?"

"No; what I think astonishing is that you should expect my

coming."

"And yet that is the most simple thing in the world, my dear

sister. Have you not observed that the captain of your little

vessel, on entering the roadstead, sent forward, in order to

obtain permission to enter the port, a little boat bearing his

logbook and the register of his voyagers? I am commandant of the

port. They brought me that book. I recognized your name in it.

My heart told me what your mouth has just confirmed--that is to

say, with what view you have exposed yourself to the dangers of a

sea so perilous, or at least so troublesome at this moment--and I

sent my cutter to meet you. You know the rest."

Milady knew that Lord de Winter lied, and she was the more

alarmed.

"My brother," continued she, "was not that my Lord Buckingham

whom I saw on the jetty this evening as we arrived?"

"Himself. Ah, I can understand how the sight of him struck you,"

replied Lord de Winter. "You came from a country where he must

be very much talked of, and I know that his armaments against

France greatly engage the attention of your friend the cardinal."

"My friend the cardinal!" cried Milady, seeing that on this point

as on the other Lord de Winter seemed well instructed.

"Is he not your friend?" replied the baron, negligently. "Ah,

pardon! I thought so; but we will return to my Lord Duke

presently. Let us not depart from the sentimental turn our

conversation had taken. You came, you say, to see me?"

"Yes."

"Well, I reply that you shall be served to the height of your

wishes, and that we shall see each other every day."

"Am I, then, to remain here eternally?" demanded Milady, with a

certain terror.

"Do you find yourself badly lodged, sister? Demand anything you

want, and I will hasten to have you furnished with it."

"But I have neither my women nor my servants."

"You shall have all, madame. Tell me on what footing your

household was established by your first husband, and although I

am only your brother-in-law, I will arrange one similar."

"My first husband!" cried Milady, looking at Lord de Winter with

eyes almost starting from their sockets.

"Yes, your French husband. I don't speak of my brother. If you

have forgotten, as he is still living, I can write to him and he

will send me information on the subject."

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A cold sweat burst from the brow of Milady.

"You jest!" said she, in a hollow voice.

"Do I look so?" asked the baron, rising and going a step

backward.

"Or rather you insult me," continued she, pressing with her

stiffened hands the two arms of her easy chair, and raising

herself upon her wrists.

"I insult you!" said Lord de Winter, with contempt. "In truth,

madame, do you think that can be possible?"

"Indeed, sir," said Milady, "you must be either drunk or mad.

Leave the room, and send me a woman."

"Women are very indiscreet, my sister. Cannot I serve you as a

waiting maid? By that means all our secrets will remain in the

family."

"Insolent!" cried Milady; and as if acted upon by a spring, she

bounded toward the baron, who awaited her attack with his arms

crossed, but nevertheless with one hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Come!" said he. "I know you are accustomed to assassinate

people; but I warn you I shall defend myself, even against you."

"You are right," said Milady. "You have all the appearance of

being cowardly enough to lift your hand against a woman."

"Perhaps so; and I have an excuse, for mine would not be the

first hand of a man that has been placed upon you, I imagine."

And the baron pointed, with a slow and accusing gesture, to the

left shoulder of Milady, which he almost touched with his finger.

Milady uttered a deep, inward shriek, and retreated to a corner

of the room like a panther which crouches for a spring.

"Oh, growl as much as you please," cried Lord de Winter, "but

don't try to bite, for I warn you that it would be to your

disadvantage. There are here no procurators who regulate

successions beforehand. There is no knight-errant to come and

seek a quarrel with me on account of the fair lady I detain a

prisoner; but I have judges quite ready who will quickly dispose

of a woman so shameless as to glide, a bigamist, into the bed of

Lord de Winter, my brother. And these judges, I warn you, will

soon send you to an executioner who will make both your shoulders

alike."

The eyes of Milady darted such flashes that although he was a man

and armed before an unarmed woman, he felt the chill of fear

glide through his whole frame. However, he continued all the

same, but with increasing warmth: "Yes, I can very well

understand that after having inherited the fortune of my brother

it would be very agreeable to you to be my heir likewise; but

know beforehand, if you kill me or cause me to be killed, my

precautions are taken. Not a penny of what I possess will pass

into your hands. Were you not already rich enough--you who

possess nearly a million? And could you not stop your fatal

career, if you did not do evil for the infinite and supreme joy

of doing it? Oh, be assured, if the memory of my brother were

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not sacred to me, you should rot in a state dungeon or satisfy

the curiosity of sailors at Tyburn. I will be silent, but you

must endure your captivity quietly. In fifteen or twenty days I

shall set out for La Rochelle with the army; but on the eve of my

departure a vessel which I shall see depart will take you hence

and convey you to our colonies in the south. And be assured that

you shall be accompanied by one who will blow your brains out at

the first attempt you make to return to England or the

Continent."

Milady listened with an attention that dilated her inflamed eyes.

"Yes, at present," continued Lord de Winter, "you will remain in

this castle. The walls are thick, the doors strong, and the bars

solid; besides, your window opens immediately over the sea. The

men of my crew, who are devoted to me for life and death, mount

guard around this apartment, and watch all the passages that lead

to the courtyard. Even if you gained the yard, there would still

be three iron gates for you to pass. The order is positive. A

step, a gesture, a word, on your part, denoting an effort to

escape, and you are to be fired upon. If they kill you, English

justice will be under an obligation to me for having saved it

trouble. Ah! I see your features regain their calmness, your

countenance recovers its assurance. You are saying to yourself:

'Fifteen days, twenty days? Bah! I have an inventive mind;

before that is expired some idea will occur to me. I have an

infernal spirit. I shall meet with a victim. Before fifteen

days are gone by I shall be away from here.' Ah, try it!"

Milady, finding her thoughts betrayed, dug her nails into her

flesh to subdue every emotion that might give to her face any

expression except agony.

Lord de Winter continued: "The officer who commands here in my

absence you have already seen, and therefore know him. He knows

how, as you must have observed, to obey an order--for you did

not, I am sure, come from Portsmouth hither without endeavoring

to make him speak. What do you say of him? Could a statue of

marble have been more impassive and more mute? You have already

tried the power of your seductions upon many men, and

unfortunately you have always succeeded; but I give you leave to

try them upon this one. PARDIEU! if you succeed with him, I

pronounce you the demon himself."

He went toward the door and opened it hastily.

"Call Mr. Felton," said he. "Wait a minute longer, and I will

introduce him to you."

There followed between these two personages a strange silence,

during which the sound of a slow and regular step was heard

approaching. Shortly a human form appeared in the shade of the

corridor, and the young lieutenant, with whom we are already

acquainted, stopped at the threshold to receive the orders of the

baron.

"Come in, my dear John," said Lord de Winter, "come in, and shut

the door."

The young officer entered.

"Now," said the baron, "look at this woman. She is young; she is

beautiful; she possesses all earthly seductions. Well, she is a

monster, who, at twenty-five years of age, has been guilty of as

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many crimes as you could read of in a year in the archives of our

tribunals. Her voice prejudices her hearers in her favor; her

beauty serves as a bait to her victims; her body even pays what

she promises--I must do her that justice. She will try to seduce

you, perhaps she will try to kill you. I have extricated you

from misery, Felton; I have caused you to be named lieutenant; I

once saved your life, you know on what occasion. I am for you

not only a protector, but a friend; not only a benefactor, but a

father. This woman has come back again into England for the

purpose of conspiring against my life. I hold this serpent in my

hands. Well, I call you, and say to you: Friend Felton, John,

my child, guard me, and more particularly guard yourself, against

this woman. Swear, by your hopes of salvation, to keep her

safely for the chastisement she has merited. John Felton, I

trust your word! John Felton, I put faith in your loyalty!"

"My Lord," said the young officer, summoning to his mild

countenance all the hatred he could find in his heart, "my Lord,

I swear all shall be done as you desire."

Milady received this look like a resigned victim; it was

impossible to imagine a more submissive or a more mild expression

than that which prevailed on her beautiful countenance. Lord de

Winter himself could scarcely recognize the tigress who, a minute

before, prepared apparently for a fight.

"She is not to leave this chamber, understand, John," continued

the baron. "She is to correspond with nobody; she is to speak to

no one but you--if you will do her the honor to address a word to

her."

"That is sufficient, my Lord! I have sworn."

"And now, madame, try to make your peace with God, for you are

judged by men!"

Milady let her head sink, as if crushed by this sentence. Lord

de Winter went out, making a sign to Felton, who followed him,

shutting the door after him.

One instant after, the heavy step of a marine who served as

sentinel was heard in the corridor--his ax in his girdle and his

musket on his shoulder.

Milady remained for some minutes in the same position, for she

thought they might perhaps be examining her through the keyhole;

she then slowly raised her head, which had resumed its formidable

expression of menace and defiance, ran to the door to listen,

looked out of her window, and returning to bury herself again in

her large armchair, she reflected.

51 OFFICER

Meanwhile, the cardinal looked anxiously for news from England;

but no news arrived that was not annoying and threatening.

Although La Rochelle was invested, however certain success might

appear--thanks to the precautions taken, and above all to the

dyke, which prevented the entrance of any vessel into the

besieged city--the blockade might last a long time yet. This was

a great affront to the king's army, and a great inconvenience to

the cardinal, who had no longer, it is true, to embroil Louis

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XIII with Anne of Austria--for that affair was over--but he had

to adjust matters for M. de Bassompierre, who was embroiled with

the Duc d'Angouleme.

As to Monsieur, who had begun the siege, he left to the cardinal

the task of finishing it.

The city, notwithstanding the incredible perseverance of its

mayor, had attempted a sort of mutiny for a surrender; the mayor

had hanged the mutineers. This execution quieted the illdisposed,

who resolved to allow themselves to die of hunger--this

death always appearing to them more slow and less sure than

strangulation.

On their side, from time to time, the besiegers took the

messengers which the Rochellais sent to Buckingham, or the spies

which Buckingham sent to the Rochellais. In one case or the

other, the trial was soon over. The cardinal pronounced the

single word, "Hanged!" The king was invited to come and see the

hanging. He came languidly, placing himself in a good situation

to see all the details. This amused him sometimes a little, and

made him endure the siege with patience; but it did not prevent

his getting very tired, or from talking at every moment of

returning to Paris--so that if the messengers and the spies had

failed, his Eminence, notwithstanding all his inventiveness,

would have found himself much embarrassed.

Nevertheless, time passed on, and the Rochellais did not

surrender. The last spy that was taken was the bearer of a

letter. This letter told Buckingham that the city was at an

extremity; but instead of adding, "If your succor does not arrive

within fifteen days, we will surrender," it added, quite simply,

"If your succor comes not within fifteen days, we shall all be

dead with hunger when it comes."

The Rochellais, then, had no hope but in Buckingham. Buckingham

was their Messiah. It was evident that if they one day learned

positively that they must not count on Buckingham, their courage

would fail with their hope.

The cardinal looked, then, with great impatience for the news

from England which would announce to him that Buckingham would

not come.

The question of carrying the city by assault, though often

debated in the council of the king, had been always rejected. In

the first place, La Rochelle appeared impregnable. Then the

cardinal, whatever he said, very well knew that the horror of

bloodshed in this encounter, in which Frenchman would combat

against Frenchman, was a retrograde movement of sixty years

impressed upon his policy; and the cardinal was at that period

what we now call a man of progress. In fact, the sack of La

Rochelle, and the assassination of three of four thousand

Huguenots who allowed themselves to be killed, would resemble too

closely, in 1628, the massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572; and

then, above all this, this extreme measure, which was not at all

repugnant to the king, good Catholic as he was, always fell

before this argument of the besieging generals--La Rochelle is

impregnable except to famine.

The cardinal could not drive from his mind the fear he

entertained of his terrible emissary--for he comprehended the

strange qualities of this woman, sometimes a serpent, sometimes a

lion. Had she betrayed him? Was she dead? He knew her well

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enough in all cases to know that, whether acting for or against

him, as a friend or an enemy, she would not remain motionless

without great impediments; but whence did these impediments

arise? That was what he could not know.

And yet he reckoned, and with reason, on Milady. He had divined

in the past of this woman terrible things which his red mantle

alone could cover; and he felt, from one cause or another, that

this woman was his own, as she could look to no other but himself

for a support superior to the danger which threatened her.

He resolved, then, to carry on the war alone, and to look for no

success foreign to himself, but as we look for a fortunate

chance. He continued to press the raising of the famous dyke

which was to starve La Rochelle. Meanwhile, he cast his eyes

over that unfortunate city, which contained so much deep misery

and so many heroic virtues, and recalling the saying of Louis XI,

his political predecessor, as he himself was the predecessor of

Robespierre, he repeated this maxim of Tristan's gossip: "Divide

in order to reign."

Henry IV, when besieging Paris, had loaves and provisions thrown

over the walls. The cardinal had little notes thrown over in

which he represented to the Rochellais how unjust, selfish, and

barbarous was the conduct of their leaders. These leaders had

corn in abundance, and would not let them partake of it; they

adopted as a maxim--for they, too, had maxims--that it was of

very little consequence that women, children, and old men should

die, so long as the men who were to defend the walls remained

strong and healthy. Up to that time, whether from devotedness or

from want of power to act against it, this maxim, without being

generally adopted, nevertheless passed from theory into practice;

but the notes did it injury. The notes reminded the men that the

children, women, and old men whom they allowed to die were their

sons, their wives, and their fathers, and that it would be more

just for everyone to be reduced to the common misery, in order

that equal conditions should give birth to unanimous resolutions.

These notes had all the effect that he who wrote them could

expect, in that they induced a great number of the inhabitants to

open private negotiations with the royal army.

But at the moment when the cardinal saw his means already

bearing fruit, and applauded himself for having put it in action, an

inhabitant of La Rochelle who had contrived to pass the royal

lines--God knows how, such was the watchfulness of Bassompierre,

Schomberg, and the Duc d'Angouleme, themselves watched over by

the cardinal--an inhabitant of La Rochelle, we say, entered the

city, coming from Portsmouth, and saying that he had seen a

magnificent fleet ready to sail within eight days. Still

further, Buckingham announced to the mayor that at length the

great league was about to declare itself against France, and that

the kingdom would be at once invaded by the English, Imperial,

and Spanish armies. This letter was read publicly in all parts

of the city. Copies were put up at the corners of the streets;

and even they who had begun to open negotiations interrupted

them, being resolved to await the succor so pompously announced.

This unexpected circumstance brought back Richelieu's former

anxiety, and forced him in spite of himself once more to turn his

eyes to the other side of the sea.

During this time, exempt from the anxiety of its only and true

chief, the royal army led a joyous life, neither provisions nor

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money being wanting in the camp. All the corps rivaled one

another in audacity and gaiety. To take spies and hang them, to

make hazardous expeditions upon the dyke or the sea, to imagine

wild plans, and to execute them coolly--such were the pastimes

which made the army find these days short which were not only so

long to the Rochellais, a prey to famine and anxiety, but even to

the cardinal, who blockaded them so closely.

Sometimes when the cardinal, always on horseback, like the lowest

GENDARME of the army, cast a pensive glance over those works, so

slowly keeping pace with his wishes, which the engineers, brought

from all the corners of France, were executing under his orders,

if he met a Musketeer of the company of Treville, he drew near

and looked at him in a peculiar manner, and not recognizing in

him one of our four companions, he turned his penetrating look

and profound thoughts in another direction.

One day when oppressed with a mortal weariness of mind, without

hope in the negotiations with the city, without news from

England, the cardinal went out, without any other aim than to be

out of doors, and accompanied only by Cahusac and La Houdiniere,

strolled along the beach. Mingling the immensity of his dreams

with the immensity of the ocean, he came, his horse going at a

foot's pace, to a hill from the top of which he perceived behind

a hedge, reclining on the sand and catching in its passage one of

those rays of the sun so rare at this period of the year, seven

men surrounded by empty bottles. Four of these men were our

Musketeers, preparing to listen to a letter one of them had just

received. This letter was so important that it made them forsake

their cards and their dice on the drumhead.

The other three were occupied in opening an enormous flagon of

Collicure wine; these were the lackeys of these gentlemen.

The cardinal was, as we have said, in very low spirits; and

nothing when he was in that state of mind increased his

depression so much as gaiety in others. Besides, he had another

strange fancy, which was always to believe that the causes of his

sadness created the gaiety of others. Making a sign to La

Houdiniere and Cahusac to stop, he alighted from his horse, and

went toward these suspected merry companions, hoping, by means of

the sand which deadened the sound of his steps and of the hedge

which concealed his approach, to catch some words of this

conversation which appeared so interesting. At ten paces from

the hedge he recognized the talkative Gascon; and as he had

already perceived that these men were Musketeers, he did not

doubt that the three others were those called the Inseparables;

that is to say, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

It may be supposed that his desire to hear the conversation was

augmented by this discovery. His eyes took a strange expression,

and with the step of a tiger-cat he advanced toward the hedge;

but he had not been able to catch more than a few vague syllables

without any positive sense, when a sonorous and short cry made

him start, and attracted the attention of the Musketeers.

"Officer!" cried Grimaud.

"You are speaking, you scoundrel!" said Athos, rising upon his

elbow, and transfixing Grimaud with his flaming look.

Grimaud therefore added nothing to his speech, but contented

himself with pointing his index finger in the direction of the

hedge, announcing by this gesture the cardinal and his escort.

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With a single bound the Musketeers were on their feet, and

saluted with respect.

The cardinal seemed furious.

"It appears that Messieurs the Musketeers keep guard," said he.

"Are the English expected by land, or do the Musketeers consider

themselves superior officers?"

"Monseigneur," replied Athos, for amid the general fright he

alone had preserved the noble calmness and coolness that never

forsook him, "Monseigneur, the Musketeers, when they are not on

duty, or when their duty is over, drink and play at dice, and

they are certainly superior officers to their lackeys."

"Lackeys?" grumbled the cardinal. "Lackeys who have the order to

warn their masters when anyone passes are not lackeys, they are

sentinels."

"Your Eminence may perceive that if we had not taken this

precaution, we should have been exposed to allowing you to pass

without presenting you our respects or offering you our thanks

for the favor you have done us in uniting us. D'Artagnan,"

continued Athos, "you, who but lately were so anxious for such an

opportunity for expressing your gratitude to Monseigneur, here it

is; avail yourself of it."

These words were pronounced with that imperturbable phlegm which

distinguished Athos in the hour of danger, and with that

excessive politeness which made of him at certain moments a king

more majestic than kings by birth.

D'Artagnan came forward and stammered out a few words of

gratitude which soon expired under the gloomy looks of the

cardinal.

"It does not signify, gentlemen," continued the cardinal, without

appearing to be in the least swerved from his first intention by

the diversion which Athos had started, "it does not signify,

gentlemen. I do not like to have simple soldiers, because they

have the advantage of serving in a privileged corps, thus to play

the great lords; discipline is the same for them as for everybody

else."

Athos allowed the cardinal to finish his sentence completely, and

bowed in sign of assent. Then he resumed in his turn:

"Discipline, Monseigneur, has, I hope, in no way been forgotten

by us. We are not on duty, and we believed that not being on

duty we were at liberty to dispose of our time as we pleased. If

we are so fortunate as to have some particular duty to perform

for your Eminence, we are ready to obey you. Your Eminence may

perceive," continued Athos, knitting his brow, for this sort of

investigation began to annoy him, "that we have not come out

without our arms."

And he showed the cardinal, with his finger, the four muskets

piled near the drum, on which were the cards and dice.

"Your Eminence may believe," added d'Artagnan, "that we would

have come to meet you, if we could have supposed it was

Monseigneur coming toward us with so few attendants."

The cardinal bit his mustache, and even his lips a little.

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"Do you know what you look like, all together, as you are armed

and guarded by your lackeys?" said the cardinal. "You look like

four conspirators."

"Oh, as to that, Monseigneur, it is true," said Athos; "we do

conspire, as your Eminence might have seen the other morning.

Only we conspire against the Rochellais."

"Ah, you gentlemen of policy!" replied the cardinal, knitting his

brow in his turn, "the secret of many unknown things might

perhaps be found in your brains, if we could read them as you

read that letter which you concealed as soon as you saw me

coming."

The color mounted to the face of Athos, and he made a step toward

his Eminence.

"One might think you really suspected us, monseigneur, and we

were undergoing a real interrogatory. If it be so, we trust your

Eminence will deign to explain yourself, and we should then at

least be acquainted with our real position."

"And if it were an interrogatory!" replied the cardinal. "Others

besides you have undergone such, Monsieur Athos, and have replied

thereto."

"Thus I have told your Eminence that you had but to question us,

and we are ready to reply."

"What was that letter you were about to read, Monsieur Aramis,

and which you so promptly concealed?"

"A woman's letter, monseigneur."

"Ah, yes, I see," said the cardinal; "we must be discreet with

this sort of letters; but nevertheless, we may show them to a

confessor, and you know I have taken orders."

"Monseigneur," said Athos, with a calmness the more terrible

because he risked his head in making this reply, "the letter is a

woman's letter, but it is neither signed Marion de Lorme, nor

Madame d'Aiguillon."

The cardinal became as pale as death; lightning darted from his

eyes. He turned round as if to give an order to Cahusac and

Houdiniere. Athos saw the movement; he made a step toward the

muskets, upon which the other three friends had fixed their eyes,

like men ill-disposed to allow themselves to be taken. The

cardinalists were three; the Musketeers, lackeys included, were

seven. He judged that the match would be so much the less equal,

if Athos and his companions were really plotting; and by one of

those rapid turns which he always had at command, all his anger

faded away into a smile.

"Well, well!" said he, "you are brave young men, proud in

daylight, faithful in darkness. We can find no fault with you

for watching over yourselves, when you watch so carefully over

others. Gentlemen, I have not forgotten the night in which you

served me as an escort to the Red Dovecot. If there were any

danger to be apprehended on the road I am going, I would request

you to accompany me; but as there is none, remain where you are,

finish your bottles, your game, and your letter. Adieu,

gentlemen!"

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And remounting his horse, which Cahusac led to him, he saluted

them with his hand, and rode away.

The four young men, standing and motionless, followed him with

their eyes without speaking a single word until he had

disappeared. Then they looked at one another.

The countenances of all gave evidence of terror, for

notwithstanding the friendly adieu of his Eminence, they plainly

perceived that the cardinal went away with rage in his heart.

Athos alone smiled, with a self-possessed, disdainful smile.

When the cardinal was out of hearing and sight, "That Grimaud

kept bad watch!" cried Porthos, who had a great inclination to

vent his ill-humor on somebody.

Grimaud was about to reply to excuse himself. Athos lifted his

finger, and Grimaud was silent.

"Would you have given up the letter, Aramis?" said d'Artagnan.

"I," said Aramis, in his most flutelike tone, "I had made up my

mind. If he had insisted upon the letter being given up to him,

I would have presented the letter to him with one hand, and with

the other I would have run my sword through his body."

"I expected as much," said Athos; "and that was why I threw

myself between you and him. Indeed, this man is very much to

blame for talking thus to other men; one would say he had never

had to do with any but women and children."

"My dear Athos, I admire you, but nevertheless we were in the

wrong, after all."

"How, in the wrong?" said Athos. "Whose, then, is the air we

breathe? Whose is the ocean upon which we look? Whose is the

sand upon which we were reclining? Whose is that letter of your

mistress? Do these belong to the cardinal? Upon my honor, this

man fancies the world belongs to him. There you stood,

stammering, stupefied, annihilated. One might have supposed the

Bastille appeared before you, and that the gigantic Medusa had

converted you into stone. Is being in love conspiring? You are

in love with a woman whom the cardinal has caused to be shut up,

and you wish to get her out of the hands of the cardinal. That's

a match you are playing with his Eminence; this letter is your

game. Why should you expose your game to your adversary? That

is never done. Let him find it out if he can! We can find out

his!"

"Well, that's all very sensible, Athos," said d'Artagnan.

"In that case, let there be no more question of what's past, and

let Aramis resume the letter from his cousin where the cardinal

interrupted him."

Aramis drew the letter from his pocket; the three friends

surrounded him, and the three lackeys grouped themselves again

near the wine jar.

"You had only read a line or two," said d'Artagnan; "read the

letter again from the commencement."

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"Willingly," said Aramis.

"My dear Cousin, I think I shall make up my mind to set out for

Bethune, where my sister has placed our little servant in the

convent of the Carmelites; this poor child is quite resigned, as

she knows she cannot live elsewhere without the salvation of her

soul being in danger. Nevertheless, if the affairs of our family

are arranged, as we hope they will be, I believe she will run the

risk of being damned, and will return to those she regrets,

particularly as she knows they are always thinking of her.

Meanwhile, she is not very wretched; what she most desires is a

letter from her intended. I know that such viands pass with

difficulty through convent gratings; but after all, as I have

given you proofs, my dear cousin, I am not unskilled in such

affairs, and I will take charge of the commission. My sister

thanks you for your good and eternal remembrance. She has

experienced much anxiety; but she is now at length a little

reassured, having sent her secretary away in order that nothing

may happen unexpectedly.

"Adieu, my dear cousin. Tell us news of yourself as often as you

can; that is to say, as often as you can with safety. I embrace

you.

"Marie Michon."

"Oh, what do I not owe you, Aramis?" said d'Artagnan. "Dear

Constance! I have at length, then, intelligence of you. She

lives; she is in safety in a convent; she is at Bethune! Where

is Bethune, Athos?"

"Why, upon the frontiers of Artois and of Flanders. The siege

once over, we shall be able to make a tour in that direction."

"And that will not be long, it is to be hoped," said Porthos;

"for they have this morning hanged a spy who confessed that the

Rochellais were reduced to the leather of their shoes. Supposing

that after having eaten the leather they eat the soles, I cannot

see much that is left unless they eat one another."

"Poor fools!" said Athos, emptying a glass of excellent Bordeaux

wine which, without having at that period the reputation it now

enjoys, merited it no less, "poor fools! As if the Catholic

religion was not the most advantageous and the most agreeable of

all religions! All the same," resumed he, after having clicked

his tongue against his palate, "they are brave fellows! But what

the devil are you about, Aramis?" continued Athos. "Why, you are

squeezing that letter into your pocket!"

"Yes," said d'Artagnan, "Athos is right, it must be burned. And

yet if we burn it, who knows whether Monsieur Cardinal has not a

secret to interrogate ashes?"

"He must have one," said Athos.

"What will you do with the letter, then?" asked Porthos.

"Come here, Grimaud," said Athos. Grimaud rose and obeyed. "As

a punishment for having spoken without permission, my friend, you

will please to eat this piece of paper; then to recompense you

for the service you will have rendered us, you shall afterward

drink this glass of wine. First, here is the letter. Eat

heartily."

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Grimaud smiled; and with his eyes fixed upon the glass which

Athos held in his hand, he ground the paper well between his

teeth and then swallowed it.

"Bravo, Monsieur Grimaud!" said Athos; "and now take this.

That's well. We dispense with your saying grace."

Grimaud silently swallowed the glass of Bordeaux wine; but his

eyes, raised toward heaven during this delicious occupation,

spoke a language which, though mute, was not the less expressive.

"And now," said Athos, "unless Monsieur Cardinal should form the

ingenious idea of ripping up Grimaud, I think we may be pretty

much at our ease respecting the letter."

Meantime, his Eminence continued his melancholy ride, murmuring

between his mustaches, "These four men must positively be mine."

52 CAPTIVITY: THE FIRST DAY

Let us return to Milady, whom a glance thrown upon the coast of

France has made us lose sight of for an instant.

We shall find her still in the despairing attitude in which we

left her, plunged in an abyss of dismal reflection--a dark hell

at the gate of which she has almost left hope behind, because for

the first time she doubts, for the first time she fears.

On two occasions her fortune has failed her, on two occasions she

has found herself discovered and betrayed; and on these two

occasions it was to one fatal genius, sent doubtlessly by the

Lord to combat her, that she has succumbed. D'Artagnan has

conquered her--her, that invincible power of evil.

He has deceived her in her love, humbled her in her pride,

thwarted her in her ambition; and now he ruins her fortune,

deprives her of liberty, and even threatens her life. Still

more, he has lifted the corner of her mask--that shield with

which she covered herself and which rendered her so strong.

D'Artagnan has turned aside from Buckingham, whom she hates as

she hates everyone she has loved, the tempest with which

Richelieu threatened him in the person of the queen. D'Artagnan

had passed himself upon her as de Wardes, for whom she had

conceived one of those tigerlike fancies common to women of her

character. D'Artagnan knows that terrible secret which she has

sworn no one shall know without dying. In short, at the moment

in which she has just obtained from Richelieu a carte blanche by

the means of which she is about to take vengeance on her enemy,

this precious paper is torn from her hands, and it is d'Artagnan

who holds her prisoner and is about to send her to some filthy

Botany Bay, some infamous Tyburn of the Indian Ocean.

All this she owes to d'Artagnan, without doubt. From whom can

come so many disgraces heaped upon her head, if not from him? He

alone could have transmitted to Lord de Winter all these

frightful secrets which he has discovered, one after another, by

a train of fatalities. He knows her brother-in-law. He must

have written to him.

What hatred she distills! Motionless, with her burning and fixed

glances, in her solitary apartment, how well the outbursts of

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passion which at times escape from the depths of her chest with

her respiration, accompany the sound of the surf which rises,

growls, roars, and breaks itself like an eternal and powerless

despair against the rocks on which is built this dark and lofty

castle! How many magnificent projects of vengeance she conceives

by the light of the flashes which her tempestuous passion casts

over her mind against Mme. Bonacieux, against Buckingham, but

above all against d'Artagnan--projects lost in the distance of

the future.

Yes; but in order to avenge herself she must be free. And to be

free, a prisoner has to pierce a wall, detach bars, cut through a

floor--all undertakings which a patient and strong man may

accomplish, but before which the feverish irritations of a woman

must give way. Besides, to do all this, time is necessary--

months, years; and she has ten or twelve days, as Lord de Winter,

her fraternal and terrible jailer, has told her.

And yet, if she were a man she would attempt all this, and

perhaps might succeed; why, then, did heaven make the mistake of

placing that manlike soul in that frail and delicate body?

The first moments of her captivity were terrible; a few

convulsions of rage which she could not suppress paid her debt of

feminine weakness to nature. But by degrees she overcame the

outbursts of her mad passion; and nervous tremblings which

agitated her frame disappeared, and she remained folded within

herself like a fatigued serpent in repose.

"Go to, go to! I must have been mad to allow myself to be

carried away so," says she, gazing into the glass, which reflects

back to her eyes the burning glance by which she appears to

interrogate herself. "No violence; violence is the proof of

weakness. In the first place, I have never succeeded by that

means. Perhaps if I employed my strength against women I might

perchance find them weaker than myself, and consequently conquer

them; but it is with men that I struggle, and I am but a woman to

them. Let me fight like a woman, then; my strength is in my

weakness."

Then, as if to render an account to herself of the changes she

could place upon her countenance, so mobile and so expressive,

she made it take all expressions from that of passionate anger,

which convulsed her features, to that of the most sweet, most

affectionate, and most seducing smile. Then her hair assumed

successively, under her skillful hands, all the undulations she

thought might assist the charms of her face. At length she

murmured, satisfied with herself, "Come, nothing is lost; I am

still beautiful."

It was then nearly eight o'clock in the evening. Milady

perceived a bed; she calculated that the repose of a few hours

would not only refresh her head and her ideas, but still further,

her complexion. A better idea, however, came into her mind

before going to bed. She had heard something said about supper.

She had already been an hour in this apartment; they could not

long delay bringing her a repast. The prisoner did not wish to

lose time; and she resolved to make that very evening some

attempts to ascertain the nature of the ground she had to work

upon, by studying the characters of the men to whose guardianship

she was committed.

A light appeared under the door; this light announced the

reappearance of her jailers. Milady, who had arisen, threw

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herself quickly into the armchair, her head thrown back, her

beautiful hair unbound and disheveled, her bosom half bare

beneath her crumpled lace, one hand on her heart, and the other

hanging down.

The bolts were drawn; the door groaned upon its hinges. Steps

sounded in the chamber, and drew near.

"Place that table there," said a voice which the prisoner

recognized as that of Felton.

The order was executed.

"You will bring lights, and relieve the sentinel," continued

Felton.

And this double order which the young lieutenant gave to the same

individuals proved to Milady that her servants were the same men

as her guards; that is to say, soldiers.

Felton's orders were, for the rest, executed with a silent

rapidity that gave a good idea of the way in which he maintained

discipline.

At length Felton, who had not yet looked at Milady, turned toward

her.

"Ah, ah!" said he, "she is asleep; that's well. When she wakes

she can sup." And he made some steps toward the door.

"But, my lieutenant," said a soldier, less stoical than his

chief, and who had approached Milady, "this woman is not asleep."

"What, not asleep!" said Felton; "what is she doing, then?"

"She has fainted. Her face is very pale, and I have listened in

vain; I do not hear her breathe."

"You are right," said Felton, after having looked at Milady from

the spot on which he stood without moving a step toward her. "Go

and tell Lord de Winter that his prisoner has fainted--for this

event not having been foreseen, I don't know what to do."

The soldier went out to obey the orders of his officer. Felton

sat down upon an armchair which happened to be near the door, and

waited without speaking a word, without making a gesture. Milady

possessed that great art, so much studied by women, of looking

through her long eyelashes without appearing to open the lids.

She perceived Felton, who sat with his back toward her. She

continued to look at him for nearly ten minutes, and in these ten

minutes the immovable guardian never turned round once.

She then thought that Lord de Winter would come, and by his

presence give fresh strength to her jailer. Her first trial was

lost; she acted like a woman who reckons up her resources. As a

result she raised her head, opened her eyes, and sighed deeply.

At this sigh Felton turned round.

"Ah, you are awake, madame," he said; "then I have nothing more

to do here. If you want anything you can ring."

"Oh, my God, my God! how I have suffered!" said Milady, in that

harmonious voice which, like that of the ancient enchantresses,

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charmed all whom she wished to destroy.

And she assumed, upon sitting up in the armchair, a still more

graceful and abandoned position than when she reclined.

Felton arose.

"You will be served, thus, madame, three times a day," said he.

"In the morning at nine o'clock, in the day at one o'clock, and

in the evening at eight. If that does not suit you, you can

point out what other hours you prefer, and in this respect your

wishes will be complied with."

"But am I to remain always alone in this vast and dismal

chamber?" asked Milady.

"A woman of the neighbourhood has been sent for, who will be

tomorrow at the castle, and will return as often as you desire

her presence."

"I thank you, sir," replied the prisoner, humbly.

Felton made a slight bow, and directed his steps toward the door.

At the moment he was about to go out, Lord de Winter appeared in

the corridor, followed by the soldier who had been sent to inform

him of the swoon of Milady. He held a vial of salts in his hand.

"Well, what is it--what is going on here?" said he, in a jeering

voice, on seeing the prisoner sitting up and Felton about to go

out. "Is this corpse come to life already? Felton, my lad, did

you not perceive that you were taken for a novice, and that the

first act was being performed of a comedy of which we shall

doubtless have the pleasure of following out all the

developments?"

"I thought so, my lord," said Felton; "but as the prisoner is a

woman, after all, I wish to pay her the attention that every man

of gentle birth owes to a woman, if not on her account, at least

on my own."

Milady shuddered through her whole system. These words of

Felton's passed like ice through her veins.

"So," replied de Winter, laughing, "that beautiful hair so

skillfully disheveled, that white skin, and that languishing

look, have not yet seduced you, you heart of stone?"

"No, my Lord," replied the impassive young man; "your Lordship

may be assured that it requires more than the tricks and coquetry

of a woman to corrupt me."

"In that case, my brave lieutenant, let us leave Milady to find

out something else, and go to supper; but be easy! She has a

fruitful imagination, and the second act of the comedy will not

delay its steps after the first."

And at these words Lord de Winter passed his arm through that of

Felton, and led him out, laughing.

"Oh, I will be a match for you!" murmured Milady, between her

teeth; "be assured of that, you poor spoiled monk, you poor

converted soldier, who has cut his uniform out of a monk's

frock!"

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"By the way," resumed de Winter, stopping at the threshold of the

door, "you must not, Milady, let this check take away your

appetite. Taste that fowl and those fish. On my honor, they are

not poisoned. I have a very good cook, and he is not to be my

heir; I have full and perfect confidence in him. Do as I do.

Adieu, dear sister, till your next swoon!"

This was all that Milady could endure. Her hands clutched her

armchair; she ground her teeth inwardly; her eyes followed the

motion of the door as it closed behind Lord de Winter and Felton,

and the moment she was alone a fresh fit of despair seized her.

She cast her eyes upon the table, saw the glittering of a knife,

rushed toward it and clutched it; but her disappointment was

cruel. The blade was round, and of flexible silver.

A burst of laughter resounded from the other side of the illclosed

door, and the door reopened.

"Ha, ha!" cried Lord de Winter; "ha, ha! Don't you see, my brave

Felton; don't you see what I told you? That knife was for you,

my lad; she would have killed you. Observe, this is one of her

peculiarities, to get rid thus, after one fashion or another, of

all the people who bother her. If I had listened to you, the

knife would have been pointed and of steel. Then no more of

Felton; she would have cut your throat, and after that everybody

else's. See, John, see how well she knows how to handle a

knife."

In fact, Milady still held the harmless weapon in her clenched

hand; but these last words, this supreme insult, relaxed her

hands, her strength, and even her will. The knife fell to the

ground.

"You were right, my Lord," said Felton, with a tone of profound

disgust which sounded to the very bottom of the heart of Milady,

"you were right, my Lord, and I was wrong."

And both again left the room.

But this time Milady lent a more attentive ear than the first,

and she heard their steps die away in the distance of the

corridor.

"I am lost," murmured she; "I am lost! I am in the power of men

upon whom I can have no more influence than upon statues of

bronze or granite; they know me by heart, and are steeled against

all my weapons. It is, however, impossible that this should end

as they have decreed!"

In fact, as this last reflection indicated--this instinctive

return to hope--sentiments of weakness or fear did not dwell long

in her ardent spirit. Milady sat down to table, ate from several

dishes, drank a little Spanish wine, and felt all her resolution

return.

Before she went to bed she had pondered, analyzed, turned on all

sides, examined on all points, the words, the steps, the

gestures, the signs, and even the silence of her interlocutors;

and of this profound, skillful, and anxious study the result was

that Felton, everything considered, appeared the more vulnerable

of her two persecutors.

One expression above all recurred to the mind of the prisoner:

"If I had listened to you," Lord de Winter had said to Felton.

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Felton, then, had spoken in her favor, since Lord de Winter had

not been willing to listen to him.

"Weak or strong," repeated Milady, "that man has, then, a spark

of pity in his soul; of that spark I will make a flame that shall

devour him. As to the other, he knows me, he fears me, and knows

what he has to expect of me if ever I escape from his hands. It

is useless, then, to attempt anything with him. But Felton--

that's another thing. He is a young, ingenuous, pure man who

seems virtuous; him there are means of destroying."

And Milady went to bed and fell asleep with a smile upon her

lips. Anyone who had seen her sleeping might have said she was a

young girl dreaming of the crown of flowers she was to wear on

her brow at the next festival.

53 CAPTIVITY: THE SECOND DAY

Milady dreamed that she at length had d'Artagnan in her power,

that she was present at his execution; and it was the sight of

his odious blood, flowing beneath the ax of the headsman, which

spread that charming smile upon her lips.

She slept as a prisoner sleeps, rocked by his first hope.

In the morning, when they entered her chamber she was still in

bed. Felton remained in the corridor. He brought with him the

woman of whom he had spoken the evening before, and who had just

arrived; this woman entered, and approaching Milady's bed,

offered her services.

Milady was habitually pale; her complexion might therefore

deceive a person who saw her for the first time.

"I am in a fever," said she; "I have not slept a single instant

during all this long night. I suffer horribly. Are you likely

to be more humane to me than others were yesterday? All I ask is

permission to remain abed."

"Would you like to have a physician called?" said the woman.

Felton listened to this dialogue without speaking a word.

Milady reflected that the more people she had around her the more

she would have to work upon, and Lord de Winter would redouble

his watch. Besides, the physician might declare the ailment

feigned; and Milady, after having lost the first trick, was not

willing to lose the second.

"Go and fetch a physician?" said she. "What could be the good of

that? These gentlemen declared yesterday that my illness was a

comedy; it would be just the same today, no doubt--for since

yesterday evening they have had plenty of time to send for a

doctor."

"Then," said Felton, who became impatient, "say yourself, madame,

what treatment you wish followed."

"Eh, how can I tell? My God! I know that I suffer, that's all.

Give me anything you like, it is of little consequence."

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"Go and fetch Lord de Winter," said Felton, tired of these

eternal complaints.

"Oh, no, no!" cried Milady; "no, sir, do not call him, I conjure

you. I am well, I want nothing; do not call him."

She gave so much vehemence, such magnetic eloquence to this

exclamation, that Felton in spite of himself advanced some steps

into the room.

"He has come!" thought Milady.

"Meanwhile, madame, if you really suffer," said Felton, "a

physician shall be sent for; and if you deceive us--well, it will

be the worse for you. But at least we shall not have to reproach

ourselves with anything."

Milady made no reply, but turning her beautiful head round upon

her pillow, she burst into tears, and uttered heartbreaking sobs.

Felton surveyed her for an instant with his usual impassiveness;

then, seeing that the crisis threatened to be prolonged, he went

out. The woman followed him, and Lord de Winter did not appear.

"I fancy I begin to see my way," murmured Milady, with a savage

joy, burying herself under the clothes to conceal from anybody

who might be watching her this burst of inward satisfaction.

Two hours passed away.

"Now it is time that the malady should be over," said she; "let

me rise, and obtain some success this very day. I have but ten

days, and this evening two of them will be gone."

In the morning, when they entered Milady's chamber they had

brought her breakfast. Now, she thought, they could not long

delay coming to clear the table, and that Felton would then

reappear.

Milady was not deceived. Felton reappeared, and without

observing whether Milady had or had not touched her repast, made

a sign that the table should be carried out of the room, it

having been brought in ready spread.

Felton remained behind; he held a book in his hand.

Milady, reclining in an armchair near the chimney, beautiful,

pale, and resigned, looked like a holy virgin awaiting martyrdom.

Felton approached her, and said, "Lord de Winter, who is a

Catholic, like yourself, madame, thinking that the deprivation of

the rites and ceremonies of your church might be painful to you,

has consented that you should read every day the ordinary of your

Mass; and here is a book which contains the ritual."

At the manner in which Felton laid the book upon the little table

near which Milady was sitting, at the tone in which he pronounced

the two words, YOUR MASS, at the disdainful smile with which he

accompanied them, Milady raised her head, and looked more

attentively at the officer.

By that plain arrangement of the hair, by that costume of extreme

simplicity, by the brow polished like marble and as hard and

impenetrable, she recognized one of those gloomy Puritans she had

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so often met, not only in the court of King James, but in that of

the King of France, where, in spite of the remembrance of the St.

Bartholomew, they sometimes came to seek refuge.

She then had one of those sudden inspirations which only people

of genius receive in great crises, in supreme moments which are

to decide their fortunes or their lives.

Those two words, YOUR MASS, and a simple glance cast upon

Felton, revealed to her all the importance of the reply she was

about to make; but with that rapidity of intelligence which was

peculiar to her, this reply, ready arranged, presented itself to

her lips:

"I?" said she, with an accent of disdain in unison with that

which she had remarked in the voice of the young officer, "I,

sir? MY MASS? Lord de Winter, the corrupted Catholic, knows

very well that I am not of his religion, and this is a snare he

wishes to lay for me!"

"And of what religion are you, then, madame?" asked Felton, with

an astonishment which in spite of the empire he held over himself

he could not entirely conceal.

"I will tell it," cried Milady, with a feigned exultation, "on

the day when I shall have suffered sufficiently for my faith."

The look of Felton revealed to Milady the full extent of the

space she had opened for herself by this single word.

The young officer, however, remained mute and motionless; his

look alone had spoken.

"I am in the hands of my enemies," continued she, with that tone

of enthusiasm which she knew was familiar to the Puritans.

"Well, let my God save me, or let me perish for my God! That is

the reply I beg you to make to Lord de Winter. And as to this

book," added she, pointing to the manual with her finger but

without touching it, as if she must be contaminated by it, "you

may carry it back and make use of it yourself, for doubtless you

are doubly the accomplice of Lord de Winter--the accomplice in

his persecutions, the accomplice in his heresies."

Felton made no reply, took the book with the same appearance of

repugnance which he had before manifested, and retired pensively.

Lord de Winter came toward five o'clock in the evening. Milady

had had time, during the whole day, to trace her plan of conduct.

She received him like a woman who had already recovered all her

advantages.

"It appears," said the baron, seating himself in the armchair

opposite that occupied by Milady, and stretching out his legs

carelessly upon the hearth, "it appears we have made a little

apostasy!"

"What do you mean, sir!"

"I mean to say that since we last met you have changed your

religion. You have not by chance married a Protestant for a

third husband, have you?"

"Explain yourself, my Lord," replied the prisoner, with majesty;

"for though I hear your words, I declare I do not understand

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them."

"Then you have no religion at all; I like that best," replied

Lord de Winter, laughing.

"Certainly that is most in accord with your own principles,"

replied Milady, frigidly.

"Oh, I confess it is all the same to me."

"Oh, you need not avow this religious indifference, my Lord; your

debaucheries and crimes would vouch for it."

"What, you talk of debaucheries, Madame Messalina, Lady Macbeth!

Either I misunderstand you or you are very shameless!"

"You only speak thus because you are overheard," coolly replied

Milady; "and you wish to interest your jailers and your hangmen

against me."

"My jailers and my hangmen! Heyday, madame! you are taking a

poetical tone, and the comedy of yesterday turns to a tragedy

this evening. As to the rest, in eight days you will be where

you ought to be, and my task will be completed."

"Infamous task! impious task!" cried Milady, with the exultation

of a victim who provokes his judge.

"My word," said de Winter, rising, "I think the hussy is going

mad! Come, come, calm yourself, Madame Puritan, or I'll remove

you to a dungeon. It's my Spanish wine that has got into your

head, is it not? But never mind; that sort of intoxication is

not dangerous, and will have no bad effects."

And Lord de Winter retired swearing, which at that period was a

very knightly habit.

Felton was indeed behind the door, and had not lost one word of

this scene. Milady had guessed aright.

"Yes, go, go,!" said she to her brother; "the effects ARE drawing

near, on the contrary; but you, weak fool, will not see them

until it is too late to shun them."

Silence was re-established. Two hours passed away. Milady's

supper was brought in, and she was found deeply engaged in saying

her prayers aloud--prayers which she had learned of an old

servant of her second husband, a most austere Puritan. She

appeared to be in ecstasy, and did not pay the least attention to

what was going on around her. Felton made a sign that she should

not be disturbed; and when all was arranged, he went out quietly

with the soldiers.

Milady knew she might be watched, so she continued her prayers to

the end; and it appeared to her that the soldier who was on duty

at her door did not march with the same step, and seemed to

listen. For the moment she wished nothing better. She arose,

came to the table, ate but little, and drank only water.

An hour after, her table was cleared; but Milady remarked that

this time Felton did not accompany the soldiers. He feared,

then, to see her too often.

She turned toward the wall to smile--for there was in this smile

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such an expression of triumph that this smile alone would have

betrayed her.

She allowed, therefore, half an hour to pass away; and as at that

moment all was silence in the old castle, as nothing was heard

but the eternal murmur of the waves--that immense breaking of the

ocean--with her pure, harmonious, and powerful voice, she began

the first couplet of the psalm then in great favor with the

Puritans:

"Thou leavest thy servants, Lord,

To see if they be strong;

But soon thou dost afford

Thy hand to lead them on."

These verses were not excellent--very far from it; but as it is

well known, the Puritans did not pique themselves upon their

poetry.

While singing, Milady listened. The soldier on guard at her door

stopped, as if he had been changed into stone. Milady was then

able to judge of the effect she had produced.

Then she continued her singing with inexpressible fervor and

feeling. It appeared to her that the sounds spread to a distance

beneath the vaulted roofs, and carried with them a magic charm to

soften the hearts of her jailers. It however likewise appeared

that the soldier on duty--a zealous Catholic, no doubt--shook off

the charm, for through the door he called: "Hold your tongue,

madame! Your song is as dismal as a 'De profundis'; and if

besides the pleasure of being in garrison here, we must hear such

things as these, no mortal can hold out."

"Silence!" then exclaimed another stern voice which Milady

recognized as that of Felton. "What are you meddling with,

stupid? Did anybody order you to prevent that woman from

singing? No. You were told to guard her--to fire at her if she

attempted to fly. Guard her! If she flies, kill her; but don't

exceed your orders."

An expression of unspeakable joy lightened the countenance of

Milady; but this expression was fleeting as the reflection of

lightning. Without appearing to have heard the dialogue, of

which she had not lost a word, she began again, giving to her

voice all the charm, all the power, all the seduction the demon

had bestowed upon it:

"For all my tears, my cares,

My exile, and my chains,

I have my youth, my prayers,

And God, who counts my pains."

Her voice, of immense power and sublime expression, gave to the

rude, unpolished poetry of these psalms a magic and an effect

which the most exalted Puritans rarely found in the songs of

their brethren, and which they were forced to ornament with all

the resources of their imagination. Felton believed he heard the

singing of the angel who consoled the three Hebrews in the

furnace.

Milady continued:

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"One day our doors will ope,

With God come our desire;

And if betrays that hope,

To death we can aspire."

This verse, into which the terrible enchantress threw her whole

soul, completed the trouble which had seized the heart of the

young officer. He opened the door quickly; and Milady saw him

appear, pale as usual, but with his eye inflamed and almost wild.

"Why do you sing thus, and with such a voice?" said he.

"Your pardon, sir," said Milady, with mildness. "I forgot that

my songs are out of place in this castle. I have perhaps

offended you in your creed; but it was without wishing to do so,

I swear. Pardon me, then, a fault which is perhaps great, but

which certainly was involuntary."

Milady was so beautiful at this moment, the religious ecstasy in

which she appeared to be plunged gave such an expression to her

countenance, that Felton was so dazzled that he fancied he beheld

the angel whom he had only just before heard.

"Yes, yes," said he; "you disturb, you agitate the people who

live in the castle."

The poor, senseless young man was not aware of the incoherence of

his words, while Milady was reading with her lynx's eyes the very

depths of his heart.

"I will be silent, then," said Milady, casting down her eyes with

all the sweetness she could give to her voice, with all the

resignation she could impress upon her manner.

"No, no, madame," said Felton, "only do not sing so loud,

particularly at night."

And at these words Felton, feeling that he could not long

maintain his severity toward his prisoner, rushed out of the

room.

"You have done right, Lieutenant," said the soldier. "Such songs

disturb the mind; and yet we become accustomed to them, her voice

is so beautiful."

54 CAPTIVITY: THE THIRD DAY

Felton had fallen; but there was still another step to be taken.

He must be retained, or rather he must be left quite alone; and

Milady but obscurely perceived the means which could lead to this

result.

Still more must be done. He must be made to speak, in order that

he might be spoken to--for Milady very well knew that her

greatest seduction was in her voice, which so skillfully ran over

the whole gamut of tones from human speech to language celestial.

Yet in spite of all this seduction Milady might fail--for Felton

was forewarned, and that against the least chance. From that

moment she watched all his actions, all his words, from the

simplest glance of his eyes to his gestures--even to a breath

that could be interpreted as a sigh. In short, she studied

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everything, as a skillful comedian does to whom a new part has

been assigned in a line to which he is not accustomed.

Face to face with Lord de Winter her plan of conduct was more

easy. She had laid that down the preceding evening. To remain

silent and dignified in his presence; from time to time to

irritate him by affected disdain, by a contemptuous word; to

provoke him to threats and violence which would produce a

contrast with her own resignation--such was her plan. Felton

would see all; perhaps he would say nothing, but he would see.

In the morning, Felton came as usual; but Milady allowed him to

preside over all the preparations for breakfast without

addressing a word to him. At the moment when he was about to

retire, she was cheered with a ray of hope, for she thought he

was about to speak; but his lips moved without any sound leaving

his mouth, and making a powerful effort to control himself, he

sent back to his heart the words that were about to escape from

his lips, and went out. Toward midday, Lord de Winter entered.

It was a tolerably fine winter's day, and a ray of that pale

English sun which lights but does not warm came through the bars

of her prison.

Milady was looking out at the window, and pretended not to hear

the door as it opened.

"Ah, ah!" said Lord de Winter, "after having played comedy, after

having played tragedy, we are now playing melancholy?"

The prisoner made no reply.

"Yes, yes," continued Lord de Winter, "I understand. You would

like very well to be at liberty on that beach! You would like

very well to be in a good ship dancing upon the waves of that

emerald-green sea; you would like very well, either on land or on

the ocean, to lay for me one of those nice little ambuscades you

are so skillful in planning. Patience, patience! In four days'

time the shore will be beneath your feet, the sea will be open to

you--more open than will perhaps be agreeable to you, for in four

days England will be relieved of you."

Milady folded her hands, and raising her fine eyes toward heaven,

"Lord, Lord," said she, with an angelic meekness of gesture and

tone, "pardon this man, as I myself pardon him."

"Yes, pray, accursed woman!" cried the baron; "your prayer is so

much the more generous from your being, I swear to you, in the

power of a man who will never pardon you!" and he went out.

At the moment he went out a piercing glance darted through the

opening of the nearly closed door, and she perceived Felton, who

drew quickly to one side to prevent being seen by her.

Then she threw herself upon her knees, and began to pray.

"My God, my God!" said she, "thou knowest in what holy cause I

suffer; give me, then, strength to suffer."

The door opened gently; the beautiful supplicant pretended not to

hear the noise, and in a voice broken by tears, she continued:

"God of vengeance! God of goodness! wilt thou allow the

frightful projects of this man to be accomplished?"

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Then only she pretended to hear the sound of Felton's steps, and

rising quick as thought, she blushed, as if ashamed of being

surprised on her knees.

"I do not like to disturb those who pray, madame," said Felton,

seriously; "do not disturb yourself on my account, I beseech

you."

"How do you know I was praying, sir?" said Milady, in a voice

broken by sobs. "You were deceived, sir; I was not praying."

"Do you think, then, madame," replied Felton, in the same serious

voice, but with a milder tone, "do you think I assume the right

of preventing a creature from prostrating herself before her

Creator? God forbid! Besides, repentance becomes the guilty;

whatever crimes they may have committed, for me the guilty are

sacred at the feet of God!"

"Guilty? I?" said Milady, with a smile which might have disarmed

the angel of the last judgment. "Guilty? Oh, my God, thou

knowest whether I am guilty! Say I am condemned, sir, if you

please; but you know that God, who loves martyrs, sometimes

permits the innocent to be condemned."

"Were you condemned, were you innocent, were you a martyr,"

replied Felton, "the greater would be the necessity for prayer;

and I myself would aid you with my prayers."

"Oh, you are a just man!" cried Milady, throwing herself at his

feet. "I can hold out no longer, for I fear I shall be wanting

in strength at the moment when I shall be forced to undergo the

struggle, and confess my faith. Listen, then, to the

supplication of a despairing woman. You are abused, sir; but

that is not the question. I only ask you one favor; and if you

grant it me, I will bless you in this world and in the next."

"Speak to the master, madame," said Felton; "happily I am neither

charged with the power of pardoning nor punishing. It is upon

one higher placed than I am that God has laid this

responsibility."

"To you--no, to you alone! Listen to me, rather than add to my

destruction, rather than add to my ignominy!"

"If you have merited this shame, madame, if you have incurred

this ignominy, you must submit to it as an offering to God."

"What do you say? Oh, you do not understand me! When I speak of

ignominy, you think I speak of some chastisement, of imprisonment

or death. Would to heaven! Of what consequence to me is

imprisonment or death?"

"It is I who no longer understand you, madame," said Felton.

"Or, rather, who pretend not to understand me, sir!" replied the

prisoner, with a smile of incredulity.

"No, madame, on the honor of a soldier, on the faith of a

Christian."

"What, you are ignorant of Lord de Winter's designs upon me?"

"I am."

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"Impossible; you are his confidant!"

"I never lie, madame."

"Oh, he conceals them too little for you not to divine them."

"I seek to divine nothing, madame; I wait till I am confided in,

and apart from that which Lord de Winter has said to me before

you, he has confided nothing to me."

"Why, then," cried Milady, with an incredible tone of

truthfulness, "you are not his accomplice; you do not know that

he destines me to a disgrace which all the punishments of the

world cannot equal in horror?"

"You are deceived, madame," said Felton, blushing; "Lord de

Winter is not capable of such a crime."

"Good," said Milady to herself; "without thinking what it is, he

calls it a crime!" Then aloud, "The friend of THAT WRETCH is

capable of everything."

"Whom do you call 'that wretch'?" asked Felton.

"Are there, then, in England two men to whom such an epithet can

be applied?"

"You mean George Villiers?" asked Felton, whose looks became

excited.

"Whom Pagans and unbelieving Gentiles call Duke of Buckingham,"

replied Milady. "I could not have thought that there was an

Englishman in all England who would have required so long an

explanation to make him understand of whom I was speaking."

"The hand of the Lord is stretched over him," said Felton; "he

will not escape the chastisement he deserves."

Felton only expressed, with regard to the duke, the feeling of

execration which all the English had declared toward him whom the

Catholics themselves called the extortioner, the pillager, the

debauchee, and whom the Puritans styled simply Satan.

"Oh, my God, my God!" cried Milady; "when I supplicate thee to

pour upon this man the chastisement which is his due, thou

knowest it is not my own vengeance I pursue, but the deliverance

of a whole nation that I implore!"

"Do you know him, then?" asked Felton.

"At length he interrogates me!" said Milady to herself, at the

height of joy at having obtained so quickly such a great result.

"Oh, know him? Yes, yes! to my misfortune, to my eternal

misfortune!" and Milady twisted her arms as if in a paroxysm of

grief.

Felton no doubt felt within himself that his strength was

abandoning him, and he made several steps toward the door; but

the prisoner, whose eye never left him, sprang in pursuit of him

and stopped him.

"Sir," cried she, "be kind, be clement, listen to my prayer!

That knife, which the fatal prudence of the baron deprived me of,

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because he knows the use I would make of it! Oh, hear me to the

end! that knife, give it to me for a minute only, for mercy's,

for pity's sake! I will embrace your knees! You shall shut the

door that you may be certain I contemplate no injury to you! My

God! to you--the only just, good, and compassionate being I have

met with! To you--my preserver, perhaps! One minute that knife,

one minute, a single minute, and I will restore it to you through

the grating of the door. Only one minute, Mr. Felton, and you

will have saved my honor!"

"To kill yourself?" cried Felton, with terror, forgetting to

withdraw his hands from the hands of the prisoner, "to kill

yourself?"

"I have told, sir," murmured Milady, lowering her voice, and

allowing herself to sink overpowered to the ground; "I have told

my secret! He knows all! My God, I am lost!"

Felton remained standing, motionless and undecided.

"He still doubts," thought Milady; "I have not been earnest

enough."

Someone was heard in the corridor; Milady recognized the step of

Lord de Winter.

Felton recognized it also, and made a step toward the door.

Milady sprang toward him. "Oh, not a word," said she in a

concentrated voice, "not a word of all that I have said to you to

this man, or I am lost, and it would be you--you--"

Then as the steps drew near, she became silent for fear of being

heard, applying, with a gesture of infinite terror, her beautiful

hand to Felton's mouth.

Felton gently repulsed Milady, and she sank into a chair.

Lord de Winter passed before the door without stopping, and they

heard the noise of his footsteps soon die away.

Felton, as pale as death, remained some instants with his ear

bent and listening; then, when the sound was quite extinct, he

breathed like a man awaking from a dream, and rushed out of the

apartment.

"Ah!" said Milady, listening in her turn to the noise of Felton's

steps, which withdrew in a direction opposite to those of Lord de

Winter; "at length you are mine!"

Then her brow darkened. "If he tells the baron," said she, "I am

lost--for the baron, who knows very well that I shall not kill

myself, will place me before him with a knife in my hand, and he

will discover that all this despair is but acted."

She placed herself before the glass, and regarded herself

attentively; never had she appeared more beautiful.

"Oh, yes," said she, smiling, "but we won't tell him!"

In the evening Lord de Winter accompanied the supper.

"Sir," said Milady, "is your presence an indispensable accessory

of my captivity? Could you not spare me the increase of torture

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which your visits cause me?"

"How, dear sister!" said Lord de Winter. "Did not you

sentimentally inform me with that pretty mouth of yours, so cruel

to me today, that you came to England solely for the pleasure of

seeing me at your ease, an enjoyment of which you told me you so

sensibly felt the deprivation that you had risked everything for

it--seasickness, tempest, captivity? Well, here I am; be

satisfied. Besides, this time, my visit has a motive."

Milady trembled; she thought Felton had told all. Perhaps never

in her life had this woman, who had experienced so many opposite

and powerful emotions, felt her heart beat so violently.

She was seated. Lord de Winter took a chair, drew it toward her,

and sat down close beside her. Then taking a paper out of his

pocket, he unfolded it slowly.

"Here," said he, "I want to show you the kind of passport which I

have drawn up, and which will serve you henceforward as the rule

of order in the life I consent to leave you."

Then turning his eyes from Milady to the paper, he read: "'Order

to conduct--' The name is blank," interrupted Lord de Winter.

"If you have any preference you can point it out to me; and if it

be not within a thousand leagues of London, attention will be

paid to your wishes. I will begin again, then:

"'Order to conduct to--the person named Charlotte Backson,

branded by the justice of the kingdom of France, but liberated

after chastisement. She is to dwell in this place without ever

going more than three leagues from it. In case of any attempt to

escape, the penalty of death is to be applied. She will receive

five shillings per day for lodging and food'".

"That order does not concern me," replied Milady, coldly, "since

it bears another name than mine."

"A name? Have you a name, then?"

"I bear that of your brother."

"Ay, but you are mistaken. My brother is only your second

husband; and your first is still living. Tell me his name, and I

will put it in the place of the name of Charlotte Backson. No?

You will not? You are silent? Well, then you must be registered

as Charlotte Backson."

Milady remained silent; only this time it was no longer from

affectation, but from terror. She believed the order ready for

execution. She thought that Lord de Winter had hastened her

departure; she thought she was condemned to set off that very

evening. Everything in her mind was lost for an instant; when

all at once she perceived that no signature was attached to the

order. The joy she felt at this discovery was so great she could

not conceal it.

"Yes, yes," said Lord de Winter, who perceived what was passing

in her mind; "yes, you look for the signature, and you say to

yourself: 'All is not lost, for that order is not signed. It is

only shown to me to terrify me, that's all.' You are mistaken.

Tomorrow this order will be sent to the Duke of Buckingham. The

day after tomorrow it will return signed by his hand and marked

with his seal; and four-and-twenty hours afterward I will answer

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for its being carried into execution. Adieu, madame. That is

all I had to say to you."

"And I reply to you, sir, that this abuse of power, this exile

under a fictitious name, are infamous!"

"Would you like better to be hanged in your true name, Milady?

You know that the English laws are inexorable on the abuse of

marriage. Speak freely. Although my name, or rather that of my

brother, would be mixed up with the affair, I will risk the

scandal of a public trial to make myself certain of getting rid

of you."

Milady made no reply, but became as pale as a corpse.

"Oh, I see you prefer peregrination. That's well madame; and

there is an old proverb that says, 'Traveling trains youth.' My

faith! you are not wrong after all, and life is sweet. That's

the reason why I take such care you shall not deprive me of mine.

There only remains, then, the question of the five shillings to

be settled. You think me rather parsimonious, don't you? That's

because I don't care to leave you the means of corrupting your

jailers. Besides, you will always have your charms left to

seduce them with. Employ them, if your check with regard to

Felton has not disgusted you with attempts of that kind."

"Felton has not told him," said Milady to herself. "Nothing is

lost, then."

"And now, madame, till I see you again! Tomorrow I will come and

announce to you the departure of my messenger."

Lord de Winter rose, saluted her ironically, and went out.

Milady breathed again. She had still four days before her. Four

days would quite suffice to complete the seduction of Felton.

A terrible idea, however, rushed into her mind. She thought that

Lord de Winter would perhaps send Felton himself to get the order

signed by the Duke of Buckingham. In that case Felton would

escape her--for in order to secure success, the magic of a

continuous seduction was necessary. Nevertheless, as we have

said, one circumstance reassured her. Felton had not spoken.

As she would not appear to be agitated by the threats of Lord de

Winter, she placed herself at the table and ate.

Then, as she had done the evening before, she fell on her knees

and repeated her prayers aloud. As on the evening before, the

soldier stopped his march to listen to her.

Soon after she heard lighter steps than those of the sentinel,

which came from the end of the corridor and stopped before her

door.

"It is he," said she. And she began the same religious chant

which had so strongly excited Felton the evening before.

But although her voice--sweet, full, and sonorous--vibrated as

harmoniously and as affectingly as ever, the door remained shut.

It appeared however to Milady that in one of the furtive glances

she darted from time to time at the grating of the door she

thought she saw the ardent eyes of the young man through the

narrow opening. But whether this was reality or vision, he had

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this time sufficient self-command not to enter.

However, a few instants after she had finished her religious

song, Milady thought she heard a profound sigh. Then the same

steps she had heard approach slowly withdrew, as if with regret.

55 CAPTIVITY: THE FOURTH DAY

The next day, when Felton entered Milady's apartment he found her

standing, mounted upon a chair, holding in her hands a cord made

by means of torn cambric handkerchiefs, twisted into a kind of

rope one with another, and tied at the ends. At the noise Felton

made in entering, Milady leaped lightly to the ground, and tried

to conceal behind her the improvised cord she held in her hand.

The young man was more pale than usual, and his eyes, reddened by

want of sleep, denoted that he had passed a feverish night.

Nevertheless, his brow was armed with a severity more austere

than ever.

He advanced slowly toward Milady, who had seated herself, and

taking an end of the murderous rope which by neglect, or perhaps

by design, she allowed to be seen, "What is this, madame?" he

asked coldly.

"That? Nothing," said Milady, smiling with that painful

expression which she knew so well how to give to her smile.

"Ennui is the mortal enemy of prisoners; I had ennui, and I

amused myself with twisting that rope."

Felton turned his eyes toward the part of the wall of the

apartment before which he had found Milady standing in the

armchair in which she was now seated, and over her head he

perceived a gilt-headed screw, fixed in the wall for the purpose

of hanging up clothes or weapons.

He started, and the prisoner saw that start--for though her eyes

were cast down, nothing escaped her.

"What were you doing on that armchair?" asked he.

"Of what consequence?" replied Milady.

"But," replied Felton, "I wish to know."

"Do not question me," said the prisoner; "you know that we who

are true Christians are forbidden to lie."

"Well, then," said Felton, " I will tell you what you were doing,

or rather what you meant to do; you were going to complete the

fatal project you cherish in your mind. Remember, madame, if our

God forbids falsehood, he much more severely condemns suicide."

"When God sees one of his creatures persecuted unjustly, placed

between suicide and dishonor, believe me, sir," replied Milady,

in a tone of deep conviction, "God pardons suicide, for then

suicide becomes martyrdom."

"You say either too much or too little; speak, madame. In the

name of heaven, explain yourself."

"That I may relate my misfortunes for you to treat them as

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fables; that I may tell you my projects for you to go and betray

them to my persecutor? No, sir. Besides, of what importance to

you is the life or death of a condemned wretch? You are only

responsible for my body, is it not so? And provided you produce

a carcass that may be recognized as mine, they will require no

more of you; nay, perhaps you will even have a double reward."

"I, madame, I?" cried Felton. "You suppose that I would ever

accept the price of your life? Oh, you cannot believe what you

say!"

"Let me act as I please, Felton, let me act as I please," said

Milady, elated. "Every soldier must be ambitious, must he not?

You are a lieutenant? Well, you will follow me to the grave with

the rank of captain."

"What have I, then, done to you," said Felton, much agitated,

"that you should load me with such a responsibility before God

and before men? In a few days you will be away from this place;

your life, madame, will then no longer be under my care, and,"

added he, with a sigh, "then you can do what you will with it."

"So," cried Milady, as if she could not resist giving utterance

to a holy indignation, "you, a pious man, you who are called a

just man, you ask but one thing--and that is that you may not be

inculpated, annoyed, by my death!"

"It is my duty to watch over your life, madame, and I will

watch."

"But do you understand the mission you are fulfilling? Cruel

enough, if I am guilty; but what name can you give it, what name

will the Lord give it, if I am innocent?"

"I am a soldier, madame, and fulfill the orders I have received."

"Do you believe, then, that at the day of the Last Judgment God

will separate blind executioners from iniquitous judges? You are

not willing that I should kill my body, and you make yourself the

agent of him who would kill my soul."

"But I repeat it again to you," replied Felton, in great emotion,

"no danger threatens you; I will answer for Lord de Winter as for

myself."

"Dunce," cried Milady, "dunce! who dares to answer for another

man, when the wisest, when those most after God's own heart,

hesitate to answer for themselves, and who ranges himself on the

side of the strongest and the most fortunate, to crush the

weakest and the most unfortunate."

"Impossible, madame, impossible," murmured Felton, who felt to

the bottom of his heart the justness of this argument. "A

prisoner, you will not recover your liberty through me; living,

you will not lose your life through me."

"Yes," cried Milady, "but I shall lose that which is much dearer

to me than life, I shall lose my honor, Felton; and it is you,

you whom I make responsible, before God and before men, for my

shame and my infamy."

This time Felton, immovable as he was, or appeared to be, could

not resist the secret influence which had already taken

possession of him. To see this woman, so beautiful, fair as the

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brightest vision, to see her by turns overcome with grief and

threatening; to resist at once the ascendancy of grief and

beauty--it was too much for a visionary; it was too much for a

brain weakened by the ardent dreams of an ecstatic faith; it was

too much for a heart furrowed by the love of heaven that burns,

by the hatred of men that devours.

Milady saw the trouble. She felt by intuition the flame of the

opposing passions which burned with the blood in the veins of the

young fanatic. As a skillful general, seeing the enemy ready to

surrender, marches toward him with a cry of victory, she rose,

beautiful as an antique priestess, inspired like a Christian

virgin, her arms extended, her throat uncovered, her hair

disheveled, holding with one hand her robe modestly drawn over

her breast, her look illumined by that fire which had already

created such disorder in the veins of the young Puritan, and went

toward him, crying out with a vehement air, and in her melodious

voice, to which on this occasion she communicated a terrible

energy:

"Let this victim to Baal be sent,

To the lions the martyr be thrown!

Thy God shall teach thee to repent!

From th' abyss he'll give ear to my moan."

Felton stood before this strange apparition like one petrified.

"Who art thou? Who art thou?" cried he, clasping his hands.

"Art thou a messenger from God; art thou a minister from hell;

art thou an angel or a demon; callest thou thyself Eloa or

Astarte?"

"Do you not know me, Felton? I am neither an angel nor a demon;

I am a daughter of earth, I am a sister of thy faith, that is

all."

"Yes, yes!" said Felton, "I doubted, but now I believe."

"You believe, and still you are an accomplice of that child of

Belial who is called Lord de Winter! You believe, and yet you

leave me in the hands of mine enemies, of the enemy of England,

of the enemy of God! You believe, and yet you deliver me up to

him who fills and defiles the world with his heresies and

debaucheries--to that infamous Sardanapalus whom the blind call

the Duke of Buckingham, and whom believers name Antichrist!"

"I deliver you up to Buckingham? I? what mean you by that?"

"They have eyes," cried Milady, "but they see not; ears have

they, but they hear not."

"Yes, yes!" said Felton, passing his hands over his brow, covered

with sweat, as if to remove his last doubt. "Yes, I recognize

the voice which speaks to me in my dreams; yes, I recognize the

features of the angel who appears to me every night, crying to my

soul, which cannot sleep: 'Strike, save England, save thyself--

for thou wilt die without having appeased God!' Speak, speak!"

cried Felton, "I can understand you now."

A flash of terrible joy, but rapid as thought, gleamed from the

eyes of Milady.

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However fugitive this homicide flash, Felton saw it, and started

as if its light had revealed the abysses of this woman's heart.

He recalled, all at once, the warnings of Lord de Winter, the

seductions of Milady, her first attempts after her arrival. He

drew back a step, and hung down his head, without, however,

ceasing to look at her, as if, fascinated by this strange

creature, he could not detach his eyes from her eyes.

Milady was not a woman to misunderstand the meaning of this

hesitation. Under her apparent emotions her icy coolness never

abandoned her. Before Felton replied, and before she should be

forced to resume this conversation, so difficult to be sustained

in the same exalted tone, she let her hands fall; and as if the

weakness of the woman overpowered the enthusiasm of the inspired

fanatic, she said: "But no, it is not for me to be the Judith to

deliver Bethulia from this Holofernes. The sword of the eternal

is too heavy for my arm. Allow me, then, to avoid dishonor by

death; let me take refuge in martyrdom. I do not ask you for

liberty, as a guilty one would, nor for vengeance, as would a

pagan. Let me die; that is all. I supplicate you, I implore you

on my knees--let me die, and my last sigh shall be a blessing for

my preserver."

Hearing that voice, so sweet and suppliant, seeing that look, so

timid and downcast, Felton reproached himself. By degrees the

enchantress had clothed herself with that magic adornment which

she assumed and threw aside at will; that is to say, beauty,

meekness, and tears--and above all, the irresistible attraction

of mystical voluptuousness, the most devouring of all

voluptuousness.

"Alas!" said Felton, "I can do but one thing, which is to pity

you if you prove to me you are a victim! But Lord de Winter

makes cruel accusations against you. You are a Christian; you

are my sister in religion. I feel myself drawn toward you--I,

who have never loved anyone but my benefactor--I who have met

with nothing but traitors and impious men. But you, madame, so

beautiful in reality, you, so pure in appearance, must have

committed great iniquities for Lord de Winter to pursue you

thus."

"They have eyes," repeated Milady, with an accent of

indescribable grief, "but they see not; ears have they, but they

hear not."

"But," cried the young officer, "speak, then, speak!"

"Confide my shame to you," cried Milady, with the blush of

modesty upon her countenance, "for often the crime of one becomes

the shame of another--confide my shame to you, a man, and I a

woman? Oh," continued she, placing her hand modestly over her

beautiful eyes, "never! never!--I could not!"

"To me, to a brother?" said Felton.

Milady looked at him for some time with an expression which the

young man took for doubt, but which, however, was nothing but

observation, or rather the wish to fascinate.

Felton, in his turn a suppliant, clasped his hands.

"Well, then," said Milady, "I confide in my brother; I will dare

to--"

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At this moment the steps of Lord de Winter were heard; but this

time the terrible brother-in-law of Milady did not content

himself, as on the preceding day, with passing before the door

and going away again. He paused, exchanged two words with the

sentinel; then the door opened, and he appeared.

During the exchange of these two words Felton drew back quickly,

and when Lord de Winter entered, he was several paces from the

prisoner.

The baron entered slowly, sending a scrutinizing glance from

Milady to the young officer.

"You have been here a very long time, John," said he. "Has this

woman been relating her crimes to you? In that case I can

comprehend the length of the conversation."

Felton started; and Milady felt she was lost if she did not come

to the assistance of the disconcerted Puritan.

"Ah, you fear your prisoner should escape!" said she. "Well, ask

your worthy jailer what favor I this instant solicited of him."

"You demanded a favor,?" said the baron, suspiciously.

"Yes, my Lord," replied the young man, confused.

"And what favor, pray?" asked Lord de Winter.

"A knife, which she would return to me through the grating of the

door a minute after she had received it," replied Felton.

"There is someone, then, concealed here whose throat this amiable

lady is desirous of cutting," said de Winter, in an ironical,

contemptuous tone.

"There is myself," replied Milady.

"I have given you the choice between America and Tyburn," replied

Lord de Winter. "Choose Tyburn, madame. Believe me, the cord is

more certain than the knife."

Felton grew pale, and made a step forward, remembering that at

the moment he entered Milady had a rope in her hand.

"You are right," said she, "I have often thought of it." Then

she added in a low voice, "And I will think of it again."

Felton felt a shudder run to the marrow of his bones; probably

Lord de Winter perceived this emotion.

"Mistrust yourself, John," said he. "I have placed reliance upon

you, my friend. Beware! I have warned you! But be of good

courage, my lad; in three days we shall be delivered from this

creature, and where I shall send her she can harm nobody."

"You hear him!" cried Milady, with vehemence, so that the baron

might believe she was addressing heaven, and that Felton might

understand she was addressing him.

Felton lowered his head and reflected.

The baron took the young officer by the arm, and turned his head

over his shoulder, so as not to lose sight of Milady till he was

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gone out.

"Well," said the prisoner, when the door was shut, "I am not so

far advanced as I believed. De Winter has changed his usual

stupidity into a strange prudence. It is the desire of

vengeance, and how desire molds a man! As to Felton, he

hesitates. Ah, he is not a man like that cursed d'Artagnan. A

Puritan only adores virgins, and he adores them by clasping his

hands. A Musketeer loves women, and he loves them by clasping

his arms round them."

Milady waited, then, with much impatience, for she feared the day

would pass away without her seeing Felton again. At last, in an

hour after the scene we have just described, she heard someone

speaking in a low voice at the door. Presently the door opened,

and she perceived Felton.

The young man advanced rapidly into the chamber, leaving the door

open behind him, and making a sign to Milady to be silent; his

face was much agitated.

"What do you want with me?" said she.

"Listen," replied Felton, in a low voice. "I have just sent away

the sentinel that I might remain here without anybody knowing it,

in order to speak to you without being overheard. The baron has

just related a frightful story to me."

Milady assumed her smile of a resigned victim, and shook her

head.

"Either you are a demon," continued Felton, "or the baron--my

benefactor, my father--is a monster. I have known you four days;

I have loved him four years. I therefore may hesitate between

you. Be not alarmed at what I say; I want to be convinced.

Tonight, after twelve, I will come and see you, and you shall

convince me."

"No, Felton, no, my brother," said she; "the sacrifice is too

great, and I feel what it must cost you. No, I am lost; do not

be lost with me. My death will be much more eloquent than my

life, and the silence of the corpse will convince you much better

than the words of the prisoner."

"Be silent, madame," cried Felton, "and do not speak to me thus;

I came to entreat you to promise me upon your honor, to swear to

me by what you hold most sacred, that you will make no attempt

upon your life."

"I will not promise," said Milady, "for no one has more respect

for a promise or an oath than I have; and if I make a promise I

must keep it."

"Well," said Felton, "only promise till you have seen me again.

If, when you have seen me again, you still persist--well, then

you shall be free, and I myself will give you the weapon you

desire."

"Well," said Milady, "for you I will wait."

"Swear."

"I swear it, by our God. Are you satisfied?"

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"Well," said Felton, "till tonight."

And he darted out of the room, shut the door, and waited in the

corridor, the soldier's half-pike in his hand, and as if he had

mounted guard in his place.

The soldier returned, and Felton gave him back his weapon.

Then, through the grating to which she had drawn near, Milady saw

the young man make a sign with delirious fervor, and depart in an

apparent transport of joy.

As for her, she returned to her place with a smile of savage

contempt upon her lips, and repeated, blaspheming, that terrible

name of God, by whom she had just sworn without ever having

learned to know Him.

"My God," said she, "what a senseless fanatic! My God, it is I--

I--and this fellow who will help me to avenge myself."

56 CAPTIVITY: THE FIFTH DAY

Milady had however achieved a half-triumph, and success doubled

her forces.

It was not difficult to conquer, as she had hitherto done, men

prompt to let themselves be seduced, and whom the gallant

education of a court led quickly into her net. Milady was

handsome enough not to find much resistance on the part of the

flesh, and she was sufficiently skillful to prevail over all the

obstacles of the mind.

But this time she had to contend with an unpolished nature,

concentrated and insensible by force of austerity. Religion and

its observances had made Felton a man inaccessible to ordinary

seductions. There fermented in that sublimated brain plans so

vast, projects so tumultuous, that there remained no room for any

capricious or material love--that sentiment which is fed by

leisure and grows with corruption. Milady had, then, made a

breach by her false virtue in the opinion of a man horribly

prejudiced against her, and by her beauty in the heart of a man

hitherto chaste and pure. In short, she had taken the

measure of motives hitherto unknown to herself, through this

experiment, made upon the most rebellious subject that nature and

religion could submit to her study.

Many a time, nevertheless, during the evening she despaired of

fate and of herself. She did not invoke God, we very well know,

but she had faith in the genius of evil--that immense sovereignty

which reigns in all the details of human life, and by which, as

in the Arabian fable, a single pomegranate seed is sufficient to

reconstruct a ruined world.

Milady, being well prepared for the reception of Felton, was able

to erect her batteries for the next day. She knew she had only

two days left; that when once the order was signed by Buckingham-

-and Buckingham would sign it the more readily from its bearing a

false name, and he could not, therefore, recognize the woman in

question--once this order was signed, we say, the baron would

make her embark immediately, and she knew very well that women

condemned to exile employ arms much less powerful in their

seductions than the pretendedly virtuous woman whose beauty is

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lighted by the sun of the world, whose style the voice of fashion

lauds, and whom a halo of aristocracy gilds with enchanting

splendors. To be a woman condemned to a painful and disgraceful

punishment is no impediment to beauty, but it is an obstacle to

the recovery of power. Like all persons of real genius, Milady

knew what suited her nature and her means. Poverty was repugnant

to her; degradation took away two-thirds of her greatness.

Milady was only a queen while among queens. The pleasure of

satisfied pride was necessary to her domination. To command

inferior beings was rather a humiliation than a pleasure for her.

She should certainly return from her exile--she did not doubt

that a single instant; but how long might this exile last? For

an active, ambitious nature, like that of Milady, days not spent

in climbing are inauspicious days. What word, then, can be found

to describe the days which they occupy in descending? To lose a

year, two years, three years, is to talk of an eternity; to

return after the death or disgrace of the cardinal, perhaps; to

return when d'Artagnan and his friends, happy and triumphant,

should have received from the queen the reward they had well

acquired by the services they had rendered her--these were

devouring ideas that a woman like Milady could not endure. For

the rest, the storm which raged within her doubled her strength,

and she would have burst the walls of her prison if her body had

been able to take for a single instant the proportions of her

mind.

Then that which spurred her on additionally in the midst of all

this was the remembrance of the cardinal. What must the

mistrustful, restless, suspicious cardinal think of her silence--

the cardinal, not merely her only support, her only prop, her

only protector at present, but still further, the principal

instrument of her future fortune and vengeance? She knew him;

she knew that at her return from a fruitless journey it would be

in vain to tell him of her imprisonment, in vain to enlarge upon

the sufferings she had undergone. The cardinal would reply, with

the sarcastic calmness of the skeptic, strong at once by power

and genius, "You should not have allowed yourself to be taken."

Then Milady collected all her energies, murmuring in the depths

of her soul the name of Felton--the only beam of light that

penetrated to her in the hell into which she had fallen; and like

a serpent which folds and unfolds its rings to ascertain its

strength, she enveloped Felton beforehand in the thousand meshes

of her inventive imagination.

Time, however, passed away; the hours, one after another, seemed

to awaken the clock as they passed, and every blow of the brass

hammer resounded upon the heart of the prisoner. At nine

o'clock, Lord de Winter made his customary visit, examined the

window and the bars, sounded the floor and the walls, looked to

the chimney and the doors, without, during this long and minute

examination, he or Milady pronouncing a single word.

Doubtless both of them understood that the situation had become

too serious to lose time in useless words and aimless wrath.

"Well," said the baron, on leaving her "you will not escape

tonight!"

At ten o'clock Felton came and placed the sentinel. Milady

recognized his step. She was as well acquainted with it now as a

mistress is with that of the lover of her heart; and yet Milady

at the same time detested and despised this weak fanatic.

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That was not the appointed hour. Felton did not enter.

Two hours after, as midnight sounded, the sentinel was relieved.

This time it WAS the hour, and from this moment Milady waited

with impatience. The new sentinel commenced his walk in the

corridor. At the expiration of ten minutes Felton came.

Milady was all attention.

"Listen," said the young man to the sentinel. "On no pretense

leave the door, for you know that last night my Lord punished a

soldier for having quit his post for an instant, although I,

during his absence, watched in his place."

"Yes, I know it," said the soldier.

"I recommend you therefore to keep the strictest watch. For my

part I am going to pay a second visit to this woman, who I fear

entertains sinister intentions upon her own life, and I have

received orders to watch her."

"Good!" murmured Milady; "the austere Puritan lies."

As to the soldier, he only smiled.

"Zounds, Lieutenant!" said he; "you are not unlucky in being

charged with such commissions, particularly if my Lord has

authorized you to look into her bed."

Felton blushed. Under any other circumstances he would have

reprimanded the soldier for indulging in such pleasantry, but his

conscience murmured too loud for his mouth to dare speak.

"If I call, come," said he. "If anyone comes, call me."

"I will, Lieutenant," said the soldier.

Felton entered Milady's apartment. Milady arose.

"You are here!" said she.

"I promised to come," said Felton, "and I have come."

"You promised me something else."

"What, my God!" said the young man, who in spite of his selfcommand

felt his knees tremble and the sweat start from his brow.

"You promised to bring a knife, and to leave it with me after our

interview."

"Say no more of that, madame," said Felton. "There is no

situation, however terrible it may be, which can authorize a

creature of God to inflict death upon himself. I have reflected,

and I cannot, must not be guilty of such a sin."

"Ah, you have reflected!" said the prisoner, sitting down in her

armchair, with a smile of disdain; "and I also have reflected."

"Upon what?"

"That I can have nothing to say to a man who does not keep his

word."

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"Oh, my God!" murmured Felton.

"You may retire," said Milady. "I will not talk."

"Here is the knife," said Felton, drawing from his pocket the

weapon which he had brought, according to his promise, but which

he hesitated to give to his prisoner.

"Let me see it," said Milady.

"For what purpose?"

"Upon my honor, I will instantly return it to you. You shall

place it on that table, and you may remain between it and me."

Felton offered the weapon to Milady, who examined the temper of

it attentively, and who tried the point on the tip of her finger.

"Well," said she, returning the knife to the young officer, "this

is fine and good steel. You are a faithful friend, Felton."

Felton took back the weapon, and laid it upon the table, as he

had agreed with the prisoner.

Milady followed him with her eyes, and made a gesture of

satisfaction.

"Now," said she, "listen to me."

The request was needless. The young officer stood upright before

her, awaiting her words as if to devour them.

"Felton," said Milady, with a solemnity full of melancholy,

"imagine that your sister, the daughter of your father, speaks to

you. While yet young, unfortunately handsome, I was dragged into

a snare. I resisted. Ambushes and violences multiplied around

me, but I resisted. The religion I serve, the God I adore, were

blasphemed because I called upon that religion and that God, but

still I resisted. Then outrages were heaped upon me, and as my

soul was not subdued they wished to defile my body forever.

Finally--"

Milady stopped, and a bitter smile passed over her lips.

"Finally," said Felton, "finally, what did they do?"

"At length, one evening my enemy resolved to paralyze the

resistance he could not conquer. One evening he mixed a powerful

narcotic with my water. Scarcely had I finished my repast, when

I felt myself sink by degrees into a strange torpor. Although I

was without mistrust, a vague fear seized me, and I tried to

struggle against sleepiness. I arose. I wished to run to the

window and call for help, but my legs refused their office. It

appeared as if the ceiling sank upon my head and crushed me with

its weight. I stretched out my arms. I tried to speak. I could

only utter inarticulate sounds, and irresistible faintness came

over me. I supported myself by a chair, feeling that I was about

to fall, but this support was soon insufficient on account of my

weak arms. I fell upon one knee, then upon both. I tried to

pray, but my tongue was frozen. God doubtless neither heard nor

saw me, and I sank upon the floor a prey to a slumber which

resembled death.

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"Of all that passed in that sleep, or the time which glided away

while it lasted, I have no remembrance. The only thing I

recollect is that I awoke in bed in a round chamber, the

furniture of which was sumptuous, and into which light only

penetrated by an opening in the ceiling. No door gave entrance

to the room. It might be called a magnificent prison.

"It was a long time before I was able to make out what place I

was in, or to take account of the details I describe. My mind

appeared to strive in vain to shake off the heavy darkness of the

sleep from which I could not rouse myself. I had vague

perceptions of space traversed, of the rolling of a carriage, of

a horrible dream in which my strength had become exhausted; but

all this was so dark and so indistinct in my mind that these

events seemed to belong to another life than mine, and yet mixed

with mine in fantastic duality.

"At times the state into which I had fallen appeared so strange

that I believed myself dreaming. I arose trembling. My clothes

were near me on a chair; I neither remembered having undressed

myself nor going to bed. Then by degrees the reality broke upon

me, full of chaste terrors. I was no longer in the house where I

had dwelt. As well as I could judge by the light of the sun, the

day was already two-thirds gone. It was the evening before when

I had fallen asleep; my sleep, then, must have lasted twenty-four

hours! What had taken place during this long sleep?

"I dressed myself as quickly as possible; my slow and stiff

motions all attested that the effects of the narcotic were not

yet entirely dissipated. The chamber was evidently furnished for

the reception of a woman; and the most finished coquette could

not have formed a wish, but on casting her eyes about the

apartment, she would have found that wish accomplished.

"Certainly I was not the first captive that had been shut up in

this splendid prison; but you may easily comprehend, Felton, that

the more superb the prison, the greater was my terror.

"Yes, it was a prison, for I tried in vain to get out of it. I

sounded all the walls, in the hopes of discovering a door, but

everywhere the walls returned a full and flat sound.

"I made the tour of the room at least twenty times, in search of

an outlet of some kind; but there was none. I sank exhausted

with fatigue and terror into an armchair.

"Meantime, night came on rapidly, and with night my terrors

increased. I did not know but I had better remain where I was

seated. It appeared that I was surrounded with unknown dangers

into which I was about to fall at every instant. Although I had

eaten nothing since the evening before, my fears prevented my

feeling hunger.

"No noise from without by which I could measure the time reached

me; I only supposed it must be seven or eight o'clock in the

evening, for it was in the month of October and it was quite

dark.

"All at once the noise of a door, turning on its hinges, made me

start. A globe of fire appeared above the glazed opening of the

ceiling, casting a strong light into my chamber; and I perceived

with terror that a man was standing within a few paces of me.

"A table, with two covers, bearing a supper ready prepared,

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stood, as if by magic, in the middle of the apartment.

"That man was he who had pursued me during a whole year, who had

vowed my dishonor, and who, by the first words that issued from

his mouth, gave me to understand he had accomplished it the

preceding night."

"Scoundrel!" murmured Felton.

"Oh, yes, scoundrel!" cried Milady, seeing the interest which the

young officer, whose soul seemed to hang on her lips, took in

this strange recital. "Oh, yes, scoundrel! He believed, having

triumphed over me in my sleep, that all was completed. He came,

hoping that I would accept my shame, as my shame was consummated;

he came to offer his fortune in exchange for my love.

"All that the heart of a woman could contain of haughty contempt

and disdainful words, I poured out upon this man. Doubtless he

was accustomed to such reproaches, for he listened to me calm and

smiling, with his arms crossed over his breast. Then, when he

thought I had said all, he advanced toward me; I sprang toward

the table, I seized a knife, I placed it to my breast.

"Take one step more," said I, "and in addition to my dishonor,

you shall have my death to reproach yourself with."

"There was, no doubt, in my look, my voice, my whole person, that

sincerity of gesture, of attitude, of accent, which carries

conviction to the most perverse minds, for he paused.

"'Your death?' said he; 'oh, no, you are too charming a mistress

to allow me to consent to lose you thus, after I have had the

happiness to possess you only a single time. Adieu, my charmer;

I will wait to pay you my next visit till you are in a better

humor.'

"At these words he blew a whistle; the globe of fire which

lighted the room reascended and disappeared. I found myself

again in complete darkness. The same noise of a door opening and

shutting was repeated the instant afterward; the flaming globe

descended afresh, and I was completely alone.

"This moment was frightful; if I had any doubts as to my

misfortune, these doubts had vanished in an overwhelming reality.

I was in the power of a man whom I not only detested, but

despised--of a man capable of anything, and who had already given

me a fatal proof of what he was able to do."

"But who, then was this man?" asked Felton.

"I passed the night on a chair, starting at the least noise, for

toward midnight the lamp went out, and I was again in darkness.

But the night passed away without any fresh attempt on the part

of my persecutor. Day came; the table had disappeared, only I

had still the knife in my hand.

"This knife was my only hope.

"I was worn out with fatigue. Sleeplessness inflamed my eyes; I

had not dared to sleep a single instant. The light of day

reassured me; I went and threw myself on the bed, without parting

with the emancipating knife, which I concealed under my pillow.

"When I awoke, a fresh meal was served.

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"This time, in spite of my terrors, in spite of my agony, I began

to feel a devouring hunger. It was forty-eight hours since I had

taken any nourishment. I ate some bread and some fruit; then,

remembering the narcotic mixed with the water I had drunk, I

would not touch that which was placed on the table, but filled my

glass at a marble fountain fixed in the wall over my dressing

table.

"And yet, notwithstanding these precautions, I remained for some

time in a terrible agitation of mind. But my fears were this

time ill-founded; I passed the day without experiencing anything

of the kind I dreaded.

"I took the precaution to half empty the carafe, in order that my

suspicions might not be noticed.

"The evening came on, and with it darkness; but however profound

was this darkness, my eyes began to accustom themselves to it. I

saw, amid the shadows, the table sink through the floor; a

quarter of an hour later it reappeared, bearing my supper. In an

instant, thanks to the lamp, my chamber was once more lighted.

"I was determined to eat only such things as could not possibly

have anything soporific introduced into them. Two eggs and some

fruit composed my repast; then I drew another glass of water from

my protecting fountain, and drank it.

"At the first swallow, it appeared to me not to have the same

taste as in the morning. Suspicion instantly seized me. I

paused, but I had already drunk half a glass.

"I threw the rest away with horror, and waited, with the dew of

fear upon my brow.

"No doubt some invisible witness had seen me draw the water from

that fountain, and had taken advantage of my confidence in it,

the better to assure my ruin, so coolly resolved upon, so cruelly

pursued.

"Half an hour had not passed when the same symptoms began to

appear; but as I had only drunk half a glass of the water, I

contended longer, and instead of falling entirely asleep, I sank

into a state of drowsiness which left me a perception of what was

passing around me, while depriving me of the strength either to

defend myself or to fly.

"I dragged myself toward the bed, to seek the only defense I had

left--my saving knife; but I could not reach the bolster. I sank

on my knees, my hands clasped round one of the bedposts; then I

felt that I was lost."

Felton became frightfully pale, and a convulsive tremor crept

through his whole body.

"And what was most frightful," continued Milady, her voice

altered, as if she still experienced the same agony as at that

awful minute, "was that at this time I retained a consciousness

of the danger that threatened me; was that my soul, if I may say

so, waked in my sleeping body; was that I saw, that I heard. It

is true that all was like a dream, but it was not the less

frightful.

"I saw the lamp ascend, and leave me in darkness; then I heard

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the well-known creaking of the door although I had heard that

door open but twice.

"I felt instinctively that someone approached me; it is said that

the doomed wretch in the deserts of America thus feels the

approach of the serpent.

"I wished to make an effort; I attempted to cry out. By an

incredible effort of will I even raised myself up, but only to

sink down again immediately, and to fall into the arms of my

persecutor."

"Tell me who this man was!" cried the young officer.

Milady saw at a single glance all the painful feelings she

inspired in Felton by dwelling on every detail of her recital;

but she would not spare him a single pang. The more profoundly

she wounded his heart, the more certainly he would avenge her.

She continued, then, as if she had not heard his exclamation, or

as if she thought the moment was not yet come to reply to it.

"Only this time it was no longer an inert body, without feeling,

that the villain had to deal with. I have told you that without

being able to regain the complete exercise of my faculties, I

retained the sense of my danger. I struggled, then, with all my

strength, and doubtless opposed, weak as I was, a long

resistance, for I heard him cry out, 'These miserable Puritans!

I knew very well that they tired out their executioners, but I

did not believe them so strong against their lovers!'

"Alas! this desperate resistance could not last long. I felt my

strength fail, and this time it was not my sleep that enabled the

coward to prevail, but my swoon."

Felton listened without uttering any Felton listened without uttering any word or

sound, except an

inward expression of agony. The sweat streamed down his marble

forehead, and his hand, under his coat, tore his breast.

"My first impulse, on coming to myself, was to feel under my

pillow for the knife I had not been able to reach; if it had not

been useful for defense, it might at least serve for expiation.

"But on taking this knife, Felton, a terrible idea occurred to

me. I have sworn to tell you all, and I will tell you all. I

have promised you the truth; I will tell it, were it to destroy

me."

"The idea came into your mind to avenge yourself on this man, did

it not?" cried Felton.

"Yes," said Milady. "The idea was not that of a Christian, I

knew; but without doubt, that eternal enemy of our souls, that

lion roaring constantly around us, breathed it into my mind. In

short, what shall I say to you, Felton?" continued Milady, in the

tone of a woman accusing herself of a crime. "This idea occurred

to me, and did not leave me; it is of this homicidal thought that

I now bear the punishment."

"Continue, continue!" said Felton; "I am eager to see you attain

your vengeance!"

"Oh, I resolved that it should take place as soon as possible. I

had no doubt he would return the following night. During the day

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I had nothing to fear.

"When the hour of breakfast came, therefore, I did not hesitate

to eat and drink. I had determined to make believe sup, but to

eat nothing. I was forced, then, to combat the fast of the

evening with the nourishment of the morning.

"Only I concealed a glass of water, which remained after my

breakfast, thirst having been the chief of my sufferings when I

remained forty-eight hours without eating or drinking.

"The day passed away without having any other influence on me

than to strengthen the resolution I had formed; only I took care

that my face should not betray the thoughts of my heart, for I

had no doubt I was watched. Several times, even, I felt a smile

on my lips. Felton, I dare not tell you at what idea I smiled;

you would hold me in horror--"

"Go on! go on!" said Felton; "you see plainly that I listen, and

that I am anxious to know the end."

"Evening came; the ordinary events took place. During the

darkness, as before, my supper was brought. Then the lamp was

lighted, and I sat down to table. I only ate some fruit. I

pretended to pour out water from the jug, but I only drank that

which I had saved in my glass. The substitution was made so

carefully that my spies, if I had any, could have no suspicion of

it.

"After supper I exhibited the same marks of languor as on the

preceding evening; but this time, as I yielded to fatigue, or as

if I had become familiarized with danger, I dragged myself toward

my bed, let my robe fall, and lay down.

"I found my knife where I had placed it, under my pillow, and

while feigning to sleep, my hand grasped the handle of it

convulsively.

"Two hours passed away without anything fresh happening. Oh, my

God! who could have said so the evening before? I began to fear

that he would not come.

"At length I saw the lamp rise softly, and disappear in the

depths of the ceiling; my chamber was filled with darkness and

obscurity, but I made a strong effort to penetrate this darkness

and obscurity.

"Nearly ten minutes passed; I heard no other noise but the

beating of my own heart. I implored heaven that he might come.

"At length I heard the well-known noise of the door, which opened

and shut; I heard, notwithstanding the thickness of the carpet, a

step which made the floor creak; I saw, notwithstanding the

darkness, a shadow which approached my bed."

"Haste! haste!" said Felton; "do you not see that each of your

words burns me like molten lead?"

"Then," continued Milady, "then I collected all my strength; I

recalled to my mind that the moment of vengeance, or rather, of

justice, had struck. I looked upon myself as another Judith; I

gathered myself up, my knife in my hand, and when I saw him near

me, stretching out his arms to find his victim, then, with the

last cry of agony and despair, I struck him in the middle of his

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breast.

"The miserable villain! He had foreseen all. His breast was

covered with a coat-of-mail; the knife was bent against it.

"'Ah, ah!' cried he, seizing my arm, and wresting from me the

weapon that had so badly served me, 'you want to take my life, do

you, my pretty Puritan? But that's more than dislike, that's

ingratitude! Come, come, calm yourself, my sweet girl! I

thought you had softened. I am not one of those tyrants who

detain women by force. You don't love me. With my usual fatuity

I doubted it; now I am convinced. Tomorrow you shall be free.'

"I had but one wish; that was that he should kill me.

"'Beware!' said I, 'for my liberty is your dishonor.'

"'Explain yourself, my pretty sibyl!'

"'Yes; for as soon as I leave this place I will tell everything.

I will proclaim the violence you have used toward me. I will

describe my captivity. I will denounce this place of infamy.

You are placed on high, my Lord, but tremble! Above you there is

the king; above the king there is God!'

"However perfect master he was over himself, my persecutor

allowed a movement of anger to escape him. I could not see the

expression of his countenance, but I felt the arm tremble upon

which my hand was placed.

"'Then you shall not leave this place,' said he.

"'Very well,' cried I, 'then the place of my punishment will be

that of my tomb. I will die here, and you will see if a phantom

that accuses is not more terrible than a living being that

threatens!'

"'You shall have no weapon left in your power.'

"'There is a weapon which despair has placed within the reach of

every creature who has the courage to use it. I will allow

myself to die with hunger.'

"'Come,' said the wretch, 'is not peace much better than such a

war as that? I will restore you to liberty this moment; I will

proclaim you a piece of immaculate virtue; I will name you the

Lucretia of England.'

"'And I will say that you are the Sextus. I will denounce you

before men, as I have denounced you before God; and if it be

necessary that, like Lucretia, I should sign my accusation with

my blood, I will sign it.'

"'Ah!' said my enemy, in a jeering tone, 'that's quite another

thing. My faith! everything considered, you are very well off

here. You shall want for nothing, and if you let yourself die of

hunger that will be your own fault.'

"At these words he retired. I heard the door open and shut, and

I remained overwhelmed, less, I confess it, by my grief than by

the mortification of not having avenged myself.

"He kept his word. All the day, all the next night passed away

without my seeing him again. But I also kept my word with him,

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and I neither ate nor drank. I was, as I told him, resolved to

die of hunger.

"I passed the day and the night in prayer, for I hoped that God

would pardon me my suicide.

"The second night the door opened; I was lying on the floor, for

my strength began to abandon me.

"At the noise I raised myself up on one hand.

"'Well,' said a voice which vibrated in too terrible a manner in

my ear not to be recognized, 'well! Are we softened a little?

Will we not pay for our liberty with a single promise of silence?

Come, I am a good sort of a prince,' added he, 'and although I

like not Puritans I do them justice; and it is the same with

Puritanesses, when they are pretty. Come, take a little oath for

me on the cross; I won't ask anything more of you.'

"'On the cross,' cried I, rising, for at that abhorred voice I

had recovered all my strength, 'on the cross I swear that no

promise, no menace, no force, no torture, shall close my mouth!

On the cross I swear to denounce you everywhere as a murderer, as

a thief of honor, as a base coward! On the cross I swear, if I

ever leave this place, to call down vengeance upon you from the

whole human race!'

"'Beware!' said the voice, in a threatening accent that I had

never yet heard. 'I have an extraordinary means which I will not

employ but in the last extremity to close your mouth, or at least

to prevent anyone from believing a word you may utter.'

"I mustered all my strength to reply to him with a burst of

laughter.

"He saw that it was a merciless war between us--a war to the

death.

"'Listen!' said he. 'I give you the rest of tonight and all day

tomorrow. Reflect: promise to be silent, and riches,

consideration, even honor, shall surround you; threaten to speak,

and I will condemn you to infamy.'

"'You?' cried I. 'You?'

"'To interminable, ineffaceable infamy!'

"'You?' repeated I. Oh, I declare to you, Felton, I thought him

mad!

"'Yes, yes, I!' replied he.

"'Oh, leave me!' said I. 'Begone, if you do not desire to see me

dash my head against that wall before your eyes!'

"'Very well, it is your own doing. Till tomorrow evening, then!'

"'Till tomorrow evening, then!' replied I, allowing myself to

fall, and biting the carpet with rage."

Felton leaned for support upon a piece of furniture; and Milady

saw, with the joy of a demon, that his strength would fail him

perhaps before the end of her recital.

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57 MEANS FOR CLASSICAL TRAGEDY

After a moment of silence employed by Milady in observing the

young man who listened to her, Milady continued her recital.

"It was nearly three days since I had eaten or drunk anything. I

suffered frightful torments. At times there passed before me

clouds which pressed my brow, which veiled my eyes; this was

delirium.

"When the evening came I was so weak that every time I fainted I

thanked God, for I thought I was about to die.

"In the midst of one of these swoons I heard the door open.

Terror recalled me to myself.

"He entered the apartment followed by a man in a mask. He was

masked likewise; but I knew his step, I knew his voice, I knew

him by that imposing bearing which hell has bestowed upon his

person for the curse of humanity.

"'Well,' said he to me, 'have you made your mind up to take the

oath I requested of you?'

"'You have said Puritans have but one word. Mine you have heard,

and that is to pursue you--on earth to the tribunal of men, in

heaven to the tribunal of God.'

"'You persist, then?'

"'I swear it before the God who hears me. I will take the whole

world as a witness of your crime, and that until I have found an

avenger.'

"'You are a prostitute,' said he, in a voice of thunder, 'and you

shall undergo the punishment of prostitutes! Branded in the eyes

of the world you invoke, try to prove to that world that you are

neither guilty nor mad!'

"Then, addressing the man who accompanied him, 'Executioner,'

said he, 'do your duty.'"

"Oh, his name, his name!" cried Felton. "His name, tell it me!"

"Then in spite of my cries, in spite of my resistance--for I

began to comprehend that there was a question of something worse

than death--the executioner seized me, threw me on the floor,

fastened me with his bonds, and suffocated by sobs, almost

without sense, invoking God, who did not listen to me, I uttered

all at once a frightful cry of pain and shame. A burning fire, a

red-hot iron, the iron of the executioner, was imprinted on my

shoulder."

Felton uttered a groan.

"Here," said Milady, rising with the majesty of a queen, "here,

Felton, behold the new martyrdom invented for a pure young girl,

the victim of the brutality of a villain. Learn to know the

heart of men, and henceforth make yourself less easily the

instrument of their unjust vengeance."

Milady, with a rapid gesture, opened her robe, tore the cambric

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that covered her bosom, and red with feigned anger and simulated

shame, showed the young man the ineffaceable impression which

dishonored that beautiful shoulder.

"But," cried Felton, "that is a FLEUR-DE-LIS which I see there."

"And therein consisted the infamy," replied Milady. "The brand

of England!--it would be necessary to prove what tribunal had

imposed it on me, and I could have made a public appeal to all

the tribunals of the kingdom; but the brand of France!--oh, by

that, by THAT I was branded indeed!"

This was too much for Felton.

Pale, motionless, overwhelmed by this frightful revelation,

dazzled by the superhuman beauty of this woman who unveiled

herself before him with an immodesty which appeared to him

sublime, he ended by falling on his knees before her as the early

Christians did before those pure and holy martyrs whom the

persecution of the emperors gave up in the circus to the

sanguinary sensuality of the populace. The brand disappeared;

the beauty alone remained.

"Pardon! Pardon!" cried Felton, "oh, pardon!"

Milady read in his eyes LOVE! LOVE!

"Pardon for what?" asked she.

"Pardon me for having joined with your persecutors."

Milady held out her hand to him.

"So beautiful! so young!" cried Felton, covering that hand with

his kisses.

Milady let one of those looks fall upon him which make a slave of

a king.

Felton was a Puritan; he abandoned the hand of this woman to kiss

her feet.

He no longer loved her; he adored her.

When this crisis was past, when Milady appeared to have resumed

her self-possession, which she had never lost; when Felton had

seen her recover with the veil of chastity those treasures of

love which were only concealed from him to make him desire them

the more ardently, he said, "Ah, now! I have only one thing to

ask of you; that is, the name of your true executioner. For to

me there is but one; the other was an instrument, that was all."

"What, brother!" cried Milady, "must I name him again? Have you

not yet divined who he is?"

"What?" cried Felton, "he--again he--always he? What--the truly

guilty?"

"The truly guilty," said Milady, "is the ravager of England, the

persecutor of true believers, the base ravisher of the honor of

so many women--he who, to satisfy a caprice of his corrupt heart,

is about to make England shed so much blood, who protects the

Protestants today and will betray them tomorrow--"

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"Buckingham! It is, then, Buckingham!" cried Felton, in a high

state of excitement.

Milady concealed her face in her hands, as if she could not

endure the shame which this name recalled to her.

"Buckingham, the executioner of this angelic creature!" cried

Felton. "And thou hast not hurled thy thunder at him, my God!

And thou hast left him noble, honored, powerful, for the ruin of

us all!"

"God abandons him who abandons himself," said Milady.

"But he will draw upon his head the punishment reserved for the

damned!" said Felton, with increasing exultation. "He wills that

human vengeance should precede celestial justice."

"Men fear him and spare him."

"I," said Felton, "I do not fear him, nor will I spare him."

The soul of Milady was bathed in an infernal joy.

"But how can Lord de Winter, my protector, my father," asked

Felton, "possibly be mixed up with all this?"

"Listen, Felton," resumed Milady, "for by the side of base and

contemptible men there are often found great and generous

natures. I had an affianced husband, a man whom I loved, and who

loved me--a heart like yours, Felton, a man like you. I went to

him and told him all; he knew me, that man did, and did not doubt

an instant. He was a nobleman, a man equal to Buckingham in

every respect. He said nothing; he only girded on his sword,

wrapped himself in his cloak, and went straight to Buckingham

Palace.

"Yes, yes," said Felton; "I understand how he would act. But

with such men it is not the sword that should be employed; it is

the poniard."

"Buckingham had left England the day before, sent as ambassador

to Spain, to demand the hand of the Infanta for King Charles I,

who was then only Prince of Wales. My affianced husband

returned.

"'Hear me,' said he; 'this man has gone, and for the moment has

consequently escaped my vengeance; but let us be united, as we

were to have been, and then leave it to Lord de Winter to

maintain his own honor and that of his wife.'"

"Lord de Winter!" cried Felton.

"Yes," said Milady, "Lord de Winter; and now you can understand

it all, can you not? Buckingham remained nearly a year absent.

A week before his return Lord de Winter died, leaving me his sole

heir. Whence came the blow? God who knows all, knows without

doubt; but as for me, I accuse nobody."

"Oh, what an abyss; what an abyss!" cried Felton.

"Lord de Winter died without revealing anything to his brother.

The terrible secret was to be concealed till it burst, like a

clap of thunder, over the head of the guilty. Your protector had

seen with pain this marriage of his elder brother with a

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portionless girl. I was sensible that I could look for no

support from a man disappointed in his hopes of an inheritance.

I went to France, with a determination to remain there for the

rest of my life. But all my fortune is in England.

Communication being closed by the war, I was in want of

everything. I was then obliged to come back again. Six days

ago, I landed at Portsmouth."

"Well?" said Felton.

"Well; Buckingham heard by some means, no doubt, of my return.

He spoke of me to Lord de Winter, already prejudiced against me,

and told him that his sister-in-law was a prostitute, a branded

woman. The noble and pure voice of my husband was no longer here

to defend me. Lord de Winter believed all that was told him with

so much the more ease that it was his interest to believe it. He

caused me to be arrested, had me conducted hither, and placed me

under your guard. You know the rest. The day after tomorrow he

banishes me, he transports me; the day after tomorrow he exiles

me among the infamous. Oh, the train is well laid; the plot is

clever. My honor will not survive it! You see, then, Felton, I

can do nothing but die. Felton, give me that knife!"

And at these words, as if all her strength was exhausted, Milady

sank, weak and languishing, into the arms of the young officer,

who, intoxicated with love, anger, and voluptuous sensations

hitherto unknown, received her with transport, pressed her

against his heart, all trembling at the breath from that charming

mouth, bewildered by the contact with that palpitating bosom.

"No, no," said he. "No, you shall live honored and pure; you

shall live to triumph over your enemies."

Milady put him from her slowly with her hand, while drawing him

nearer with her look; but Felton, in his turn, embraced her more

closely, imploring her like a divinity.

"Oh, death, death!" said she, lowering her voice and her eyelids,

"oh, death, rather than shame! Felton, my brother, my friend, I

conjure you!"

"No," cried Felton, "no; you shall live and you shall be

avenged."

"Felton, I bring misfortune to all who surround me! Felton,

abandon me! Felton, let me die!"

"Well, then, we will live and die together!" cried he, pressing

his lips to those of the prisoner.

Several strokes resounded on the door; this time Milady really

pushed him away from her.

"Hark," said she, "we have been overheard! Someone is coming!

All is over! We are lost!"

"No," said Felton; it is only the sentinel warning me that they

are about to change the guard."

"Then run to the door, and open it yourself."

Felton obeyed; this woman was now his whole thought, his whole

soul.

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He found himself face to face with a sergeant commanding a watchpatrol.

"Well, what is the matter?" asked the young lieutenant.

"You told me to open the door if I heard anyone cry out," said

the soldier; "but you forgot to leave me the key. I heard you

cry out, without understanding what you said. I tried to open

the door, but it was locked inside; then I called the sergeant."

"And here I am," said the sergeant.

Felton, quite bewildered, almost mad, stood speechless.

Milady plainly perceived that it was now her turn to take part in

the scene. She ran to the table, and seizing the knife which

Felton had laid down, exclaimed, "And by what right will you

prevent me from dying?"

"Great God!" exclaimed Felton, on seeing the knife glitter in her

hand.

At that moment a burst of ironical laughter resounded through the

corridor. The baron, attracted by the noise, in his chamber

gown, his sword under his arm, stood in the doorway.

"Ah," said he, "here we are, at the last act of the tragedy. You

see, Felton, the drama has gone through all the phases I named;

but be easy, no blood will flow."

Milady perceived that all was lost unless she gave Felton an

immediate and terrible proof of her courage.

"You are mistaken, my Lord, blood will flow; and may that blood

fall back on those who cause it to flow!"

Felton uttered a cry, and rushed toward her. He was too late;

Milady had stabbed herself.

But the knife had fortunately, we ought to say skillfully, come

in contact with the steel busk, which at that period, like a

cuirass, defended the chests of women. It had glided down it,

tearing the robe, and had penetrated slantingly between the flesh

and the ribs. Milady's robe was not the less stained with blood

in a second.

Milady fell down, and seemed to be in a swoon.

Felton snatched away the knife.

"See, my Lord," said he, in a deep, gloomy tone, "here is a woman

who was under my guard, and who has killed herself!"

"Be at ease, Felton," said Lord de Winter. "She is not dead;

demons do not die so easily. Be tranquil, and go wait for me in

my chamber."

"But, my Lord--"

"Go, sir, I command you!"

At this injunction from his superior, Felton obeyed; but in going

out, he put the knife into his bosom.

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As to Lord de Winter, he contented himself with calling the woman

who waited on Milady, and when she was come, he recommended the

prisoner, who was still fainting, to her care, and left them

alone.

Meanwhile, all things considered and notwithstanding his

suspicions, as the wound might be serious, he immediately sent

off a mounted man to find a physician.

58 ESCAPE

As Lord de Winter had thought, Milady's wound was not dangerous.

So soon as she was left alone with the woman whom the baron had

summoned to her assistance she opened her eyes.

It was, however, necessary to affect weakness and pain--not a

very difficult task for so finished an actress as Milady. Thus

the poor woman was completely the dupe of the prisoner, whom,

notwithstanding her hints, she persisted in watching all night.

But the presence of this woman did not prevent Milady from

thinking.

There was no longer a doubt that Felton was convinced; Felton was

hers. If an angel appeared to that young man as an accuser of

Milady, he would take him, in the mental disposition in which he

now found himself, for a messenger sent by the devil.

Milady smiled at this thought, for Felton was now her only hope--

her only means of safety.

But Lord de Winter might suspect him; Felton himself might now be

watched!

Toward four o'clock in the morning the doctor arrived; but since

the time Milady stabbed herself, however short, the wound had

closed. The doctor could therefore measure neither the direction

nor the depth of it; he only satisfied himself by Milady's pulse

that the case was not serious.

In the morning Milady, under the pretext that she had not slept

well in the night and wanted rest, sent away the woman who

attended her.

She had one hope, which was that Felton would appear at the

breakfast hour; but Felton did not come.

Were her fears realized? Was Felton, suspected by the baron,

about to fail her at the decisive moment? She had only one day

left. Lord de Winter had announced her embarkation for the

twenty-third, and it was now the morning of the twenty-second.

Nevertheless she still waited patiently till the hour for dinner.

Although she had eaten nothing in the morning, the dinner was

brought in at its usual time. Milady then perceived, with

terror, that the uniform of the soldiers who guarded her was

changed.

Then she ventured to ask what had become of Felton.

She was told that he had left the castle an hour before on

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horseback. She inquired if the baron was still at the castle.

The soldier replied that he was, and that he had given orders to

be informed if the prisoner wished to speak to him.

Milady replied that she was too weak at present, and that her

only desire was to be left alone.

The soldier went out, leaving the dinner served.

Felton was sent away. The marines were removed. Felton was then

mistrusted.

This was the last blow to the prisoner.

Left alone, she arose. The bed, which she had kept from prudence

and that they might believe her seriously wounded, burned her

like a bed of fire. She cast a glance at the door; the baron had

had a plank nailed over the grating. He no doubt feared that by

this opening she might still by some diabolical means corrupt her

guards.

Milady smiled with joy. She was free now to give way to her

transports without being observed. She traversed her chamber

with the excitement of a furious maniac or of a tigress shut up

in an iron cage. CERTES, if the knife had been left in her

power, she would now have thought, not of killing herself, but of

killing the baron.

At six o'clock Lord de Winter came in. He was armed at all

points. This man, in whom Milady till that time had only seen a

very simple gentleman, had become an admirable jailer. He

appeared to foresee all, to divine all, to anticipate all.

A single look at Milady apprised him of all that was passing in

her mind.

"Ay,!" said he, "I see; but you shall not kill me today. You

have no longer a weapon; and besides, I am on my guard. You had

begun to pervert my poor Felton. He was yielding to your

infernal influence; but I will save him. He will never see you

again; all is over. Get your clothes together. Tomorrow you

will go. I had fixed the embarkation for the twenty-fourth; but

I have reflected that the more promptly the affair takes place

the more sure it will be. Tomorrow, by twelve o'clock, I shall

have the order for your exile, signed, BUCKINGHAM. If you

speak a single word to anyone before going aboard ship, my

sergeant will blow your brains out. He has orders to do so. If

when on the ship you speak a single word to anyone before the

captain permits you, the captain will have you thrown into the

sea. That is agreed upon.

"AU REVOIR; then; that is all I have to say today. Tomorrow I

will see you again, to take my leave." With these words the

baron went out. Milady had listened to all this menacing tirade

with a smile of disdain on her lips, but rage in her heart.

Supper was served. Milady felt that she stood in need of all her

strength. She did not know what might take place during this

night which approached so menacingly--for large masses of cloud

rolled over the face of the sky, and distant lightning announced

a storm.

The storm broke about ten o'clock. Milady felt a consolation in

seeing nature partake of the disorder of her heart. The thunder

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growled in the air like the passion and anger in her thoughts.

It appeared to her that the blast as it swept along disheveled

her brow, as it bowed the branches of the trees and bore away

their leaves. She howled as the hurricane howled; and her voice

was lost in the great voice of nature, which also seemed to groan

with despair.

All at once she heard a tap at her window, and by the help of a

flash of lightning she saw the face of a man appear behind the

bars.

She ran to the window and opened it.

"Felton!" cried she. "I am saved."

"Yes," said Felton; "but silence, silence! I must have time to

file through these bars. Only take care that I am not seen

through the wicket."

"Oh, it is a proof that the Lord is on our side, Felton," replied

Milady. "They have closed up the grating with a board."

"That is well; God has made them senseless," said Felton.

"But what must I do?" asked Milady.

"Nothing, nothing, only shut the window. Go to bed, or at least

lie down in your clothes. As soon as I have done I will knock on

one of the panes of glass. But will you be able to follow me?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Your wound?"

"Gives me pain, but will not prevent my walking."

"Be ready, then, at the first signal."

Milady shut the window, extinguished the lamp, and went, as

Felton had desired her, to lie down on the bed. Amid the moaning

of the storm she heard the grinding of the file upon the bars,

and by the light of every flash she perceived the shadow of

Felton through the panes.

She passed an hour without breathing, panting, with a cold sweat

upon her brow, and her heart oppressed by frightful agony at

every movement she heard in the corridor.

There are hours which last a year.

At the expiration of an hour, Felton tapped again.

Milady sprang out of bed and opened the window. Two bars removed

formed an opening for a man to pass through.

"Are you ready?" asked Felton.

"Yes. Must I take anything with me?"

"Money, if you have any."

"Yes; fortunately they have left me all I had."

"So much the better, for I have expended all mine in chartering a

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vessel."

"Here!" said Milady, placing a bag full of louis in Felton's

hands.

Felton took the bag and threw it to the foot of the wall.

"Now," said he, "will you come?"

"I am ready."

Milady mounted upon a chair and passed the upper part of her body

through the window. She saw the young officer suspended over the

abyss by a ladder of ropes. For the first time an emotion of

terror reminded her that she was a woman.

The dark space frightened her.

"I expected this," said Felton.

"It's nothing, it's nothing!" said Milady. "I will descend with

my eyes shut."

"Have you confidence in me?" said Felton.

"You ask that?"

"Put your two hands together. Cross them; that's right!"

Felton tied her two wrists together with his handkerchief, and

then with a cord over the handkerchief.

"What are you doing?" asked Milady, with surprise.

"Pass your arms around my neck, and fear nothing."

"But I shall make you lose your balance, and we shall both be

dashed to pieces."

"Don't be afraid. I am a sailor."

Not a second was to be lost. Milady passed her two arms round

Felton's neck, and let herself slip out of the window. Felton

began to descend the ladder slowly, step by step. Despite the

weight of two bodies, the blast of the hurricane shook them in

the air.

All at once Felton stopped.

"What is the matter?" asked Milady.

"Silence," said Felton, "I hear footsteps."

"We are discovered!"

There was a silence of several seconds.

"No," said Felton, "it is nothing."

"But what, then, is the noise?"

"That of the patrol going their rounds."

"Where is their road?"

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"Just under us."

"They will discover us!"

"No, if it does not lighten."

"But they will run against the bottom of the ladder."

"Fortunately it is too short by six feet."

"Here they are! My God!"

"Silence!"

Both remained suspended, motionless and breathless, within twenty

paces of the ground, while the patrol passed beneath them

laughing and talking. This was a terrible moment for the

fugitives.

The patrol passed. The noise of their retreating footsteps and

the murmur of their voices soon died away.

"Now," said Felton, "we are safe."

Milady breathed a deep sigh and fainted.

Felton continued to descend. Near the bottom of the ladder, when

he found no more support for his feet, he clung with his hands;

at length, arrived at the last step, he let himself hang by the

strength of his wrists, and touched the ground. He stooped down,

picked up the bag of money, and placed it between his teeth.

Then he took Milady in his arms, and set off briskly in the

direction opposite to that which the patrol had taken. He soon

left the pathway of the patrol, descended across the rocks, and

when arrived on the edge of the sea, whistled.

A similar signal replied to him; and five minutes after, a boat

appeared, rowed by four men.

The boat approached as near as it could to the shore; but there

was not depth enough of water for it to touch land. Felton

walked into the sea up to his middle, being unwilling to trust

his precious burden to anybody.

Fortunately the storm began to subside, but still the sea was

disturbed. The little boat bounded over the waves like a nutshell.

"To the sloop," said Felton, "and row quickly."

The four men bent to their oars, but the sea was too high to let

them get much hold of it.

However, they left the castle behind; that was the principal

thing. The night was extremely dark. It was almost impossible

to see the shore from the boat; they would therefore be less

likely to see the boat from the shore.

A black point floated on the sea. That was the sloop. While the

boat was advancing with all the speed its four rowers could give

it, Felton untied the cord and then the handkerchief which bound

Milady's hands together. When her hands were loosed he took some

sea water and sprinkled it over her face.

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Milady breathed a sigh, and opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" said she.

"Saved!" replied the young officer.

"Oh, saved, saved!" cried she. "Yes, there is the sky; here is

the sea! The air I breathe is the air of liberty! Ah, thanks,

Felton, thanks!"

The young man pressed her to his heart.

"But what is the matter with my hands!" asked Milady; "it seems

as if my wrists had been crushed in a vice."

Milady held out her arms; her wrists were bruised.

"Alas!" said Felton, looking at those beautiful hands, and

shaking his head sorrowfully.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing!" cried Milady. "I remember now."

Milady looked around her, as if in search of something.

"It is there," said Felton, touching the bag of money with his

foot.

They drew near to the sloop. A sailor on watch hailed the boat;

the boat replied.

"What vessel is that?" asked Milady.

"The one I have hired for you."

"Where will it take me?"

"Where you please, after you have put me on shore at Portsmouth."

"What are you going to do at Portsmouth?" asked Milady.

"Accomplish the orders of Lord de Winter," said Felton, with a

gloomy smile.

"What orders?" asked Milady.

"You do not understand?" asked Felton.

"No; explain yourself, I beg."

"As he mistrusted me, he determined to guard you himself, and

sent me in his place to get Buckingham to sign the order for your

transportation."

"But if he mistrusted you, how could he confide such an order to

you?"

"How could I know what I was the bearer of?"

"That's true! And you are going to Portsmouth?"

"I have no time to lose. Tomorrow is the twenty-third, and

Buckingham sets sail tomorrow with his fleet."

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"He sets sail tomorrow! Where for?"

"For La Rochelle."

"He need not sail!" cried Milady, forgetting her usual presence

of mind.

"Be satisfied," replied Felton; "he will not sail."

Milady started with joy. She could read to the depths of the

heart of this young man; the death of Buckingham was written

there at full length.

"Felton," cried she, "you are as great as Judas Maccabeus! If

you die, I will die with you; that is all I can say to you."

"Silence!" cried Felton; "we are here."

In fact, they touched the sloop.

Felton mounted the ladder first, and gave his hand to Milady,

while the sailors supported her, for the sea was still much

agitated.

An instant after they were on the deck.

"Captain," said Felton, "this is person of whom I spoke to you,

and whom you must convey safe and sound to France."

"For a thousand pistoles," said the captain.

"I have paid you five hundred of them."

"That's correct," said the captain.

"And here are the other five hundred," replied Milady, placing

her hand upon the bag of gold.

"No," said the captain, "I make but one bargain; and I have

agreed with this young man that the other five hundred shall not

be due to me till we arrive at Boulogne."

"And shall we arrive there?"

"Safe and sound, as true as my name's Jack Butler."

"Well," said Milady, "if you keep your word, instead of five

hundred, I will give you a thousand pistoles."

"Hurrah for you, then, my beautiful lady," cried the captain;

"and may God often send me such passengers as your Ladyship!"

"Meanwhile," said Felton, "convey me to the little bay of--; you

know it was agreed you should put in there."

The captain replied by ordering the necessary maneuvers, and

toward seven o'clock in the morning the little vessel cast anchor

in the bay that had been named.

During this passage, Felton related everything to Milady--how,

instead of going to London, he had chartered the little vessel;

how he had returned; how he had scaled the wall by fastening

cramps in the interstices of the stones, as he ascended, to give

him foothold; and how, when he had reached the bars, he fastened

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his ladder. Milady knew the rest.

On her side, Milady tried to encourage Felton in his project; but

at the first words which issued from her mouth, she plainly saw

that the young fanatic stood more in need of being moderated than

urged.

It was agreed that Milady should wait for Felton till ten

o'clock; if he did not return by ten o'clock she was to sail.

In that case, and supposing he was at liberty, he was to rejoin

her in France, at the convent of the Carmelites at Bethune.

59 WHAT TOOK PLACE AT PORTSMOUTH AUGUST 23, 1628

Felton took leave of Milady as a brother about to go for a mere walk

takes leave of his sister, kissing her hand.

His whole body appeared in its ordinary state of calmness, only an

unusual fire beamed from his eyes, like the effects of a fever; his brow

was more pale than it generally was; his teeth were clenched, and his

speech had a short dry accent which indicated that something dark was at

work within him.

As long as he remained in the boat which conveyed him to land, he kept

his face toward Milady, who, standing on the deck, followed him with her

eyes. Both were free from the fear of pursuit; nobody ever came into

Milady's apartment before nine o'clock, and it would require three hours

to go from the castle to London.

Felton jumped onshore, climbed the little ascent which led to the top of

the cliff, saluted Milady a last time, and took his course toward the

city.

At the end of a hundred paces, the ground began to decline, and he could

only see the mast of the sloop.

He immediately ran in the direction of Portsmouth, which he saw at

nearly half a league before him, standing out in the haze of the

morning, with its houses and towers.

Beyond Portsmouth the sea was covered with vessels whose masts, like a

forest of poplars despoiled by the winter, bent with each breath of the

wind.

Felton, in his rapid walk, reviewed in his mind all the accusations

against the favorite of James I and Charles I, furnished by two years of

premature meditation and a long sojourn among the Puritans.

When he compared the public crimes of this minister--startling crimes,

European crimes, if so we may say--with the private and unknown crimes

with which Milady had charged him, Felton found that the more culpable

of the two men which formed the character of Buckingham was the one of

whom the public knew not the life. This was because his love, so

strange, so new, and so ardent, made him view the infamous and imaginary

accusations of Milady de Winter as, through a magnifying glass, one

views as frightful monsters atoms in reality imperceptible by the side

of an ant.

The rapidity of his walk heated his blood still more; the idea that he

left behind him, exposed to a frightful vengeance, the woman he loved,

or rather whom he adored as a saint, the emotion he had experienced,

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present fatigue--all together exalted his mind above human feeling.

He entered Portsmouth about eight o'clock in the morning. The whole

population was on foot; drums were beating in the streets and in the

port; the troops about to embark were marching toward the sea.

Felton arrived at the palace of the Admiralty, covered with dust, and

streaming with perspiration. His countenance, usually so pale, was

purple with heat and passion. The sentinel wanted to repulse him; but

Felton called to the officer of the post, and drawing from his pocket

the letter of which he was the bearer, he said, "A pressing message from

Lord de Winter."

At the name of Lord de Winter, who was known to be one of his Grace's

most intimate friends, the officer of the post gave orders to let Felton

pass, who, besides, wore the uniform of a naval officer.

Felton darted into the palace.

At the moment he entered the vestibule, another man was entering

likewise, dusty, out of breath, leaving at the gate a post horse, which,

on reaching the palace, tumbled on his foreknees.

Felton and he addressed Patrick, the duke's confidential lackey, at the

same moment. Felton named Lord de Winter; the unknown would not name

anybody, and pretended that it was to the duke alone he would make

himself known. Each was anxious to gain admission before the other.

Patrick, who knew Lord de Winter was in affairs of the service, and in

relations of friendship with the duke, gave the preference to the one

who came in his name. The other was forced to wait, and it was easily

to be seen how he cursed the delay.

The valet led Felton through a large hall in which waited the deputies

from La Rochelle, headed by the Prince de Soubise, and introduced him

into a closet where Buckingham, just out of the bath, was finishing his

toilet, upon which, as at all times, he bestowed extraordinary

attention.

"Lieutenant Felton, from Lord de Winter," said Patrick.

"From Lord de Winter!" repeated Buckingham; "let him come in."

Felton entered. At that moment Buckingham was throwing upon a couch a

rich toilet robe, worked with gold, in order to put on a blue velvet

doublet embroidered with pearls.

"Why didn't the baron come himself?" demanded Buckingham. "I expected

him this morning."

"He desired me to tell your Grace," replied Felton, "that he very much

regretted not having that honor, but that he was prevented by the guard

he is obliged to keep at the castle."

"Yes, I know that," said Buckingham; "he has a prisoner."

"It is of that prisoner that I wish to speak to your Grace," replied

Felton.

"Well, then, speak!"

"That which I have to say of her can only be heard by yourself, my

Lord!"

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"Leave us, Patrick," said Buckingham; "but remain within sound of the

bell. I shall call you presently."

Patrick went out.

"We are alone, sir," said Buckingham; "speak!"

"My Lord," said Felton, "the Baron de Winter wrote to you the other day

to request you to sign an order of embarkation relative to a young woman

named Charlotte Backson."

"Yes, sir; and I answered him, to bring or send me that order and I

would sign it."

"Here it is, my Lord."

"Give it to me," said the duke.

And taking it from Felton, he cast a rapid glance over the paper, and

perceiving that it was the one that had been mentioned to him, he placed

it on the table, took a pen, and prepared to sign it.

"Pardon, my Lord," said Felton, stopping the duke; "but does your Grace

know that the name of Charlotte Backson is not the true name of this

young woman?"

"Yes, sir, I know it," replied the duke, dipping the quill in the ink.

"Then your Grace knows her real name?" asked Felton, in a sharp tone.

"I know it"; and the duke put the quill to the paper. Felton grew pale.

"And knowing that real name, my Lord," replied Felton, "will you sign it

all the same?"

"Doubtless," said Buckingham, "and rather twice than once."

"I cannot believe," continued Felton, in a voice that became more sharp

and rough, "that your Grace knows that it is to Milady de Winter this

relates."

"I know it perfectly, although I am astonished that you know it."

"And will your Grace sign that order without remorse?"

Buckingham looked at the young man haughtily.

"Do you know, sir, that you are asking me very strange questions, and

that I am very foolish to answer them?"

"Reply to them, my Lord," said Felton; "the circumstances are more

serious than you perhaps believe."

Buckingham reflected that the young man, coming from Lord de Winter,

undoubtedly spoke in his name, and softened.

"Without remorse," said he. "The baron knows, as well as myself, that

Milady de Winter is a very guilty woman, and it is treating her very

favorably to commute her punishment to transportation."

The duke put his pen to the paper.

"You will not sign that order, my Lord!" said Felton, making a step

toward the duke.

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"I will not sign this order! And why not?"

"Because you will look into yourself, and you will do justice to the

lady."

"I should do her justice by sending her to Tyburn," said Buckingham.

"This lady is infamous."

"My Lord, Milady de Winter is an angel; you know that she is, and I

demand her liberty of you."

"Bah! Are you mad, to talk to me thus?" said Buckingham.

"My Lord, excuse me! I speak as I can; I restrain myself. But, my

Lord, think of what you're about to do, and beware of going too far!"

"What do you say? God pardon me!" cried Buckingham, "I really think he

threatens me!"

"No, my Lord, I still plead. And I say to you: one drop of water

suffices to make the full vase overflow; one slight fault may draw down

punishment upon the head spared, despite many crimes."

"Mr. Felton," said Buckingham, "you will withdraw, and place yourself at

once under arrest."

"You will hear me to the end, my Lord. You have seduced this young

girl; you have outraged, defiled her. Repair your crimes toward her;

let her go free, and I will exact nothing else from you."

"You will exact!" said Buckingham, looking at Felton with astonishment,

and dwelling upon each syllable of the three words as he pronounced

them.

"My Lord," continued Felton, becoming more excited as he spoke, "my

Lord, beware! All England is tired of your iniquities; my Lord, you

have abused the royal power, which you have almost usurped; my Lord, you

are held in horror by God and men. God will punish you hereafter, but I

will punish you here!"

"Ah, this is too much!" cried Buckingham, making a step toward the door.

Felton barred his passage.

"I ask it humbly of you, my Lord" said he; "sign the order for the

liberation of Milady de Winter. Remember that she is a woman whom you

have dishonored."

"Withdraw, sir," said Buckingham, "or I will call my attendant, and have

you placed in irons."

"You shall not call," said Felton, throwing himself between the duke and

the bell placed on a stand encrusted with silver. "Beware, my Lord, you

are in the hands of God!"

"In the hands of the devil, you mean!" cried Buckingham, raising his

voice so as to attract the notice of his people, without absolutely

shouting.

"Sign, my Lord; sign the liberation of Milady de Winter," said Felton,

holding out paper to the duke.

"By force? You are joking! Holloa, Patrick!"

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"Sign, my Lord!"

"Never."

"Never?"

"Help!" shouted the duke; and at the same time he sprang toward his

sword.

But Felton did not give him time to draw it. He held the knife with

which Milady had stabbed herself, open in his bosom; at one bound he was

upon the duke.

At that moment Patrick entered the room, crying, "A letter from France,

my Lord."

"From France!" cried Buckingham, forgetting everything in thinking from

whom that letter came.

Felton took advantage of this moment, and plunged the knife into his

side up to the handle.

"Ah, traitor," cried Buckingham, "you have killed me!"

"Murder!" screamed Patrick.

Felton cast his eyes round for means of escape, and seeing the door

free, he rushed into the next chamber, in which, as we have said, the

deputies from La Rochelle were waiting, crossed it as quickly as

possible, and rushed toward the staircase; but upon the first step he

met Lord de Winter, who, seeing him pale, confused, livid, and stained

with blood both on his hands and face, seized him by the throat, crying,

"I knew it! I guessed it! But too late by a minute, unfortunate,

unfortunate that I am!"

Felton made no resistance. Lord de Winter placed him in the hands of

the guards, who led him, while awaiting further orders, to a little

terrace commanding the sea; and then the baron hastened to the duke's

chamber.

At the cry uttered by the duke and the scream of Patrick, the man whom

Felton had met in the antechamber rushed into the chamber.

He found the duke reclining upon a sofa, with his hand pressed upon the

wound.

"Laporte," said the duke, in a dying voice, "Laporte, do you come from

her?"

"Yes, monseigneur," replied the faithful cloak bearer of Anne of

Austria, "but too late, perhaps."

"Silence, Laporte, you may be overheard. Patrick, let no one enter.

Oh, I cannot tell what she says to me! My God, I am dying!"

And the duke swooned.

Meanwhile, Lord de Winter, the deputies, the leaders of the expedition,

the officers of Buckingham's household, had all made their way into the

chamber. Cries of despair resounded on all sides. The news, which

filled the palace with tears and groans, soon became known, and spread

itself throughout the city.

The report of a cannon announced that something new and unexpected had

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taken place.

Lord de Winter tore his hair.

"Too late by a minute!" cried he, "too late by a minute! Oh, my God, my

God! what a misfortune!"

He had been informed at seven o'clock in the morning that a rope ladder

floated from one of the windows of the castle; he had hastened to

Milady's chamber, had found it empty, the window open, and the bars

filed, had remembered the verbal caution d'Artagnan had transmitted to

him by his messenger, had trembled for the duke, and running to the

stable without taking time to have a horse saddled, had jumped upon the

first he found, had galloped off like the wind, had alighted below in

the courtyard, had ascended the stairs precipitately, and on the top

step, as we have said, had encountered Felton.

The duke, however, was not dead. He recovered a little, reopened his

eyes, and hope revived in all hearts.

"Gentlemen," said he, "leave me along with Patrick and Laporte--ah, is

that you, de Winter? You sent me a strange madman this morning! See

the state in which he has put me."

"Oh, my Lord!" cried the baron, "I shall never console myself."

"And you would be quite wrong, my dear de Winter," said Buckingham,

holding out his hand to him. "I do not know the man who deserves being

regretted during the whole life of another man; but leave us, I pray

you."

The baron went out sobbing.

There only remained in the closet of the wounded duke Laporte and

Patrick. A physician was sought for, but none was yet found.

"You will live, my Lord, you will live!" repeated the faithful servant

of Anne of Austria, on his knees before the duke's sofa.

"What has she written to me?" said Buckingham, feebly, streaming with

blood, and suppressing his agony to speak of her he loved, "what has she

written to me? Read me her letter."

"Oh, my Lord!" said Laporte.

"Obey, Laporte, do you not see I have no time to lose?"

Laporte broke the seal, and placed the paper before the eyes of the

duke; but Buckingham in vain tried to make out the writing.

"Read!" said he, "read! I cannot see. Read, then! For soon, perhaps,

I shall not hear, and I shall die without knowing what she has written

to me."

Laporte made no further objection, and read:

"My Lord, By that which, since I have known you, have suffered by you

and for you, I conjure you, if you have any care for my repose, to

countermand those great armaments which you are preparing against

France, to put an end to a war of which it is publicly said religion is

the ostensible cause, and of which, it is generally whispered, your love

for me is the concealed cause. This war may not only bring great

catastrophes upon England and France, but misfortune upon you, my Lord,

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for which I should never console myself.

"Be careful of your life, which is menaced, and which will be dear to me

from the moment I am not obliged to see an enemy in you.

"Your affectionate

"ANNE"

Buckingham collected all his remaining strength to listen to the reading

of the letter; then, when it was ended, as if he had met with a bitter

disappointment, he asked, "Have you nothing else to say to me by the

living voice, Laporte?"

"The queen charged me to tell you to watch over yourself, for she had

advice that your assassination would be attempted."

"And is that all--is that all?" replied Buckingham, impatiently.

"She likewise charged me to tell you that she still loved you."

"Ah," said Buckingham, "God be praised! My death, then, will not be to

her as the death of a stranger!"

Laporte burst into tears.

"Patrick," said the due, "bring me the casket in which the diamond studs

were kept."

Patrick brought the object desired, which Laporte recognized as having

belonged to the queen.

"Now the scent bag of white satin, on which her cipher is embroidered in

pearls."

Patrick again obeyed.

"Here, Laporte," said Buckingham, "these are the only tokens I ever

received from her--this silver casket and these two letters. You will

restore them to her Majesty; and as a last memorial"--he looked round

for some valuable object--"you will add--"

He still sought; but his eyes, darkened by death, encountered only the

knife which had fallen from the hand of Felton, still smoking with the

blood spread over its blade.

"And you will add to them this knife," said the duke, pressing the hand

of Laporte. He had just strength enough to place the scent bag at the

bottom of the silver casket, and to let the knife fall into it, making a

sign to Laporte that he was no longer able to speak; than, in a last

convulsion, which this time he had not the power to combat, he slipped

from the sofa to the floor.

Patrick uttered a loud cry.

Buckingham tried to smile a last time; but death checked his thought,

which remained engraved on his brow like a last kiss of love.

At this moment the duke's surgeon arrived, quite terrified; he was

already on board the admiral's ship, where they had been obliged to seek

him.

He approached the duke, took his hand, held it for an instant in his

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own, and letting it fall, "All is useless," said he, "he is dead."

"Dead, dead!" cried Patrick.

At this cry all the crowd re-entered the apartment, and throughout the

palace and town there was nothing but consternation and tumult.

As soon as Lord de Winter saw Buckingham was dead, he ran to Felton,

whom the soldiers still guarded on the terrace of the palace.

"Wretch!" said he to the young man, who since the death of Buckingham

had regained that coolness and self-possession which never after

abandoned him, "wretch! what have you done?"

"I have avenged myself!" said he.

"Avenged yourself," said the baron. "Rather say that you have served as

an instrument to that accursed woman; but I swear to you that this crime

shall be her last."

"I don't know what you mean," replied Felton, quietly, "and I am

ignorant of whom you are speaking, my Lord. I killed the Duke of

Buckingham because he twice refused you yourself to appoint me captain;

I have punished him for his injustice, that is all."

De Winter, stupefied, looked on while the soldiers bound Felton, and

could not tell what to think of such insensibility.

One thing alone, however, threw a shade over the pallid brow of Felton.

At every noise he heard, the simple Puritan fancied he recognized the

step and voice of Milady coming to throw herself into his arms, to

accuse herself, and die with him.

All at once he started. His eyes became fixed upon a point of the sea,

commanded by the terrace where he was. With the eagle glance of a

sailor he had recognized there, where another would have seen only a

gull hovering over the waves, the sail of a sloop which was directed

toward the cost of France.

He grew deadly pale, placed his hand upon his heart, which was breaking,

and at once perceived all the treachery.

"One last favor, my Lord!" said he to the baron.

"What?" asked his Lordship.

"What o'clock is it?"

The baron drew out his watch. "It wants ten minutes to nine," said he.

Milady had hastened her departure by an hour and a half. As soon as she

heard the cannon which announced the fatal event, she had ordered the

anchor to be weighed. The vessel was making way under a blue sky, at

great distance from the coast.

"God has so willed it!" said he, with the resignation of a fanatic; but

without, however, being able to take his eyes from that ship, on board

of which he doubtless fancied he could distinguish the white outline of

her to whom he had sacrificed his life.

De Winter followed his look, observed his feelings, and guessed all.

"Be punished ALONE, for the first, miserable man!" said Lord de Winter

to Felton, who was being dragged away with his eyes turned toward the

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sea; "but I swear to you by the memory of my brother whom I have loved

so much that your accomplice is not saved."

Felton lowered his head without pronouncing a syllable.

As to Lord de Winter, he descended the stairs rapidly, and went straight

to the port.

60 IN FRANCE

The first fear of the King of England, Charles I, on learning of the

death of the duke, was that such terrible news might discourage the

Rochellais; he tried, says Richelieu in his Memoirs, to conceal it from

them as long as possible, closing all the ports of his kingdom, and

carefully keeping watch that no vessel should sail until the army which

Buckingham was getting together had gone, taking upon himself, in

default of Buckingham, to superintend the departure.

He carried the strictness of this order so far as to detain in England

the ambassadors of Denmark, who had taken their leave, and the regular

ambassador of Holland, who was to take back to the port of Flushing the

Indian merchantmen of which Charles I had made restitution to the United

Provinces.

But as he did not think of giving this order till five hours after the

event--that is to say, till two o'clock in the afternoon--two vessels

had already left the port, the one bearing, as we know, Milady, who,

already anticipating the event, was further confirmed in that belief by

seeing the black flag flying at the masthead of the admiral's ship.

As to the second vessel, we will tell hereafter whom it carried, and how

it set sail.

During this time nothing new occurred in the camp at La Rochelle; only

the king, who was bored, as always, but perhaps a little more so in camp

than elsewhere, resolved to go incognito and spend the festival of St.

Louis at St. Germain, and asked the cardinal to order him an escort of

only twenty Musketeers. The cardinal, who sometimes became weary of the

king, granted this leave of absence with great pleasure to his royal

lieutenant, who promised to return about the fifteenth of September.

M. de Treville, being informed of this by his Eminence, packed his

portmanteau; and as without knowing the cause he knew the great desire

and even imperative need which his friends had of returning to Paris, it

goes without saying that he fixed upon them to form part of the escort.

The four young men heard the news a quarter of an hour after M. de

Treville, for they were the first to whom he communicated it. It was

then that d'Artagnan appreciated the favor the cardinal had conferred

upon him in making him at last enter the Musketeers--for without that

circumstance he would have been forced to remain in the camp while his

companions left it.

It goes without saying that this impatience to return toward Paris had

for a cause the danger which Mme. Bonacieux would run of meeting at the

convent of Bethune with Milady, her mortal enemy. Aramis therefore had

written immediately to Marie Michon, the seamstress at Tours who had

such fine acquaintances, to obtain from the queen authority for Mme.

Bonacieux to leave the convent, and to retire either into Lorraine or

Belgium. They had not long to wait for an answer. Eight or ten days

afterward Aramis received the following letter:

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My Dear Cousin, Here is the authorization from my sister to withdraw

our little servant from the convent of Bethune, the air of which you

think is bad for her. My sister sends you this authorization with great

pleasure, for she is very partial to the little girl, to whom she

intends to be more serviceable hereafter.

I salute you,

MARIE MICHON

To this letter was added an order, conceived in these terms:

At the Louvre, August 10, 1628

The superior of the convent of Bethune will place in the hands of the

person who shall present this note to her the novice who entered the

convent upon my recommendation and under my patronage.

ANNE

It may be easily imagined how the relationship between Aramis and a

seamstress who called the queen her sister amused the young men; but

Aramis, after having blushed two or three times up to the whites of his

eyes at the gross pleasantry of Porthos, begged his friends not to

revert to the subject again, declaring that if a single word more was

said to him about it, he would never again implore his cousins to

interfere in such affairs.

There was no further question, therefore, about Marie Michon among the

four Musketeers, who besides had what they wanted: that was, the order

to withdraw Mme. Bonacieux from the convent of the Carmelites of

Bethune. It was true that this order would not be of great use to them

while they were in camp at La Rochelle; that is to say, at the other end

of France. Therefore d'Artagnan was going to ask leave of absence of M.

de Treville, confiding to him candidly the importance of his departure,

when the news was transmitted to him as well as to his three friends

that the king was about to set out for Paris with an escort of twenty

Musketeers, and that they formed part of the escort.

Their joy was great. The lackeys were sent on before with the baggage,

and they set out on the morning of the sixteenth.

The cardinal accompanied his Majesty from Surgeres to Mauzes; and there

the king and his minister took leave of each other with great

demonstrations of friendship.

The king, however, who sought distraction, while traveling as fast as

possible--for he was anxious to be in Paris by the twenty-third--stopped

from time to time to fly the magpie, a pastime for which the taste had

been formerly inspired in him by de Luynes, and for which he had always

preserved a great predilection. Out of the twenty Musketeers sixteen,

when this took place, rejoiced greatly at this relaxation; but the other

four cursed it heartily. D'Artagnan, in particular, had a perpetual

buzzing in his ears, which Porthos explained thus: "A very great lady

has told me that this means that somebody is talking of you somewhere."

At length the escort passed through Paris on the twenty-third, in the

night. The king thanked M. de Treville, and permitted him to distribute

furloughs for four days, on condition that the favored parties should

not appear in any public place, under penalty of the Bastille.

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The first four furloughs granted, as may be imagined, were to our four

friends. Still further, Athos obtained of M. de Treville six days

instead of four, and introduced into these six days two more nights--for

they set out on the twenty-fourth at five o'clock in the evening, and as

a further kindness M. de Treville post-dated the leave to the morning of

the twenty-fifth.

"Good Lord!" said d'Artagnan, who, as we have often said, never stumbled

at anything. "It appears to me that we are making a great trouble of a

very simple thing. In two days, and by using up two or three horses

(that's nothing; I have plenty of money), I am at Bethune. I present my

letter from the queen to the superior, and I bring back the dear

treasure. If go to seek-not into Lorraine, not into Belgium, but to

Paris, where she will be much better concealed, particularly while the

cardinal is at La Rochelle. Well, once returned from the country, half

by the protection of her cousin, half through what we have personally

done for her, we shall obtain from the queen what we desire. Remain,

then, where you are, and do not exhaust yourselves with useless fatigue.

Myself and Planchet are all that such a simple expedition requires."

To this Athos replied quietly: "We also have money left--for I have not

yet drunk all my share of the diamond, and Porthos and Aramis have not

eaten all theirs. We can therefore use up four horses as well as one.

But consider, d'Artagnan," added he, in a tone so solemn that it made

the young man shudder, "consider that Bethune is a city where the

cardinal has given rendezvous to a woman who, wherever she goes, brings

misery with her. If you had only to deal with four men, d'Artagnan, I

would allow you to go alone. You have to do with that woman! We four

will go; and I hope to God that with our four lackeys we may be in

sufficient number."

"You terrify me, Athos!" cried d'Artagnan. "My God! what do you

fear?"

"Everything!" replied Athos.

D'Artagnan examined the countenances of his companions, which, like that

of Athos, wore an impression of deep anxiety; and they continued their

route as fast as their horses could carry them, but without adding

another word.

On the evening of the twenty-fifth, as they were entering Arras, and as

d'Artagnan was dismounting at the inn of the Golden Harrow to drink a

glass of wine, a horseman came out of the post yard, where he had just

had a relay, started off at a gallop, and with a fresh horse took the

road to Paris. At the moment he passed through the gateway into the

street, the wind blew open the cloak in which he was wrapped, although

it was in the month of August, and lifted his hat, which the traveler

seized with his hand the moment it had left his head, pulling it eagerly

over his eyes.

D'Artagnan, who had his eyes fixed upon this man, became very pale, and

let his glass fall.

"What is the matter, monsieur?" said Planchet. "Oh, come, gentlemen,

my master is ill!"

The three friends hastened toward d'Artagnan, who, instead of being ill,

ran toward his horse. They stopped him at the door.

"Well, where the devil are you going now?" cried Athos.

"It is he!" cried d'Artagnan, pale with anger, an with the sweat on his

brow, "it is he! let me overtake him!"

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"He? What he?" asked Athos.

"He, that man!"

"What man?"

"That cursed man, my evil genius, whom I have always met with when

threatened by some misfortune, he who accompanied that horrible woman

when I met her for the first time, he whom I was seeking when I offended

our Athos, he whom I saw on the very morning Madame Bonacieux was

abducted. I have seen him; that is he! I recognized him when the wind

blew upon his cloak."

"The devil!" said Athos, musingly.

"To saddle, gentlemen! to saddle! Let us pursue him, and we shall

overtake him!"

"My dear friend," said Aramis, "remember that he goes in an opposite

direction from that I which we are going, that he has a fresh horse, and

ours are fatigued, so that we shall disable our own horses without even

a chance of overtaking him. Let the man go, d'Artagnan; let us save the

woman."

"Monsieur, monsieur!" cried a hostler, running out and looking after

the stranger, "monsieur, here is a paper which dropped out of your hat!

Eh, monsieur, eh!"

"Friend," said d'Artagnan, "a half-pistole for that paper!"

"My faith, monsieur, with great pleasure! Here it is!"

The hostler, enchanted with the good day's work he had done, returned to

the yard. D'Artagnan unfolded the paper.

"Well?" eagerly demanded all his three friends.

"Nothing but one word!" said d'Artagnan.

"Yes," said Aramis, "but that one word is the name of some town or

village."

"Armentieres," read Porthos; "Armentieres? I don't know such a

place."

"And that name of a town or village is written in her hand!" cried

Athos.

"Come on, come on!" said d'Artagnan; "let us keep that paper carefully,

perhaps I have not thrown away my half-pistole. To horse, my friends,

to horse!"

And the four friends flew at a gallop along the road to Bethune.

61 THE CARMELITE CONVENT AT BETHUNE

Great criminals bear about them a kind of predestination which makes them

surmount all obstacles, which makes them escape all dangers, up to the

moment which a wearied Providence has marked as the rock of their

impious fortunes.

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It was thus with Milady. She escaped the cruisers of both nations, and

arrived at Boulogne without accident.

When landing at Portsmouth, Milady was an Englishwoman whom the

persecutions of the French drove from La Rochelle; when landing at

Boulogne, after a two days' passage, she passed for a Frenchwoman whom

the English persecuted at Portsmouth out of their hatred for France.

Milady had, likewise, the best of passports-her beauty, her noble

appearance, and the liberality with which she distribute her pistoles.

Freed from the usual formalities by the affable smile and gallant

manners of an old governor of the port, who kissed her hand, she only

remained long enough at Boulogne to put into the post a letter,

conceived in the following terms:

"To his Eminence Monseigneur the Cardinal Richelieu, in his camp before

La Rochelle.

Monseigneur, Let your Eminence be reassured. His Grace the Duke of

Buckingham WILL NOT SET OUT for France.

MILADY DE-

"BOULOGNE, evening of the twenty-fifth.

"P.S.-According to the desire of your Eminence, I report to the convent

of the Carmelites at Bethune, where I will await your orders."

Accordingly, that same evening Milady commenced her journey. Night

overtook her; she stopped, and slept at an inn. At five o'clock the

next morning she again proceeded, and in three hours after entered

Bethune. She inquired for the convent of the Carmelites, and went

thither immediately.

The superior met her; Milady showed her the cardinal's order. The

abbess assigned her a chamber, and had breakfast served.

All the past was effaced from the eyes of this woman; and her looks,

fixed on the future, beheld nothing but the high fortunes reserved for

her by the cardinal, whom she had so successfully served without his

name being in any way mixed up with the sanguinary affair. The ever-new

passions which consumed her gave to her life the appearance of those

clouds which float in the heavens, reflecting sometimes azure, sometimes

fire, sometimes the opaque blackness of the tempest, and which leave no

traces upon the earth behind them but devastation and death.

After breakfast, the abbess came to pay her a visit. There is very

little amusement in the cloister, and the good superior was eager to

make the acquaintance of her new boarder.

Milady wished to please the abbess. This was a very easy matter for a

woman so really superior as she was. She tried to be agreeable, and she

was charming, winning the good superior by her varied conversation and

by the graces of her whole personality.

The abbess, who was the daughter of a noble house, took particular

delight in stories of the court, which so seldom travel to the

extremities of the kingdom, and which, above all, have so much

difficulty in penetrating the walls of convents, at whose threshold the

noise of the world dies away.

Milady, on the contrary, was quite conversant with all aristocratic

intrigues, amid which she had constantly lived for five or six years.

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She made it her business, therefore, to amuse the good abbess with the

worldly practices of the court of France, mixed with the eccentric

pursuits of the king; she made for her the scandalous chronicle of the

lords and ladies of the court, whom the abbess knew perfectly by name,

touched lightly on the amours of the queen and the Duke of Buckingham,

talking a great deal to induce her auditor to talk a little.

But the abbess contented herself with listening and smiling without

replying a word. Milady, however, saw that this sort of narrative

amused her very much, and kept at it; only she now let her conversation

drift toward the cardinal.

But she was greatly embarrassed. She did not know whether the abbess

was a royalist or a cardinalist; she therefore confined herself to a

prudent middle course. But the abbess, on her part, maintained a

reserve still more prudent, contenting herself with making a profound

inclination of the head every time the fair traveler pronounced the name

of his Eminence.

Milady began to think she should soon grow weary of a convent life; she

resolved, then, to risk something in order that she might know how to

act afterward. Desirous of seeing how far the discretion of the good

abbess would go, she began to tell a story, obscure at first, but very

circumstantial afterward, about the cardinal, relating the amours of the

minister with Mme. d'Aiguillon, Marion de Lorme, and several other gay

women.

The abbess listened more attentively, grew animated by degrees, and

smiled.

"Good," thought Milady; "she takes a pleasure in my conversation. If

she is a cardinalist, she has no fanaticism, at least.

She then went on to describe the persecutions exercised by the cardinal

upon his enemies. The abbess only crossed herself, without approving or

disapproving.

This confirmed Milady in her opinion that the abbess was rather royalist

than cardinalist. Milady therefore continued, coloring her narrations

more and more.

"I am very ignorant of these matters," said the abbess, at length; "but

however distant from the court we may be, however remote from the

interests of the world we may be placed, we have very sad examples of

what you have related. And one of our boarders has suffered much from

the vengeance and persecution of the cardinal!"

"One of your boarders?" said Milady; "oh, my God! Poor woman! I pity

her, then."

"And you have reason, for she is much to be pitied. Imprisonment,

menaces, ill treatment-she has suffered everything. But after all,"

resumed the abbess, "Monsieur Cardinal has perhaps plausible motives for

acting thus; and though she has the look of an angel, we must not always

judge people by the appearance."

"Good!" said Milady to herself; "who knows! I am about, perhaps, to

discover something here; I am in the vein."

She tried to give her countenance an appearance of perfect candor.

"Alas," said Milady, "I know it is so. It is said that we must not

trust to the face; but in what, then, shall we place confidence, if not

in the most beautiful work of the Lord? As for me, I shall be deceived

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all my life perhaps, but I shall always have faith in a person whose

countenance inspires me with sympathy."

"You would, then, be tempted to believe," said the abbess, "that this

young person is innocent?"

"The cardinal pursues not only crimes," said she: "there are certain

virtues which he pursues more severely than certain offenses."

"Permit me, madame, to express my surprise," said the abbess.

"At what?" said Milady, with the utmost ingenuousness.

"At the language you use."

"What do you find so astonishing in that language?" said Milady,

smiling.

"You are the friend of the cardinal, for he sends you hither, and yet--"

"And yet I speak ill of him," replied Milady, finishing the thought of

the superior.

"At least you don't speak well of him."

"That is because I am not his friend," said she, sighing, "but his

victim!"

"But this letter in which he recommends you to me?"

"Is an order for me to confine myself to a sort of prison, from which he

will release me by one of his satellites."

"But why have you not fled?"

"Whither should I go? Do you believe there is a spot on the earth which

the cardinal cannot reach if he takes the trouble to stretch forth his

hand? If I were a man, that would barely be possible; but what can a

woman do? This young boarder of yours, has she tried to fly?"

"No, that is true; but she--that is another thing; I believe she is

detained in France by some love affair."

"Ah," said Milady, with a sigh, "if she loves she is not altogether

wretched."

"Then," said the abbess, looking at Milady with increasing interest, "I

behold another poor victim?"

"Alas, yes," said Milady.

The abbess looked at her for an instant with uneasiness, as if a fresh

thought suggested itself to her mind.

"You are not an enemy of our holy faith?" said she, hesitatingly.

"Who--I?" cried Milady; "I a Protestant? Oh, no! I call to witness

the God who hears us, that on the contrary I am a fervent Catholic!"

"Then, madame," said the abbess, smiling, "be reassured; the house in

which you are shall not be a very hard prison, and we will do all in our

power to make you cherish your captivity. You will find here, moreover,

the young woman of whom I spoke, who is persecuted, no doubt, in

consequence of some court intrigue. She is amiable and well-behaved."

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"What is her name?"

"She was sent to me by someone of high rank, under the name of Kitty. I

have not tried to discover her other name."

"Kitty!" cried Milady. "What? Are you sure?"

"That she is called so? Yes, madame. Do you know her?"

Milady smiled to herself at the idea which had occurred to her that this

might be her old chambermaid. There was connected with the remembrance

of this girl a remembrance of anger; and a desire of vengeance

disordered the features of Milady, which, however, immediately recovered

the calm and benevolent expression which this woman of a hundred faces

had for a moment allowed them to lose.

"And when can I see this young lady, for whom I already feel so great a

sympathy?" asked Milady.

"Why, this evening," said the abbess; "today even. But you have been

traveling these four days, as you told me yourself. This morning you

rose at five o'clock; you must stand in need of repose. Go to bed and

sleep; at dinnertime we will rouse you."

Although Milady would very willingly have gone without sleep, sustained

as she was by all the excitements which a new adventure awakened in her

heart, ever thirsting for intrigues, she nevertheless accepted the offer

of the superior. During the last fifteen days she had experienced so

many and such various emotions that if her frame of iron was still

capable of supporting fatigue, her mind required repose.

She therefore took leave of the abbess, and went to bed, softly rocked

by the ideas of vengeance which the name of Kitty had naturally brought

to her thoughts. She remembered that almost unlimited promise which the

cardinal had given her if she succeeded in her enterprise. She had

succeeded; d'Artagnan was then in her power!

One thing alone frightened her; that was the remembrance of her husband,

the Comte de la Fere, whom she had believed dead, or at least

expatriated, and whom she found again in Athos-the best friend of

d'Artagnan.

But alas, if he was the friend of d'Artagnan, he must have lent him his

assistance in all the proceedings by whose aid the queen had defeated

the project of his Eminence; if he was the friend of d'Artagnan, he was

the enemy of the cardinal; and she doubtless would succeed in involving

him in the vengeance by which she hoped to destroy the young Musketeer.

All these hopes were so many sweet thoughts for Milady; so, rocked by

them, she soon fell asleep.

She was awakened by a soft voice which sounded at the foot of her bed.

She opened her eyes, and saw the abbess, accompanied by a young woman

with light hair and delicate complexion, who fixed upon her a look full

of benevolent curiosity.

The face of the young woman was entirely unknown to her. Each examined

the other with great attention, while exchanging the customary

compliments; both were very handsome, but of quite different styles of

beauty. Milady, however, smiled in observing that she excelled the

young woman by far in her high air and aristocratic bearing. It is true

that the habit of a novice, which the young woman wore, was not very

advantageous in a contest of this kind.

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The abbess introduced them to each other. When this formality was

ended, as her duties called her to chapel, she left the two young women

alone.

The novice, seeing Milady in bed, was about the follow the example of

the superior; but Milady stopped her.

"How, madame," said she, "I have scarcely seen you, and you already

wish to deprive me of your company, upon which I had counted a little, I

must confess, for the time I have to pass here?"

"No, madame," replied the novice, "only I thought I had chosen my time

ill; you were asleep, you are fatigued."

"Well," said Milady, "what can those who sleep wish for--a happy

awakening? This awakening you have given me; allow me, then, to enjoy

it at my ease," and taking her hand, she drew her toward the armchair by

the bedside.

The novice sat down.

"How unfortunate I am!" said she; "I have been here six months without

the shadow of recreation. You arrive, and your presence was likely to

afford me delightful company; yet I expect, in all probability, to quit

the convent at any moment."

"How, you are going soon?" asked Milady.

"At least I hope so," said the novice, with an expression of joy which

she made no effort to disguise.

"I think I learned you had suffered persecutions from the cardinal,"

continued Milady; "that would have been another motive for sympathy

between us."

"What I have heard, then, from our good mother is true; you have

likewise been a victim of that wicked priest."

"Hush!" said Milady; "let us not, even here, speak thus of him. All my

misfortunes arise from my having said nearly what you have said before a

woman whom I thought my friend, and who betrayed me. Are you also the

victim of a treachery?"

"No," said the novice, "but of my devotion--of a devotion to a woman I

loved, for whom I would have laid down my life, for whom I would give it

still."

"And who has abandoned you--is that it?"

"I have been sufficiently unjust to believe so; but during the last two

or three days I have obtained proof to the contrary, for which I thank

God--for it would have cost me very dear to think she had forgotten me.

But you, madame, you appear to be free," continued the novice; "and if

you were inclined to fly it only rests with yourself to do so."

"Whither would you have me go, without friends, without money, in a part

of France with which I am unacquainted, and where I have never been

before?"

"Oh," cried the novice, "as to friends, you would have them wherever you

want, you appear so good and are so beautiful!"

"That does not prevent," replied Milady, softening her smile so as to

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give it an angelic expression, "my being alone or being persecuted."

"Hear me," said the novice; "we must trust in heaven. There always

comes a moment when the good you have done pleads your cause before God;

and see, perhaps it is a happiness for you, humble and powerless as I

am, that you have met with me, for if I leave this place, well-I have

powerful friends, who, after having exerted themselves on my account,

may also exert themselves for you."

"Oh, when I said I was alone," said Milady, hoping to make the novice

talk by talking of herself, "it is not for want of friends in high

places; but these friends themselves tremble before the cardinal. The

queen herself does not dare to oppose the terrible minister. I have

proof that her Majesty, notwithstanding her excellent heart, has more

than once been obliged to abandon to the anger of his Eminence persons

who had served her."

"Trust me, madame; the queen may appear to have abandoned those persons,

but we must not put faith in appearances. The more they are persecuted,

the more she thinks of them; and often, when they least expect it, they

have proof of a kind remembrance."

"Alas!" said Milady, "I believe so; the queen is so good!"

"Oh, you know her, then, that lovely and noble queen, that you speak of

her thus!" cried the novice, with enthusiasm.

"That is to say," replied Milady, driven into her entrenchment, "that I

have not the honor of knowing her personally; but I know a great number

of her most intimate friends. I am acquainted with Monsieur de Putange;

I met Monsieur Dujart in England; I know Monsieur de Treville."

"Monsieur de Treville!" exclaimed the novice, "do you know Monsieur de

Treville?"

"Yes, perfectly well--intimately even."

"The captain of the king's Musketeers?"

"The captain of the king's Musketeers."

"Why, then, only see!" cried the novice; "we shall soon be well

acquainted, almost friends. If you know Monsieur de Treville, you must

have visited him?"

"Often!" said Milady, who, having entered this track, and perceiving

that falsehood succeeded, was determined to follow it to the end.

"With him, then, you must have seen some of his Musketeers?"

"All those he is in the habit of receiving!" replied Milady, for whom

this conversation began to have a real interest.

"Name a few of those whom you know, and you will see if they are my

friends."

"Well!" said Milady, embarrassed, " I know Monsieur de Louvigny,

Monsieur de Courtivron, Monsieur de Ferussac."

The novice let her speak, then seeing that she paused, she said, "Don't

you know a gentleman named Athos?"

Milady became as pale as the sheets in which she was lying, and mistress

as she was of herself, could not help uttering a cry, seizing the hand

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of the novice, and devouring her with looks.

"What is the matter? Good God!" asked the poor woman, "have I said

anything that has wounded you?"

"No; but the name struck me, because I also have known that gentleman,

and it appeared strange to me to meet with a person who appears to know

him well."

"Oh, yes, very well; not only him, but some of his friends, Messieurs

Porthos and Aramis!"

"Indeed! you know them likewise? I know them," cried Milady, who began

to feel a chill penetrate her heart.

"Well, if you know them, you know that they are good and free

companions. Why do you not apply to them, if you stand in need of

help?"

"That is to say," stammered Milady, "I am not really very intimate with

any of them. I know them from having heard one of their friends,

Monsieur d'Artagnan, say a great deal about them."

"You know Monsieur d'Artagnan!" cried the novice, in her turn seizing

the hands of Milady and devouring her with her eyes.

Then remarking the strange expression of Milady's countenance, she said,

"Pardon me, madame; you know him by what title?"

"Why," replied Milady, embarrassed, "why, by the title of friend."

"You deceive me, madame," said the novice; "you have been his mistress!"

"It is you who have been his mistress, madame!" cried Milady, in her

turn.

"I?" said the novice.

"Yes, you! I know you now. You are Madame Bonacieux!"

The young woman drew back, filled with surprise and terror.

"Oh, do not deny it! Answer!" continued Milady.

"Well, yes, madame," said the novice, "Are we rivals?"

The countenance of Milady was illumined by so savage a joy that under

any other circumstances Mme. Bonacieux would have fled in terror; but

she was absorbed by jealousy.

"Speak, madame!" resumed Mme. Bonacieux, with an energy of which she

might not have been believed capable. "Have you been, or are you, his

mistress?"

"Oh, no!" cried Milady, with an accent that admitted no doubt of her

truth. "Never, never!"

"I believe you," said Mme. Bonacieux; "but why, then, did you cry out

so?"

"Do you not understand?" said Milady, who had already overcome her

agitation and recovered all her presence of mind.

"How can I understand? I know nothing."

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"Can you not understand that Monsieur d'Artagnan, being my friend, might

take me into his confidence?"

"Truly?"

"Do you not perceive that I know all--your abduction from the little

house at St. Germain, his despair, that of his friends, and their

useless inquiries up to this moment? How could I help being astonished

when, without having the least expectation of such a thing, I meet you

face to face--you, of whom we have so often spoken together, you whom he

loves with all his soul, you whom he had taught me to love before I had

seen you! Ah, dear Constance, I have found you, then; I see you at

last!"

And Milady stretched out her arms to Mme. Bonacieux, who, convinced by

what she had just said, saw nothing in this woman whom an instant before

she had believed her rival but a sincere and devoted friend.

"Oh, pardon me, pardon me!" cried she, sinking upon the shoulders of

Milady. "Pardon me, I love him so much!"

These two women held each other for an instant in a close embrace.

Certainly, if Milady's strength had been equal to her hatred, Mme.

Bonacieux would never have left that embrace alive. But not being able

to stifle her, she smiled upon her.

"Oh, you beautiful, good little creature!" said Milady. "How delighted

I am to have found you! Let me look at you!" and while saying these

words, she absolutely devoured her by her looks. "Oh, yes it is you

indeed! From what he has told me, I know you now. I recognize you

perfectly."

The poor young woman could not possibly suspect what frightful cruelty

was behind the rampart of that pure brow, behind those brilliant eyes in

which she read nothing but interest and compassion.

"Then you know what I have suffered," said Mme. Bonacieux, "since he

has told you what he has suffered; but to suffer for him is happiness."

Milady replied mechanically, "Yes, that is happiness." She was thinking

of something else.

"And then," continued Mme. Bonacieux, "my punishment is drawing to a

close. Tomorrow, this evening, perhaps, I shall see him again; and then

the past will no longer exist."

"This evening?" asked Milady, roused from her reverie by these words.

"What do you mean? Do you expect news from him?"

"I expect himself."

"Himself? D'Artagnan here?"

"Himself!"

"But that's impossible! He is at the siege of La Rochelle with the

cardinal. He will not return till after the taking of the city."

"Ah, you fancy so! But is there anything impossible for my d'Artagnan,

the noble and loyal gentleman?"

"Oh, I cannot believe you!"

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"Well, read, then!" said the unhappy young woman, in the excess of her

pride and joy, presenting a letter to Milady.

"The writing of Madame de Chevreuse!" said Milady to herself. "Ah, I

always thought there was some secret understanding in that quarter!"

And she greedily read the following few lines:

My Dear Child, Hold yourself ready. OUR FRIEND will see you soon,

and he will only see you to release you from that imprisonment in which

your safety required you should be concealed. Prepare, then, for your

departure, and never despair of us.

Our charming Gascon has just proved himself as brave and faithful as

ever. Tell him that certain parties are grateful for the warning he has

given.

"Yes, yes," said Milady; "the letter is precise. Do you know what that

warning was?"

"No, I only suspect he has warned the queen against some fresh

machinations of the cardinal."

"Yes, that's it, no doubt!" said Milady, returning the letter to Mme.

Bonacieux, and letting her head sink pensively upon her bosom.

At that moment they heard the gallop of a horse.

"Oh!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, darting to the window, "can it be he?"

Milady remained still in bed, petrified by surprise; so many unexpected

things happened to her all at once that for the first time she was at a

loss.

"He, he!" murmured she; "can it be he?" And she remained in bed with

her eyes fixed.

"Alas, no!" said Mme. Bonacieux; "it is a man I don't know, although he

seems to be coming here. Yes, he checks his pace; he stops at the gate;

he rings."

Milady sprang out of bed.

"You are sure it is not he?" said she.

"Yes, yes, very sure!"

"Perhaps you did not see well."

"Oh, if I were to see the plume of his hat, the end of his cloak, I

should know HIM!"

Milady was dressing herself all the time.

"Yes, he has entered."

"It is for you or me!"

"My God, how agitated you seem!"

"Yes, I admit it. I have not your confidence; I fear the cardinal."

"Hush!" said Mme. Bonacieux; "somebody is coming."

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Immediately the door opened, and the superior entered.

"Did you come from Boulogne?" demanded she of Milady.

"Yes," replied she, trying to recover her self-possession. "Who wants

me?"

"A man who will not tell his name, but who comes from the cardinal."

"And who wishes to speak with me?"

"Who wishes to speak to a lady recently come from Boulogne."

"Then let him come in, if you please."

"Oh, my God, my God!" cried Mme. Bonacieux. "Can it be bad news?"

"I fear it."

"I will leave you with this stranger; but as soon as he is gone, if you

will permit me, I will return."

"PERMIT you? I BESEECH you."

The superior and Mme. Bonacieux retired.

Milady remained alone, with her eyes fixed upon the door. An instant

later, the jingling of spurs was heard upon the stairs, steps drew near,

the door opened, and a man appeared.

Milady uttered a cry of joy; this man was the Comte de Rochefort--the

demoniacal tool of his Eminence.

62 TWO VARIETIES OF DEMONS

"Ah," cried Milady and Rochefort together, "it is you!"

"Yes, it is I."

"And you come?" asked Milady.

"From La Rochelle; and you?"

"From England."

"Buckingham?"

"Dead or desperately wounded, as I left without having been able to hear

anything of him. A fanatic has just assassinated him."

"Ah," said Rochefort, with a smile; "this is a fortunate chance--one

that will delight his Eminence! Have you informed him of it?"

"I wrote to him from Boulogne. But what brings you here?"

"His Eminence was uneasy, and sent me to find you."

"I only arrived yesterday."

"And what have you been doing since yesterday?"

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"I have not lost my time."

"Oh, I don't doubt that."

"Do you know whom I have encountered here?"

"No."

"Guess."

"How can I?"

"That young woman whom the queen took out of prison."

"The mistress of that fellow d'Artagnan?"

"Yes; Madame Bonacieux, with whose retreat the cardinal was

unacquainted."

"Well, well," said Rochefort, "here is a chance which may pair off with

the other! Monsieur Cardinal is indeed a privileged man!"

"Imagine my astonishment," continued Milady, "when I found myself face

to face with this woman!"

"Does she know you?"

"No."

"Then she looks upon you as a stranger?"

Milady smiled. "I am her best friend."

"Upon my honor," said Rochefort, "it takes you, my dear countess, to

perform such miracles!"

"And it is well I can, Chevalier," said Milady, "for do you know what is

going on here?"

"No."

"They will come for her tomorrow or the day after, with an order from

the queen."

"Indeed! And who?"

"d'Artagnan and his friends."

"Indeed, they will go so far that we shall be obliged to send them to

the Bastille."

"Why is it not done already?"

"What would you? The cardinal has a weakness for these men which I

cannot comprehend."

"Indeed!"

"Yes."

"Well, then, tell him this, Rochefort. Tell him that our conversation

at the inn of the Red Dovecot was overheard by these four men; tell him

that after his departure one of them came up to me and took from me by

violence the safe-conduct which he had given me; tell him they warned

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Lord de Winter of my journey to England; that this time they nearly

foiled my mission as they foiled the affair of the studs; tell him that

among these four men two only are to be feared--d'Artagnan and Athos;

tell him that the third, Aramis, is the lover of Madame de Chevreuse--he

may be left alone, we know his secret, and it may be useful; as to the

fourth, Porthos, he is a fool, a simpleton, a blustering booby, not

worth troubling himself about."

"But these four men must be now at the siege of La Rochelle?"

"I thought so, too; but a letter which Madame Bonacieux has received

from Madame the Constable, and which she has had the imprudence to show

me, leads me to believe that these four men, on the contrary, are on the

road hither to take her away."

"The devil! What's to be done?"

"What did the cardinal say about me?"

"I was to take your dispatches, written or verbal, and return by post;

and when he shall know what you have done, he will advise what you have

to do."

"I must, then, remain here?"

"Here, or in the neighborhood."

"You cannot take me with you?"

"No, the order is imperative. Near the camp you might be recognized;

and your presence, you must be aware, would compromise the cardinal."

"Then I must wait here, or in the neighborhood?"

"Only tell me beforehand where you will wait for intelligence from the

cardinal; let me now always where to find you."

"Observe, it is probable that I may not be able to remain here."

"Why?"

"You forget that my enemies may arrive at any minute."

"That's true; but is this little woman, then, to escape his Eminence?"

"Bah!" said Milady, with a smile that belonged only to herself; "you

forget that I am her best friend."

"Ah, that's true! I may then tell the cardinal, with respect to this

little woman--"

"That he may be at ease."

"Is that all?"

"He will know what that means."

"He will guess, at least. Now, then, what had I better do?"

"Return instantly. It appears to me that the news you bear is worth the

trouble of a little diligence."

"My chaise broke down coming into Lilliers."

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"Capital!"

"What, CAPITAL?"

"Yes, I want your chaise."

"And how shall I travel, then?"

"On horseback."

"You talk very comfortably,--a hundred and eighty leagues!"

"What's that?"

"One can do it! Afterward?"

"Afterward? Why, in passing through Lilliers you will send me your

chaise, with an order to your servant to place himself at my disposal."

"Well."

"You have, no doubt, some order from the cardinal about you?"

"I have my FULL POWER."

"Show it to the abbess, and tell her that someone will come and fetch

me, either today or tomorrow, and that I am to follow the person who

presents himself in your name."

"Very well."

"Don't forget to treat me harshly in speaking of me to the abbess."

"To what purpose?"

"I am a victim of the cardinal. It is necessary to inspire confidence

in that poor little Madame Bonacieux."

"That's true. Now, will you make me a report of all that has happened?"

"Why, I have related the events to you. You have a good memory; repeat

what I have told you. A paper may be lost."

"You are right; only let me know where to find you that I may not run

needlessly about the neighborhood."

"That's correct; wait!"

"Do you want a map?"

"Oh, I know this country marvelously!"

"You? When were you here?"

"I was brought up here."

"Truly?"

"It is worth something, you see, to have been brought up somewhere."

"You will wait for me, then?"

"Let me reflect a little! Ay, that will do--at Armentieres."

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"Where is that Armentieres?"

"A little town on the Lys; I shall only have to cross the river, and I

shall be in a foreign country."

"Capital! but it is understood you will only cross the river in case of

danger."

"That is well understood."

"And in that case, how shall I know where you are?"

"You do not want your lackey?"

"Is he a sure man?"

"To the proof."

"Give him to me. Nobody knows him. I will leave him at the place I

quit, and he will conduct you to me."

"And you say you will wait for me at Armentieres?"

"At Armentieres."

"Write that name on a bit of paper, lest I should forget it. There is

nothing compromising in the name of a town. Is it not so?"

"Eh, who knows? Never mind," said Milady, writing the name on half a

sheet of paper; "I will compromise myself."

"Well," said Rochefort, taking the paper from Milady, folding it, and

placing it in the lining of his hat, "you may be easy. I will do as

children do, for fear of losing the paper--repeat the name along the

route. Now, is that all?"

"I believe so."

"Let us see: Buckingham dead or grievously wounded; your conversation

with the cardinal overheard by the four Musketeers; Lord de Winter

warned of your arrival at Portsmouth; d'Artagnan and Athos to the

Bastille; Aramis the lover of Madame de Chevreuse; Porthos an ass;

Madame Bonacieux found again; to send you the chaise as soon as

possible; to place my lackey at your disposal; to make you out a victim

of the cardinal in order that the abbess may entertain no suspicion;

Armentieres, on the banks of the Lys. Is that all, then?"

"In truth, my dear Chevalier, you are a miracle of memory. A PROPOS,

add one thing--"

"What?"

"I saw some very pretty woods which almost touch the convent garden.

Say that I am permitted to walk in those woods. Who knows? Perhaps I

shall stand in need of a back door for retreat."

"You think of everything."

"And you forget one thing."

"What?"

"To ask me if I want money."

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"That's true. How much do you want?"

"All you have in gold."

"I have five hundred pistoles, or thereabouts."

"I have as much. With a thousand pistoles one may face everything.

Empty your pockets."

"There."

"Right. And you go--"

"In an hour--time to eat a morsel, during which I shall send for a post

horse."

"Capital! Adieu, Chevalier."

"Adieu, Countess."

"Commend me to the cardinal."

"Commend me to Satan."

Milady and Rochefort exchanged a smile and separated. An hour afterward

Rochefort set out at a grand gallop; five hours after that he passed

through Arras.

Our readers already know how he was recognized by d'Artagnan, and how

that recognition by inspiring fear in the four Musketeers had given

fresh activity to their journey.

63 THE DROP OF WATER

Rochefort had scarcely departed when Mme. Bonacieux re-entered. She

found Milady with a smiling countenance.

"Well," said the young woman, "what you dreaded has happened. This

evening, or tomorrow, the cardinal will send someone to take you away."

"Who told you that, my dear?" asked Milady.

"I heard it from the mouth of the messenger himself."

"Come and sit down close to me," said Milady.

"Here I am."

"Wait till I assure myself that nobody hears us."

"Why all these precautions?"

"You shall know."

Milady arose, went to the door, opened it, looked in the corridor, and

then returned and seated herself close to Mme. Bonacieux.

"Then," said she, "he has well played his part."

"Who has?"

"He who just now presented himself to the abbess as a messenger from the

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cardinal."

"It was, then, a part he was playing?"

"Yes, my child."

"That man, then, was not--"

"That man," said Milady, lowering her voice, "is my brother."

"Your brother!" cried Mme. Bonacieux.

"No one must know this secret, my dear, but yourself. If you reveal it

to anyone in the world, I shall be lost, and perhaps yourself likewise."

"Oh, my God!"

"Listen. This is what has happened: My brother, who was coming to my

assistance to take me away by force if it were necessary, met with the

emissary of the cardinal, who was coming in search of me. He followed

him. At a solitary and retired part of the road he drew his sword, and

required the messenger to deliver up to him the papers of which he was

the bearer. The messenger resisted; my brother killed him."

"Oh!" said Mme. Bonacieux, shuddering.

"Remember, that was the only means. Then my brother determined to

substitute cunning for force. He took the papers, and presented himself

here as the emissary of the cardinal, and in an hour or two a carriage

will come to take me away by the orders of his Eminence."

"I understand. It is your brother who sends this carriage."

"Exactly; but that is not all. That letter you have received, and

which you believe to be from Madame de Chevreuse--"

"Well?"

"It is a forgery."

"How can that be?"

"Yes, a forgery; it is a snare to prevent your making any resistance

when they come to fetch you."

"But it is d'Artagnan that will come."

"Do not deceive yourself. D'Artagnan and his friends are detained at the

siege of La Rochelle."

"How do you know that?"

"My brother met some emissaries of the cardinal in the uniform of

Musketeers. You would have been summoned to the gate; you would have

believed yourself about to meet friends; you would have been abducted,

and conducted back to Paris."

"Oh, my God! My senses fail me amid such a chaos of iniquities. I feel,

if this continues," said Mme. Bonacieux, raising her hands to her

forehead, "I shall go mad!"

"Stop--"

"What?"

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"I hear a horse's steps; it is my brother setting off again. I should

like to offer him a last salute. Come!"

Milady opened the window, and made a sign to Mme. Bonacieux to join her.

The young woman complied.

Rochefort passed at a gallop.

"Adieu, brother!" cried Milady.

The chevalier raised his head, saw the two young women, and without

stopping, waved his hand in a friendly way to Milady.

"The good George!" said she, closing the window with an expression of

countenance full of affection and melancholy. And she resumed her seat,

as if plunged in reflections entirely personal.

"Dear lady," said Mme. Bonacieux, "pardon me for interrupting you; but

what do you advise me to do? Good heaven! You have more experience

than I have. Speak; I will listen."

"In the first place," said Milady, "it is possible I may be deceived,

and that d'Artagnan and his friends may really come to your assistance."

"Oh, that would be too much!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, "so much happiness

is not in store for me!"

"Then you comprehend it would be only a question of time, a sort of

race, which should arrive first. If your friends are the more speedy,

you are to be saved; if the satellites of the cardinal, you are lost."

"Oh, yes, yes; lost beyond redemption! What, then, to do? What to do?"

"There would be a very simple means, very natural--"

"Tell me what!"

"To wait, concealed in the neighborhood, and assure yourself who are the

men who come to ask for you."

"But where can I wait?"

"Oh, there is no difficulty in that. I shall stop and conceal myself a

few leagues hence until my brother can rejoin me. Well, I take you with

me; we conceal ourselves, and wait together."

"But I shall not be allowed to go; I am almost a prisoner."

"As they believe that I go in consequence of an order from the cardinal,

no one will believe you anxious to follow me."

"Well?"

"Well! The carriage is at the door; you bid me adieu; you mount the

step to embrace me a last time; my brother's servant, who comes to fetch

me, is told how to proceed; he makes a sign to the postillion, and we

set off at a gallop."

"But d'Artagnan! D'Artagnan! if he comes?"

"Shall we not know it?"

"How?"

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"Nothing easier. We will send my brother's servant back to Bethune,

whom, as I told you, we can trust. He shall assume a disguise, and

place himself in front of the convent. If the emissaries of the

cardinal arrive, he will take no notice; if it is Monsieur d'Artagnan

and his friends, he will bring them to us."

"He knows them, then?"

"Doubtless. Has he not seen Monsieur d'Artagnan at my house?"

"Oh, yes, yes; you are right. Thus all may go well--all may be for the

best; but we do not go far from this place?"

"Seven or eight leagues at the most. We will keep on the frontiers, for

instance; and at the first alarm we can leave France."

"And what can we do there?"

"Wait."

"But if they come?"

"My brother's carriage will be here first."

"If I should happen to be any distance from you when the carriage comes

for you--at dinner or supper, for instance?"

"Do one thing."

"What is that?"

"Tell your good superior that in order that we may be as much together

as possible, you ask her permission to share my repast."

"Will she permit it?"

"What inconvenience can it be?"

"Oh, delightful! In this way we shall not be separated for an instant."

"Well, go down to her, then, to make your request. I feel my head a

little confused; I will take a turn in the garden."

"Go and where shall I find you?"

"Here, in an hour."

"Here, in an hour. Oh, you are so kind, and I am so grateful!"

"How can I avoid interesting myself for one who is so beautiful and so

amiable? Are you not the beloved of one of my best friends?"

"Dear d'Artagnan! Oh, how he will thank you!"

"I hope so. Now, then, all is agreed; let us go down."

"You are going into the garden?"

"Yes."

"Go along this corridor, down a little staircase, and you are in it."

"Excellent; thank you!"

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And the two women parted, exchanging charming smiles.

Milady had told the truth--her head was confused, for her ill-arranged

plans clashed one another like chaos. She required to be alone that

she might put her thoughts a little into order. She saw vaguely the

future; but she stood in need of a little silence and quiet to give all

her ideas, as yet confused, a distinct form and a regular plan.

What was most pressing was to get Mme. Bonacieux away, and convey her to

a place of safety, and there, if matters required, make her a hostage.

Milady began to have doubts of the issue of this terrible duel, in which

her enemies showed as much perseverance as she did animosity.

Besides, she felt as we feel when a storm is coming on--that this issue

was near, and could not fail to be terrible.

The principal thing for her, then, was, as we have said, to keep Mme.

Bonacieux in her power. Mme. Bonacieux was the very life of d'Artagnan.

This was more than his life, the life of the woman he loved; this was,

in case of ill fortune, a means of temporizing and obtaining good

conditions.

Now, this point was settled; Mme. Bonacieux, without any suspicion,

accompanied her. Once concealed with her at Armentieres, it would be

easy to make her believe that d'Artagnan had not come to Bethune. In

fifteen days at most, Rochefort would be back; besides, during that

fifteen days she would have time to think how she could best avenge

herself on the four friends. She would not be weary, thank God! for

she should enjoy the sweetest pastime such events could accord a woman

of her character--perfecting a beautiful vengeance.

Revolving all this in her mind, she cast her eyes around her, and

arranged the topography of the garden in her head. Milady was like a

good general who contemplates at the same time victory and defeat, and

who is quite prepared, according to the chances of the battle, to march

forward or to beat a retreat.

At the end of an hour she heard a soft voice calling her; it was Mme.

Bonacieux's. The good abbess had naturally consented to her request;

and as a commencement, they were to sup together.

On reaching the courtyard, they heard the noise of a carriage which

stopped at the gate.

Milady listened.

"Do you hear anything?" said she.

"Yes, the rolling of a carriage."

"It is the one my brother sends for us."

"Oh, my God!"

"Come, come! courage!"

The bell of the convent gate was sounded; Milady was not mistaken.

"Go to your chamber," said she to Mme. Bonacieux; "you have perhaps some

jewels you would like to take."

"I have his letters," said she.

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"Well, go and fetch them, and come to my apartment. We will snatch some

supper; we shall perhaps travel part of the night, and must keep our

strength up."

"Great God!" said Mme. Bonacieux, placing her hand upon her bosom, "my

heart beats so I cannot walk."

"Courage, courage! remember that in a quarter of an hour you will be

safe; and think that what you are about to do is for HIS sake."

"Yes, yes, everything for him. You have restored my courage by a single

word; go, I will rejoin you."

Milady ran up to her apartment quickly; she there found Rochefort's

lackey, and gave him his instructions.

He was to wait at the gate; if by chance the Musketeers should appear,

the carriage was to set off as fast as possible, pass around the

convent, and go and wait for Milady at a little village which was

situated at the other side of the wood. In this case Milady would cross

the garden and gain the village on foot. As we have already said,

Milady was admirably acquainted with this part of France.

If the Musketeers did not appear, things were to go on as had been

agreed; Mme. Bonacieux was to get into the carriage as if to bid her

adieu, and she was to take away Mme. Bonacieux.

Mme. Bonacieux came in; and to remove all suspicion, if she had any,

Milady repeated to the lackey, before her, the latter part of her

instructions.

Milady asked some questions about the carriage. It was a chaise drawn

by three horses, driven by a postillion; Rochefort's lackey would

precede it, as courier.

Milady was wrong in fearing that Mme. Bonacieux would have any

suspicion. The poor young woman was too pure to suppose that any female

could be guilty of such perfidy; besides, the name of the Comtesse de

Winter, which she had heard the abbess pronounce, was wholly unknown to

her, and she was even ignorant that a woman had had so great and so

fatal a share in the misfortune of her life.

"You see," said she, when the lackey had gone out, "everything is ready.

The abbess suspects nothing, and believes that I am taken by order of

the cardinal. This man goes to give his last orders; take the least

thing, drink a finger of wine, and let us be gone."

"Yes," said Mme. Bonacieux, mechanically, "yes, let us be gone."

Milady made her a sign to sit down opposite, poured her a small glass of

Spanish wine, and helped her to the wing of a chicken.

"See," said she, "if everything does not second us! Here is night

coming on; by daybreak we shall have reached our retreat, and nobody can

guess where we are. Come, courage! take something."

Mme. Bonacieux ate a few mouthfuls mechanically, and just touched the

glass with her lips.

"Come, come!" said Milady, lifting hers to her mouth, "do as I do."

But at the moment the glass touched her lips, her hand remained

suspended; she heard something on the road which sounded like the

rattling of a distant gallop. Then it grew nearer, and it seemed to

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her, almost at the same time, that she heard the neighing of horses.

This noise acted upon her joy like the storm which awakens the sleeper

in the midst of a happy dream; she grew pale and ran to the window,

while Mme. Bonacieux, rising all in a tremble, supported herself upon

her chair to avoid falling. Nothing was yet to be seen, only they heard

the galloping draw nearer.

"Oh, my God!" said Mme. Bonacieux, "what is that noise?"

"That of either our friends or our enemies," said Milady, with her

terrible coolness. "Stay where you are, I will tell you."

Mme. Bonacieux remained standing, mute, motionless, and pale as a

statue.

The noise became louder; the horses could not be more than a hundred and

fifty paces distant. If they were not yet to be seen, it was because

the road made an elbow. The noise became so distinct that the horses

might be counted by the rattle of their hoofs.

Milady gazed with all the power of her attention; it was just light

enough for her to see who was coming.

All at once, at the turning of the road she saw the glitter of laced

hats and the waving of feathers; she counted two, then five, then eight

horsemen. One of them preceded the rest by double the length of his

horse.

Milady uttered a stifled groan. In the first horseman she recognized

d'Artagnan.

"Oh, my God, my God," cried Mme. Bonacieux, "what is it?"

"It is the uniform of the cardinal's Guards. Not an instant to be lost!

Fly, fly!"

"Yes, yes, let us fly!" repeated Mme. Bonacieux, but without being able

to make a step, glued as she was to the spot by terror.

They heard the horsemen pass under the windows.

"Come, then, come, then!" cried Milady, trying to drag the young woman

along by the arm. "Thanks to the garden, we yet can flee; I have the

key, but make haste! in five minutes it will be too late!"

Mme. Bonacieux tried to walk, made two steps, and sank upon her knees.

Milady tried to raise and carry her, but could not do it.

At this moment they heard the rolling of the carriage, which at the

approach of the Musketeers set off at a gallop. Then three or four

shots were fired.

"For the last time, will you come?" cried Milady.

"Oh, my God, my God! you see my strength fails me; you see plainly I

cannot walk. Flee alone!"

"Flee alone, and leave you here? No, no, never!" cried Milady.

All at once she paused, a livid flash darted from her eyes; she ran to

the table, emptied into Mme. Bonacieux's glass the contents of a ring

which she opened with singular quickness. It was a grain of a reddish

color, which dissolved immediately.

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Then, taking the glass with a firm hand, she said, "Drink. This wine

will give you strength, drink!" And she put the glass to the lips of

the young woman, who drank mechanically.

"This is not the way that I wished to avenge myself," said Milady,

replacing the glass upon the table, with an infernal smile, "but, my

faith! we do what we can!" And she rushed out of the room.

Mme. Bonacieux saw her go without being able to follow her; she was like

people who dream they are pursued, and who in vain try to walk.

A few moments passed; a great noise was heard at the gate. Every

instant Mme. Bonacieux expected to see Milady, but she did not return.

Several times, with terror, no doubt, the cold sweat burst from her

burning brow.

At length she heard the grating of the hinges of the opening gates; the

noise of boots and spurs resounded on the stairs. There was a great

murmur of voices which continued to draw near, amid which she seemed to

hear her own name pronounced.

All at once she uttered a loud cry of joy, and darted toward the door;

she had recognized the voice of d'Artagnan.

"d'Artagnan! D'Artagnan!" cried she, "is it you? This way! this

way!"

"Constance? Constance?" replied the young man, "where are you? where

are you? My God!"

At the same moment the door of the cell yielded to a shock, rather than

opened; several men rushed into the chamber. Mme. Bonacieux had sunk

into an armchair, without the power of moving.

D'Artagnan threw down a yet-smoking pistol which he held in his hand,

and fell on his knees before his mistress. Athos replaced his in his

belt; Porthos and Aramis, who held their drawn swords in their hands,

returned them to their scabbards.

"Oh, d'Artagnan, my beloved d'Artagnan! You have come, then, at last!

You have not deceived me! It is indeed thee!"

"Yes, yes, Constance. Reunited!"

"Oh, it was in vain she told me you would not come! I hoped in silence.

I was not willing to fly. Oh, I have done well! How happy I am!"

At this word SHE, Athos, who had seated himself quietly, started up.

"SHE! What she?" asked d'Artagnan.

"Why, my companion. She who out of friendship for me wished to take me

from my persecutors. She who, mistaking you for the cardinal's Guards,

has just fled away."

"Your companion!" cried d'Artagnan, becoming more pale than the white

veil of his mistress. "Of what companion are you speaking, dear

Constance?"

"Of her whose carriage was at the gate; of a woman who calls herself

your friend; of a woman to whom you have told everything."

"Her name, her name!" cried d'Artagnan. "My God, can you not remember

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her name?"

"Yes, it was pronounced in my hearing once. Stop--but--it is very

strange--oh, my God, my head swims! I cannot see!"

"Help, help, my friends! her hands are icy cold," cried d'Artagnan.

"She is ill! Great God, she is losing her senses!"

While Porthos was calling for help with all the power of his strong

voice, Aramis ran to the table to get a glass of water; but he stopped

at seeing the horrible alteration that had taken place in the

countenance of Athos, who, standing before the table, his hair rising

from his head, his eyes fixed in stupor, was looking at one of the

glasses, and appeared a prey to the most horrible doubt.

"Oh!' said Athos, "oh, no, it is impossible! God would not permit such

a crime!"

"Water, water!" cried d'Artagnan. "Water!"

"Oh, poor woman, poor woman!" murmured Athos, in a broken voice.

Mme. Bonacieux opened her eyes under the kisses of d'Artagnan.

"She revives!" cried the young man. "Oh, my God, my God, I thank

thee!"

"Madame!" said Athos, "madame, in the name of heaven, whose empty glass

is this?"

"Mine, monsieur," said the young woman, in a dying voice.

"But who poured the wine for you that was in this glass?"

"She."

"But who is SHE?"

"Oh, I remember!" said Mme. Bonacieux, "the Comtesse de Winter."

The four friends uttered one and the same cry, but that of Athos

dominated all the rest.

At that moment the countenance of Mme. Bonacieux became livid; a fearful

agony pervaded her frame, and she sank panting into the arms of Porthos

and Aramis.

D'Artagnan seized the hands of Athos with an anguish difficult to be

described.

"And what do you believe?' His voice was stifled by sobs.

"I believe everything," said Athos biting his lips till the blood sprang

to avoid sighing.

"d'Artagnan, d'Artagnan!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, "where art thou? Do

not leave me! You see I am dying!"

D'Artagnan released the hands of Athos which he still held clasped in

both his own, and hastened to her. Her beautiful face was distorted

with agony; her glassy eyes had no longer their sight; a convulsive

shuddering shook her whole body; the sweat rolled from her brow.

"In the name of heaven, run, call! Aramis! Porthos! Call for help!"

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"Useless!" said Athos, "useless! For the poison which SHE pours there

is no antidote."

"Yes, yes! Help, help!" murmured Mme. Bonacieux; "help!"

Then, collecting all her strength, she took the head of the young man

between her hands, looked at him for an instant as if her whole soul

passed into that look, and with a sobbing cry pressed her lips to his.

"Constance, Constance!" cried d'Artagnan.

A sigh escaped from the mouth of Mme. Bonacieux, and dwelt for an

instant on the lips of d'Artagnan. That sigh was the soul, so chaste

and so loving, which reascended to heaven.

D'Artagnan pressed nothing but a corpse in his arms. The young man

uttered a cry, and fell by the side of his mistress as pale and as icy

as herself.

Porthos wept; Aramis pointed toward heaven; Athos made the sign of the

cross.

At that moment a man appeared in the doorway, almost as pale as those in

the chamber. He looked around him and saw Mme. Bonacieux dead, and

d'Artagnan in a swoon. He appeared just at that moment of stupor which

follows great catastrophes.

"I was not deceived," said he; "here is Monsieur d'Artagnan; and you are

his friends, Messieurs Athos, Porthos, and Aramis."

The persons whose names were thus pronounced looked at the stranger with

astonishment. It seemed to all three that they knew him.

"Gentlemen," resumed the newcomer, "you are, as I am, in search of a

woman who," added he, with a terrible smile, "must have passed this way,

for I see a corpse."

The three friends remained mute--for although the voice as well as the

countenance reminded them of someone they had seen, they could not

remember under what circumstances.

"Gentlemen," continued the stranger, "since you do not recognize a man

who probably owes his life to you twice, I must name myself. I am Lord

de Winter, brother-in-law of THAT WOMAN."

The three friends uttered a cry of surprise.

Athos rose, and offering him his hand, "Be welcome, my Lord," said he,

"you are one of us."

"I set out five hours after her from Portsmouth," said Lord de Winter.

"I arrived three hours after her at Boulogne. I missed her by twenty

minutes at St. Omer. Finally, at Lilliers I lost all trace of her. I

was going about at random, inquiring of everybody, when I saw you

gallop past. I recognized Monsieur d'Artagnan. I called to you, but

you did not answer me; I wished to follow you, but my horse was too much

fatigued to go at the same pace with yours. And yet it appears, in

spite of all your diligence, you have arrived too late."

"You see!" said Athos, pointing to Mme. Bonacieux dead, and to

d'Artagnan, whom Porthos and Aramis were trying to recall to life.

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"Are they both dead?" asked Lord de Winter, sternly.

"No," replied Athos, "fortunately Monsieur d'Artagnan has only fainted."

"Ah, indeed, so much the better!" said Lord de Winter.

At that moment d'Artagnan opened his eyes. He tore himself from the

arms of Porthos and Aramis, and threw himself like a madman on the

corpse of his mistress.

Athos rose, walked toward his friend with a slow and solemn step,

embraced him tenderly, and as he burst into violent sobs, he said to him

with his noble and persuasive voice, "Friend, be a man! Women weep for

the dead; men avenge them!"

"Oh, yes!" cried d'Artagnan, "yes! If it be to avenge her, I am ready

to follow you."

Athos profited by this moment of strength which the hope of vengeance

restored to his unfortunate friend to make a sign to Porthos and Aramis

to go and fetch the superior.

The two friends met her in the corridor, greatly troubled and much upset

by such strange events; she called some of the nuns, who against all

monastic custom found themselves in the presence of five men.

"Madame," said Athos, passing his arm under that of d'Artagnan, "we

abandon to your pious care the body of that unfortunate woman. She was

an angel on earth before being an angel in heaven. Treat her as one of

your sisters. We will return someday to pray over her grave."

D'Artagnan concealed his face in the bosom of Athos, and sobbed aloud.

"Weep," said Athos, "weep, heart full of love, youth, and life! Alas,

would I could weep like you!"

And he drew away his friend, as affectionate as a father, as consoling

as a priest, noble as a man who has suffered much.

All five, followed by their lackeys leading their horses, took their way

to the town of Bethune, whose outskirts they perceived, and stopped

before the first inn they came to.

"But," said d'Artagnan, "shall we not pursue that woman?"

"Later," said Athos. "I have measures to take."

"She will escape us," replied the young man; "she will escape us, and it

will be your fault, Athos."

"I will be accountable for her," said Athos.

D'Artagnan had so much confidence in the word of his friend that he

lowered his head, and entered the inn without reply.

Porthos and Aramis regarded each other, not understanding this assurance

of Athos.

Lord de Winter believed he spoke in this manner to soothe the grief of

d'Artagnan.

"Now, gentlemen," said Athos, when he had ascertained there were five

chambers free in the hotel, "let everyone retire to his own apartment.

d'Artagnan needs to be alone, to weep and to sleep. I take charge of

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everything; be easy."

"It appears, however," said Lord de Winter, "if there are any measures

to take against the countess, it concerns me; she is my sister-in-law."

"And me," said Athos, "--she is my wife!"

D'Artagnan smiled--for he understood that Athos was sure of his

vengeance when he revealed such a secret. Porthos and Aramis looked at

each other, and grew pale. Lord de Winter thought Athos was mad.

"Now, retire to your chambers," said Athos, "and leave me to act. You

must perceive that in my quality of a husband this concerns me. Only,

d'Artagnan, if you have not lost it, give me the paper which fell from

that man's hat, upon which is written the name of the village of--"

"Ah," said d'Artagnan, "I comprehend! that name written in her hand."

"You see, then," said Athos, "there is a god in heaven still!"

64 THE MAN IN THE RED CLOAK

The despair of Athos had given place to a concentrated grief which only

rendered more lucid the brilliant mental faculties of that extraordinary

man.

Possessed by one single thought--that of the promise he had made, and of

the responsibility he had taken--he retired last to his chamber, begged

the host to procure him a map of the province, bent over it, examined

every line traced upon it, perceived that there were four different

roads from Bethune to Armentieres, and summoned the lackeys.

Planchet, Grimaud, Bazin, and Mousqueton presented themselves, and

received clear, positive, and serious orders from Athos.

They must set out the next morning at daybreak, and go to Armentieres--

each by a different route. Planchet, the most intelligent of the four,

was to follow that by which the carriage had gone upon which the four

friends had fired, and which was accompanied, as may be remembered, by

Rochefort's servant.

Athos set the lackeys to work first because, since these men had been in

the service of himself and his friends he had discovered in each of them

different and essential qualities. Then, lackeys who ask questions

inspire less mistrust than masters, and meet with more sympathy among

those to whom they address themselves. Besides, Milady knew the

masters, and did not know the lackeys; on the contrary, the lackeys knew

Milady perfectly.

All four were to meet the next day at eleven o'clock. If they had

discovered Milady's retreat, three were to remain on guard; the fourth

was to return to Bethune in order to inform Athos and serve as a guide

to the four friends. These arrangements made, the lackeys retired.

Athos then arose from his chair, girded on his sword, enveloped himself

in his cloak, and left the hotel. It was nearly ten o'clock. At ten

o'clock in the evening, it is well known, the streets in provincial

towns are very little frequented. Athos nevertheless was visibly

anxious to find someone of whom he could ask a question. At length he

met a belated passenger, went up to him, and spoke a few words to him.

The man he addressed recoiled with terror, and only answered the few

words of the Musketeer by pointing. Athos offered the man half a

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pistole to accompany him, but the man refused.

Athos then plunged into the street the man had indicated with his

finger; but arriving at four crossroads, he stopped again, visibly

embarrassed. Nevertheless, as the crossroads offered him a better

chance than any other place of meeting somebody, he stood still. In a

few minutes a night watch passed. Athos repeated to him the same

question he had asked the first person he met. The night watch evinced

the same terror, refused, in his turn, to accompany Athos, and only

pointed with his hand to the road he was to take.

Athos walked in the direction indicated, and reached the suburb situated

at the opposite extremity of the city from that by which he and his

friends had entered it. There he again appeared uneasy and embarrassed,

and stopped for the third time.

Fortunately, a mendicant passed, who, coming up to Athos to ask charity,

Athos offered him half a crown to accompany him where he was going. The

mendicant hesitated at first, but at the sight of the piece of silver

which shone in the darkness he consented, and walked on before Athos.

Arrived at the angle of a street, he pointed to a small house, isolated,

solitary, and dismal. Athos went toward the house, while the mendicant,

who had received his reward, left as fast as his legs could carry him.

Athos went round the house before he could distinguish the door, amid

the red color in which the house was painted. No light appeared through

the chinks of the shutters; no noise gave reason to believe that it was

inhabited. It was dark and silent as the tomb.

Three times Athos knocked without receiving an answer. At the third

knock, however, steps were heard inside. The door at length was opened,

and a man appeared, of high stature, pale complexion, and black hair and

beard.

Athos and he exchanged some words in a low voice, then the tall man made

a sign to the Musketeer that he might come in. Athos immediately

profited by the permission, and the door was closed behind him.

The man whom Athos had come so far to seek, and whom he had found with

so much trouble, introduced him into his laboratory, where he was

engaged in fastening together with iron wire the dry bones of a

skeleton. All the frame was adjusted except the head, which lay on the

table.

All the rest of the furniture indicated that the dweller in this house

occupied himself with the study of natural science. There were large

bottles filled with serpents, ticketed according to their species; dried

lizards shone like emeralds set in great squares of black wood, and

bunches of wild odoriferous herbs, doubtless possessed of virtues

unknown to common men, were fastened to the ceiling and hung down in the

corners of the apartment. There was no family, no servant; the tall man

alone inhabited this house.

Athos cast a cold and indifferent glance upon the objects we have

described, and at the invitation of him whom he came to seek sat down

near him.

Then he explained to him the cause of his visit, and the service he

required of him. But scarcely had he expressed his request when the

unknown, who remained standing before the Musketeer, drew back with

signs of terror, and refused. Then Athos took from his pocket a small

paper, on which two lines were written, accompanied by a signature and

a seal, and presented them to him who had made too prematurely these

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signs of repugnance. The tall man had scarcely read these lines, seen

the signature, and recognized the seal, when he bowed to denote that he

had no longer any objection to make, and that he was ready to obey.

Athos required no more. He arose, bowed, went out, returned by the same

way he came, re-entered the hotel, and went to his apartment.

At daybreak d'Artagnan entered the chamber, and demanded what was to be

done.

"To wait," replied Athos.

Some minutes after, the superior of the convent sent to inform the

Musketeers that the burial would take place at midday. As to the

poisoner, they had heard no tidings of her whatever, only that she must

have made her escape through the garden, on the sand of which her

footsteps could be traced, and the door of which had been found shut.

As to the key, it had disappeared.

At the hour appointed, Lord de Winter and the four friends repaired to

the convent; the bells tolled, the chapel was open, the grating of the

choir was closed. In the middle of the choir the body of the victim,

clothed in her novitiate dress, was exposed. On each side of the choir

and behind the gratings opening into the convent was assembled the whole

community of the Carmelites, who listened to the divine service, and

mingled their chant with the chant of the priests, without seeing the

profane, or being seen by them.

At the door of the chapel d'Artagnan felt his courage fall anew, and returned to

look for Athos; but Athos had disappeared.

Faithful to his mission of vengeance, Athos had requested to be

conducted to the garden; and there upon the sand following the light

steps of this woman, who left sharp tracks wherever she went, he

advanced toward the gate which led into the wood, and causing it to be

opened, he went out into the forest.

Then all his suspicions were confirmed; the road by which the carriage

had disappeared encircled the forest. Athos followed the road for some

time, his eyes fixed upon the ground; slight stains of blood, which came

from the wound inflicted upon the man who accompanied the carriage as a

courier, or from one of the horses, dotted the road. At the end of

three-quarters of a league, within fifty paces of Festubert, a larger

bloodstain appeared; the ground was trampled by horses. Between the

forest and this accursed spot, a little behind the trampled ground, was

the same track of small feet as in the garden; the carriage had stopped

here. At this spot Milady had come out of the wood, and entered the

carriage.

Satisfied with this discovery which confirmed all his suspicions, Athos

returned to the hotel, and found Planchet impatiently waiting for him.

Everything was as Athos had foreseen.

Planchet had followed the road; like Athos, he had discovered the stains

of blood; like Athos, he had noted the spot where the horses had halted.

But he had gone farther than Athos--for at the village of Festubert,

while drinking at an inn, he had learned without needing to ask a

question that the evening before, at half-past eight, a wounded man who

accompanied a lady traveling in a post-chaise had been obliged to stop,

unable to go further. The accident was set down to the account of

robbers, who had stopped the chaise in the wood. The man remained in

the village; the woman had had a relay of horses, and continued her

journey.

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Planchet went in search of the postillion who had driven her, and found

him. He had taken the lady as far as Fromelles; and from Fromelles

she had set out for Armentieres. Planchet took the crossroad, and by

seven o'clock in the morning he was at Armentieres.

There was but one tavern, the Post. Planchet went and presented himself

as a lackey out of a place, who was in search of a situation. He had

not chatted ten minutes with the people of the tavern before he learned

that a woman had come there alone about eleven o'clock the night before,

had engaged a chamber, had sent for the master of the hotel, and told

him she desired to remain some time in the neighborhood.

Planchet had no need to learn more. He hastened to the rendezvous,

found the lackeys at their posts, placed them as sentinels at all the

outlets of the hotel, and came to find Athos, who had just received this

information when his friends returned.

All their countenances were melancholy and gloomy, even the mild

countenance of Aramis.

"What is to be done?" asked d'Artagnan.

"To wait!" replied Athos.

Each retired to his own apartment.

At eight o'clock in the evening Athos ordered the horses to be saddled,

and Lord de Winter and his friends notified that they must prepare for

the expedition.

In an instant all five were ready. Each examined his arms, and put them

in order. Athos came down last, and found d'Artagnan already on

horseback, and growing impatient.

"Patience!" cried Athos; "one of our party is still wanting."

The four horsemen looked round them with astonishment, for they sought

vainly in their minds to know who this other person could be.

At this moment Planchet brought out Athos's house; the Musketeer leaped

lightly into the saddle.

"Wait for me," cried he, "I will soon be back," and he set off at a

gallop.

In a quarter of an hour he returned, accompanied by a tall man, masked,

and wrapped in a large red cloak.

Lord de Winter and the three Musketeers looked at one another

inquiringly. Neither could give the others any information, for all

were ignorant who this man could be; nevertheless, they felt convinced

that all was as it should be, as it was done by the order of Athos.

At nine o'clock, guided by Planchet, the little cavalcade set out,

taking the route the carriage had taken.

It was a melancholy sight--that of these six men, traveling in silence,

each plunged in his own thoughts, sad as despair, gloomy as

chastisement.

65 TRIAL

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It was a stormy and dark night; vast clouds covered the heavens,

concealing the stars; the moon would not rise till midnight.

Occasionally, by the light of a flash of lightning which gleamed along

the horizon, the road stretched itself before them, white and solitary;

the flash extinct, all remained in darkness.

Every minute Athos was forced to restrain d'Artagnan, constantly in

advance of the little troop, and to beg him to keep in the line, which

in an instant he again departed from. He had but one thought--to go

forward; and he went.

They passed in silence through the little village of Festubert, where

the wounded servant was, and then skirted the wood of Richebourg. At

Herlier, Planchet, who led the column, turned to the left.

Several times Lord de Winter, Porthos, or Aramis, tried to talk with the

man in the red cloak; but to every interrogation which they put to him

he bowed, without response. The travelers then comprehended that there

must be some reason why the unknown preserved such a silence, and ceased

to address themselves to him.

The storm increase, the flashes succeeded one another more rapidly, the

thunder began to growl, and the wind, the precursor of a hurricane,

whistled in the plumes and the hair of the horsemen.

The cavalcade trotted on more sharply.

A little before they came to Fromelles the storm burst. They spread

their cloaks. There remained three leagues to travel, and they did it

amid torrents of rain.

D'Artagnan took off his hat, and could not be persuaded to make use of

his cloak. He found pleasure in feeling the water trickle over his

burning brow and over his body, agitated by feverish shudders.

The moment the little troop passed Goskal and were approaching the Port,

a man sheltered beneath a tree detached himself from the trunk with

which he had been confounded in the darkness, and advanced into the

middle of the road, putting his finger on his lips.

Athos recognized Grimaud.

"What's the manner?" cried Athos. "Has she left Armentieres?"

Grimaud made a sign in the affirmative. D'Artagnan groaned his teeth.

"Silence, d'Artagnan!" said Athos. I have charged myself with this

affair. It is for me, then, to interrogate Grimaud."

"Where is she?" asked Athos.

Grimaud extended his hands in the direction of the Lys. "Far from

here?" asked Athos.

Grimaud showed his master his forefinger bent.

"Alone?" asked Athos.

Grimaud made the sign yes.

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "she is alone within half a league of us, in

the direction of the river."

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"That's well," said d'Artagnan. "lead us, Grimaud."

Grimaud took his course across the country, and acted as guide to the

cavalcade.

At the end of five hundred paces, more or less, they came to a rivulet,

which they forded.

By the aid of the lightning they perceived the village of Erquinheim.

"Is she there, Grimaud?" asked Athos.

Grimaud shook his head negatively.

"Silence, then!" cried Athos.

And the troop continued their route.

Another flash illuminated all around them. Grimaud extended his arm,

and by the bluish splendor of the fiery serpent they distinguished a

little isolated house on the banks of the river, within a hundred paces

of a ferry.

One window was lighted.

"Here we are!" said Athos.

At this moment a man who had been crouching in a ditch jumped up and

came towards them. It was Mousqueton. He pointed his finger to the

lighted window.

"She is there," said he.

"And Bazin?" asked Athos.

"While I watched the window, he guarded the door."

"Good!" said Athos. "You are good and faithful servants."

Athos sprang from his horse, gave the bridle to Grimaud, and advanced

toward the window, after having made a sign to the rest of the troop to

go toward the door.

The little house was surrounded by a low, quickset hedge, two or three

feet high. Athos sprang over the hedge and went up to the window, which

was without shutters, but had the half-curtains closely drawn.

He mounted the skirting stone that his eyes might look over the curtain.

By the light of a lamp he saw a woman, wrapped in a dark mantle, seated

upon a stool near a dying fire. Her elbows were placed upon a mean

table, and she leaned her head upon her two hands, which were white as

ivory.

He could not distinguish her countenance, but a sinister smile passed

over the lips of Athos. He was not deceived; it was she whom he sought.

At this moment a horse neighed. Milady raised her head, saw close to

the panes the pale face of Athos, and screamed.

Athos, perceiving that she knew him, pushed the window with his knee and

hand. The window yielded. The squares were broken to shivers; and

Athos, like the spectre of vengeance, leaped into the room.

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Milady rushed to the door and opened it. More pale and menacing than

Athos, d'Artagnan stood on the threshold.

Milady recoiled, uttering a cry. D'Artagnan, believing she might have

means of flight and fearing she should escape, drew a pistol from his

belt; but Athos raised his hand.

"Put back that weapon, d'Artagnan!" said he; "this woman must be tried,

not assassinated. Wait an instant, my friend, and you shall be

satisfied. Come in, gentlemen."

D'Artagnan obeyed; for Athos had the solemn voice and the powerful

gesture of a judge sent by the Lord himself. Behind d'Artagnan entered

Porthos, Aramis, Lord de Winter, and the man in the red cloak.

The four lackeys guarded the door and the window.

Milady had sunk into a chair, with her hands extended, as if to conjure

this terrible apparition. Perceiving her brother-in-law, she uttered a

terrible cry.

"What do you want?" screamed Milady.

"We want," said Athos, "Charlotte Backson, who first was called Comtesse

de la Fere, and afterwards Milady de Winter, Baroness of Sheffield."

"That is I! that is I!" murmured Milady, in extreme terror; "what do

you want?"

"We wish to judge you according to your crime," said Athos; "you shall

be free to defend yourself. Justify yourself if you can. M.

d'Artagnan, it is for you to accuse her first."

D'Artagnan advanced.

"Before God and before men," said he, "I accuse this woman of having

poisoned Constance Bonacieux, who died yesterday evening."

He turned towards Porthos and Aramis.

"We bear witness to this," said the two Musketeers, with one voice.

D'Artagnan continued: "Before God and before men, I accuse this woman

of having attempted to poison me, in wine which she sent me from

Villeroy, with a forged letter, as if that wine came from my friends.

God preserved me, but a man named Brisemont died in my place."

"We bear witness to this," said Porthos and Aramis, in the same manner as before.

"Before God and before men, I accuse this woman of having urged me to

the murder of the Baron de Wardes; but as no one else can attest the

truth of this accusation, I attest it myself. I have done." And

d'Artagnan passed to the other side of the room with Porthos and Aramis.

"Your turn, my Lord," said Athos.

The baron came forward.

"Before God and before men," said he, "I accuse this woman of having

caused the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham."

"The Duke of Buckingham assassinated!" cried all present, with one

voice.

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"Yes," said the baron, "assassinated. On receiving the warning letter

you wrote to me, I had this woman arrested, and gave her in charge to a

loyal servant. She corrupted this man; she placed the poniard in his

hand; she made him kill the duke. And at this moment, perhaps, Felton

is paying with his head for the crime of this fury!"

A shudder crept through the judges at the revelation of these unknown

crimes.

"That is not all," resumed Lord de Winter. "My brother, who made you

his heir, died in three hours of a strange disorder which left livid

traces all over the body. My sister, how did your husband die?"

"Horror!" cried Porthos and Aramis.

"Assassin of Buckingham, assassin of Felton, assassin of my brother, I

demand justice upon you, and I swear that if it be not granted to me, I

will execute it myself."

And Lord de Winter ranged himself by the side of d'Artagnan, leaving the

place free for another accuser.

Milady let her head sink between her two hands, and tried to recall her

ideas, whirling in a mortal vertigo.

"My turn," said Athos, himself trembling as the lion trembles at the

sight of the serpent--"my turn. I married that woman when she was a

young girl; I married her in opposition to the wishes of all my family;

I gave her my wealth, I gave her my name; and one day I discovered that

this woman was branded--this woman was marked with a FLEUR-DE-LIS on her

left shoulder."

"Oh," said Milady, raising herself, "I defy you to find any tribunal

which pronounced that infamous sentence against me. I defy you to find

him who executed it."

"Silence!" said a hollow voice. "It is for me to reply to that!" And

the man in the red cloak came forward in his turn.

"What man is that? What man is that?" cried Milady, suffocated by

terror, her hair loosening itself, and rising above her livid

countenance as if alive.

All eyes were turned towards this man--for to all except Athos he was

unknown.

Even Athos looked at him with as much stupefaction as the others, for he

knew not how he could in any way find himself mixed up with the horrible

drama then unfolded.

After approaching Milady with a slow and solemn step, so that the table

alone separated them, the unknown took off his mask.

Milady for some time examined with increasing terror that pale face,

framed with black hair and whiskers, the only expression of which was

icy impassibility. Then she suddenly cried, "Oh, no, no!" rising and

retreating to the very wall. "No, no! it is an infernal apparition!

It is not he! Help, help!" screamed she, turning towards the wall, as

if she would tear an opening with her hands.

"Who are you, then?" cried all the witnesses of this scene.

"Ask that woman," said the man in the red cloak, "for you may plainly

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see she knows me!"

"The executioner of Lille, the executioner of Lille!" cried Milady, a

prey to insensate terror, and clinging with her hands to the wall to

avoid falling.

Every one drew back, and the man in the red cloak remained standing

alone in the middle of the room.

"Oh, grace, grace, pardon!" cried the wretch, falling on her knees.

The unknown waited for silence, and then resumed, "I told you well that

she would know me. Yes, I am the executioner of Lille, and this is my

history."

All eyes were fixed upon this man, whose words were listened to with

anxious attention.

"That woman was once a young girl, as beautiful as she is today. She

was a nun in the convent of the Benedictines of Templemar. A young

priest, with a simple and trustful heart, performed the duties of the

church of that convent. She undertook his seduction, and succeeded; she

would have seduced a saint.

"Their vows were sacred and irrevocable. Their connection could not

last long without ruining both. She prevailed upon him to leave the

country; but to leave the country, to fly together, to reach another

part of France, where they might live at ease because unknown, money was

necessary. Neither had any. The priest stole the sacred vases, and

sold them; but as they were preparing to escape together, they were both

arrested.

"Eight days later she had seduced the son of the jailer, and escaped.

The young priest was condemned to ten years of imprisonment, and to be

branded. I was executioner of the city of Lille, as this woman has

said. I was obliged to brand the guilty one; and he, gentlemen, was my

brother!

"I then swore that this woman who had ruined him, who was more than his

accomplice, since she had urged him to the crime, should at least share

his punishment. I suspected where she was concealed. I followed her, I

caught her, I bound her; and I imprinted the same disgraceful mark upon

her that I had imprinted upon my poor brother.

"The day after my return to Lille, my brother in his turn succeeded in

making his escape; I was accused of complicity, and was condemned to

remain in his place till he should be again a prisoner. My poor brother

was ignorant of this sentence. He rejoined this woman; they fled

together into Berry, and there he obtained a little curacy. This woman

passed for his sister.

"The Lord of the estate on which the chapel of the curacy was situated

saw this pretend sister, and became enamoured of her--amorous to such a

degree that he proposed to marry her. Then she quitted him she had

ruined for him she was destined to ruin, and became the Comtesse de la

Fere--"

All eyes were turned towards Athos, whose real name that was, and who

made a sign with his head that all was true which the executioner had

said.

"Then," resumed he, "mad, desperate, determined to get rid of an

existence from which she had stolen everything, honor and happiness, my

poor brother returned to Lille, and learning the sentence which had

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condemned me in his place, surrendered himself, and hanged himself that

same night from the iron bar of the loophole of his prison.

"To do justice to them who had condemned me, they kept their word. As

soon as the identity of my brother was proved, I was set at liberty.

"That is the crime of which I accuse her; that is the cause for which

she was branded."

"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Athos, "what is the penalty you demand

against this woman?"

"The punishment of death," replied d'Artagnan.

"My Lord de Winter," continued Athos, "what is the penalty you demand

against this woman?"

"The punishment of death," replied Lord de Winter.

"Messieurs Porthos and Aramis," repeated Athos, "you who are her judges,

what is the sentence you pronounce upon this woman?"

"The punishment of death," replied the Musketeers, in a hollow voice.

Milady uttered a frightful shriek, and dragged herself along several

paces upon her knees toward her judges.

Athos stretched out his hand toward her.

"Charlotte Backson, Comtesse de la Fere, Milady de Winter," said he,

"your crimes have wearied men on earth and God in heaven. If you know a

prayer, say it--for you are condemned, and you shall die."

At these words, which left no hope, Milady raised herself in all her

pride, and wished to speak; but her strength failed her. She felt that

a powerful and implacable hand seized her by the hair, and dragged her

away as irrevocably as fatality drags humanity. She did not, therefore,

even attempt the least resistance, and went out of the cottage.

Lord de Winter, d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, went out close

behind her. The lackeys followed their masters, and the chamber was

left solitary, with its broken window, its open door, and its smoky lamp

burning sadly on the table.

66 EXECUTION

It was near midnight; the moon, lessened by its decline, and reddened by

the last traces of the storm, arose behind the little town of

Armentieres, which showed against its pale light the dark outline of its

houses, and the skeleton of its high belfry. In front of them the Lys

rolled its waters like a river of molten tin; while on the other side

was a black mass of trees, profiled on a stormy sky, invaded by large

coppery clouds which created a sort of twilight amid the night. On the

left was an old abandoned mill, with its motionless wings, from the

ruins of which an owl threw out its shrill, periodical, and monotonous

cry. On the right and on the left of the road, which the dismal

procession pursued, appeared a few low, stunted trees, which looked like

deformed dwarfs crouching down to watch men traveling at this sinister

hour.

From time to time a broad sheet of lightning opened the horizon in its

whole width, darted like a serpent over the black mass of trees, and

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like a terrible scimitar divided the heavens and the waters into two

parts. Not a breath of wind now disturbed the heavy atmosphere. A

deathlike silence oppressed all nature. The soil was humid and

glittering with the rain which had recently fallen, and the refreshed

herbs sent forth their perfume with additional energy.

Two lackeys dragged Milady, whom each held by one arm. The executioner

walked behind them, and Lord de Winter, d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Aramis

walked behind the executioner. Planchet and Bazin came last.

The two lackeys conducted Milady to the bank of the river. Her mouth

was mute; but her eyes spoke with their inexpressible eloquence,

supplicating by turns each of those on whom she looked.

Being a few paces in advance she whispered to the lackeys, "A thousand

pistoles to each of you, if you will assist my escape; but if you

deliver me up to your masters, I have near at hand avengers who will

make you pay dearly for my death."

Grimaud hesitated. Mousqueton trembled in all his members.

Athos, who heard Milady's voice, came sharply up. Lord de Winter did

the same.

"Change these lackeys," said he; "she has spoken to them. They are no

longer sure."

Planchet and Bazin were called, and took the places of Grimaud and

Mousqueton.

On the bank of the river the executioner approached Milady, and bound

her hands and feet.

Then she broke the silence to cry out, "You are cowards, miserable

assassins--ten men combined to murder one woman. Beware! If I am not

saved I shall be avenged."

"You are not a woman," said Athos, coldly and sternly. "You do not

belong to the human species; you are a demon escaped from hell, whither

we send you back again."

"Ah, you virtuous men!" said Milady; "please to remember that he who

shall touch a hair of my head is himself an assassin."

"The executioner may kill, without being on that account an assassin,"

said the man in the red cloak, rapping upon his immense sword. "This is

the last judge; that is all. NACHRICHTER, as say our neighbors, the

Germans."

And as he bound her while saying these words, Milady uttered two or

three savage cries, which produced a strange and melancholy effect in

flying away into the night, and losing themselves in the depths of the

woods.

"If I am guilty, if I have committed the crimes you accuse me of,"

shrieked Milady, "take me before a tribunal. You are not judges! You

cannot condemn me!"

"I offered you Tyburn," said Lord de Winter. "Why did you not accept

it?"

"Because I am not willing to die!" cried Milady, struggling. "Because

I am too young to die!"

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"The woman you poisoned at Bethune was still younger than you, madame,

and yet she is dead," said d'Artagnan.

"I will enter a cloister; I will become a nun," said Milady.

"You were in a cloister," said the executioner, "and you left it to ruin

my brother."

Milady uttered a cry of terror and sank upon her knees. The executioner

took her up in his arms and was carrying her toward the boat.

"Oh, my God!" cried she, "my God! are you going to drown me?"

These cries had something so heartrending in them that M. d'Artagnan,

who had been at first the most eager in pursuit of Milady, sat down on

the stump of a tree and hung his head, covering his ears with the palms

of his hands; and yet, notwithstanding, he could still hear her cry and

threaten.

D'Artagnan was the youngest of all these men. His heart failed him.

"Oh, I cannot behold this frightful spectacle!" said he. "I cannot

consent that this woman should die thus!"

Milady heard these few words and caught at a shadow of hope.

"d'Artagnan, d'Artagnan!" cried she; "remember that I loved you!"

The young man rose and took a step toward her.

But Athos rose likewise, drew his sword, and placed himself in the way.

"If you take one step farther, d'Artagnan," said he, "we shall cross

swords together."

D'Artagnan sank on his knees and prayed.

"Come," continued Athos, "executioner, do your duty."

"Willingly, monseigneur," said the executioner; "for as I am a good

Catholic, I firmly believe I am acting justly in performing my functions

on this woman."

"That's well."

Athos made a step toward Milady.

"I pardon you," said he, "the ill you have done me. I pardon you for my

blasted future, my lost honor, my defiled love, and my salvation forever

compromised by the despair into which you have cast me. Die in peace!"

Lord de Winter advanced in his turn.

"I pardon you," said he, "for the poisoning of my brother, and the

assassination of his Grace, Lord Buckingham. I pardon you for the death

of poor Felton; I pardon you for the attempts upon my own person. Die

in peace!"

"And I," said M. d'Artagnan. "Pardon me, madame, for having by a trick

unworthy of a gentleman provoked your anger; and I, in exchange, pardon

you the murder of my poor love and your cruel vengeance against me. I

pardon you, and I weep for you. Die in peace!"

"I am lost!" murmured Milady in English. "I must die!"

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Then she arose of herself, and cast around her one of those piercing

looks which seemed to dart from an eye of flame.

She saw nothing; she listened, and she heard nothing.

"Where am I to die?" said she.

"On the other bank," replied the executioner.

Then he placed her in the boat, and as he was going to set foot in it

himself, Athos handed him a sum of silver.

"Here," said he, "is the price of the execution, that it may be plain we

act as judges."

"That is correct," said the executioner; "and now in her turn, let this

woman see that I am not fulfilling my trade, but my debt."

And he threw the money into the river.

The boat moved off toward the left-hand shore of the Lys, bearing the

guilty woman and the executioner; all the others remained on the righthand

bank, where they fell on their knees.

The boat glided along the ferry rope under the shadow of a pale cloud

which hung over the water at that moment.

The troop of friends saw it gain the opposite bank; the figures were

defined like black shadows on the red-tinted horizon.

Milady, during the passage had contrived to untie the cord which

fastened her feet. On coming near the bank, she jumped lightly on shore

and took to flight. But the soil was moist; on reaching the top of the

bank, she slipped and fell upon her knees.

She was struck, no doubt, with a superstitious idea; she conceived that

heaven denied its aid, and she remained in the attitude in which she had

fallen, her head drooping and her hands clasped.

Then they saw from the other bank the executioner raise both his arms

slowly; a moonbeam fell upon the blade of the large sword. The two

arms fell with a sudden force; they heard the hissing of the scimitar

and the cry of the victim, then a truncated mass sank beneath the blow.

The executioner then took off his red cloak, spread it upon the ground,

laid the body in it, threw in the head, tied all up by the four corners,

lifted it on his back, and entered the boat again.

In the middle of the stream he stopped the boat, and suspending his

burden over the water cried in a loud voice, "Let the justice of God be

done!" and he let the corpse drop into the depths of the waters, which

closed over it.

Three days afterward the four Musketeers were in Paris; they had not

exceeded their leave of absence, and that same evening they went to pay

their customary visit to M. de Treville.

"Well, gentlemen," said the brave captain, "I hope you have been well

amused during your excursion."

"Prodigiously," replied Athos in the name of himself and his comrades.

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67 CONCLUSION

On the sixth of the following month the king, in compliance with the

promise he had made the cardinal to return to La Rochelle, left his

capital still in amazement at the news which began to spread itself of

Buckingham's assassination.

Although warned that the man she had loved so much was in great danger,

the queen, when his death was announced to her, would not believe the

fact, and even imprudently exclaimed, "it is false; he has just written

to me!"

But the next day she was obliged to believe this fatal intelligence;

Laporte, detained in England, as everyone else had been, by the orders

of Charles I, arrived, and was the bearer of the duke's dying gift to

the queen.

The joy of the king was lively. He did not even give himself the

trouble to dissemble, and displayed it with affectation before the

queen. Louis XIII, like every weak mind, was wanting in generosity.

But the king soon again became dull and indisposed; his brow was not one

of those that long remain clear. He felt that in returning to camp he

should re-enter slavery; nevertheless, he did return.

The cardinal was for him the fascinating serpent, and himself the bird

which flies from branch to branch without power to escape.

The return to La Rochelle, therefore, was profoundly dull. Our four

friends, in particular, astonished their comrades; they traveled

together, side by side, with sad eyes and heads lowered. Athos alone

from time to time raised his expansive brow; a flash kindled in his

eyes, and a bitter smile passed over his lips, then, like his comrades,

he sank again into reverie.

As soon as the escort arrived in a city, when they had conducted the

king to his quarters the four friends either retired to their own or to

some secluded cabaret, where they neither drank nor played; they only

conversed in a low voice, looking around attentively to see that no one

overheard them.

One day, when the king had halted to fly the magpie, and the four

friends, according to their custom, instead of following the sport had

stopped at a cabaret on the high road, a man coming from la Rochelle on

horseback pulled up at the door to drink a glass of wine, and darted a

searching glance into the room where the four Musketeers were sitting.

"Holloa, Monsieur d'Artagnan!" said he, "is not that you whom I see

yonder?"

D'Artagnan raised his head and uttered a cry of joy. It was the man he

called his phantom; it was his stranger of Meung, of the Rue des

Fossoyeurs and of Arras.

D'Artagnan drew his sword, and sprang toward the door.

But this time, instead of avoiding him the stranger jumped from his

horse, and advanced to meet d'Artagnan.

"Ah, monsieur!" said the young man, "I meet you, then, at last! This

time you shall not escape me!"

"Neither is it my intention, monsieur, for this time I was seeking you;

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in the name of the king, I arrest you."

"How! what do you say?" cried d'Artagnan.

"I say that you must surrender your sword to me, monsieur, and that

without resistance. This concerns your head, I warn you."

"Who are you, then?" demanded d'Artagnan, lowering the point of his

sword, but without yet surrendering it.

"I am the Chevalier de Rochefort," answered the other, "the equerry of

Monsieur le Cardinal Richelieu, and I have orders to conduct you to his

Eminence."

"We are returning to his Eminence, monsieur the Chevalier," said Athos,

advancing; "and you will please to accept the word of Monsieur

d'Artagnan that he will go straight to La Rochelle."

"I must place him in the hands of guards who will take him into camp."

"We will be his guards, monsieur, upon our word as gentlemen; but

likewise, upon our word as gentlemen," added Athos, knitting his brow,

"Monsieur d'Artagnan shall not leave us."

The Chevalier de Rochefort cast a glance backward, and saw that Porthos

and Aramis had placed themselves between him and the gate; he understood

that he was completely at the mercy of these four men.

"Gentlemen," said he, "if Monsieur d'Artagnan will surrender his sword

to me and join his word to yours, I shall be satisfied with your promise

to convey Monsieur d'Artagnan to the quarters of Monseigneur the

Cardinal."

"You have my word, monsieur, and here is my sword."

"This suits me the better," said Rochefort, "as I wish to continue my

journey."

"If it is for the purpose of rejoining Milady," said Athos, coolly, "it

is useless; you will not find her."

"What has become of her, then?" asked Rochefort, eagerly.

"Return to camp and you shall know."

Rochefort remained for a moment in thought; then, as they were only a

day's journey from Surgeres, whither the cardinal was to come to meet

the king, he resolved to follow the advice of Athos and go with them.

Besides, this return offered him the advantage of watching his prisoner.

They resumed their route.

On the morrow, at three o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at

Surgeres. The cardinal there awaited Louis XIII. The minister and the

king exchanged numerous caresses, felicitating each other upon the

fortunate chance which had freed France from the inveterate enemy who

set all Europe against her. After which, the cardinal, who had been

informed that d'Artagnan was arrested and who was anxious to see him,

took leave of the king, inviting him to come the next day to view the

work already done upon the dyke.

On returning in the evening to his quarters at the bridge of La Pierre,

the cardinal found, standing before the house he occupied, d'Artagnan,

without his sword, and the three Musketeers armed.

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This time, as he was well attended, he looked at them sternly, and made

a sign with his eye and hand for d'Artagnan to follow him.

D'Artagnan obeyed.

"We shall wait for you, d'Artagnan," said Athos, loud enough for the

cardinal to hear him.

His Eminence bent his brow, stopped for an instant, and then kept on his

way without uttering a single word.

D'Artagnan entered after the cardinal, and behind d'Artagnan the door

was guarded.

His Eminence entered the chamber which served him as a study, and made a

sign to Rochefort to bring in the young Musketeer.

Rochefort obeyed and retired.

D'Artagnan remained alone in front of the cardinal; this was his second

interview with Richelieu, and he afterward confessed that he felt well

assured it would be his last.

Richelieu remained standing, leaning against the mantelpiece; a table

was between him and d'Artagnan.

"Monsieur," said the cardinal, "you have been arrested by my orders."

"So they tell me, monseigneur."

"Do you know why?"

"No, monseigneur, for the only thing for which I could be arrested is

still unknown to your Eminence."

Richelieu looked steadfastly at the young man.

"Holloa!" said he, "what does that mean?"

"If Monseigneur will have the goodness to tell me, in the first place,

what crimes are imputed to me, I will then tell him the deeds I have

really done."

"Crimes are imputed to you which had brought down far loftier heads than

yours, monsieur," said the cardinal.

"What, monseigneur?" said d'Artagnan, with a calmness which astonished

the cardinal himself.

"You are charged with having corresponded with the enemies of the

kingdom; you are charged with having surprised state secrets; you are

charged with having tried to thwart the plans of your general."

"And who charges me with this, monseigneur?" said d'Artagnan, who had

no doubt the accusation came from Milady, "a woman branded by the

justice of the country; a woman who has espoused one man in France and

another in England; a woman who poisoned her second husband and who

attempted both to poison and assassinate me!"

"What do you say, monsieur?" cried the cardinal, astonished; "and of

what woman are you speaking thus?"

"Of Milady de Winter," replied d'Artagnan, "yes, of Milady de Winter, of

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whose crimes your Eminence is doubtless ignorant, since you have honored

her with your confidence."

"Monsieur," said the cardinal, "if Milady de Winter has committed the

crimes you lay to her charge, she shall be punished."

"She has been punished, monseigneur."

"And who has punished her?"

"We."

"She is in prison?"

"She is dead."

"Dead!" repeated the cardinal, who could not believe what he heard,

"dead! Did you not say she was dead?"

"Three times she attempted to kill me, and I pardoned her; but she

murdered the woman I loved. Then my friends and I took her, tried her,

and condemned her."

D'Artagnan then related the poisoning of Mme. Bonacieux in the convent

of the Carmelites at Bethune, the trial in the isolated house, and the

execution on the banks of the Lys.

A shudder crept through the body of the cardinal, who did not shudder

readily.

But all at once, as if undergoing the influence of an unspoken thought,

the countenance of the cardinal, till then gloomy, cleared up by

degrees, and recovered perfect serenity.

"So," said the cardinal, in a tone that contrasted strongly with the

severity of his words, "you have constituted yourselves judges, without

remembering that they who punish without license to punish are

assassins?"

"Monseigneur, I swear to you that I never for an instant had the

intention of defending my head against you. I willingly submit to any

punishment your Eminence may please to inflict upon me. I do not hold

life dear enough to be afraid of death."

"Yes, I know you are a man of a stout heart, monsieur," said the

cardinal, with a voice almost affectionate; "I can therefore tell you

beforehand you shall be tried, and even condemned."

"Another might reply to your Eminence that he had his pardon in his

pocket. I content myself with saying: Command, monseigneur; I am

ready."

"Your pardon?" said Richelieu, surprised.

"Yes, monseigneur," said d'Artagnan.

"And signed by whom--by the king?" And the cardinal pronounced these

words with a singular expression of contempt.

"No, by your Eminence."

"By me? You are insane, monsieur."

"Monseigneur will doubtless recognize his own handwriting."

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And d'Artagnan presented to the cardinal the precious piece of paper

which Athos had forced from Milady, and which he had given to d'Artagnan

to serve him as a safeguard.

His Eminence took the paper, and read in a slow voice, dwelling upon

every syllable:

"Dec. 3, 1627

"It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this

has done what he has done.

"RICHELIEU"

The cardinal, after having read these two lines, sank into a profound

reverie; but he did not return the paper to d'Artagnan.

"He is meditating by what sort of punishment he shall cause me to die,"

said the Gascon to himself. "Well, my faith! he shall see how a

gentleman can die."

The young Musketeer was in excellent disposition to die heroically.

Richelieu still continued thinking, rolling and unrolling the paper in

his hands.

At length he raised his head, fixed his eagle look upon that loyal,

open, and intelligent countenance, read upon that face, furrowed with

tears, all the sufferings its possessor had endured in the course of a

month, and reflected for the third or fourth time how much there was in

that youth of twenty-one years before him, and what resources his

activity, his courage, and his shrewdness might offer to a good master.

On the other side, the crimes, the power, and the infernal genius of

Milady had more than once terrified him. He felt something like a

secret joy at being forever relieved of this dangerous accomplice.

Richelieu slowly tore the paper which d'Artagnan had generously

relinquished.

"I am lost!" said d'Artagnan to himself. And he bowed profoundly

before the cardinal, like a man who says, "Lord, Thy will be done!"

The cardinal approached the table, and without sitting down, wrote a few

lines upon a parchment of which two-thirds were already filled, and

affixed his seal.

"That is my condemnation," thought d'Artagnan; "he will spare me the

ENNUI of the Bastille, or the tediousness of a trial. That's very kind

of him."

"Here, monsieur," said the cardinal to the young man. "I have taken

from you one CARTE BLANCHE to give you another. The name is wanting in

this commission; you can write it yourself."

D'Artagnan took the paper hesitatingly and cast his eyes over it; it was

a lieutenant's commission in the Musketeers.

D'Artagnan fell at the feet of the cardinal.

"Monseigneur," said he, "my life is yours; henceforth dispose of it.

But this favor which you bestow upon me I do not merit. I have three

friends who are more meritorious and more worthy--"

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"You are a brave youth, d'Artagnan," interrupted the cardinal, tapping

him familiarly on the shoulder, charmed at having vanquished this

rebellious nature. "Do with this commission what you will; only

remember, though the name be blank, it is to you I give it."

"I shall never forget it," replied d'Artagnan. "Your Eminence may be

certain of that."

The cardinal turned and said in a loud voice, "Rochefort!" The

chevalier, who no doubt was near the door, entered immediately.

"Rochefort," said the cardinal, "you see Monsieur d'Artagnan. I receive

him among the number of my friends. Greet each other, then; and be wise

if you wish to preserve your heads."

Rochefort and d'Artagnan coolly greeted each other with their lips; but

the cardinal was there, observing them with his vigilant eye.

They left the chamber at the same time.

"We shall meet again, shall we not, monsieur?"

"When you please," said d'Artagnan.

"An opportunity will come," replied Rochefort.

"Hey?" said the cardinal, opening the door.

The two men smiled at each other, shook hands, and saluted his Eminence.

"We were beginning to grow impatient," said Athos.

"Here I am, my friends," replied d'Artagnan; "not only free, but in

favor."

"Tell us about it."

"This evening; but for the moment, let us separate."

Accordingly, that same evening d'Artagnan repaired to the quarters of

Athos, whom he found in a fair way to empty a bottle of Spanish wine--an

occupation which he religiously accomplished every night.

D'Artagnan related what had taken place between the cardinal and

himself, and drawing the commission from his pocket, said, "Here, my

dear Athos, this naturally belongs to you."

Athos smiled with one of his sweet and expressive smiles.

"Friend," said he, "for Athos this is too much; for the Comte de la Fere

it is too little. Keep the commission; it is yours. Alas! you have

purchased it dearly enough."

D'Artagnan left Athos's chamber and went to that of Porthos. He found

him clothed in a magnificent dress covered with splendid embroidery,

admiring himself before a glass.

"Ah, ah! is that you, dear friend?" exclaimed Porthos. "How do you

think these garments fit me?"

"Wonderfully," said d'Artagnan; but I come to offer you a dress which

will become you still better."

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"What?" asked Porthos.

"That of a lieutenant of Musketeers."

D'Artagnan related to Porthos the substance of his interview with the

cardinal, and said, taking the commission from his pocket, "Here, my

friend, write your name upon it and become my chief."

Porthos cast his eyes over the commission and returned it to d'Artagnan,

to the great astonishment of the young man.

"Yes," said he, "yes, that would flatter me very much; but I should not

have time enough to enjoy the distinction. During our expedition to

Bethune the husband of my duchess died; so, my dear, the coffer of the

defunct holding out its arms to me, I shall marry the widow. Look here!

I was trying on my wedding suit. Keep the lieutenancy, my dear, keep

it."

The young man then entered the apartment of Aramis. He found him

kneeling before a PRIEDIEU with his head leaning on an open prayer book.

He described to him his interview with the cardinal, and said, for the

third time drawing his commission from his pocket, "You, our friend, our

intelligence, our invisible protector, accept this commission. You have

merited it more than any of us by your wisdom and your counsels, always

followed by such happy results."

"Alas, dear friend!" said Aramis, "our late adventures have disgusted

me with military life. This time my determination is irrevocably taken.

After the siege I shall enter the house of the Lazarists. Keep the

commission, d'Artagnan; the profession of arms suits you. You will be a

brave and adventurous captain."

D'Artagnan, his eye moist with gratitude though beaming with joy, went

back to Athos, whom he found still at table contemplating the charms of

his last glass of Malaga by the light of his lamp.

"Well," said he, "they likewise have refused me."

"That, dear friend, is because nobody is more worthy than yourself."

He took a quill, wrote the name of d'Artagnan in the commission, and

returned it to him.

"I shall then have no more friends," said the young man. "Alas!

nothing but bitter recollections."

And he let his head sink upon his hands, while two large tears rolled

down his cheeks.

"You are young," replied Athos; "and your bitter recollections have time

to change themselves into sweet remembrances."

EPILOGUE

La Rochelle, deprived of the assistance of the English fleet and of the

diversion promised by Buckingham, surrendered after a siege of a year.

On the twenty-eighth of October, 1628, the capitulation was signed.

The king made his entrance into Paris on the twenty-third of December of

the same year. He was received in triumph, as if he came from

conquering an enemy and not Frenchmen. He entered by the

Faubourg St

.

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Jacques, under verdant arches.

D'Artagnan took possession of his command. Porthos left the service,

and in the course of the following year married Mme. Coquenard; the

coffer so much coveted contained eight hundred thousand livres.

Mousqueton had a magnificent livery, and enjoyed the satisfaction of

which he had been ambitious all his life--that of standing behind a

gilded carriage.

Aramis, after a journey into Lorraine, disappeared all at once, and

ceased to write to his friends; they learned at a later period through

Mme. de Chevreuse, who told it to two or three of her intimates, that,

yielding to his vocation, he had retired into a convent--only into

which, nobody knew.

Bazin became a lay brother.

Athos remained a Musketeer under the command of d'Artagnan till the year

1633, at which period, after a journey he made to Touraine, he also quit

the service, under the pretext of having inherited a small property in

Roussillon.

Grimaud followed Athos.

D'Artagnan fought three times with Rochefort, and wounded him three

times.

"I shall probably kill you the fourth," said he to him, holding out his

hand to assist him to rise.

"It is much better both for you and for me to stop where we are,"

answered the wounded man. "CORBLEU--I am more your friend than you

think--for after our very first encounter, I could by saying a word to

the cardinal have had your throat cut!"

They this time embraced heartily, and without retaining any malice.

Planchet obtained from Rochefort the rank of sergeant in the Piedmont

regiment.

M. Bonacieux lived on very quietly, wholly ignorant of what had become of his

wife, and caring very little about it. One day he had the imprudence to

recall himself to the memory of the cardinal. The cardinal had him informed

that he would provide for him so that he should never want for anything in

future. In fact, M. Bonacieux, having left his house at seven o'clock in the

evening to go to the Louvre, never appeared again in the Rue des Fossoyeurs;

the opinion of those who seemed to be best informed was that he was fed and

lodged in some royal castle, at the expense of his generous Eminence.

End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Three Musketeers, by Dumas [Pere]

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