diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 1454-0.txt | 2407 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 1454-h/1454-h.htm | 2887 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454-0.txt | 2796 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454-0.zip | bin | 0 -> 56859 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 60399 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454-h/1454-h.htm | 3292 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454.txt | 2795 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1454.zip | bin | 0 -> 56556 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/20050222-1454.txt | 2838 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/20050222-1454.zip | bin | 0 -> 114053 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/crnls10.txt | 2716 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/crnls10.zip | bin | 0 -> 54398 bytes |
15 files changed, 19747 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1454-0.txt b/1454-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07292cc --- /dev/null +++ b/1454-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2407 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1454 *** + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,--a fancy of the fashions of the day,--but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + + +In 1479, on All Saints’ day, the moment at which this history begins, +vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de +Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself to +the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during the +service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of which +were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. Nevertheless +a goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the saints on the +triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious offerings, the +merit and signification of which have never been sufficiently explained. +The lights on each altar and all the candelabra in the choir were +burning. Irregularly shed among a forest of columns and arcades which +supported the three naves of the cathedral, the gleam of these masses of +candles barely lighted the immense building, because the strong shadows +of the columns, projected among the galleries, produced fantastic forms +which increased the darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, +the vaulted ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at +mid-day. + +The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain +figures were so vaguely defined in the “chiaroscuro” that they seemed +like phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the scattered +light, attracted attention like the principal heads in a picture. Some +statues seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here and there eyes +shone in the flutings of the columns, the floor reflected looks, the +marbles spoke, the vaults re-echoed sighs, the edifice itself seemed +endowed with life. + +The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more +majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it +poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches +unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are +felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the +clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising +heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The +mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the +feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith +and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself. +This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth, +equally risen into heaven, contains, no doubt, the secret of the magic +influences wielded by the chants of the priests, the harmonies of the +organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the altar, the voices of the crowd +and its silent contemplations. Consequently, we need not be surprised to +see in the middle-ages so many tender passions begun in churches after +long ecstasies,--passions ending often in little sanctity, and for +which women, as usual, were the ones to do penance. Religious sentiment +certainly had, in those days, an affinity with love; it was either +the motive or the end of it. Love was still a religion, with its fine +fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its sublime devotions, which +sympathized with those of Christianity. + +The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance +between religion and love. In the first place society had no +meeting-place except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women +were equals nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and +communicate. The festivals of the Church were the theatre of former +times; the soul of woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than +it is at a ball or the opera in our day; and do not strong emotions +invariably bring women back to love? By dint of mingling with life and +grasping it in all its acts and interests, religion had made itself a +sharer of all virtues, the accomplice of all vices. Religion had passed +into science, into politics, into eloquence, into crimes, into the flesh +of the sick man and the poor man; it mounted thrones; it was everywhere. +These semi-learned observations will serve, perhaps, to vindicate the +truth of this study, certain details of which may frighten the perfected +morals of our age, which are, as everybody knows, a trifle straitlaced. + +At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the organ, +mingling with the vibrations of the loud “A-men” as it issued from the +strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo through the +distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the beneficent +words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, or fearing +for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the worshippers dispersed, +slipped quietly away, at the risk of being called a bad Catholic. On +which, a nobleman, leaning against one of the enormous columns that +surround the choir, hastened to take possession of the seat abandoned by +the worthy Tourainean. Having done so, he quickly hid his face among +the plumes of his tall gray cap, kneeling upon the chair with an air of +contrition that even an inquisitor would have trusted. + +Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to +recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a certain +gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,--a caustic, +jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their heads, and +gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + +The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel +placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was +customary for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial +families, and even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the +services, themselves and their servants exclusively, in the various +lateral chapels of the long side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony +is in practice to the present day. A woman had her chapel as she now +has her opera-box. The families who hired these privileged places were +required to decorate the altar of the chapel thus conceded to them, and +each made it their pride to adorn their own sumptuously,--a vanity which +the Church did not rebuke. In this particular chapel a lady was kneeling +close to the railing on a handsome rug of red velvet with gold tassels, +precisely opposite to the seat vacated of the burgher. A silver-gilt +lamp, hanging from the vaulted ceiling of the chapel before an altar +magnificently decorated, cast its pale light upon a prayer-book held +by the lady. The book trembled violently in her hand when the young man +approached her. + +“A-men!” + +To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully +agitated, though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly +in a whisper:-- + +“You will ruin me.” + +The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy +ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the +stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion +which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head +slightly that he might look into the chapel. + +“He sleeps!” he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be heard +by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + +The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum +page of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man had +designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the young +woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long breath +and raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward a picture +of the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the moistened +glance, revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she been wicked, +she would certainly have dissimulated. The personage who thus alarmed +the lovers was a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly bald, savage in +expression, and wearing a long and discolored white beard cut in a +fan-tail. The cross of Saint-Michel glittered on his breast; his coarse, +strong hands, covered with gray hairs, which had been clasped, had +now dropped slightly apart in the slumber to which he had imprudently +yielded. The right hand seemed about to fall upon his dagger, the hilt +of which was in the form of an iron shell. By the manner in which he +had placed the weapon, this hilt was directly under his hand; if, +unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he would wake, no doubt, +instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic lips, his pointed chin +aggressively pushed forward, presented the characteristic signs of a +malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that would surely enable him +to divine all because he suspected everything. His yellow forehead was +wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to believe nothing, to +weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking their gold, search out +the meaning and the value of human actions. His bodily frame, though +deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both vigorous and excitable; +in short, you might have thought him a stunted ogre. Consequently, an +inevitable danger awaited the young lady whenever this terrible seigneur +woke. That jealous husband would surely not fail to see the difference +between a worthy old burgher who gave him no umbrage, and the new-comer, +young, slender, and elegant. + +“Libera nos a malo,” she said, endeavoring to make the young man +comprehend her fears. + +The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; +tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and +betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist +no longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, +nurtured by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately +handsome; but her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her +interesting. She had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair +in the world. Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a +word, accepting a look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. Love +may never have been more deeply felt than in those hearts, never more +delightfully enjoyed, but certainly no passion was ever more perilous. +It was easy to divine that to these two beings air, sound, foot-falls, +etc., things indifferent to other men, presented hidden qualities, +peculiar properties which they distinguished. Perhaps their love made +them find faithful interpreters in the icy hands of the old priest to +whom they confessed their sins, and from whom they received the Host +at the holy table. Love profound! love gashed into the soul like a scar +upon the body which we carry through life! When these two young people +looked at each other, the woman seemed to say to her lover, “Let us love +each other and die!” To which the young knight answered, “Let us love +each other and not die.” In reply, she showed him a sign her old duenna +and two pages. The duenna slept; the pages were young and seemingly +careless of what might happen, either of good or evil, to their masters. + +“Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be managed.” + +The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when +the hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. +Feeling the cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves +instantly on his wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of +genius, he awoke with his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though he +had not slept at all. The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, with +one eye on his mistress, had watched the husband with the other, and he +now rose quickly, effacing himself behind a column at the moment when +the hand of the old man fell; after which he disappeared, swiftly as a +bird. The lady lowered her eyes to her book and tried to seem calm; but +she could not prevent her face from blushing and her heart from beating +with unnatural violence. The old lord saw the unusual crimson on the +cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids of his wife. He looked about him +cautiously, but seeing no one to distrust, he said to his wife:-- + +“What are you thinking of, my dear?” + +“The smell of the incense turns me sick,” she replied. + +“It is particularly bad to-day?” he asked. + +In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to believe +in this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he resolved to watch +his treasure more carefully than before. + +The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the “Soecula +soeculorum,” the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the church. +Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the general +hurry was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the duenna and +the youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he gave his arm +to his wife and told the other page to follow them. + +As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side +of the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream +of persons detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great +portals, and poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his +party. The mass was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and +he and his wife were therefore pushed onward to the door by the pressure +of the multitude behind them. The husband tried to pass out first, +dragging the lady by the arm, but at that instant he was pulled +vigorously into the street, and his wife was torn from him by a +stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once that he had fallen into a +trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting himself for having slept, he +collected his whole strength, seized his wife once more by the sleeve +of her gown, and strove with his other hand to cling to the gate of the +church; but the ardor of love carried the day against jealous fury. +The young man took his mistress round the waist, and carried her off so +rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the brocaded stuff of silk +and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve alone remained in the hand +of the old man. A roar like that of a lion rose louder than the shouts +of the multitude, and a terrible voice howled out the words:-- + +“To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! +help!” + +And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted +to draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself +surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would be +dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the highest +rank, answered him with jests as they dragged him along the cloisters. + +With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into an +open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden bench. By +the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the chapel was +dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in silence, clasping +hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The countess had not the cruel +courage to reproach the young man for the boldness to which they owed +this perilous and only instant of happiness. + +“Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?” said the young man, +eagerly. “Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do thirty +leagues at a stretch.” + +“Ah!” she cried, softly, “in what corner of the world could you hide a +daughter of King Louis XI.?” + +“True,” replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not +foreseen. + +“Why did you tear me from my husband?” she asked in a sort of terror. + +“Alas!” said her lover, “I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel +in being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,--two +or three plans,--and now that I see you all seems accomplished.” + +“But I am lost!” said the countess. + +“We are saved!” the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his love. +“Listen to me carefully!” + +“This will cost me my life!” she said, letting the tears that rolled +in her eyes flow down her cheeks. “The count will kill me,--to-night, +perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter has +endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he called +me ‘Marie-full-of-grace,’ because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew the man to +whom he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not dared complain, +out of pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach the king? +My confessor himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why I have +consented to this guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,--some one to +tell the truth to the king. Can I rely on--Oh!” she cried, turning pale +and interrupting herself, “here comes the page!” + +The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + +“Fear nothing,” said the young seigneur, “he is won! You can safely +trust him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for you +he will warn us of his coming. In the confessional,” he added, in a low +voice, “is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he drew +you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own protection +in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to deceive him.” + +At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression of +sadness settled down on her face. + +“No one can deceive him,” she said. “To-night he will know all. Save me +from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--” she hesitated; +then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to confess the +secrets of her marriage, she added: “Yes, tell him that to master me the +count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him that my husband +drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a prisoner; that--” + +Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. In +her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken words, +to kiss her hands. + +“Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is +grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My +dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let +yourself say but two words, or we are lost!” + +“What will become of us?” she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall a +picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, she +cried out:-- + +“Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!” + +“To-night,” said the young man, “I shall be with you in your room.” + +“How?” she asked naively. + +They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid of +love. + +“This evening,” he replied, “I shall offer myself as apprentice to +Maitre Cornelius, the king’s silversmith. I have obtained a letter of +recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is next +to yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find my way +to your apartment by the help of a silken ladder.” + +“Oh!” she said, petrified with horror, “if you love me don’t go to +Maitre Cornelius.” + +“Ah!” he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his +youth, “you do indeed love me!” + +“Yes,” she said; “are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I +confide to you my honor. Besides,” she added, looking at him with +dignity, “I am so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But what +is the good of all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you should +enter that house of Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all his +apprentices--” + +“Have been hanged,” said the young man, laughing. + +“Oh, don’t go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery.” + +“I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you,” he said, with a +look that made her drop her eyes. + +“But my husband?” she said. + +“Here is something to put him to sleep,” replied her lover, drawing from +his belt a little vial. + +“Not for always?” said the countess, trembling. + +For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + +“I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so +old,” he said. “God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other +way.” + +“Forgive me,” said the countess, blushing. “I am cruelly punished for my +sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared you +might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never +yet been able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would +be repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you,” she +continued, distressed by his silence, “I deserve your blame.” + +And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + +“Do not come,” she said, “my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to wait +for the help of Heaven--that will I do!” + +She tried to leave the chapel. + +“Ah!” cried the young man, “order me to do so and I will kill him. You +will see me to-night.” + +“I was wise to destroy that drug,” she said in a voice that was faint +with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. “The fear of awakening my +husband will save us from ourselves.” + +“I pledge you my life,” said the young man, pressing her hand. + +“If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then be +united,” she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful hopes. + +“Monseigneur comes!” cried the page, rushing in. + +Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had gained +with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, snatched a +kiss, which was not refused. + +“To-night!” he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + +Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding from +column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the nave. +An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the side +of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page was +marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + +A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by +several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a +naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and to +rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + +“Monseigneur, madame is there,” said the page, going forward to meet +him. + +The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the +alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At +that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give vent +to his rage. + +“What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?” asked the +priest. + +“Father, that is my husband,” said the countess. + +The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of +the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into the +confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be listening +attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + +“Monsieur,” said his wife, “you owe many thanks to this venerable canon, +who gave me a refuge here.” + +The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, who +had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he answered +curtly: + +“Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you.” + +He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her +curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church +without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had +something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and +preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took +his way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the +cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by the +Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification given +by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his glorious +labors. + +The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, +called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of servants +had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a deep +silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs had their +houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to Plessis, the usual +residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if sent for, could go in a +moment. The last house in this street was also the last in the town. It +belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an old Brabantian merchant, +to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost confidence in those financial +transactions which his crafty policy induced him to undertake outside of +his own kingdom. + +Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre +Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that +the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use of +tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, and +both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their corners +were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities remark +in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet prevailed. The +bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of resistance to the +iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots and the civil wars so +frequent in those tumultuous times were ample justification for these +precautions. + +As six o’clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey +Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the +hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds +made in the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. +Casting a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to +be, he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the +young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout +the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks +of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted meats +pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services, the +inhabitants were regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction which +fancy can picture better than words can paint. But at this particular +spot a deep silence reigned, because in these two houses lived two +passions which never rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the silent country. +Beneath the shadow of the steeples of Saint-Martin, these two mute +dwellings, separated from the others in the same street and standing +at the crooked end of it, seemed afflicted with leprosy. The building +opposite to them, the home of the criminals of the State, was also under +a ban. A young man would be readily impressed by this sudden contrast. +About to fling himself into an enterprise that was horribly hazardous, +it is no wonder that the daring young seigneur stopped short before the +house of the silversmith, and called to mind the many tales furnished by +the life of Maitre Cornelius,--tales which caused such singular horror +to the countess. At this period a man of war, and even a lover, trembled +at the mere word “magic.” Few indeed were the minds and the imaginations +which disbelieved in occult facts and tales of the marvellous. The lover +of the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, one of the daughters whom Louis XI. +had in Dauphine by Madame de Sassenage, however bold he might be in +other respects, was likely to think twice before he finally entered the +house of a so-called sorcerer. + +The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the +security which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, +the terror of the countess, and the hesitation that now took possession +of the lover. But, in order to make the readers of this nineteenth +century understand how such commonplace events could be turned into +anything supernatural, and to make them share the alarms of that olden +time, it is necessary to interrupt the course of this narrative and cast +a rapid glance on the preceding life and adventures of Maitre Cornelius. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE TORCONNIER + + +Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having drawn +upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found refuge +and protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious of the +advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the principal +commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he naturalized, +ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which was rarely done +by Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much as the Fleming +pleased the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; equally politic, +equally learned; superior, both of them, to their epoch; understanding +each other marvellously; they discarded and resumed with equal facility, +the one his conscience, the other his religion; they loved the same +Virgin, one by conviction, the other by policy; in short, if we may +believe the jealous tales of Olivier de Daim and Tristan, the king went +to the house of the Fleming for those diversions with which King +Louis XI. diverted himself. History has taken care to transmit to our +knowledge the licentious tastes of a monarch who was not averse to +debauchery. The old Fleming found, no doubt, both pleasure and profit in +lending himself to the capricious pleasures of his royal client. + +Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those +years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made +him the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had spent +considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with him in +safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the locksmiths +of the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing those locksmiths +to his house in a way to compel their silence, were long the subject +of countless tales which enlivened the evening gatherings of the city. +These singular artifices on the part of the old man made every +one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches. Consequently the +_narrators_ of that region--the home of the tale in France--built rooms +full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming’s house, not omitting to +attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts with Magic. + +Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, an +old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a gentle, +pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and +courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery of +considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry showed +that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. The old +miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The young man +was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the “question” protesting +his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to escape torture; but +when the judge required them to say where the stolen property could +be found, they kept silence, were again put to the torture, judged, +condemned, and hanged. On their way to the scaffold they declared +themselves innocent, according to the custom of all persons about to be +executed. + +The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the +criminals were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate +soon evaporated. In those days wars and seditions furnished endless +excitements, and the drama of each day eclipsed that of the night +before. More grieved by the loss he had met with than by the death of +his three servants, Maitre Cornelius lived alone in his house with the +old Flemish woman, his sister. He obtained permission from the king to +use state couriers for his private affairs, sold his mules to a muleteer +of the neighborhood, and lived from that moment in the deepest solitude, +seeing no one but the king, doing his business by means of Jews, who, +shrewd calculators, served him well in order to gain his all-powerful +protection. + +Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old +“torconnier” a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. +called Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under +the reign of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a man +who pressed others by violent means. The epithet, “tortionnaire,” which +remains to this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old word +torconnier, which we often find spelt “tortionneur.” The poor young +orphan devoted himself carefully to the affairs of the old Fleming, +pleased him much, and was soon high in his good graces. During a +winter’s night, certain diamonds deposited with Maitre Cornelius by the +King of England as security for a sum of a hundred thousand crowns were +stolen, and suspicion, of course, fell on the orphan. Louis XI. was all +the more severe because he had answered for the youth’s fidelity. +After a very brief and summary examination by the grand provost, the +unfortunate secretary was hanged. After that no one dared for a long +time to learn the arts of banking and exchange from Maitre Cornelius. + +In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,--men +of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,--took service with the +silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young men +into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in which +they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had secret +communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than ever +suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before +Louis XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial was +promptly had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed Tristan +l’Hermite secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, the +young Touraineans were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an +executioner. The two families thus thrown into mourning were much +respected; their complaints obtained a hearing, and little by little it +came to be believed that all the victims whom the king’s silversmith had +sent to the scaffold were innocent. Some persons declared that the cruel +miser imitated the king, and sought to put terror and gibbets between +himself and his fellow-men; others said that he had never been robbed +at all,--that these melancholy executions were the result of cool +calculations, and that their real object was to relieve him of all fear +for his treasure. + +The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The +Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the “tortionnaire,” and +named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to the +town bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned them +against doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius was +that of persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired with +instinctive terror; others he impressed with the deep respect that most +men feel for limitless power and money, while to a few he certainly +possessed the attraction of mystery. His way of life, his countenance, +and the favor of the king, justified all the tales of which he had now +become the subject. + +Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his +persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king caused +his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish guard. +Such royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old miser had +bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the torconnier went +out but little; but the lords of the court paid him frequent visits. +He lent them money rather liberally, though capricious in his manner of +doing so. On certain days he refused to give them a penny; the next day +he would offer them large sums,--always at high interest and on good +security. A good Catholic, he went regularly to the services, always +attending the earliest mass at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased +there, as elsewhere, a chapel in perpetuity, he was separated even +in church from other Christians. A popular proverb of that day, long +remembered in Tours, was the saying: “You passed in front of the +Fleming; ill-luck will happen to you.” Passing in front of the Fleming +explained all sudden pains and evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of +fortune among the Touraineans. Even at court most persons attributed +to Cornelius that fatal influence which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic +superstition has called the “evil eye.” Without the terrible power +of Louis XI., which was stretched like a mantle over that house, +the populace, on the slightest opportunity, would have demolished La +Malemaison, that “evil house” in the rue du Murier. And yet Cornelius +had been the first to plant mulberries in Tours, and the Touraineans at +that time regarded him as their good genius. Who shall reckon on popular +favor! + +A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of +France were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he +was gloomy and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some inexplicable +power brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du Murier. Like a +snail, whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, he admitted to +the king that he was never at ease except under the bolts and behind the +vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet he knew very well that +whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the most dangerous spot on +earth for him. + +“The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the +torconnier,” said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the +festival of All-Saints. “He says he has been robbed again, but he can’t +hang anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond came +and asked me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies he +wanted to sell me. ‘Pasques-Dieu! I don’t steal what I can take,’ I said +to him.” + +“Was he frightened?” asked the barber. + +“Misers are afraid of only one thing,” replied the king. “My crony the +torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for good +reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done anything but +what is just and necessary.” + +“And yet that old brigand overcharges you,” said the barber. + +“You wish he did, don’t you?” replied the king, with the malicious look +at his barber. + +“Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you and +the devil!” + +“There, there!” said the king, “don’t put bad ideas into my head. +My crony is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have +made--perhaps because he owes me nothing.” + +For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with +his aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood +declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the house, +waiting for the hour of the witches’ sabbath. This fact seemed the more +extraordinary because it was known to be the miser’s custom to lock up +his sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + +As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of +being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of the +king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, but, +like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it were, +of that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, and age +intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, though she +was perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother whom she +actually surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily existence had +something mysterious and problematical about it. The old woman rarely +took bread from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the market, that +the least credulous of the townspeople ended by attributing to these +strange beings the knowledge of some secret for the maintenance of life. +Those who dabbled in alchemy declared that Maitre Cornelius had the +power of making gold. Men of science averred that he had found the +Universal Panacea. According to many of the country-people to whom the +townsfolk talked of him, Cornelius was a chimerical being, and many of +them came into the town to look at his house out of mere curiosity. + +The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about him, +first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and then at +the evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their angles, and +tinting with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and reliefs of the +carvings. The caprices of this white light gave a sinister expression +to both edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself encouraged the +superstitions that hung about the miser’s dwelling. The young man +called to mind the many traditions which made Cornelius a personage both +curious and formidable. Though quite decided through the violence of his +love to enter that house, and stay there long enough to accomplish his +design, he hesitated to take the final step, all the while aware that he +should certainly take it. But where is the man who, in a crisis of his +life, does not willingly listen to presentiments as he hangs above the +precipice? A lover worthy of being loved, the young man feared to die +before he had been received for love’s sake by the countess. + +This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not +feel the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, and +chilled his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his name, as +already he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. In case of +mishap, he could not claim the privileges of his rank nor the protection +of his friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier. If her husband suspected the nocturnal visit of a lover, +he was capable of roasting her alive in an iron cage, or of killing her +by degrees in the dungeons of a fortified castle. Looking down at the +shabby clothing in which he had disguised himself, the young nobleman +felt ashamed. His black leather belt, his stout shoes, his ribbed socks, +his linsey-woolsey breeches, and his gray woollen doublet made him +look like the clerk of some poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of +the fifteenth century it was like death itself to play the part of a +beggarly burgher, and renounce the privileges of his rank. But--to climb +the roof of the house where his mistress wept; to descend the chimney, +or creep along from gutter to gutter to the window of her room; to risk +his life to kneel beside her on a silken cushion before a glowing fire, +during the sleep of a dangerous husband, whose snores would double +their joy; to defy both heaven and earth in snatching the boldest of +all kisses; to say no word that would not lead to death or at least +to sanguinary combat if overheard,--all these voluptuous images and +romantic dangers decided the young man. However slight might be the +guerdon of his enterprise, could he only kiss once more the hand of his +lady, he still resolved to venture all, impelled by the chivalrous and +passionate spirit of those days. He never supposed for a moment that +the countess would refuse him the soft happiness of love in the midst of +such mortal danger. The adventure was too perilous, too impossible not +to be attempted and carried out. + +Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,--a custom fallen +elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, where +venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were not +put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across the +streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated burghers, +attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing lanterns, +echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, seemed to be +asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except through the roofs. +In those days the roofs of houses were much frequented after dark. The +streets were so narrow in the provincial towns, and even in Paris, that +robbers could jump from the roofs on one side to those on the other. +This perilous occupation was long the amusement of King Charles IX. in +his youth, if we may believe the memoirs of his day. + +Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young +nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, +when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, +which the writers of those days would have called “cornue,”--perhaps +with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his +sight, and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at the +spectacle before him. On each side of the door was a face framed in +a species of loophole. At first he took these two faces for grotesque +masks carved in stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, motionless, +discolored were they; but the cold air and the moonlight presently +enabled him to distinguish the faint white mist which living breath sent +from two purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, beneath the +shadow of the eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting clear fire, +like those of a wolf crouching in the brushwood as it hears the baying +of the hounds. The uneasy gleam of those eyes was turned on him so +fixedly that, after receiving it for fully a minute, during which he +examined the singular sight, he felt like a bird at which a setter +points; a feverish tumult rose in his soul, but he quickly repressed +it. The two faces, strained and suspicious, were doubtless those of +Cornelius and his sister. + +The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, +and whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his +pocket and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight +to the door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the +house as if it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept beneath +the threshold, and an eye appeared at a small and very strong iron +grating. + +“Who is there?” + +“A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels.” + +“What do you want?” + +“To enter.” + +“Your name?” + +“Philippe Goulenoire.” + +“Have you brought credentials?” + +“Here they are.” + +“Pass them through the box.” + +“Where is it?” + +“To your left.” + +Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box above +which was a loophole. + +“The devil!” thought he, “plainly the king comes here, as they say he +does; he couldn’t take more precautions at Plessis.” + +He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that +lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, “Close the traps +of the door.” + +A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts +run, the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, opened +to the slightest distance through which a man could pass. At the risk of +tearing off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather than walked +into La Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet face, the +eyebrows projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose and chin +so near together that a nut could scarcely pass between them,--a pallid, +haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently of only bones +and nerves,--guided the “soi-disant” foreigner silently into a lower +room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + +“Sit there,” she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool +placed at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no +fire. + +On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with +twisted legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little +bread-sops, hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools +placed beside the table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed +that the miserly pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the +door and pushed two iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, +the loopholes through which they had been gazing into the street; then +he returned to his seat. Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the +brother and sister dipping their sops into the egg in turn, and with +the utmost gravity and the same precision with which soldiers dip their +spoons in regular rotation into the mess-pot. This performance was done +in silence. But as he ate, Cornelius examined the false apprentice with +as much care and scrutiny as if he were weighing an old coin. + +Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, was +tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated by all +amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even furtively, at +the walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius detected him, +he would not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in his house. He +contented himself, therefore, by looking first at the egg and then at +the old woman, occasionally contemplating his future master. + +Louis XI.’s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired the +same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a sort +of intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his eyes; +but by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, penetrating, +powerful glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, and to +whom the phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has become +familiar. His thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air of +indescribable craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague +resemblance to the muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting forehead, +with many lines, showed great and splendid qualities and a nobility +of soul, the springs of which had been lowered by experience until the +cruel teachings of life had driven it back into the farthest recesses of +this most singular human being. He was certainly not an ordinary +miser; and his passion covered, no doubt, extreme enjoyments and secret +conceptions. + +“What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?” he said abruptly to his +future apprentice. + +“Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent.” + +“What is the freight on the Scheldt?” + +“Three sous parisis.” + +“Any news at Ghent?” + +“The brother of Lieven d’Herde is ruined.” + +“Ah!” + +After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee with +the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black velvet, open +in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous material being +defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent costume, formerly worn +by him as president of the tribunal of the Parchons, functions which had +won him the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + +Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further +questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from +a Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to his +good memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the manners +and habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the first +flush of his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to perceive +the difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the terrible +Fleming reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, and +remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders +of Maitre Cornelius. + +“Have you supped?” asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, +“You are not to sup.” + +The old maid trembled in spite of her brother’s tone; she looked at the +new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to +fill, and said with a specious smile:-- + +“You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as +the devil’s tail.” + +“I have supped,” he said. + +“Well then,” replied the miser, “you can come back and see me to-morrow. +I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to +sleep upon the matter.” + +“Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don’t know a soul +in this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in +prison. However,” he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing +in his words, “if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go.” + +The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + +“Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here.” + +“But--” said his sister, alarmed. + +“Silence,” replied Cornelius. “In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he +will answer for this young man. You know,” he whispered in his sister’s +ear, “we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That’s +a hostage, hey!” + +“And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like +a thief than a Fleming.” + +“Hush!” exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + +Both misers listened. A moment after the “Hush!” uttered by Cornelius, a +noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the +other side of the moat of the town. + +“It is the Plessis guard on their rounds,” said the sister. + +“Give me the key of the apprentice’s room,” said Cornelius. + +The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + +“Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?” cried Cornelius, in a +meaning tone of voice. “At your age can’t you see in the dark? It isn’t +difficult to find a key.” + +The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left +the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the +door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance +which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the +chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped +with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a +match-lock pistol with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible +weapon lay close to Cornelius. + +“How do you expect to earn your living with me?” said the latter. + +“I have but little money,” replied Philippe, “but I know good tricks in +business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, that +will satisfy me.” + +“A sou! a sou!” echoed the miser; “why, that’s a good deal!” + +At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + +“Come,” said Cornelius to Philippe. + +The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone +staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside +the hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the young +man paused. + +“No, no,” said Cornelius. “The devil! this nook is the place where the +king takes his ease.” + +The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under the +pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a little +room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The tower +stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like the +courtyards of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the farther +end, through an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden in which +nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had introduced. The +young nobleman took note of all this through the loopholes on the spiral +staircase, the moon casting, fortunately, a brilliant light. A cot, a +stool, a mismatched pitcher and basin formed the entire furniture of +the room. The light could enter only through square openings, placed at +intervals in the outside wall of the tower, according, no doubt, to the +exterior ornamentation. + +“Here is your lodging,” said Cornelius; “it is plain and solid and +contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this +room as _the others_ did.” + +After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, Cornelius +double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the staircase, +leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell-founder when on +opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without light, seated on a +stool, in a little garret from which so many of his predecessors had +gone to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a wild beast caught in +a trap. He jumped upon the stool and raised himself to his full height +in order to reach one of the little openings through which a faint light +shone. Thence he saw the Loire, the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, +the gloomy marvels of Plessis, where lights were gleaming in the deep +recesses of a few windows. Far in the distance lay the beautiful meadows +of Touraine and the silvery stream of her river. Every point of this +lovely nature had, at that moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the +waters, the roofs of the houses shone like diamonds in the trembling +light of the moon. The soul of the young seigneur could not repress a +sad and tender emotion. + +“Suppose it is my last farewell!” he said to himself. + +He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure +offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, nevertheless, +retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined each difficulty. To +him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural being seen through +the incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he fancied came from the +hotel de Poitiers, restored him to himself and to a sense of his true +situation. Throwing himself on his pallet to reflect on his course, he +heard a slight movement which echoed faintly from the spiral staircase. +He listened attentively, and the whispered words, “He has gone to bed,” + said by the old woman, reached his ear. By an accident unknown probably +to the architect, the slightest noise on the staircase sounded in the +room of the apprentices, so that Philippe did not lose a single movement +of the miser and his sister who were watching him. He undressed, lay +down, pretended to sleep, and employed the time during which the pair +remained on the staircase, in seeking means to get from his prison to +the hotel de Poitiers. + +About ten o’clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new +inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied +carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could +recognize the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, +occupy the whole second floor. Like all the houses of that period, this +floor was next below the roof, from which its windows projected, adorned +with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured. The roof itself was +edged with a sort of balustrade, concealing the gutters for the rain +water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile’s heads discharged +into the street. The young seigneur, after studying this topography as +carefully as a cat, believed he could make his way from the tower to the +roof, and thence to Madame de Vallier’s by the gutters and the help of a +gargoyle. But he did not count on the narrowness of the loopholes of the +tower; it was impossible to pass through them. He then resolved to get +out upon the roof of the house through the window of the staircase on +the second floor. To accomplish this daring project he must leave his +room, and Cornelius had carried off the key. + +By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed +under his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the +“coup de grace” in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the +victor to despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade +sharpened like a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like +a saw, but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it would +enter the body. The young man determined to use this latter blade to saw +through the wood around the lock. Happily for him the staple of the lock +was put on to the outside of the door by four stout screws. By the help +of his dagger he managed, not without great difficulty, to unscrew and +remove it altogether, carefully laying it aside and the four screws with +it. By midnight he was free, and he went down the stairs without his +shoes to reconnoitre the localities. + +He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down a +corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a window +opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of the hotel +de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. Nothing could +express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly made to the +Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the celebrated parish +church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining the tall broad +chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his steps to fetch +his dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light on the staircase +and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, carrying a lamp, his +eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon the corridor, at the +entrance of which he stood like a spectre. + +“If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me,” thought +the young man. + +The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. +In this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence +of mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the angle +of it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp in +advance of him, came into line with the current of air which the +young man could send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius +muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and retraced +his steps. The young man then rushed to his room, caught up his dagger +and returned to the blessed window, opened it softly and jumped upon the +roof. + +Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. +Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the +enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. +He leaned against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to +himself:-- + +“By which chimney can I get to her?” + +He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all +and felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made +up his mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger +securely in a joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to it, +threw the ladder down the chimney and risked himself upon it, trusting +to his good blade, and to the chance of not having mistaken his +mistress’s room. He knew not whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or awake, +but one thing he was resolved upon, he would hold the countess in his +arms if it cost the life of two men. + +Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently +still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. Pale +with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the light of +the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from her. We may +well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in their hearts. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + + +The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his +chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + +“Good luck to you, crony,” he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty way. + +“Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a +moment’s talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies and +all the jewels of the Duke of--” + +“Let us hear about that,” said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard +of Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, Olivier +de Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. “Tell me about it. +Another man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!” + +The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came with +slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group paused under +a tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers made a circle +about him. + +“Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me--” + began Cornelius. + +“He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!” exclaimed Louis, wagging his +head. + +“Oh, yes!” replied the silversmith, bitterly. “But methinks he’d have +snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me +by Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in +my hands. I will wager the Jew’s letter and seal were forged! In short, +sire, I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you admired so +much. They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the jewels of the +Elector of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! they’ll steal your +kingdom if you don’t take care. As soon as I missed the jewels I went +up to the room of that apprentice, who is, assuredly, a past-master in +thieving. This time we don’t lack proof. He had forced the lock of +his door. But when he got back to his room, the moon was down and he +couldn’t find all the screws. Happily, I felt one under my feet when +I entered the room. He was sound asleep, the beggar, tired out. Just +fancy, gentlemen, he got down into my strong-room by the chimney. +To-morrow, or to-night, rather, I’ll roast him alive. He had a silk +ladder, and his clothes were covered with marks of his clambering over +the roof and down the chimney. He meant to stay with me, and ruin +me, night after night, the bold wretch! But where are the jewels? The +country-folks coming into town early saw him on the roof. He must have +had accomplices, who waited for him by that embankment you have been +making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of fellows who come in boats; +crack! they get off with everything, and leave no traces! But we hold +this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! ah! a fine morsel he’ll be +for the gallows. With a little bit of _questioning_ beforehand, we shall +know all. Why, the glory of your reign is concerned in it! there ought +not to be robbers in the land under so great a king.” + +The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy +meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his life. +A deep silence reigned. + +“This is your business,” he said at length to Tristan; “take you hold of +it.” + +He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. +Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in company +with the grand provost. + +“Where are those thousand gold crowns?” he called to him. + +“Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for +your justice.” + +Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges +of the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of +young mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + +Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly +asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the same +ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary dangers +with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had even +postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a great +blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking the +moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed lock; he +had no patience to look for them. With the “laisser-aller” of a tired +man, he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. He did, +however, make a sort of compact with himself to awake at daybreak, but +the events of the day and the agitations of the night did not allow him +to keep faith with himself. Happiness is forgetful. Cornelius no longer +seemed formidable to the young man when he threw himself on the +pallet where so many poor wretches had wakened to their doom; and this +light-hearted heedlessness proved his ruin. While the king’s silversmith +rode back from Plessis, accompanied by the grand provost and his +redoubtable archers. The false Goulenoire was being watched by the old +sister, seated on the corkscrew staircase oblivious of the cold, and +knitting socks for Cornelius. + +The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that charming +night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. He saw +himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on her knees +in the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her persecutions +and the details of the count’s tyranny; he grew pitiful over the poor +lady, who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter of Louis XI. He +promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs to that terrible +father; everything, he assured her, should be settled as they wished, +the marriage broken off, the husband banished,--and all this within +reach of that husband’s sword, of which they might both be the victims +if the slightest noise awakened him. But in the young man’s dream the +gleam of the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the colors of the stuffs and +the tapestries were more vivid, more of love was in the air, more fire +about them, than there had been in the actual scene. The Marie of his +sleep resisted far less than the living Marie those adoring looks, +those tender entreaties, those adroit silences, those voluptuous +solicitations, those false generosities, which render the first moments +of a passion so completely ardent, and shed into the soul a fresh +delirium at each new step in love. + +Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de +Saint-Vallier granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the +tender passion. She willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, +her hands, her throat; she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion +and life of her lover; she permitted him to die for her; she yielded to +an intoxication which the sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but +farther than that she would not go; and she made her deliverance the +price of the highest rewards of his love. In those days, in order to +dissolve a marriage it was necessary to go to Rome; to obtain the help +of certain cardinals, and to appear before the sovereign pontiff +in person armed with the approval of the king. Marie was firm in +maintaining her liberty to love, that she might sacrifice it to +him later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient power to +establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make that +passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of his +highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many +sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to them +far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their love +cost blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great +dangers. But the Marie of his dream made small defence against the young +seigneur’s ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? Did the +false apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen in the +hotel de Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is difficult to +decide; and the honor of women demands that it be left, as it were, in +litigation. + +At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to forget +her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by an iron +hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:-- + +“Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!” + +The young man saw the black face of Tristan l’Hermite above him, and +recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew +staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost +guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing +either hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang +others, the so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and +rubbed his eyes. + +“Mort-Dieu!” he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. +“Now is the time to play our knives.” + +“Ho, ho!” cried Tristan, “that’s the speech of a noble. Methinks I see +Georges d’Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers.” + +Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d’Estouteville thought +less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon his +unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:-- + +“Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!” + +After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young +courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But the +myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such proceedings. When +Georges d’Estouteville reached the stairs they seized him dexterously, +not surprised by the vigorous thrust he made at them with his dagger, +the blade of which fortunately slipped on the corselet of a guard; then, +having disarmed him, they bound his hands, and threw him on the pallet +before their leader, who stood motionless and thoughtful. + +Tristan looked silently at the prisoner’s hands, then he said to +Cornelius, pointing to them:-- + +“Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a +noble.” + +“Say a thief!” cried the torconnier. “My good Tristan, noble or serf, he +has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your pretty +boots. He is, I don’t doubt it, the leader of that gang of devils, +visible and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, rob me, +murder me! They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this time we +shall get back the treasure, for the fellow has the face of the king of +Egypt. I shall recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I have lost; and +our worthy king shall have his share in the harvest.” + +“Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!” said Georges, +smiling. + +“Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!” cried the miser. + +The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges +d’Estouteville’s clothes and the lock of the door. + +“How did you get out those screws?” + +Georges kept silence. + +“Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the +holy rack,” said Tristan. + +“That’s what I call business!” cried Cornelius. + +“Take him off,” said the grand provost to the guards. + +Georges d’Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign from +their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity of a +nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + +An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the populace +kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From early morning +the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On all sides +the “apprentice,” said to be young and handsome, had awakened public +sympathy, and revived the hatred felt against Cornelius; so that there +was not a young man in the town, nor a young woman with a fresh face and +pretty feet to exhibit, who was not determined to see the victim. When +Georges issued from the house, led by one of the provost’s guard, who, +after he had mounted his horse, kept the strong leathern thong that +bound the prisoner tightly twisted round his arm, a horrible uproar +arose. Whether the populace merely wished to see this new victim, or +whether it intended to rescue him, certain it is that those behind +pressed those in front upon the little squad of cavalry posted around +the Malemaison. At this moment, Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed +the door, and slammed the iron shutters with the violence of panic +terror. Tristan, who was not accustomed to respect the populace of those +days (inasmuch as they were not yet the sovereign people), cared little +for a probable riot. + +“Push on! push on!” he said to his men. + +At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards +the end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number +knocked down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed +against the sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser +course of retreating to their homes. + +“Make room for the king’s justice!” cried Tristan. “What are you doing +here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your +dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your husband’s +stockings; get back to your needles.” + +Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, +they made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague +upon them. + +At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges +d’Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the +hotel de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the +count. She was mocking at _him_, poor devoted lover, who was going to +his death for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps +of the populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be +twenty-three years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a woman’s +love, loving ourselves with all the forces of our being, risking +our life with delight on the faith of a kiss, and then betrayed, to +understand the fury of hatred and despair which took possession of +Georges d’Estouteville’s heart at the sight of his laughing mistress, +from whom he received a cold and indifferent glance. No doubt she had +been there some time; she was leaning from the window with her arms on +a cushion; she was at her ease, and her old man seemed content. He, too, +was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A few tears escaped the eyes of the +young man; but when Marie de Saint-Vallier saw them she turned hastily +away. Those tears were suddenly dried, however, when Georges beheld the +red and white plumes of the page who was devoted to his interests. The +count took no notice of this servitor, who advanced to his mistress on +tiptoe. After the page had said a few words in her ear, Marie returned +to the window. Escaping for a moment the perpetual watchfulness of her +tyrant, she cast one glance upon Georges that was brilliant with the +fires of love and hope, seeming to say:-- + +“I am watching over you.” + +Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their +meaning more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, +in which terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation +all took part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to +martyrdom and from martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young +seigneur, light-hearted and content, walked gaily to his doom; thinking +that the horrors of the “question” were not sufficient payment for the +delights of his love. + +As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped him, +seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at full +speed. + +“What is it?” asked the provost. + +“Nothing that concerns you,” replied the officer, disdainfully. “The +king has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, whom +he invites to dinner.” + +The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to +Plessis, when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white +mule, he on his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, +in order to enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving slowly. +Georges was on foot, between two guards on horseback, one of whom held +him still by the leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his wife were +naturally in advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling with the +archers, the young page questioned them, speaking sometimes to the +prisoner, so that he adroitly managed to say to him in a low voice:-- + +“I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to +the king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against +you. Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you.” + +Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her +laughter was part of the heroism which women display in the great crises +of life. + +In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of “Quentin +Durward” to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, +we must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on +low land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by +the canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved +daughter, Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the +city of Tours and Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable +protection to the castle, but it offered a most precious road to +commerce. On the side towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, +the park was defended by a moat, the remains of which still show its +enormous breadth and depth. At a period when the power of artillery was +still in embryo, the position of Plessis, long since chosen by Louis XI. +for his favorite retreat, might be considered impregnable. The castle, +built of brick and stone, had nothing remarkable about it; but it was +surrounded by noble trees, and from its windows could be seen, through +vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the finest points of view in the +world. No rival mansion rose near this solitary castle, standing in the +very centre of the little plain reserved for the king and guarded by +four streams of water. + +If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and +from his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, +the opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille +waters, and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows that +opened on the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and the +embankment by which he had connected his favorite residence with the +city of Tours. If Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his castle +the luxury of architecture which Francois I. displayed afterwards at +Chambord, the dwelling of the kings of France would ever have remained +in Touraine. It is enough to see this splendid position and its magical +effects to be convinced of its superiority over the sites of all other +royal residences. + +Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more +than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of death +in the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; on the +point of increasing the territory of France by the possessions of the +Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with Marguerite, +heiress of Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, commander of +his troops in Flanders); having established his authority everywhere, +and now meditating ameliorations in his kingdom of all kinds, he saw +time slipping past him rapidly with no further troubles than those +of old age. Deceived by every one, even by the minions about him, +experience had intensified his natural distrust. The desire to live +became in him the egotism of a king who has incarnated himself in his +people; he wished to prolong his life in order to carry out his vast +designs. + +All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions +has since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. +had thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects +before the law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his +bold endeavors. On All-Saints’ eve he had gathered together the learned +goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in France a +unity of weights and measures, as he had already established the unity +of power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over his empire, +joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the natural +idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our history +has the great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. Amazing +assemblages of contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a spirit +unbelieving as to all things here below, devoutly believing in the +practices of religion; a man struggling with two powers greater than his +own--the present and the future; the future in which he feared eternal +punishment, a fear which led him to make so many sacrifices to the +Church; the present, namely his life itself, for the saving of which he +blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who crushed down all about him, +was himself crushed down by remorse, and by disease in the midst of the +great poem of defiant monarchy in which all power was concentrated. It +was once more the gigantic and ever magnificent combat of Man in the +highest manifestation of his forces tilting against Nature. + +While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days +between eleven o’clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short +promenade, sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in his +chamber. Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each other +without a word, standing in the recess of a window and watching their +master, who presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was heard were +the steps of the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de Montresor, +and Jean Dufou, Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and down the +adjoining hall. These two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the captain +of the Scottish guard, who was sleeping in his chair, according to +his usual custom. The king himself appeared to be dozing. His head had +drooped upon his breast; his cap, pulled forward on his forehead, hid +his eyes. Thus seated in his high chair, surmounted by the royal crown, +he seemed crouched together like a man who had fallen asleep in the +midst of some deep meditation. + +At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge +of Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + +“Who is that?” said the king. + +The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + +“He is dreaming,” said Coyctier, in a low voice. + +“Pasques-Dieu!” cried Louis XI., “do you think me mad? People are +crossing the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear +sounds more easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized,” + he added thoughtfully. + +“What a man!” said de Daim. + +Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the +town. He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:-- + +“Ha, ha! here’s my crony and his thief. And here comes my little +Marie de Saint-Vallier; I’d forgotten all about it. Olivier,” he said, +addressing the barber, “go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve some +good Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn’t forget +the lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I eat +lampreys?” he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + +For all answer the physician began to examine his master’s face. The two +men were a picture in themselves. + +History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, and +the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, decorated +with leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of Saint-Michel, are +not less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has represented the face +of that terrible monarch in his last years,--a sickly, hollow, yellow +and brown face, all the features of which expressed a sour craftiness, +a cold sarcasm. In that mask was the forehead of a great man, a brow +furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty with high thoughts; but in his +cheeks and on his lips there was something indescribably vulgar and +common. Looking at certain details of that countenance you would have +thought him a debauched husbandman, or a miserly peddler; and yet, above +these vague resemblances and the decrepitude of a dying old man, the +king, the man of power, rose supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, +seemed at first sight extinct; but a spark of courage and of anger +lurked there, and at the slightest touch it could burst into flames and +cast fire about him. The doctor was a stout burgher, with a florid face, +dressed in black, peremptory, greedy of gain, and self-important. These +two personages were framed, as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung +with high-warped tapestries of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of +carved beams, was blackened by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid +with arabesques in pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they +were at that period when the arts were beginning to produce their +choicest masterpieces. + +“Lampreys are not good for you,” replied the physician. + +That title, recently substituted for the former term of “myrrh-master,” + is still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at this period +given to doctors everywhere. + +“Then what may I eat?” asked the king, humbly. + +“Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you may +die on All-Souls’ Day.” + +“To-day!” cried the king in terror. + +“Compose yourself, sire,” replied Coyctier. “I am here. Try not to fret +your mind; find some way to amuse yourself.” + +“Ah!” said the king, “my daughter Marie used to succeed in that +difficult business.” + +As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, rapped +softly on the royal door. On receiving the king’s permission he entered +and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis XI. made +a sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who allowed her to +pass in first. + +“Good-day, my children,” said the king. + +“Sire,” replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, “I +want to speak to you in secret.” + +Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and +called out in a hollow voice, “Hola, Dufou!” + +Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered in +haste. + +“Go to the maitre d’hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for +dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to +dine alone to-day. Do you know, madame,” continued the king, pretending +to be slightly angry, “that you neglect me? It is almost three years +since I have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty,” he added, sitting +down and holding out his arms to her. “How thin you have grown! Why have +you let her grow so thin?” said the king, roughly, addressing the Comte +de Poitiers. + +The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she +almost pitied him. + +“Happiness, sire!” he stammered. + +“Ah! you love each other too much,--is that it?” said the king, +holding his daughter between his knees. “I did right to call you +Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want +of me?” he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. “After +sending me your--” + +In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king’s lips and said in +his ear,-- + +“I always thought you cautious and penetrating.” + +“Saint-Vallier,” said the king, laughing, “I think that Bridore has +something to say to you.” + +The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well +known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, and +knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + +“Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,--hey? Do I seem changed to +you?” + +“Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather I +deceived you?” + +“No,” he said, in a low voice, “I want to know truly what to expect.” + +“In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let my +truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?” + +“What is your cause?” asked the king, frowning and passing a hand across +his forehead. + +“Ah, sire,” she replied, “the young man you have had arrested for +robbing your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the +grand provost, is innocent of the robbery.” + +“How do you know that?” asked the king. Marie lowered her head and +blushed. + +“I need not ask if there is love in this business,” said the king, +raising his daughter’s head gently and stroking her chin. “If you don’t +confess every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell.” + +“Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?” + +“Where would be the pleasure?” cried the king, seeing only an amusement +in this affair. + +“Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?” + +“Oh! you sly little girl, haven’t you any confidence in me?” + +“Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty.” + +“So! he is a nobleman, is he?” cried the king. “Then he is not an +apprentice?” + +“He is certainly innocent,” she said. + +“I don’t see it so,” said the king, coldly. “I am the law and justice of +my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers.” + +“Come, don’t put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of that +young man.” + +“Is it yours already?” + +“Sire,” she said, “I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at--” + +“Then,” said Louis XI., interrupting her, “as I am not to know the +truth, I think Tristan had better clear it up.” + +Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:-- + +“Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief stole +nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you everything, +even though you may punish me.” + +“Ho, ho! this is getting serious,” cried the king, shoving up his cap. +“Speak out, my daughter.” + +“Well,” she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father’s ear, +“he was in my room all night.” + +“He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!” + +“I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a scoundrel. +That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of your +archers.” + +“Well, well!” cried the king; “you are hard to confess.” + +With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried +to the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For +the last moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, +shining through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a +listener’s foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the +door abruptly, and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + +“Pasques-Dieu!” he cried; “here’s an audacity that deserves the axe.” + +“Sire,” replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, “I would prefer an axe at my +throat to the ornament of marriage on my head.” + +“You may have both,” said Louis XI. “None of you are safe from such +infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham,” continued +the king, addressing the captain of the guard, “you are asleep! Where +is Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached in this way? +Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better served than I am.” + +After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to +draw the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more to +stifle the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north wind. + +“So, my daughter,” he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays with +a mouse, “Georges d’Estouteville was your lover last night?” + +“Oh, no, sire!” + +“No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think +my daughter beautiful?” + +“Oh! that is not it,” she said. “He kissed my feet and hands with an +ardor that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me +truly in all honor.” + +“Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such +nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just to +kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others.” + +“But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose.” + +Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of her +husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + +“What purpose?” + +The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange +confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the +pardon of her husband. + +“Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal +blood!” cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + +At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king’s +dinner. Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with +contracted brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all +his servitors in waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de +Saint-Vallier, thinking of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. +The deep silence which reigned was presently broken by the steps of +Tristan l’Hermite as he mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost +entered the hall, and, advancing toward the king, said:-- + +“Sire, the affair is settled.” + +“What! is it all over?” said the king. + +“Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a +touch of the ‘question.’” + +The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but +looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who +muttered in a low tone: “I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance of +my wife.” + +“Silence!” cried the king. “Some one is here who will wear out my +patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution,” he continued, +addressing the grand provost. “You will answer with your own body for +that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, +and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty +provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats +they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall +be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de +Saint-Vallier,” said the king, looking fixedly at the count, “I know +about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do +you hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of +lese-majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and +weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a long +journey.” + +The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he +added:-- + +“You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government +of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take +charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth I +shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I married +her to you.” + +Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father’s arm as if to +thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was laughing +to himself in his sleeve. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE HIDDEN TREASURE + + +Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and he +was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. This +taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a passion for +the “incognito,” one of the greatest pleasures of princes,--a sort of +momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little real life into +their existence, made insipid by the lack of opposition. Louis XI., +however, played the incognito openly. On these occasions he was always +the good fellow, endeavoring to please the people of the middle classes, +whom he made his allies against feudality. For some time past he had +found no opportunity to “make himself populace” and espouse the domestic +interests of some man “engarrie” (an old word still used in Tours, +meaning engaged) in litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the +anxieties of Maitre Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of +the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to +his daughter:-- + +“Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now +amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve +hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!” he continued, looking at the +seigneurs who were serving him. “Notre Dame! with a sum like that what +absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank +the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification +ready-made for this kingdom.” + +When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the +grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel +de Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de +Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + +“Monsieur,” said the king, “I told you to start at once. Say farewell +to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by an +escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they will be +in Venice before you get there.” + +Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret +instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of +men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in +haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made +deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin +the unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, +in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his +quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of the +robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his royal +master without uneasiness. + +“Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?” he said to the +king. + +Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and +his sister. + +“No, my old crony,” he said; “don’t worry yourself. They will sup at +Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good +in detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I +shall do so now.” + +“Find him, sire, and make no wager.” + +They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his +treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the casket +from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, then the +chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, easily +convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter supposition, +inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,--where, in truth, a fire +was seldom made,--and no sign that any one had passed down the flue; and +moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the roof which was almost +inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close investigation, marked +with that sagacity which distinguished the suspicious mind of Louis +XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, that no one had forced an +entrance into the strong-room of his silversmith. No marks of violence +were on the locks, nor on the iron coffers which contained the gold, +silver, and jewels deposited as securities by wealthy debtors. + +“If the robber opened this box,” said the king, “why did he take nothing +out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason had he for +leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer robber!” + +At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked at +each other for a moment. + +“Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your +protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?” + +“If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in +ignorance. That is one of my secrets.” + +“Then the devil is in my house!” cried the miser, piteously. + +In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his +silversmith’s cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was +casting on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and power +which seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, thinking he +had in some way offended his dangerous master. + +“Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!” cried Louis XI. abruptly. +“If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow who did it. +Make that old hag you call your sister come here,” he added. + +Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with his +hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis’s withered lips determined him. +Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + +“Have you any flour?” demanded the king. + +“Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter,” she answered. + +“Well, go and fetch some,” said the king. + +“What do you want to do with our flour, sire?” she cried, not the least +impressed by his royal majesty. + +“Old fool!” said Cornelius, “go and execute the orders of our gracious +master. Shall the king lack flour?” + +“Our good flour!” she grumbled, as she went downstairs. “Ah! my flour!” + +Then she returned, and said to the king:-- + +“Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?” + +At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, +from time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to +and from market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of flour. +The housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom she cast +the rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt venom upon +men. + +“It costs six sous the ‘septeree,’” she said. + +“What does that matter?” said the king. “Spread it on the floor; but be +careful to make an even layer of it--as if it had fallen like snow.” + +The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as though +the end of the world had come. + +“My flour, sire! on the ground! But--” + +Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the +intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents +on the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for the +empty bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she disappeared with +a heavy sigh. + +Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till +it looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, +followed by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When they +reached the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, “Are there two keys +to the lock?” + +“No, sire.” + +The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced with +large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret lock, +the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + +After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him +to post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest +secrecy, in the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of the +adjoining houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and escort +him back to Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he himself +would not sup with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close his +windows with the utmost care, that no single ray of light should escape +from the house, and then he departed with much pomp for Plessis along +the embankment; but there he secretly left his escort, and returned by +a door in the ramparts to the house of the torconnier. All these +precautions were so well taken that the people of Tours really thought +the king had returned to Plessis, and would sup on the morrow with +Cornelius. + +Towards eight o’clock that evening, as the king was supping with his +physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much +jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in +danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, +even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was +occupied as usual. + +“I hope,” said the king, laughing, “that my silversmith shall be robbed +to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, messieurs, +no one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my order, under +pain of grievous punishment.” + +Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first to +leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong-room. +He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the marks of +a large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. Carefully +avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the door of +the treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of fracture or +defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; but as they grew +gradually fainter, they finally left not the slightest trace, and it was +impossible for him to discover where the robber had fled. + +“Ho, crony!” called out the king, “you have been finely robbed this +time.” + +At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly +terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs and +corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, the +king chanced to observe the miser’s slippers and recognized the type of +sole that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a word, and +checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had been hanged +for the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once in the room +the king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot beside those +already existing, and easily convinced him that the robber of his +treasure was no other than himself. + +“The pearl necklace is gone!” cried Cornelius. “There is sorcery in +this. I never left my room.” + +“We’ll know all about it now,” said the king; the evident truthfulness +of his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + +He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and +asked:-- + +“What did you see during the night?” + +“Oh, sire!” said the lieutenant, “an amazing sight! Your silversmith +crept down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed to +be a shadow.” + +“I!” exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and +stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + +“Go away, all of you,” said the king, addressing the archers, “and tell +Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to leave their +rooms and come here to mine.--You have incurred the penalty of death,” + he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear him. “You have ten +murders on your conscience!” + +Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, +remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming’s face, he added:-- + +“You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. +You can get out of the claws of _my_ justice by payment of a good round +sum to my treasury, but if you don’t build at least one chapel in honor +of the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you throughout +eternity.” + +“Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make +thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns,” replied Cornelius +mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. “Thirteen hundred and +seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!” + +“He must have buried them in some hiding-place,” muttered the king, +beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. “That was the magnet +that invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure.” + +Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre +Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the adventure. + +“Sire,” replied the physician, “there is nothing supernatural in that. +Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is +the third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give +yourself the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see that +old man stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I noticed +in the two other cases I have already observed, a curious connection +between the actions of that nocturnal existence and the interests and +occupations of their daily life.” + +“Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man.” + +“I am your physician,” replied the other, insolently. + +At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with him +when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap with a +hasty motion. + +“At such times,” continued Coyctier, “persons attend to their business +while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued his +dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a day +in which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure.” + +“Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!” cried the king. + +“Where is it?” asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of nature, +heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while continuing +himself almost torpid with thought and the shock of this singular +misfortune. + +“Ha!” cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, +“somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when +asleep.” + +“Leave us,” said the king. + +When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and +chuckled coldly. + +“Messire Hoogworst,” he said, with a nod, “all treasures buried in +France belong to the king.” + +“Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and +fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need.” + +“Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you +can surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me.” + +“No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my death. +But what scheme have you for finding it?” + +“I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. You +might fear any one but me.” + +“Ah, sire!” cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king’s feet, “you +are the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; +and I will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing +my utmost to promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with +Monseigneur. She will bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of +lands, which will round out the glory of your crown.” + +“There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me,” said the king, +with frowning brows, “or else you have already done so.” + +“Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!” + +“All that is talk,” returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. +“You need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You +are selling me your influence--Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you +the master, and am I your servant?” + +“Ah, sire,” said the old man, “I was waiting to surprise you agreeably +with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was +awaiting confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What has +become of that young man?” + +“Enough!” said the king; “this is only one more blunder you have +committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my +knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this.” + +Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the +lower rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + +“Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have +put thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, I, +I am the robber!” + +Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat she +quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old maid +accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that she +trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She turned +pale by degrees, and her face,--the changes in which were difficult +to decipher among its wrinkles,--became distorted while her brother +explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and the +extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + +“Louis XI. and I,” he said in conclusion, “have just been lying to each +other like two peddlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that if he +follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king alone +can watch my wanderings at night. I don’t feel sure that his conscience, +near as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred thousand crowns. We +MUST be beforehand with him; we must find the hidden treasure and send +it to Ghent, and you alone--” + +Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the +sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of age. +When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly like a +man in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his sister, +too feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she was dead. +Maitre Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying out: + +“You cannot die now. There is time enough later--Oh! it is all over. The +old hag never could do anything at the right time.” + +He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble +feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, half +forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:-- + +“Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?--you who understood me so well! +Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With you, my +peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only known what +good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you would have +lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! thirteen hundred +thousand crowns! Won’t that wake you?--No, she is dead!” + +Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued +from his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange +exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. +Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened +features of his old friend. + +“What is the matter?” he asked. + +“Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She +precedes me there below,” he said, pointing to the floor with a dreadful +gesture. + +“Enough!” cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + +“I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang me, +if that’s your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is full of +gold. I give up all to you--” + +“Come, come, crony,” replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the +sight of this strange suffering, “we shall find your treasure some fine +night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. I will +come back in the course of this week--” + +“As you please, sire.” + +At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of the +chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other with an +expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + +“Adieu, my crony,” said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up +his cap. + +“May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!” replied the +silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + +After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between +them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man on +the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so well, +they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, that the +king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered the words, +“As you please, sire,” the repugnance that his visits would henceforth +cause to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a declaration of +war in the “Adieu, my crony,” of the king. + +Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the conduct +they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch possessed the +secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter could, by his +connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions that any king +of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of the house +of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then coveting. The +marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the people of Ghent +and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the influence of +Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now begun by +Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the command of the +army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two master-foxes were, +therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are paralyzed by chance. + +So, whether it were that from that day the king’s health failed and went +from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into France +Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, to +marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the +castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the +hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the pair +remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship. Happily for +Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister was the +actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by Tristan. +Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town would have +risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king could have +taken measures to protect it. + +But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so +far as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards +Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith spent +the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless occupation. +Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and came, smelling +for gold in every corner of his house; he studied the cracks and +crevices, he sounded the walls, he besought the trees of the garden, the +foundations of the house, the roofs of the turrets, the earth and the +heavens, to give him back his treasure. Often he stood motionless for +hours, casting his eyes on all sides, plunging them into the void. +Striving for the miracles of ecstasy and the powers of sorcery, he +tried to see his riches through space and obstacles. He was constantly +absorbed in one overwhelming thought, consumed with a single desire that +burned his entrails, gnawed more cruelly still by the ever-increasing +agony of the duel he was fighting with himself since his passion for +gold had turned to his own injury,--a species of uncompleted suicide +which kept him at once in the miseries of life and in those of death. + +Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident +into the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, like +Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. But +Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of neither the +one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his treasure,--a +novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. Sometimes, becoming +forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of his door wide open, +and then the passers in the street could see that already wizened man, +planted on his two legs in the midst of his untilled garden, absolutely +motionless, and casting on those who watched him a fixed gaze, the +insupportable light of which froze them with terror. If, by chance, he +walked through the streets of Tours, he seemed like a stranger in them; +he knew not where he was, nor whether the sun or the moon were shining. +Often he would ask his way of those who passed him, believing that he +was still in Ghent, and seeming to be in search of something lost. + +The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea +by which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the +fictitious being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel +claws perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, +Fear arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his +secret, the secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier could +post men to watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown gulf +into which he had cast his riches,--those riches he had watered with the +blood of so many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, arose Remorse. + +In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden +treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides +which, his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining powerful +anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful--alone with +night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that man, +instinctively perhaps, has best embodied--obedient thus to a moral truth +as yet devoid of actual proof. + +At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and +commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the +horrors of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain +thoughts more agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his +throat with a razor. + +This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then +restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was pillaged. +A tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine that a +contractor of public works, named Bohier, found the miser’s treasure +and used it in the construction of Chenonceaux, that marvellous chateau +which, in spite of the wealth of several kings and the taste of Diane +de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici for building, remains unfinished to +the present day. + +Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as +we know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the +departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career +was famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. +He was saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, +the illegitimate great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the +illegitimate wife, the beloved mistress of Henri II.--for bastardy and +love were hereditary in that family of nobles. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1454 *** diff --git a/1454-h/1454-h.htm b/1454-h/1454-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb4f100 --- /dev/null +++ b/1454-h/1454-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2887 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1454 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + MAITRE CORNELIUS + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,—a fancy of the fashions of the day,—but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>MAITRE CORNELIUS</b> </a> + </h3> + <h3> + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE TORCONNIER + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE HIDDEN TREASURE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + MAITRE CORNELIUS + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + </h2> + <p> + In 1479, on All Saints’ day, the moment at which this history begins, + vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de + Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself to + the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during the + service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of which + were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. Nevertheless a + goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the saints on the + triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious offerings, the + merit and signification of which have never been sufficiently explained. + The lights on each altar and all the candelabra in the choir were burning. + Irregularly shed among a forest of columns and arcades which supported the + three naves of the cathedral, the gleam of these masses of candles barely + lighted the immense building, because the strong shadows of the columns, + projected among the galleries, produced fantastic forms which increased + the darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, the vaulted + ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at mid-day. + </p> + <p> + The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain figures + were so vaguely defined in the “chiaroscuro” that they seemed like + phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the scattered light, + attracted attention like the principal heads in a picture. Some statues + seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here and there eyes shone in + the flutings of the columns, the floor reflected looks, the marbles spoke, + the vaults re-echoed sighs, the edifice itself seemed endowed with life. + </p> + <p> + The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more + majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it poetical; + but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches unite + themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are felt in the + silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the clasping hands. The + concert of feelings in which all souls are rising heavenward produces an + inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The mystical exaltation of the + faithful reacts upon each of them; the feebler are no doubt borne upward + by the waves of this ocean of faith and love. Prayer, a power electrical, + draws our nature above itself. This involuntary union of all wills, + equally prostrate on the earth, equally risen into heaven, contains, no + doubt, the secret of the magic influences wielded by the chants of the + priests, the harmonies of the organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the + altar, the voices of the crowd and its silent contemplations. + Consequently, we need not be surprised to see in the middle-ages so many + tender passions begun in churches after long ecstasies,—passions + ending often in little sanctity, and for which women, as usual, were the + ones to do penance. Religious sentiment certainly had, in those days, an + affinity with love; it was either the motive or the end of it. Love was + still a religion, with its fine fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its + sublime devotions, which sympathized with those of Christianity. + </p> + <p> + The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance + between religion and love. In the first place society had no meeting-place + except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women were equals + nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and communicate. The + festivals of the Church were the theatre of former times; the soul of + woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than it is at a ball or the + opera in our day; and do not strong emotions invariably bring women back + to love? By dint of mingling with life and grasping it in all its acts and + interests, religion had made itself a sharer of all virtues, the + accomplice of all vices. Religion had passed into science, into politics, + into eloquence, into crimes, into the flesh of the sick man and the poor + man; it mounted thrones; it was everywhere. These semi-learned + observations will serve, perhaps, to vindicate the truth of this study, + certain details of which may frighten the perfected morals of our age, + which are, as everybody knows, a trifle straitlaced. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the organ, + mingling with the vibrations of the loud “A-men” as it issued from the + strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo through the + distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the beneficent words + of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, or fearing for his + purse in the tumult of the crowd when the worshippers dispersed, slipped + quietly away, at the risk of being called a bad Catholic. On which, a + nobleman, leaning against one of the enormous columns that surround the + choir, hastened to take possession of the seat abandoned by the worthy + Tourainean. Having done so, he quickly hid his face among the plumes of + his tall gray cap, kneeling upon the chair with an air of contrition that + even an inquisitor would have trusted. + </p> + <p> + Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to + recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a certain + gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,—a caustic, + jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their heads, and + gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + </p> + <p> + The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel + placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was customary + for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial families, and + even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the services, themselves + and their servants exclusively, in the various lateral chapels of the long + side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony is in practice to the present + day. A woman had her chapel as she now has her opera-box. The families who + hired these privileged places were required to decorate the altar of the + chapel thus conceded to them, and each made it their pride to adorn their + own sumptuously,—a vanity which the Church did not rebuke. In this + particular chapel a lady was kneeling close to the railing on a handsome + rug of red velvet with gold tassels, precisely opposite to the seat + vacated of the burgher. A silver-gilt lamp, hanging from the vaulted + ceiling of the chapel before an altar magnificently decorated, cast its + pale light upon a prayer-book held by the lady. The book trembled + violently in her hand when the young man approached her. + </p> + <p> + “A-men!” + </p> + <p> + To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully agitated, + though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly in a whisper:— + </p> + <p> + “You will ruin me.” + </p> + <p> + The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy + ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the + stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion + which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head + slightly that he might look into the chapel. + </p> + <p> + “He sleeps!” he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be heard + by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + </p> + <p> + The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum page + of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man had + designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the young + woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long breath and + raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward a picture of + the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the moistened glance, + revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she been wicked, she would + certainly have dissimulated. The personage who thus alarmed the lovers was + a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly bald, savage in expression, and + wearing a long and discolored white beard cut in a fan-tail. The cross of + Saint-Michel glittered on his breast; his coarse, strong hands, covered + with gray hairs, which had been clasped, had now dropped slightly apart in + the slumber to which he had imprudently yielded. The right hand seemed + about to fall upon his dagger, the hilt of which was in the form of an + iron shell. By the manner in which he had placed the weapon, this hilt was + directly under his hand; if, unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he + would wake, no doubt, instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic + lips, his pointed chin aggressively pushed forward, presented the + characteristic signs of a malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that + would surely enable him to divine all because he suspected everything. His + yellow forehead was wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to + believe nothing, to weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking their + gold, search out the meaning and the value of human actions. His bodily + frame, though deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both vigorous and + excitable; in short, you might have thought him a stunted ogre. + Consequently, an inevitable danger awaited the young lady whenever this + terrible seigneur woke. That jealous husband would surely not fail to see + the difference between a worthy old burgher who gave him no umbrage, and + the new-comer, young, slender, and elegant. + </p> + <p> + “Libera nos a malo,” she said, endeavoring to make the young man + comprehend her fears. + </p> + <p> + The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; + tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and + betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist no + longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, nurtured + by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately handsome; but + her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her interesting. She + had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair in the world. + Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a word, accepting a + look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. Love may never have been + more deeply felt than in those hearts, never more delightfully enjoyed, + but certainly no passion was ever more perilous. It was easy to divine + that to these two beings air, sound, foot-falls, etc., things indifferent + to other men, presented hidden qualities, peculiar properties which they + distinguished. Perhaps their love made them find faithful interpreters in + the icy hands of the old priest to whom they confessed their sins, and + from whom they received the Host at the holy table. Love profound! love + gashed into the soul like a scar upon the body which we carry through + life! When these two young people looked at each other, the woman seemed + to say to her lover, “Let us love each other and die!” To which the young + knight answered, “Let us love each other and not die.” In reply, she + showed him a sign her old duenna and two pages. The duenna slept; the + pages were young and seemingly careless of what might happen, either of + good or evil, to their masters. + </p> + <p> + “Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be managed.” + </p> + <p> + The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when the + hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. Feeling the + cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves instantly on his + wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of genius, he awoke with + his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though he had not slept at all. + The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, with one eye on his + mistress, had watched the husband with the other, and he now rose quickly, + effacing himself behind a column at the moment when the hand of the old + man fell; after which he disappeared, swiftly as a bird. The lady lowered + her eyes to her book and tried to seem calm; but she could not prevent her + face from blushing and her heart from beating with unnatural violence. The + old lord saw the unusual crimson on the cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids + of his wife. He looked about him cautiously, but seeing no one to + distrust, he said to his wife:— + </p> + <p> + “What are you thinking of, my dear?” + </p> + <p> + “The smell of the incense turns me sick,” she replied. + </p> + <p> + “It is particularly bad to-day?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to believe in + this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he resolved to watch his + treasure more carefully than before. + </p> + <p> + The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the “Soecula + soeculorum,” the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the church. + Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the general hurry + was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the duenna and the + youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he gave his arm to his + wife and told the other page to follow them. + </p> + <p> + As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side of + the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream of persons + detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great portals, and + poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his party. The mass + was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and he and his wife + were therefore pushed onward to the door by the pressure of the multitude + behind them. The husband tried to pass out first, dragging the lady by the + arm, but at that instant he was pulled vigorously into the street, and his + wife was torn from him by a stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once + that he had fallen into a trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting + himself for having slept, he collected his whole strength, seized his wife + once more by the sleeve of her gown, and strove with his other hand to + cling to the gate of the church; but the ardor of love carried the day + against jealous fury. The young man took his mistress round the waist, and + carried her off so rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the + brocaded stuff of silk and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve alone + remained in the hand of the old man. A roar like that of a lion rose + louder than the shouts of the multitude, and a terrible voice howled out + the words:— + </p> + <p> + “To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! + help!” + </p> + <p> + And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted to draw + his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself surrounded + and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would be dangerous to + wound. Several among them, especially those of the highest rank, answered + him with jests as they dragged him along the cloisters. + </p> + <p> + With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into an + open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden bench. By + the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the chapel was + dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in silence, clasping + hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The countess had not the cruel + courage to reproach the young man for the boldness to which they owed this + perilous and only instant of happiness. + </p> + <p> + “Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?” said the young man, + eagerly. “Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do thirty + leagues at a stretch.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” she cried, softly, “in what corner of the world could you hide a + daughter of King Louis XI.?” + </p> + <p> + “True,” replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not + foreseen. + </p> + <p> + “Why did you tear me from my husband?” she asked in a sort of terror. + </p> + <p> + “Alas!” said her lover, “I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel in + being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,—two + or three plans,—and now that I see you all seems accomplished.” + </p> + <p> + “But I am lost!” said the countess. + </p> + <p> + “We are saved!” the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his love. + “Listen to me carefully!” + </p> + <p> + “This will cost me my life!” she said, letting the tears that rolled in + her eyes flow down her cheeks. “The count will kill me,—to-night, + perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter has + endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he called me + ‘Marie-full-of-grace,’ because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew the man to whom + he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not dared complain, out of + pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach the king? My confessor + himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why I have consented to this + guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,—some one to tell the truth to + the king. Can I rely on—Oh!” she cried, turning pale and + interrupting herself, “here comes the page!” + </p> + <p> + The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + </p> + <p> + “Fear nothing,” said the young seigneur, “he is won! You can safely trust + him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for you he will + warn us of his coming. In the confessional,” he added, in a low voice, “is + a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he drew you for safety + out of the crowd, and placed you under his own protection in this chapel. + Therefore, everything is arranged to deceive him.” + </p> + <p> + At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression of + sadness settled down on her face. + </p> + <p> + “No one can deceive him,” she said. “To-night he will know all. Save me + from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him—” she + hesitated; then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to confess + the secrets of her marriage, she added: “Yes, tell him that to master me + the count bleeds me in both arms—to exhaust me. Tell him that my + husband drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a prisoner; + that—” + </p> + <p> + Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. In + her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken words, + to kiss her hands. + </p> + <p> + “Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is + grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My + dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let + yourself say but two words, or we are lost!” + </p> + <p> + “What will become of us?” she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall a + picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, she + cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!” + </p> + <p> + “To-night,” said the young man, “I shall be with you in your room.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” she asked naively. + </p> + <p> + They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid of + love. + </p> + <p> + “This evening,” he replied, “I shall offer myself as apprentice to Maitre + Cornelius, the king’s silversmith. I have obtained a letter of + recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is next to + yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find my way to + your apartment by the help of a silken ladder.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she said, petrified with horror, “if you love me don’t go to Maitre + Cornelius.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his youth, + “you do indeed love me!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said; “are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I confide + to you my honor. Besides,” she added, looking at him with dignity, “I am + so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But what is the good of + all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you should enter that house of + Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all his apprentices—” + </p> + <p> + “Have been hanged,” said the young man, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, don’t go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery.” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you,” he said, with a look + that made her drop her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “But my husband?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Here is something to put him to sleep,” replied her lover, drawing from + his belt a little vial. + </p> + <p> + “Not for always?” said the countess, trembling. + </p> + <p> + For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + </p> + <p> + “I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so old,” + he said. “God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other way.” + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me,” said the countess, blushing. “I am cruelly punished for my + sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared you + might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never yet been + able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would be repeated to + him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you,” she continued, distressed + by his silence, “I deserve your blame.” + </p> + <p> + And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + </p> + <p> + “Do not come,” she said, “my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to wait + for the help of Heaven—that will I do!” + </p> + <p> + She tried to leave the chapel. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” cried the young man, “order me to do so and I will kill him. You + will see me to-night.” + </p> + <p> + “I was wise to destroy that drug,” she said in a voice that was faint with + the pleasure of finding herself so loved. “The fear of awakening my + husband will save us from ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + “I pledge you my life,” said the young man, pressing her hand. + </p> + <p> + “If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then be + united,” she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful hopes. + </p> + <p> + “Monseigneur comes!” cried the page, rushing in. + </p> + <p> + Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had gained + with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, snatched a + kiss, which was not refused. + </p> + <p> + “To-night!” he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + </p> + <p> + Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding from + column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the nave. An + old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the side of the + countess and closed the iron railing before which the page was marching + gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + </p> + <p> + A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by + several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a + naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and to + rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + </p> + <p> + “Monseigneur, madame is there,” said the page, going forward to meet him. + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the + alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At + that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give vent + to his rage. + </p> + <p> + “What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?” asked the priest. + </p> + <p> + “Father, that is my husband,” said the countess. + </p> + <p> + The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of the + chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into the + confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be listening + attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said his wife, “you owe many thanks to this venerable canon, + who gave me a refuge here.” + </p> + <p> + The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, who + had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he answered + curtly: + </p> + <p> + “Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you.” + </p> + <p> + He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her + curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church + without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had + something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and + preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took his way + through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the cathedral + from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by the Chancellor + Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification given by Charles + VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his glorious labors. + </p> + <p> + The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, called + the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of servants had + entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a deep silence fell + on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs had their houses, for + this new quarter of the town was near to Plessis, the usual residence of + the king, to whom the courtiers, if sent for, could go in a moment. The + last house in this street was also the last in the town. It belonged to + Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis + XI. gave his utmost confidence in those financial transactions which his + crafty policy induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom. + </p> + <p> + Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre + Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that the + same architect had built them both and destined them for the use of + tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, and + both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their corners were + upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities remark in towns + where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet prevailed. The bays, which + had little depth, gave a great power of resistance to the iron shutters of + the windows and doors. The riots and the civil wars so frequent in those + tumultuous times were ample justification for these precautions. + </p> + <p> + As six o’clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey + Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the + hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made in + the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. Casting a + glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to be, he + continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the young man + had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout the town in + honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks of light, the + chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted meats pervaded the + town. After the conclusion of the church services, the inhabitants were + regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction which fancy can picture + better than words can paint. But at this particular spot a deep silence + reigned, because in these two houses lived two passions which never + rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the silent country. Beneath the shadow of + the steeples of Saint-Martin, these two mute dwellings, separated from the + others in the same street and standing at the crooked end of it, seemed + afflicted with leprosy. The building opposite to them, the home of the + criminals of the State, was also under a ban. A young man would be readily + impressed by this sudden contrast. About to fling himself into an + enterprise that was horribly hazardous, it is no wonder that the daring + young seigneur stopped short before the house of the silversmith, and + called to mind the many tales furnished by the life of Maitre Cornelius,—tales + which caused such singular horror to the countess. At this period a man of + war, and even a lover, trembled at the mere word “magic.” Few indeed were + the minds and the imaginations which disbelieved in occult facts and tales + of the marvellous. The lover of the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, one of the + daughters whom Louis XI. had in Dauphine by Madame de Sassenage, however + bold he might be in other respects, was likely to think twice before he + finally entered the house of a so-called sorcerer. + </p> + <p> + The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the security + which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, the terror + of the countess, and the hesitation that now took possession of the lover. + But, in order to make the readers of this nineteenth century understand + how such commonplace events could be turned into anything supernatural, + and to make them share the alarms of that olden time, it is necessary to + interrupt the course of this narrative and cast a rapid glance on the + preceding life and adventures of Maitre Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE TORCONNIER + </h2> + <p> + Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having drawn + upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found refuge and + protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious of the + advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the principal + commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he naturalized, + ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which was rarely done by + Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much as the Fleming pleased + the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; equally politic, equally + learned; superior, both of them, to their epoch; understanding each other + marvellously; they discarded and resumed with equal facility, the one his + conscience, the other his religion; they loved the same Virgin, one by + conviction, the other by policy; in short, if we may believe the jealous + tales of Olivier de Daim and Tristan, the king went to the house of the + Fleming for those diversions with which King Louis XI. diverted himself. + History has taken care to transmit to our knowledge the licentious tastes + of a monarch who was not averse to debauchery. The old Fleming found, no + doubt, both pleasure and profit in lending himself to the capricious + pleasures of his royal client. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those + years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made him + the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had spent + considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with him in + safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the locksmiths of + the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing those locksmiths to + his house in a way to compel their silence, were long the subject of + countless tales which enlivened the evening gatherings of the city. These + singular artifices on the part of the old man made every one suppose him + the possessor of Oriental riches. Consequently the <i>narrators</i> of + that region—the home of the tale in France—built rooms full of + gold and precious tones in the Fleming’s house, not omitting to attribute + all this fabulous wealth to compacts with Magic. + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, an + old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a gentle, + pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and courier. + During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery of + considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry showed + that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. The old + miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The young man + was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the “question” protesting + his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to escape torture; but when + the judge required them to say where the stolen property could be found, + they kept silence, were again put to the torture, judged, condemned, and + hanged. On their way to the scaffold they declared themselves innocent, + according to the custom of all persons about to be executed. + </p> + <p> + The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the criminals + were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate soon evaporated. + In those days wars and seditions furnished endless excitements, and the + drama of each day eclipsed that of the night before. More grieved by the + loss he had met with than by the death of his three servants, Maitre + Cornelius lived alone in his house with the old Flemish woman, his sister. + He obtained permission from the king to use state couriers for his private + affairs, sold his mules to a muleteer of the neighborhood, and lived from + that moment in the deepest solitude, seeing no one but the king, doing his + business by means of Jews, who, shrewd calculators, served him well in + order to gain his all-powerful protection. + </p> + <p> + Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old + “torconnier” a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. called + Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under the reign + of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a man who pressed + others by violent means. The epithet, “tortionnaire,” which remains to + this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old word torconnier, which + we often find spelt “tortionneur.” The poor young orphan devoted himself + carefully to the affairs of the old Fleming, pleased him much, and was + soon high in his good graces. During a winter’s night, certain diamonds + deposited with Maitre Cornelius by the King of England as security for a + sum of a hundred thousand crowns were stolen, and suspicion, of course, + fell on the orphan. Louis XI. was all the more severe because he had + answered for the youth’s fidelity. After a very brief and summary + examination by the grand provost, the unfortunate secretary was hanged. + After that no one dared for a long time to learn the arts of banking and + exchange from Maitre Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,—men + of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,—took service with the + silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young men + into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in which + they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had secret + communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than ever + suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before Louis + XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial was promptly + had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed Tristan l’Hermite + secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, the young Touraineans + were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an executioner. The two + families thus thrown into mourning were much respected; their complaints + obtained a hearing, and little by little it came to be believed that all + the victims whom the king’s silversmith had sent to the scaffold were + innocent. Some persons declared that the cruel miser imitated the king, + and sought to put terror and gibbets between himself and his fellow-men; + others said that he had never been robbed at all,—that these + melancholy executions were the result of cool calculations, and that their + real object was to relieve him of all fear for his treasure. + </p> + <p> + The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The + Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the “tortionnaire,” and + named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to the town + bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned them against + doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius was that of + persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired with instinctive + terror; others he impressed with the deep respect that most men feel for + limitless power and money, while to a few he certainly possessed the + attraction of mystery. His way of life, his countenance, and the favor of + the king, justified all the tales of which he had now become the subject. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his + persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king caused + his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish guard. Such + royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old miser had + bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the torconnier went out + but little; but the lords of the court paid him frequent visits. He lent + them money rather liberally, though capricious in his manner of doing so. + On certain days he refused to give them a penny; the next day he would + offer them large sums,—always at high interest and on good security. + A good Catholic, he went regularly to the services, always attending the + earliest mass at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased there, as + elsewhere, a chapel in perpetuity, he was separated even in church from + other Christians. A popular proverb of that day, long remembered in Tours, + was the saying: “You passed in front of the Fleming; ill-luck will happen + to you.” Passing in front of the Fleming explained all sudden pains and + evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of fortune among the Touraineans. + Even at court most persons attributed to Cornelius that fatal influence + which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic superstition has called the “evil + eye.” Without the terrible power of Louis XI., which was stretched like a + mantle over that house, the populace, on the slightest opportunity, would + have demolished La Malemaison, that “evil house” in the rue du Murier. And + yet Cornelius had been the first to plant mulberries in Tours, and the + Touraineans at that time regarded him as their good genius. Who shall + reckon on popular favor! + </p> + <p> + A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of France + were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he was gloomy + and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some inexplicable power + brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du Murier. Like a snail, + whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, he admitted to the king + that he was never at ease except under the bolts and behind the + vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet he knew very well that + whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the most dangerous spot on + earth for him. + </p> + <p> + “The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the + torconnier,” said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the festival + of All-Saints. “He says he has been robbed again, but he can’t hang + anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond came and asked + me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies he wanted to sell + me. ‘Pasques-Dieu! I don’t steal what I can take,’ I said to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Was he frightened?” asked the barber. + </p> + <p> + “Misers are afraid of only one thing,” replied the king. “My crony the + torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for good + reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done anything but + what is just and necessary.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet that old brigand overcharges you,” said the barber. + </p> + <p> + “You wish he did, don’t you?” replied the king, with the malicious look at + his barber. + </p> + <p> + “Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you and + the devil!” + </p> + <p> + “There, there!” said the king, “don’t put bad ideas into my head. My crony + is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have made—perhaps + because he owes me nothing.” + </p> + <p> + For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with his + aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood + declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the house, + waiting for the hour of the witches’ sabbath. This fact seemed the more + extraordinary because it was known to be the miser’s custom to lock up his + sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + </p> + <p> + As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of + being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of the + king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, but, + like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it were, of + that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, and age + intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, though she was + perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother whom she actually + surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily existence had something + mysterious and problematical about it. The old woman rarely took bread + from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the market, that the least + credulous of the townspeople ended by attributing to these strange beings + the knowledge of some secret for the maintenance of life. Those who + dabbled in alchemy declared that Maitre Cornelius had the power of making + gold. Men of science averred that he had found the Universal Panacea. + According to many of the country-people to whom the townsfolk talked of + him, Cornelius was a chimerical being, and many of them came into the town + to look at his house out of mere curiosity. + </p> + <p> + The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about him, + first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and then at the + evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their angles, and tinting + with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and reliefs of the carvings. + The caprices of this white light gave a sinister expression to both + edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself encouraged the superstitions that + hung about the miser’s dwelling. The young man called to mind the many + traditions which made Cornelius a personage both curious and formidable. + Though quite decided through the violence of his love to enter that house, + and stay there long enough to accomplish his design, he hesitated to take + the final step, all the while aware that he should certainly take it. But + where is the man who, in a crisis of his life, does not willingly listen + to presentiments as he hangs above the precipice? A lover worthy of being + loved, the young man feared to die before he had been received for love’s + sake by the countess. + </p> + <p> + This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not feel + the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, and chilled + his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his name, as already + he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. In case of mishap, he + could not claim the privileges of his rank nor the protection of his + friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. + If her husband suspected the nocturnal visit of a lover, he was capable of + roasting her alive in an iron cage, or of killing her by degrees in the + dungeons of a fortified castle. Looking down at the shabby clothing in + which he had disguised himself, the young nobleman felt ashamed. His black + leather belt, his stout shoes, his ribbed socks, his linsey-woolsey + breeches, and his gray woollen doublet made him look like the clerk of + some poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of the fifteenth century it was + like death itself to play the part of a beggarly burgher, and renounce the + privileges of his rank. But—to climb the roof of the house where his + mistress wept; to descend the chimney, or creep along from gutter to + gutter to the window of her room; to risk his life to kneel beside her on + a silken cushion before a glowing fire, during the sleep of a dangerous + husband, whose snores would double their joy; to defy both heaven and + earth in snatching the boldest of all kisses; to say no word that would + not lead to death or at least to sanguinary combat if overheard,—all + these voluptuous images and romantic dangers decided the young man. + However slight might be the guerdon of his enterprise, could he only kiss + once more the hand of his lady, he still resolved to venture all, impelled + by the chivalrous and passionate spirit of those days. He never supposed + for a moment that the countess would refuse him the soft happiness of love + in the midst of such mortal danger. The adventure was too perilous, too + impossible not to be attempted and carried out. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,—a custom + fallen elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, + where venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were not + put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across the + streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated burghers, + attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing lanterns, + echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, seemed to be + asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except through the roofs. In + those days the roofs of houses were much frequented after dark. The + streets were so narrow in the provincial towns, and even in Paris, that + robbers could jump from the roofs on one side to those on the other. This + perilous occupation was long the amusement of King Charles IX. in his + youth, if we may believe the memoirs of his day. + </p> + <p> + Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young + nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, + when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, + which the writers of those days would have called “cornue,”—perhaps + with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his sight, + and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at the spectacle + before him. On each side of the door was a face framed in a species of + loophole. At first he took these two faces for grotesque masks carved in + stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, motionless, discolored were + they; but the cold air and the moonlight presently enabled him to + distinguish the faint white mist which living breath sent from two + purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, beneath the shadow of the + eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting clear fire, like those of a + wolf crouching in the brushwood as it hears the baying of the hounds. The + uneasy gleam of those eyes was turned on him so fixedly that, after + receiving it for fully a minute, during which he examined the singular + sight, he felt like a bird at which a setter points; a feverish tumult + rose in his soul, but he quickly repressed it. The two faces, strained and + suspicious, were doubtless those of Cornelius and his sister. + </p> + <p> + The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, and + whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his pocket + and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight to the + door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the house as if + it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept beneath the threshold, + and an eye appeared at a small and very strong iron grating. + </p> + <p> + “Who is there?” + </p> + <p> + “A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you want?” + </p> + <p> + “To enter.” + </p> + <p> + “Your name?” + </p> + <p> + “Philippe Goulenoire.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you brought credentials?” + </p> + <p> + “Here they are.” + </p> + <p> + “Pass them through the box.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is it?” + </p> + <p> + “To your left.” + </p> + <p> + Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box above + which was a loophole. + </p> + <p> + “The devil!” thought he, “plainly the king comes here, as they say he + does; he couldn’t take more precautions at Plessis.” + </p> + <p> + He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that + lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, “Close the traps + of the door.” + </p> + <p> + A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts run, + the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, opened to the + slightest distance through which a man could pass. At the risk of tearing + off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather than walked into La + Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet face, the eyebrows + projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose and chin so near + together that a nut could scarcely pass between them,—a pallid, + haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently of only bones and + nerves,—guided the “soi-disant” foreigner silently into a lower + room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + </p> + <p> + “Sit there,” she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool placed + at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no fire. + </p> + <p> + On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with twisted + legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little bread-sops, + hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools placed beside the + table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed that the miserly + pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the door and pushed two + iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, the loopholes through + which they had been gazing into the street; then he returned to his seat. + Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the brother and sister dipping + their sops into the egg in turn, and with the utmost gravity and the same + precision with which soldiers dip their spoons in regular rotation into + the mess-pot. This performance was done in silence. But as he ate, + Cornelius examined the false apprentice with as much care and scrutiny as + if he were weighing an old coin. + </p> + <p> + Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, was + tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated by all + amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even furtively, at the + walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius detected him, he would + not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in his house. He contented + himself, therefore, by looking first at the egg and then at the old woman, + occasionally contemplating his future master. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI.‘s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired the + same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a sort of + intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his eyes; but + by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, penetrating, powerful + glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, and to whom the + phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has become familiar. His + thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air of indescribable + craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague resemblance to the + muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting forehead, with many lines, + showed great and splendid qualities and a nobility of soul, the springs of + which had been lowered by experience until the cruel teachings of life had + driven it back into the farthest recesses of this most singular human + being. He was certainly not an ordinary miser; and his passion covered, no + doubt, extreme enjoyments and secret conceptions. + </p> + <p> + “What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?” he said abruptly to his + future apprentice. + </p> + <p> + “Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent.” + </p> + <p> + “What is the freight on the Scheldt?” + </p> + <p> + “Three sous parisis.” + </p> + <p> + “Any news at Ghent?” + </p> + <p> + “The brother of Lieven d’Herde is ruined.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” + </p> + <p> + After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee with + the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black velvet, open + in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous material being + defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent costume, formerly worn + by him as president of the tribunal of the Parchons, functions which had + won him the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + </p> + <p> + Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further + questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from a + Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to his good + memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the manners and + habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the first flush of + his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to perceive the + difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the terrible Fleming + reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, and remembered how + the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders of Maitre + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “Have you supped?” asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, “You + are not to sup.” + </p> + <p> + The old maid trembled in spite of her brother’s tone; she looked at the + new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to + fill, and said with a specious smile:— + </p> + <p> + “You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as + the devil’s tail.” + </p> + <p> + “I have supped,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Well then,” replied the miser, “you can come back and see me to-morrow. I + have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to sleep + upon the matter.” + </p> + <p> + “Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don’t know a soul in + this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in + prison. However,” he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing in + his words, “if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go.” + </p> + <p> + The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + </p> + <p> + “Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here.” + </p> + <p> + “But—” said his sister, alarmed. + </p> + <p> + “Silence,” replied Cornelius. “In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he will + answer for this young man. You know,” he whispered in his sister’s ear, + “we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That’s a + hostage, hey!” + </p> + <p> + “And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like a + thief than a Fleming.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + </p> + <p> + Both misers listened. A moment after the “Hush!” uttered by Cornelius, a + noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the + other side of the moat of the town. + </p> + <p> + “It is the Plessis guard on their rounds,” said the sister. + </p> + <p> + “Give me the key of the apprentice’s room,” said Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?” cried Cornelius, in a + meaning tone of voice. “At your age can’t you see in the dark? It isn’t + difficult to find a key.” + </p> + <p> + The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left the + room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the door, + Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance which he + hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the chair-strip, + and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped with black + arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a match-lock pistol + with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible weapon lay close to + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “How do you expect to earn your living with me?” said the latter. + </p> + <p> + “I have but little money,” replied Philippe, “but I know good tricks in + business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, that will + satisfy me.” + </p> + <p> + “A sou! a sou!” echoed the miser; “why, that’s a good deal!” + </p> + <p> + At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” said Cornelius to Philippe. + </p> + <p> + The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone + staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside the + hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the young man + paused. + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” said Cornelius. “The devil! this nook is the place where the + king takes his ease.” + </p> + <p> + The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under the + pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a little + room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The tower stood + in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like the courtyards + of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the farther end, through + an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden in which nothing grew but + the mulberries which Cornelius had introduced. The young nobleman took + note of all this through the loopholes on the spiral staircase, the moon + casting, fortunately, a brilliant light. A cot, a stool, a mismatched + pitcher and basin formed the entire furniture of the room. The light could + enter only through square openings, placed at intervals in the outside + wall of the tower, according, no doubt, to the exterior ornamentation. + </p> + <p> + “Here is your lodging,” said Cornelius; “it is plain and solid and + contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this room + as <i>the others</i> did.” + </p> + <p> + After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, Cornelius + double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the staircase, + leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell-founder when on + opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without light, seated on a + stool, in a little garret from which so many of his predecessors had gone + to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a wild beast caught in a trap. + He jumped upon the stool and raised himself to his full height in order to + reach one of the little openings through which a faint light shone. Thence + he saw the Loire, the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, the gloomy marvels of + Plessis, where lights were gleaming in the deep recesses of a few windows. + Far in the distance lay the beautiful meadows of Touraine and the silvery + stream of her river. Every point of this lovely nature had, at that + moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the waters, the roofs of the + houses shone like diamonds in the trembling light of the moon. The soul of + the young seigneur could not repress a sad and tender emotion. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose it is my last farewell!” he said to himself. + </p> + <p> + He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure + offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, nevertheless, + retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined each difficulty. To + him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural being seen through the + incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he fancied came from the hotel + de Poitiers, restored him to himself and to a sense of his true situation. + Throwing himself on his pallet to reflect on his course, he heard a slight + movement which echoed faintly from the spiral staircase. He listened + attentively, and the whispered words, “He has gone to bed,” said by the + old woman, reached his ear. By an accident unknown probably to the + architect, the slightest noise on the staircase sounded in the room of the + apprentices, so that Philippe did not lose a single movement of the miser + and his sister who were watching him. He undressed, lay down, pretended to + sleep, and employed the time during which the pair remained on the + staircase, in seeking means to get from his prison to the hotel de + Poitiers. + </p> + <p> + About ten o’clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new + inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied + carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could recognize + the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, occupy the whole + second floor. Like all the houses of that period, this floor was next + below the roof, from which its windows projected, adorned with spandrel + tops that were richly sculptured. The roof itself was edged with a sort of + balustrade, concealing the gutters for the rain water which gargoyles in + the form of crocodile’s heads discharged into the street. The young + seigneur, after studying this topography as carefully as a cat, believed + he could make his way from the tower to the roof, and thence to Madame de + Vallier’s by the gutters and the help of a gargoyle. But he did not count + on the narrowness of the loopholes of the tower; it was impossible to pass + through them. He then resolved to get out upon the roof of the house + through the window of the staircase on the second floor. To accomplish + this daring project he must leave his room, and Cornelius had carried off + the key. + </p> + <p> + By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed under + his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the “coup de + grace” in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the victor to + despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade sharpened like + a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like a saw, but toothed + in the reverse direction from that by which it would enter the body. The + young man determined to use this latter blade to saw through the wood + around the lock. Happily for him the staple of the lock was put on to the + outside of the door by four stout screws. By the help of his dagger he + managed, not without great difficulty, to unscrew and remove it + altogether, carefully laying it aside and the four screws with it. By + midnight he was free, and he went down the stairs without his shoes to + reconnoitre the localities. + </p> + <p> + He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down a + corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a window + opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of the hotel + de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. Nothing could + express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly made to the + Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the celebrated parish + church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining the tall broad + chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his steps to fetch his + dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light on the staircase and + saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, carrying a lamp, his eyes + open to their fullest extent and fixed upon the corridor, at the entrance + of which he stood like a spectre. + </p> + <p> + “If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me,” thought + the young man. + </p> + <p> + The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. In + this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence of + mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the angle of + it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp in advance + of him, came into line with the current of air which the young man could + send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius muttered vague + words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and retraced his steps. The + young man then rushed to his room, caught up his dagger and returned to + the blessed window, opened it softly and jumped upon the roof. + </p> + <p> + Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. Perhaps + the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the enterprise + caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. He leaned + against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to himself:— + </p> + <p> + “By which chimney can I get to her?” + </p> + <p> + He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all and + felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made up his + mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger securely in a + joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to it, threw the ladder + down the chimney and risked himself upon it, trusting to his good blade, + and to the chance of not having mistaken his mistress’s room. He knew not + whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or awake, but one thing he was resolved + upon, he would hold the countess in his arms if it cost the life of two + men. + </p> + <p> + Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently + still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. Pale + with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the light of + the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from her. We may + well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in their hearts. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + </h2> + <p> + The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his + chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + </p> + <p> + “Good luck to you, crony,” he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty way. + </p> + <p> + “Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a + moment’s talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies and + all the jewels of the Duke of—” + </p> + <p> + “Let us hear about that,” said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard of + Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, Olivier de + Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. “Tell me about it. Another + man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!” + </p> + <p> + The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came with + slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group paused under a + tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers made a circle about + him. + </p> + <p> + “Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me—” + began Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!” exclaimed Louis, wagging his + head. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes!” replied the silversmith, bitterly. “But methinks he’d have + snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me by + Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in my + hands. I will wager the Jew’s letter and seal were forged! In short, sire, + I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you admired so much. + They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the jewels of the Elector + of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! they’ll steal your kingdom + if you don’t take care. As soon as I missed the jewels I went up to the + room of that apprentice, who is, assuredly, a past-master in thieving. + This time we don’t lack proof. He had forced the lock of his door. But + when he got back to his room, the moon was down and he couldn’t find all + the screws. Happily, I felt one under my feet when I entered the room. He + was sound asleep, the beggar, tired out. Just fancy, gentlemen, he got + down into my strong-room by the chimney. To-morrow, or to-night, rather, + I’ll roast him alive. He had a silk ladder, and his clothes were covered + with marks of his clambering over the roof and down the chimney. He meant + to stay with me, and ruin me, night after night, the bold wretch! But + where are the jewels? The country-folks coming into town early saw him on + the roof. He must have had accomplices, who waited for him by that + embankment you have been making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of + fellows who come in boats; crack! they get off with everything, and leave + no traces! But we hold this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! ah! a + fine morsel he’ll be for the gallows. With a little bit of <i>questioning</i> + beforehand, we shall know all. Why, the glory of your reign is concerned + in it! there ought not to be robbers in the land under so great a king.” + </p> + <p> + The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy + meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his life. A + deep silence reigned. + </p> + <p> + “This is your business,” he said at length to Tristan; “take you hold of + it.” + </p> + <p> + He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. + Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in company + with the grand provost. + </p> + <p> + “Where are those thousand gold crowns?” he called to him. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for your + justice.” + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges of + the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of young + mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + </p> + <p> + Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly + asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the same + ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary dangers + with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had even + postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a great + blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking the + moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed lock; he + had no patience to look for them. With the “laisser-aller” of a tired man, + he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. He did, however, + make a sort of compact with himself to awake at daybreak, but the events + of the day and the agitations of the night did not allow him to keep faith + with himself. Happiness is forgetful. Cornelius no longer seemed + formidable to the young man when he threw himself on the pallet where so + many poor wretches had wakened to their doom; and this light-hearted + heedlessness proved his ruin. While the king’s silversmith rode back from + Plessis, accompanied by the grand provost and his redoubtable archers. The + false Goulenoire was being watched by the old sister, seated on the + corkscrew staircase oblivious of the cold, and knitting socks for + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that charming + night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. He saw + himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on her knees in + the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her persecutions and + the details of the count’s tyranny; he grew pitiful over the poor lady, + who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter of Louis XI. He + promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs to that terrible + father; everything, he assured her, should be settled as they wished, the + marriage broken off, the husband banished,—and all this within reach + of that husband’s sword, of which they might both be the victims if the + slightest noise awakened him. But in the young man’s dream the gleam of + the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the colors of the stuffs and the + tapestries were more vivid, more of love was in the air, more fire about + them, than there had been in the actual scene. The Marie of his sleep + resisted far less than the living Marie those adoring looks, those tender + entreaties, those adroit silences, those voluptuous solicitations, those + false generosities, which render the first moments of a passion so + completely ardent, and shed into the soul a fresh delirium at each new + step in love. + </p> + <p> + Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de Saint-Vallier + granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the tender passion. She + willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, her hands, her throat; + she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion and life of her lover; she + permitted him to die for her; she yielded to an intoxication which the + sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but farther than that she would + not go; and she made her deliverance the price of the highest rewards of + his love. In those days, in order to dissolve a marriage it was necessary + to go to Rome; to obtain the help of certain cardinals, and to appear + before the sovereign pontiff in person armed with the approval of the + king. Marie was firm in maintaining her liberty to love, that she might + sacrifice it to him later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient + power to establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make + that passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of + his highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many + sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to them + far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their love cost + blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great dangers. But + the Marie of his dream made small defence against the young seigneur’s + ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? Did the false + apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen in the hotel de + Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is difficult to decide; and + the honor of women demands that it be left, as it were, in litigation. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to forget + her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by an iron + hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:— + </p> + <p> + “Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!” + </p> + <p> + The young man saw the black face of Tristan l’Hermite above him, and + recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew + staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost + guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing either + hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang others, the + so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and rubbed his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Mort-Dieu!” he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. + “Now is the time to play our knives.” + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” cried Tristan, “that’s the speech of a noble. Methinks I see + Georges d’Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d’Estouteville thought + less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon his + unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!” + </p> + <p> + After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young + courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But the + myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such proceedings. When + Georges d’Estouteville reached the stairs they seized him dexterously, not + surprised by the vigorous thrust he made at them with his dagger, the + blade of which fortunately slipped on the corselet of a guard; then, + having disarmed him, they bound his hands, and threw him on the pallet + before their leader, who stood motionless and thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + Tristan looked silently at the prisoner’s hands, then he said to + Cornelius, pointing to them:— + </p> + <p> + “Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a + noble.” + </p> + <p> + “Say a thief!” cried the torconnier. “My good Tristan, noble or serf, he + has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your pretty + boots. He is, I don’t doubt it, the leader of that gang of devils, visible + and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, rob me, murder me! + They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this time we shall get back + the treasure, for the fellow has the face of the king of Egypt. I shall + recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I have lost; and our worthy king + shall have his share in the harvest.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!” said Georges, + smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!” cried the miser. + </p> + <p> + The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges + d’Estouteville’s clothes and the lock of the door. + </p> + <p> + “How did you get out those screws?” + </p> + <p> + Georges kept silence. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the holy + rack,” said Tristan. + </p> + <p> + “That’s what I call business!” cried Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “Take him off,” said the grand provost to the guards. + </p> + <p> + Georges d’Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign from + their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity of a + nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + </p> + <p> + An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the populace + kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From early morning + the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On all sides the + “apprentice,” said to be young and handsome, had awakened public sympathy, + and revived the hatred felt against Cornelius; so that there was not a + young man in the town, nor a young woman with a fresh face and pretty feet + to exhibit, who was not determined to see the victim. When Georges issued + from the house, led by one of the provost’s guard, who, after he had + mounted his horse, kept the strong leathern thong that bound the prisoner + tightly twisted round his arm, a horrible uproar arose. Whether the + populace merely wished to see this new victim, or whether it intended to + rescue him, certain it is that those behind pressed those in front upon + the little squad of cavalry posted around the Malemaison. At this moment, + Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed the door, and slammed the iron + shutters with the violence of panic terror. Tristan, who was not + accustomed to respect the populace of those days (inasmuch as they were + not yet the sovereign people), cared little for a probable riot. + </p> + <p> + “Push on! push on!” he said to his men. + </p> + <p> + At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards the + end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number knocked + down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed against the + sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser course of + retreating to their homes. + </p> + <p> + “Make room for the king’s justice!” cried Tristan. “What are you doing + here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your + dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your husband’s + stockings; get back to your needles.” + </p> + <p> + Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, they + made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague upon + them. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges + d’Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the hotel + de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the count. She + was mocking at <i>him</i>, poor devoted lover, who was going to his death + for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps of the + populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be twenty-three + years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a woman’s love, loving + ourselves with all the forces of our being, risking our life with delight + on the faith of a kiss, and then betrayed, to understand the fury of + hatred and despair which took possession of Georges d’Estouteville’s heart + at the sight of his laughing mistress, from whom he received a cold and + indifferent glance. No doubt she had been there some time; she was leaning + from the window with her arms on a cushion; she was at her ease, and her + old man seemed content. He, too, was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A few + tears escaped the eyes of the young man; but when Marie de Saint-Vallier + saw them she turned hastily away. Those tears were suddenly dried, + however, when Georges beheld the red and white plumes of the page who was + devoted to his interests. The count took no notice of this servitor, who + advanced to his mistress on tiptoe. After the page had said a few words in + her ear, Marie returned to the window. Escaping for a moment the perpetual + watchfulness of her tyrant, she cast one glance upon Georges that was + brilliant with the fires of love and hope, seeming to say:— + </p> + <p> + “I am watching over you.” + </p> + <p> + Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their meaning + more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, in which + terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation all took + part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to martyrdom and from + martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young seigneur, light-hearted + and content, walked gaily to his doom; thinking that the horrors of the + “question” were not sufficient payment for the delights of his love. + </p> + <p> + As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped him, + seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at full speed. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” asked the provost. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing that concerns you,” replied the officer, disdainfully. “The king + has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, whom he + invites to dinner.” + </p> + <p> + The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to Plessis, + when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white mule, he on + his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, in order to + enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving slowly. Georges was on + foot, between two guards on horseback, one of whom held him still by the + leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his wife were naturally in + advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling with the archers, the young + page questioned them, speaking sometimes to the prisoner, so that he + adroitly managed to say to him in a low voice:— + </p> + <p> + “I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to the + king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against you. + Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you.” + </p> + <p> + Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her laughter + was part of the heroism which women display in the great crises of life. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of “Quentin + Durward” to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, we + must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on low + land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by the + canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved daughter, + Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the city of Tours and + Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable protection to the + castle, but it offered a most precious road to commerce. On the side + towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, the park was defended by a + moat, the remains of which still show its enormous breadth and depth. At a + period when the power of artillery was still in embryo, the position of + Plessis, long since chosen by Louis XI. for his favorite retreat, might be + considered impregnable. The castle, built of brick and stone, had nothing + remarkable about it; but it was surrounded by noble trees, and from its + windows could be seen, through vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the + finest points of view in the world. No rival mansion rose near this + solitary castle, standing in the very centre of the little plain reserved + for the king and guarded by four streams of water. + </p> + <p> + If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and from + his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, the + opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille waters, + and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows that opened on + the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and the embankment by + which he had connected his favorite residence with the city of Tours. If + Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his castle the luxury of + architecture which Francois I. displayed afterwards at Chambord, the + dwelling of the kings of France would ever have remained in Touraine. It + is enough to see this splendid position and its magical effects to be + convinced of its superiority over the sites of all other royal residences. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more + than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of death in + the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; on the point + of increasing the territory of France by the possessions of the Dukes of + Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with Marguerite, heiress of + Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, commander of his troops in + Flanders); having established his authority everywhere, and now meditating + ameliorations in his kingdom of all kinds, he saw time slipping past him + rapidly with no further troubles than those of old age. Deceived by every + one, even by the minions about him, experience had intensified his natural + distrust. The desire to live became in him the egotism of a king who has + incarnated himself in his people; he wished to prolong his life in order + to carry out his vast designs. + </p> + <p> + All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions has + since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. had + thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects before the + law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his bold + endeavors. On All-Saints’ eve he had gathered together the learned + goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in France a + unity of weights and measures, as he had already established the unity of + power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over his empire, + joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the natural + idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our history has the + great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. Amazing assemblages of + contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a spirit unbelieving as to all + things here below, devoutly believing in the practices of religion; a man + struggling with two powers greater than his own—the present and the + future; the future in which he feared eternal punishment, a fear which led + him to make so many sacrifices to the Church; the present, namely his life + itself, for the saving of which he blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who + crushed down all about him, was himself crushed down by remorse, and by + disease in the midst of the great poem of defiant monarchy in which all + power was concentrated. It was once more the gigantic and ever magnificent + combat of Man in the highest manifestation of his forces tilting against + Nature. + </p> + <p> + While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days between + eleven o’clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short promenade, + sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in his chamber. + Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each other without a + word, standing in the recess of a window and watching their master, who + presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was heard were the steps of + the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de Montresor, and Jean Dufou, + Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and down the adjoining hall. These + two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the captain of the Scottish guard, who + was sleeping in his chair, according to his usual custom. The king himself + appeared to be dozing. His head had drooped upon his breast; his cap, + pulled forward on his forehead, hid his eyes. Thus seated in his high + chair, surmounted by the royal crown, he seemed crouched together like a + man who had fallen asleep in the midst of some deep meditation. + </p> + <p> + At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge of + Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + </p> + <p> + “Who is that?” said the king. + </p> + <p> + The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + </p> + <p> + “He is dreaming,” said Coyctier, in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu!” cried Louis XI., “do you think me mad? People are crossing + the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear sounds more + easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized,” he added + thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “What a man!” said de Daim. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the town. + He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:— + </p> + <p> + “Ha, ha! here’s my crony and his thief. And here comes my little Marie de + Saint-Vallier; I’d forgotten all about it. Olivier,” he said, addressing + the barber, “go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve some good + Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn’t forget the + lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I eat lampreys?” + he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + </p> + <p> + For all answer the physician began to examine his master’s face. The two + men were a picture in themselves. + </p> + <p> + History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, and + the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, decorated with + leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of Saint-Michel, are not + less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has represented the face of + that terrible monarch in his last years,—a sickly, hollow, yellow + and brown face, all the features of which expressed a sour craftiness, a + cold sarcasm. In that mask was the forehead of a great man, a brow + furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty with high thoughts; but in his cheeks + and on his lips there was something indescribably vulgar and common. + Looking at certain details of that countenance you would have thought him + a debauched husbandman, or a miserly peddler; and yet, above these vague + resemblances and the decrepitude of a dying old man, the king, the man of + power, rose supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, seemed at first sight + extinct; but a spark of courage and of anger lurked there, and at the + slightest touch it could burst into flames and cast fire about him. The + doctor was a stout burgher, with a florid face, dressed in black, + peremptory, greedy of gain, and self-important. These two personages were + framed, as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung with high-warped + tapestries of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of carved beams, was + blackened by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid with arabesques in + pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they were at that period when + the arts were beginning to produce their choicest masterpieces. + </p> + <p> + “Lampreys are not good for you,” replied the physician. + </p> + <p> + That title, recently substituted for the former term of “myrrh-master,” is + still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at this period given + to doctors everywhere. + </p> + <p> + “Then what may I eat?” asked the king, humbly. + </p> + <p> + “Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you may + die on All-Souls’ Day.” + </p> + <p> + “To-day!” cried the king in terror. + </p> + <p> + “Compose yourself, sire,” replied Coyctier. “I am here. Try not to fret + your mind; find some way to amuse yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said the king, “my daughter Marie used to succeed in that difficult + business.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, rapped + softly on the royal door. On receiving the king’s permission he entered + and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis XI. made a + sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who allowed her to pass + in first. + </p> + <p> + “Good-day, my children,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, “I want + to speak to you in secret.” + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and called + out in a hollow voice, “Hola, Dufou!” + </p> + <p> + Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered in + haste. + </p> + <p> + “Go to the maitre d’hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for + dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to dine + alone to-day. Do you know, madame,” continued the king, pretending to be + slightly angry, “that you neglect me? It is almost three years since I + have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty,” he added, sitting down and + holding out his arms to her. “How thin you have grown! Why have you let + her grow so thin?” said the king, roughly, addressing the Comte de + Poitiers. + </p> + <p> + The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she almost + pitied him. + </p> + <p> + “Happiness, sire!” he stammered. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! you love each other too much,—is that it?” said the king, + holding his daughter between his knees. “I did right to call you + Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want of + me?” he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. “After + sending me your—” + </p> + <p> + In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king’s lips and said in + his ear,— + </p> + <p> + “I always thought you cautious and penetrating.” + </p> + <p> + “Saint-Vallier,” said the king, laughing, “I think that Bridore has + something to say to you.” + </p> + <p> + The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well + known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, and + knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,—hey? Do I seem changed to + you?” + </p> + <p> + “Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather I + deceived you?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said, in a low voice, “I want to know truly what to expect.” + </p> + <p> + “In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let my + truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “What is your cause?” asked the king, frowning and passing a hand across + his forehead. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire,” she replied, “the young man you have had arrested for robbing + your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the grand + provost, is innocent of the robbery.” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know that?” asked the king. Marie lowered her head and + blushed. + </p> + <p> + “I need not ask if there is love in this business,” said the king, raising + his daughter’s head gently and stroking her chin. “If you don’t confess + every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell.” + </p> + <p> + “Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?” + </p> + <p> + “Where would be the pleasure?” cried the king, seeing only an amusement in + this affair. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! you sly little girl, haven’t you any confidence in me?” + </p> + <p> + “Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty.” + </p> + <p> + “So! he is a nobleman, is he?” cried the king. “Then he is not an + apprentice?” + </p> + <p> + “He is certainly innocent,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t see it so,” said the king, coldly. “I am the law and justice of + my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers.” + </p> + <p> + “Come, don’t put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of that + young man.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it yours already?” + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” she said, “I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at—” + </p> + <p> + “Then,” said Louis XI., interrupting her, “as I am not to know the truth, + I think Tristan had better clear it up.” + </p> + <p> + Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief stole + nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you everything, even + though you may punish me.” + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho! this is getting serious,” cried the king, shoving up his cap. + “Speak out, my daughter.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father’s ear, + “he was in my room all night.” + </p> + <p> + “He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!” + </p> + <p> + “I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a scoundrel. + That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of your archers.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, well!” cried the king; “you are hard to confess.” + </p> + <p> + With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried to + the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For the last + moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, shining + through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a listener’s + foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the door abruptly, + and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu!” he cried; “here’s an audacity that deserves the axe.” + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, “I would prefer an axe at my + throat to the ornament of marriage on my head.” + </p> + <p> + “You may have both,” said Louis XI. “None of you are safe from such + infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham,” continued + the king, addressing the captain of the guard, “you are asleep! Where is + Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached in this way? + Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better served than I am.” + </p> + <p> + After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to draw + the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more to stifle + the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north wind. + </p> + <p> + “So, my daughter,” he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays with a + mouse, “Georges d’Estouteville was your lover last night?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sire!” + </p> + <p> + “No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think my + daughter beautiful?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! that is not it,” she said. “He kissed my feet and hands with an ardor + that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me truly in + all honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such + nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just to + kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others.” + </p> + <p> + “But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose.” + </p> + <p> + Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of her + husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + </p> + <p> + “What purpose?” + </p> + <p> + The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange + confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the pardon + of her husband. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal blood!” + cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + </p> + <p> + At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king’s dinner. + Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with contracted + brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all his servitors in + waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de Saint-Vallier, thinking + of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. The deep silence which + reigned was presently broken by the steps of Tristan l’Hermite as he + mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost entered the hall, and, + advancing toward the king, said:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, the affair is settled.” + </p> + <p> + “What! is it all over?” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a + touch of the ‘question.’” + </p> + <p> + The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but looked + at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who muttered in a + low tone: “I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance of my wife.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” cried the king. “Some one is here who will wear out my + patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution,” he continued, + addressing the grand provost. “You will answer with your own body for that + of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, and I + reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty + provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats they + frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall be at his + house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de Saint-Vallier,” + said the king, looking fixedly at the count, “I know about you. All your + blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do you hear me? By our Lady of + Clery! you have committed crimes of lese-majesty. Did I give you such a + pretty wife to make her pale and weakly? Go back to your own house, and + make your preparations for a long journey.” + </p> + <p> + The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he added:— + </p> + <p> + “You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government of + Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take charge + of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth I shall + watch over her with greater care than I have done since I married her to + you.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father’s arm as if to + thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was laughing to + himself in his sleeve. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE HIDDEN TREASURE + </h2> + <p> + Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and he + was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. This + taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a passion for + the “incognito,” one of the greatest pleasures of princes,—a sort of + momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little real life into + their existence, made insipid by the lack of opposition. Louis XI., + however, played the incognito openly. On these occasions he was always the + good fellow, endeavoring to please the people of the middle classes, whom + he made his allies against feudality. For some time past he had found no + opportunity to “make himself populace” and espouse the domestic interests + of some man “engarrie” (an old word still used in Tours, meaning engaged) + in litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the anxieties of Maitre + Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of the Comtesse de + Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to his daughter:— + </p> + <p> + “Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now + amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve + hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!” he continued, looking at the + seigneurs who were serving him. “Notre Dame! with a sum like that what + absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank the + Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification ready-made + for this kingdom.” + </p> + <p> + When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the + grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel de + Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de + Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said the king, “I told you to start at once. Say farewell to + your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by an + escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they will be in + Venice before you get there.” + </p> + <p> + Louis then gave the order—not without adding certain secret + instructions—to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad + of men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in + haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made + deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin the + unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, in the + house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his quality of king, + he had enough penetration to discover the secret of the robberies. + Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his royal master + without uneasiness. + </p> + <p> + “Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?” he said to the king. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and his + sister. + </p> + <p> + “No, my old crony,” he said; “don’t worry yourself. They will sup at + Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good in + detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I shall do + so now.” + </p> + <p> + “Find him, sire, and make no wager.” + </p> + <p> + They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his + treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the casket + from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, then the + chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, easily + convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter supposition, + inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,—where, in truth, a fire + was seldom made,—and no sign that any one had passed down the flue; + and moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the roof which was + almost inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close investigation, + marked with that sagacity which distinguished the suspicious mind of Louis + XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, that no one had forced an + entrance into the strong-room of his silversmith. No marks of violence + were on the locks, nor on the iron coffers which contained the gold, + silver, and jewels deposited as securities by wealthy debtors. + </p> + <p> + “If the robber opened this box,” said the king, “why did he take nothing + out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason had he for + leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer robber!” + </p> + <p> + At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked at + each other for a moment. + </p> + <p> + “Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your + protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?” + </p> + <p> + “If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in + ignorance. That is one of my secrets.” + </p> + <p> + “Then the devil is in my house!” cried the miser, piteously. + </p> + <p> + In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his + silversmith’s cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was casting + on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and power which + seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, thinking he had in + some way offended his dangerous master. + </p> + <p> + “Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!” cried Louis XI. abruptly. + “If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow who did it. Make + that old hag you call your sister come here,” he added. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with his + hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis’s withered lips determined him. + Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + </p> + <p> + “Have you any flour?” demanded the king. + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter,” she answered. + </p> + <p> + “Well, go and fetch some,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “What do you want to do with our flour, sire?” she cried, not the least + impressed by his royal majesty. + </p> + <p> + “Old fool!” said Cornelius, “go and execute the orders of our gracious + master. Shall the king lack flour?” + </p> + <p> + “Our good flour!” she grumbled, as she went downstairs. “Ah! my flour!” + </p> + <p> + Then she returned, and said to the king:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?” + </p> + <p> + At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, from + time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to and from + market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of flour. The + housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom she cast the + rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt venom upon men. + </p> + <p> + “It costs six sous the ‘septeree,’” she said. + </p> + <p> + “What does that matter?” said the king. “Spread it on the floor; but be + careful to make an even layer of it—as if it had fallen like snow.” + </p> + <p> + The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as though + the end of the world had come. + </p> + <p> + “My flour, sire! on the ground! But—” + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the + intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents on + the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for the empty + bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she disappeared with a heavy + sigh. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till it + looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, followed + by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When they reached + the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, “Are there two keys to the + lock?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sire.” + </p> + <p> + The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced with + large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret lock, + the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him to + post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest secrecy, in + the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of the adjoining + houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and escort him back to + Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he himself would not sup + with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close his windows with the + utmost care, that no single ray of light should escape from the house, and + then he departed with much pomp for Plessis along the embankment; but + there he secretly left his escort, and returned by a door in the ramparts + to the house of the torconnier. All these precautions were so well taken + that the people of Tours really thought the king had returned to Plessis, + and would sup on the morrow with Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + Towards eight o’clock that evening, as the king was supping with his + physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much + jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in + danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, + even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was + occupied as usual. + </p> + <p> + “I hope,” said the king, laughing, “that my silversmith shall be robbed + to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, messieurs, no + one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my order, under pain + of grievous punishment.” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first to + leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong-room. + He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the marks of a + large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. Carefully + avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the door of the + treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of fracture or + defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; but as they grew + gradually fainter, they finally left not the slightest trace, and it was + impossible for him to discover where the robber had fled. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, crony!” called out the king, “you have been finely robbed this time.” + </p> + <p> + At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly + terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs and + corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, the king + chanced to observe the miser’s slippers and recognized the type of sole + that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a word, and + checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had been hanged for + the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once in the room the + king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot beside those already + existing, and easily convinced him that the robber of his treasure was no + other than himself. + </p> + <p> + “The pearl necklace is gone!” cried Cornelius. “There is sorcery in this. + I never left my room.” + </p> + <p> + “We’ll know all about it now,” said the king; the evident truthfulness of + his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and asked:— + </p> + <p> + “What did you see during the night?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sire!” said the lieutenant, “an amazing sight! Your silversmith crept + down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed to be a + shadow.” + </p> + <p> + “I!” exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and + stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + </p> + <p> + “Go away, all of you,” said the king, addressing the archers, “and tell + Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to leave their + rooms and come here to mine.—You have incurred the penalty of + death,” he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear him. “You have + ten murders on your conscience!” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, + remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming’s face, he added:— + </p> + <p> + “You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. You + can get out of the claws of <i>my</i> justice by payment of a good round + sum to my treasury, but if you don’t build at least one chapel in honor of + the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you throughout + eternity.” + </p> + <p> + “Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make + thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns,” replied Cornelius + mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. “Thirteen hundred and + seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!” + </p> + <p> + “He must have buried them in some hiding-place,” muttered the king, + beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. “That was the magnet that + invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure.” + </p> + <p> + Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre + Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the adventure. + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied the physician, “there is nothing supernatural in that. + Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is the + third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give yourself + the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see that old man + stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I noticed in the two + other cases I have already observed, a curious connection between the + actions of that nocturnal existence and the interests and occupations of + their daily life.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man.” + </p> + <p> + “I am your physician,” replied the other, insolently. + </p> + <p> + At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with him + when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap with a + hasty motion. + </p> + <p> + “At such times,” continued Coyctier, “persons attend to their business + while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued his + dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a day in + which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure.” + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!” cried the king. + </p> + <p> + “Where is it?” asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of nature, + heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while continuing himself + almost torpid with thought and the shock of this singular misfortune. + </p> + <p> + “Ha!” cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, + “somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when + asleep.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave us,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and + chuckled coldly. + </p> + <p> + “Messire Hoogworst,” he said, with a nod, “all treasures buried in France + belong to the king.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and + fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need.” + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you can + surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me.” + </p> + <p> + “No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my death. + But what scheme have you for finding it?” + </p> + <p> + “I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. You + might fear any one but me.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire!” cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king’s feet, “you are + the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; and I + will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing my utmost to + promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with Monseigneur. She will + bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of lands, which will round + out the glory of your crown.” + </p> + <p> + “There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me,” said the king, + with frowning brows, “or else you have already done so.” + </p> + <p> + “Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!” + </p> + <p> + “All that is talk,” returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. “You + need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You are + selling me your influence—Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you + the master, and am I your servant?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire,” said the old man, “I was waiting to surprise you agreeably + with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was awaiting + confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What has become of + that young man?” + </p> + <p> + “Enough!” said the king; “this is only one more blunder you have + committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my + knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this.” + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the lower + rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have put + thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, I, I am + the robber!” + </p> + <p> + Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat she + quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old maid + accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that she + trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She turned + pale by degrees, and her face,—the changes in which were difficult + to decipher among its wrinkles,—became distorted while her brother + explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and the + extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + </p> + <p> + “Louis XI. and I,” he said in conclusion, “have just been lying to each + other like two peddlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that if he + follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king alone can + watch my wanderings at night. I don’t feel sure that his conscience, near + as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred thousand crowns. We MUST be + beforehand with him; we must find the hidden treasure and send it to + Ghent, and you alone—” + </p> + <p> + Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the + sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of age. + When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly like a man + in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his sister, too + feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she was dead. Maitre + Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying out: + </p> + <p> + “You cannot die now. There is time enough later—Oh! it is all over. + The old hag never could do anything at the right time.” + </p> + <p> + He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble + feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, half + forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:— + </p> + <p> + “Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?—you who understood me so + well! Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With you, + my peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only known what + good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you would have + lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! thirteen hundred + thousand crowns! Won’t that wake you?—No, she is dead!” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued from + his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange + exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. + Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened + features of his old friend. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She precedes + me there below,” he said, pointing to the floor with a dreadful gesture. + </p> + <p> + “Enough!” cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + </p> + <p> + “I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang me, if + that’s your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is full of + gold. I give up all to you—” + </p> + <p> + “Come, come, crony,” replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the + sight of this strange suffering, “we shall find your treasure some fine + night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. I will + come back in the course of this week—” + </p> + <p> + “As you please, sire.” + </p> + <p> + At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of the + chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other with an + expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + </p> + <p> + “Adieu, my crony,” said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up his + cap. + </p> + <p> + “May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!” replied the + silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + </p> + <p> + After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between + them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man on + the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so well, + they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, that the + king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered the words, “As + you please, sire,” the repugnance that his visits would henceforth cause + to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a declaration of war in + the “Adieu, my crony,” of the king. + </p> + <p> + Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the conduct + they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch possessed the + secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter could, by his + connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions that any king of + France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of the house of + Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then coveting. The marriage + of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the people of Ghent and the + Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the influence of Cornelius could + powerfully support the negotiations now begun by Desquerdes, the general + to whom Louis XI. had given the command of the army encamped on the + frontiers of Belgium. These two master-foxes were, therefore, like two + duellists, whose arms are paralyzed by chance. + </p> + <p> + So, whether it were that from that day the king’s health failed and went + from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into France + Marguerite of Burgundy—who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, to + marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the castle—certain + it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the hidden treasure; he + levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the pair remained in the + cautious condition of an armed friendship. Happily for Cornelius a rumor + was spread about Tours that his sister was the actual robber, and that she + had been secretly put to death by Tristan. Otherwise, if the true history + had been known, the whole town would have risen as one man to destroy the + Malemaison before the king could have taken measures to protect it. + </p> + <p> + But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so far as + the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards Cornelius + Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith spent the first + days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless occupation. Like + carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and came, smelling for gold + in every corner of his house; he studied the cracks and crevices, he + sounded the walls, he besought the trees of the garden, the foundations of + the house, the roofs of the turrets, the earth and the heavens, to give + him back his treasure. Often he stood motionless for hours, casting his + eyes on all sides, plunging them into the void. Striving for the miracles + of ecstasy and the powers of sorcery, he tried to see his riches through + space and obstacles. He was constantly absorbed in one overwhelming + thought, consumed with a single desire that burned his entrails, gnawed + more cruelly still by the ever-increasing agony of the duel he was + fighting with himself since his passion for gold had turned to his own + injury,—a species of uncompleted suicide which kept him at once in + the miseries of life and in those of death. + </p> + <p> + Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident into + the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, like + Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. But + Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of neither the + one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his treasure,—a + novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. Sometimes, becoming + forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of his door wide open, and + then the passers in the street could see that already wizened man, planted + on his two legs in the midst of his untilled garden, absolutely + motionless, and casting on those who watched him a fixed gaze, the + insupportable light of which froze them with terror. If, by chance, he + walked through the streets of Tours, he seemed like a stranger in them; he + knew not where he was, nor whether the sun or the moon were shining. Often + he would ask his way of those who passed him, believing that he was still + in Ghent, and seeming to be in search of something lost. + </p> + <p> + The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea by + which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the fictitious + being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel claws + perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, Fear + arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his secret, the + secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier could post men to + watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown gulf into which he had + cast his riches,—those riches he had watered with the blood of so + many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, arose Remorse. + </p> + <p> + In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden + treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides which, + his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining powerful + anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful—alone with + night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that man, + instinctively perhaps, has best embodied—obedient thus to a moral + truth as yet devoid of actual proof. + </p> + <p> + At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and + commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the horrors + of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain thoughts more + agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his throat with a + razor. + </p> + <p> + This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then + restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was pillaged. A + tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine that a contractor + of public works, named Bohier, found the miser’s treasure and used it in + the construction of Chenonceaux, that marvellous chateau which, in spite + of the wealth of several kings and the taste of Diane de Poitiers and + Catherine de’ Medici for building, remains unfinished to the present day. + </p> + <p> + Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as we + know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the + departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career was + famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. He was + saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, the illegitimate + great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the illegitimate wife, the + beloved mistress of Henri II.—for bastardy and love were hereditary + in that family of nobles. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1454 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93223e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #1454 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1454) diff --git a/old/1454-0.txt b/old/1454-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..826feb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2796 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maitre Cornelius + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: September, 1998 [Etext #1454] +Posting Date: February 25, 2010 +Last Updated: November 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,--a fancy of the fashions of the day,--but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + + +In 1479, on All Saints’ day, the moment at which this history begins, +vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de +Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself to +the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during the +service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of which +were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. Nevertheless +a goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the saints on the +triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious offerings, the +merit and signification of which have never been sufficiently explained. +The lights on each altar and all the candelabra in the choir were +burning. Irregularly shed among a forest of columns and arcades which +supported the three naves of the cathedral, the gleam of these masses of +candles barely lighted the immense building, because the strong shadows +of the columns, projected among the galleries, produced fantastic forms +which increased the darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, +the vaulted ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at +mid-day. + +The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain +figures were so vaguely defined in the “chiaroscuro” that they seemed +like phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the scattered +light, attracted attention like the principal heads in a picture. Some +statues seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here and there eyes +shone in the flutings of the columns, the floor reflected looks, the +marbles spoke, the vaults re-echoed sighs, the edifice itself seemed +endowed with life. + +The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more +majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it +poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches +unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are +felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the +clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising +heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The +mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the +feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith +and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself. +This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth, +equally risen into heaven, contains, no doubt, the secret of the magic +influences wielded by the chants of the priests, the harmonies of the +organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the altar, the voices of the crowd +and its silent contemplations. Consequently, we need not be surprised to +see in the middle-ages so many tender passions begun in churches after +long ecstasies,--passions ending often in little sanctity, and for +which women, as usual, were the ones to do penance. Religious sentiment +certainly had, in those days, an affinity with love; it was either +the motive or the end of it. Love was still a religion, with its fine +fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its sublime devotions, which +sympathized with those of Christianity. + +The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance +between religion and love. In the first place society had no +meeting-place except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women +were equals nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and +communicate. The festivals of the Church were the theatre of former +times; the soul of woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than +it is at a ball or the opera in our day; and do not strong emotions +invariably bring women back to love? By dint of mingling with life and +grasping it in all its acts and interests, religion had made itself a +sharer of all virtues, the accomplice of all vices. Religion had passed +into science, into politics, into eloquence, into crimes, into the flesh +of the sick man and the poor man; it mounted thrones; it was everywhere. +These semi-learned observations will serve, perhaps, to vindicate the +truth of this study, certain details of which may frighten the perfected +morals of our age, which are, as everybody knows, a trifle straitlaced. + +At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the organ, +mingling with the vibrations of the loud “A-men” as it issued from the +strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo through the +distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the beneficent +words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, or fearing +for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the worshippers dispersed, +slipped quietly away, at the risk of being called a bad Catholic. On +which, a nobleman, leaning against one of the enormous columns that +surround the choir, hastened to take possession of the seat abandoned by +the worthy Tourainean. Having done so, he quickly hid his face among +the plumes of his tall gray cap, kneeling upon the chair with an air of +contrition that even an inquisitor would have trusted. + +Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to +recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a certain +gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,--a caustic, +jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their heads, and +gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + +The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel +placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was +customary for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial +families, and even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the +services, themselves and their servants exclusively, in the various +lateral chapels of the long side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony +is in practice to the present day. A woman had her chapel as she now +has her opera-box. The families who hired these privileged places were +required to decorate the altar of the chapel thus conceded to them, and +each made it their pride to adorn their own sumptuously,--a vanity which +the Church did not rebuke. In this particular chapel a lady was kneeling +close to the railing on a handsome rug of red velvet with gold tassels, +precisely opposite to the seat vacated of the burgher. A silver-gilt +lamp, hanging from the vaulted ceiling of the chapel before an altar +magnificently decorated, cast its pale light upon a prayer-book held +by the lady. The book trembled violently in her hand when the young man +approached her. + +“A-men!” + +To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully +agitated, though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly +in a whisper:-- + +“You will ruin me.” + +The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy +ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the +stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion +which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head +slightly that he might look into the chapel. + +“He sleeps!” he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be heard +by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + +The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum +page of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man had +designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the young +woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long breath +and raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward a picture +of the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the moistened +glance, revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she been wicked, +she would certainly have dissimulated. The personage who thus alarmed +the lovers was a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly bald, savage in +expression, and wearing a long and discolored white beard cut in a +fan-tail. The cross of Saint-Michel glittered on his breast; his coarse, +strong hands, covered with gray hairs, which had been clasped, had +now dropped slightly apart in the slumber to which he had imprudently +yielded. The right hand seemed about to fall upon his dagger, the hilt +of which was in the form of an iron shell. By the manner in which he +had placed the weapon, this hilt was directly under his hand; if, +unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he would wake, no doubt, +instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic lips, his pointed chin +aggressively pushed forward, presented the characteristic signs of a +malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that would surely enable him +to divine all because he suspected everything. His yellow forehead was +wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to believe nothing, to +weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking their gold, search out +the meaning and the value of human actions. His bodily frame, though +deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both vigorous and excitable; +in short, you might have thought him a stunted ogre. Consequently, an +inevitable danger awaited the young lady whenever this terrible seigneur +woke. That jealous husband would surely not fail to see the difference +between a worthy old burgher who gave him no umbrage, and the new-comer, +young, slender, and elegant. + +“Libera nos a malo,” she said, endeavoring to make the young man +comprehend her fears. + +The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; +tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and +betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist +no longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, +nurtured by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately +handsome; but her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her +interesting. She had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair +in the world. Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a +word, accepting a look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. Love +may never have been more deeply felt than in those hearts, never more +delightfully enjoyed, but certainly no passion was ever more perilous. +It was easy to divine that to these two beings air, sound, foot-falls, +etc., things indifferent to other men, presented hidden qualities, +peculiar properties which they distinguished. Perhaps their love made +them find faithful interpreters in the icy hands of the old priest to +whom they confessed their sins, and from whom they received the Host +at the holy table. Love profound! love gashed into the soul like a scar +upon the body which we carry through life! When these two young people +looked at each other, the woman seemed to say to her lover, “Let us love +each other and die!” To which the young knight answered, “Let us love +each other and not die.” In reply, she showed him a sign her old duenna +and two pages. The duenna slept; the pages were young and seemingly +careless of what might happen, either of good or evil, to their masters. + +“Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be managed.” + +The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when +the hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. +Feeling the cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves +instantly on his wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of +genius, he awoke with his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though he +had not slept at all. The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, with +one eye on his mistress, had watched the husband with the other, and he +now rose quickly, effacing himself behind a column at the moment when +the hand of the old man fell; after which he disappeared, swiftly as a +bird. The lady lowered her eyes to her book and tried to seem calm; but +she could not prevent her face from blushing and her heart from beating +with unnatural violence. The old lord saw the unusual crimson on the +cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids of his wife. He looked about him +cautiously, but seeing no one to distrust, he said to his wife:-- + +“What are you thinking of, my dear?” + +“The smell of the incense turns me sick,” she replied. + +“It is particularly bad to-day?” he asked. + +In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to believe +in this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he resolved to watch +his treasure more carefully than before. + +The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the “Soecula +soeculorum,” the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the church. +Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the general +hurry was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the duenna and +the youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he gave his arm +to his wife and told the other page to follow them. + +As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side +of the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream +of persons detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great +portals, and poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his +party. The mass was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and +he and his wife were therefore pushed onward to the door by the pressure +of the multitude behind them. The husband tried to pass out first, +dragging the lady by the arm, but at that instant he was pulled +vigorously into the street, and his wife was torn from him by a +stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once that he had fallen into a +trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting himself for having slept, he +collected his whole strength, seized his wife once more by the sleeve +of her gown, and strove with his other hand to cling to the gate of the +church; but the ardor of love carried the day against jealous fury. +The young man took his mistress round the waist, and carried her off so +rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the brocaded stuff of silk +and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve alone remained in the hand +of the old man. A roar like that of a lion rose louder than the shouts +of the multitude, and a terrible voice howled out the words:-- + +“To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! +help!” + +And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted +to draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself +surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would be +dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the highest +rank, answered him with jests as they dragged him along the cloisters. + +With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into an +open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden bench. By +the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the chapel was +dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in silence, clasping +hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The countess had not the cruel +courage to reproach the young man for the boldness to which they owed +this perilous and only instant of happiness. + +“Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?” said the young man, +eagerly. “Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do thirty +leagues at a stretch.” + +“Ah!” she cried, softly, “in what corner of the world could you hide a +daughter of King Louis XI.?” + +“True,” replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not +foreseen. + +“Why did you tear me from my husband?” she asked in a sort of terror. + +“Alas!” said her lover, “I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel +in being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,--two +or three plans,--and now that I see you all seems accomplished.” + +“But I am lost!” said the countess. + +“We are saved!” the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his love. +“Listen to me carefully!” + +“This will cost me my life!” she said, letting the tears that rolled +in her eyes flow down her cheeks. “The count will kill me,--to-night, +perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter has +endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he called +me ‘Marie-full-of-grace,’ because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew the man to +whom he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not dared complain, +out of pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach the king? +My confessor himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why I have +consented to this guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,--some one to +tell the truth to the king. Can I rely on--Oh!” she cried, turning pale +and interrupting herself, “here comes the page!” + +The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + +“Fear nothing,” said the young seigneur, “he is won! You can safely +trust him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for you +he will warn us of his coming. In the confessional,” he added, in a low +voice, “is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he drew +you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own protection +in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to deceive him.” + +At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression of +sadness settled down on her face. + +“No one can deceive him,” she said. “To-night he will know all. Save me +from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--” she hesitated; +then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to confess the +secrets of her marriage, she added: “Yes, tell him that to master me the +count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him that my husband +drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a prisoner; that--” + +Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. In +her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken words, +to kiss her hands. + +“Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is +grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My +dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let +yourself say but two words, or we are lost!” + +“What will become of us?” she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall a +picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, she +cried out:-- + +“Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!” + +“To-night,” said the young man, “I shall be with you in your room.” + +“How?” she asked naively. + +They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid of +love. + +“This evening,” he replied, “I shall offer myself as apprentice to +Maitre Cornelius, the king’s silversmith. I have obtained a letter of +recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is next +to yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find my way +to your apartment by the help of a silken ladder.” + +“Oh!” she said, petrified with horror, “if you love me don’t go to +Maitre Cornelius.” + +“Ah!” he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his +youth, “you do indeed love me!” + +“Yes,” she said; “are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I +confide to you my honor. Besides,” she added, looking at him with +dignity, “I am so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But what +is the good of all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you should +enter that house of Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all his +apprentices--” + +“Have been hanged,” said the young man, laughing. + +“Oh, don’t go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery.” + +“I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you,” he said, with a +look that made her drop her eyes. + +“But my husband?” she said. + +“Here is something to put him to sleep,” replied her lover, drawing from +his belt a little vial. + +“Not for always?” said the countess, trembling. + +For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + +“I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so +old,” he said. “God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other +way.” + +“Forgive me,” said the countess, blushing. “I am cruelly punished for my +sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared you +might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never +yet been able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would +be repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you,” she +continued, distressed by his silence, “I deserve your blame.” + +And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + +“Do not come,” she said, “my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to wait +for the help of Heaven--that will I do!” + +She tried to leave the chapel. + +“Ah!” cried the young man, “order me to do so and I will kill him. You +will see me to-night.” + +“I was wise to destroy that drug,” she said in a voice that was faint +with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. “The fear of awakening my +husband will save us from ourselves.” + +“I pledge you my life,” said the young man, pressing her hand. + +“If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then be +united,” she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful hopes. + +“Monseigneur comes!” cried the page, rushing in. + +Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had gained +with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, snatched a +kiss, which was not refused. + +“To-night!” he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + +Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding from +column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the nave. +An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the side +of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page was +marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + +A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by +several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a +naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and to +rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + +“Monseigneur, madame is there,” said the page, going forward to meet +him. + +The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the +alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At +that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give vent +to his rage. + +“What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?” asked the +priest. + +“Father, that is my husband,” said the countess. + +The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of +the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into the +confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be listening +attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + +“Monsieur,” said his wife, “you owe many thanks to this venerable canon, +who gave me a refuge here.” + +The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, who +had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he answered +curtly: + +“Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you.” + +He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her +curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church +without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had +something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and +preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took +his way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the +cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by the +Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification given +by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his glorious +labors. + +The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, +called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of servants +had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a deep +silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs had their +houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to Plessis, the usual +residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if sent for, could go in a +moment. The last house in this street was also the last in the town. It +belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an old Brabantian merchant, +to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost confidence in those financial +transactions which his crafty policy induced him to undertake outside of +his own kingdom. + +Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre +Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that +the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use of +tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, and +both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their corners +were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities remark +in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet prevailed. The +bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of resistance to the +iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots and the civil wars so +frequent in those tumultuous times were ample justification for these +precautions. + +As six o’clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey +Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the +hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds +made in the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. +Casting a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to +be, he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the +young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout +the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks +of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted meats +pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services, the +inhabitants were regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction which +fancy can picture better than words can paint. But at this particular +spot a deep silence reigned, because in these two houses lived two +passions which never rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the silent country. +Beneath the shadow of the steeples of Saint-Martin, these two mute +dwellings, separated from the others in the same street and standing +at the crooked end of it, seemed afflicted with leprosy. The building +opposite to them, the home of the criminals of the State, was also under +a ban. A young man would be readily impressed by this sudden contrast. +About to fling himself into an enterprise that was horribly hazardous, +it is no wonder that the daring young seigneur stopped short before the +house of the silversmith, and called to mind the many tales furnished by +the life of Maitre Cornelius,--tales which caused such singular horror +to the countess. At this period a man of war, and even a lover, trembled +at the mere word “magic.” Few indeed were the minds and the imaginations +which disbelieved in occult facts and tales of the marvellous. The lover +of the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, one of the daughters whom Louis XI. +had in Dauphine by Madame de Sassenage, however bold he might be in +other respects, was likely to think twice before he finally entered the +house of a so-called sorcerer. + +The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the +security which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, +the terror of the countess, and the hesitation that now took possession +of the lover. But, in order to make the readers of this nineteenth +century understand how such commonplace events could be turned into +anything supernatural, and to make them share the alarms of that olden +time, it is necessary to interrupt the course of this narrative and cast +a rapid glance on the preceding life and adventures of Maitre Cornelius. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE TORCONNIER + + +Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having drawn +upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found refuge +and protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious of the +advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the principal +commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he naturalized, +ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which was rarely done +by Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much as the Fleming +pleased the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; equally politic, +equally learned; superior, both of them, to their epoch; understanding +each other marvellously; they discarded and resumed with equal facility, +the one his conscience, the other his religion; they loved the same +Virgin, one by conviction, the other by policy; in short, if we may +believe the jealous tales of Olivier de Daim and Tristan, the king went +to the house of the Fleming for those diversions with which King +Louis XI. diverted himself. History has taken care to transmit to our +knowledge the licentious tastes of a monarch who was not averse to +debauchery. The old Fleming found, no doubt, both pleasure and profit in +lending himself to the capricious pleasures of his royal client. + +Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those +years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made +him the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had spent +considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with him in +safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the locksmiths +of the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing those locksmiths +to his house in a way to compel their silence, were long the subject +of countless tales which enlivened the evening gatherings of the city. +These singular artifices on the part of the old man made every +one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches. Consequently the +_narrators_ of that region--the home of the tale in France--built rooms +full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming’s house, not omitting to +attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts with Magic. + +Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, an +old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a gentle, +pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and +courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery of +considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry showed +that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. The old +miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The young man +was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the “question” protesting +his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to escape torture; but +when the judge required them to say where the stolen property could +be found, they kept silence, were again put to the torture, judged, +condemned, and hanged. On their way to the scaffold they declared +themselves innocent, according to the custom of all persons about to be +executed. + +The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the +criminals were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate +soon evaporated. In those days wars and seditions furnished endless +excitements, and the drama of each day eclipsed that of the night +before. More grieved by the loss he had met with than by the death of +his three servants, Maitre Cornelius lived alone in his house with the +old Flemish woman, his sister. He obtained permission from the king to +use state couriers for his private affairs, sold his mules to a muleteer +of the neighborhood, and lived from that moment in the deepest solitude, +seeing no one but the king, doing his business by means of Jews, who, +shrewd calculators, served him well in order to gain his all-powerful +protection. + +Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old +“torconnier” a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. +called Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under +the reign of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a man +who pressed others by violent means. The epithet, “tortionnaire,” which +remains to this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old word +torconnier, which we often find spelt “tortionneur.” The poor young +orphan devoted himself carefully to the affairs of the old Fleming, +pleased him much, and was soon high in his good graces. During a +winter’s night, certain diamonds deposited with Maitre Cornelius by the +King of England as security for a sum of a hundred thousand crowns were +stolen, and suspicion, of course, fell on the orphan. Louis XI. was all +the more severe because he had answered for the youth’s fidelity. +After a very brief and summary examination by the grand provost, the +unfortunate secretary was hanged. After that no one dared for a long +time to learn the arts of banking and exchange from Maitre Cornelius. + +In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,--men +of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,--took service with the +silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young men +into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in which +they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had secret +communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than ever +suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before +Louis XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial was +promptly had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed Tristan +l’Hermite secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, the +young Touraineans were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an +executioner. The two families thus thrown into mourning were much +respected; their complaints obtained a hearing, and little by little it +came to be believed that all the victims whom the king’s silversmith had +sent to the scaffold were innocent. Some persons declared that the cruel +miser imitated the king, and sought to put terror and gibbets between +himself and his fellow-men; others said that he had never been robbed +at all,--that these melancholy executions were the result of cool +calculations, and that their real object was to relieve him of all fear +for his treasure. + +The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The +Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the “tortionnaire,” and +named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to the +town bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned them +against doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius was +that of persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired with +instinctive terror; others he impressed with the deep respect that most +men feel for limitless power and money, while to a few he certainly +possessed the attraction of mystery. His way of life, his countenance, +and the favor of the king, justified all the tales of which he had now +become the subject. + +Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his +persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king caused +his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish guard. +Such royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old miser had +bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the torconnier went +out but little; but the lords of the court paid him frequent visits. +He lent them money rather liberally, though capricious in his manner of +doing so. On certain days he refused to give them a penny; the next day +he would offer them large sums,--always at high interest and on good +security. A good Catholic, he went regularly to the services, always +attending the earliest mass at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased +there, as elsewhere, a chapel in perpetuity, he was separated even +in church from other Christians. A popular proverb of that day, long +remembered in Tours, was the saying: “You passed in front of the +Fleming; ill-luck will happen to you.” Passing in front of the Fleming +explained all sudden pains and evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of +fortune among the Touraineans. Even at court most persons attributed +to Cornelius that fatal influence which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic +superstition has called the “evil eye.” Without the terrible power +of Louis XI., which was stretched like a mantle over that house, +the populace, on the slightest opportunity, would have demolished La +Malemaison, that “evil house” in the rue du Murier. And yet Cornelius +had been the first to plant mulberries in Tours, and the Touraineans at +that time regarded him as their good genius. Who shall reckon on popular +favor! + +A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of +France were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he +was gloomy and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some inexplicable +power brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du Murier. Like a +snail, whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, he admitted to +the king that he was never at ease except under the bolts and behind the +vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet he knew very well that +whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the most dangerous spot on +earth for him. + +“The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the +torconnier,” said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the +festival of All-Saints. “He says he has been robbed again, but he can’t +hang anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond came +and asked me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies he +wanted to sell me. ‘Pasques-Dieu! I don’t steal what I can take,’ I said +to him.” + +“Was he frightened?” asked the barber. + +“Misers are afraid of only one thing,” replied the king. “My crony the +torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for good +reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done anything but +what is just and necessary.” + +“And yet that old brigand overcharges you,” said the barber. + +“You wish he did, don’t you?” replied the king, with the malicious look +at his barber. + +“Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you and +the devil!” + +“There, there!” said the king, “don’t put bad ideas into my head. +My crony is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have +made--perhaps because he owes me nothing.” + +For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with +his aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood +declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the house, +waiting for the hour of the witches’ sabbath. This fact seemed the more +extraordinary because it was known to be the miser’s custom to lock up +his sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + +As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of +being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of the +king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, but, +like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it were, +of that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, and age +intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, though she +was perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother whom she +actually surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily existence had +something mysterious and problematical about it. The old woman rarely +took bread from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the market, that +the least credulous of the townspeople ended by attributing to these +strange beings the knowledge of some secret for the maintenance of life. +Those who dabbled in alchemy declared that Maitre Cornelius had the +power of making gold. Men of science averred that he had found the +Universal Panacea. According to many of the country-people to whom the +townsfolk talked of him, Cornelius was a chimerical being, and many of +them came into the town to look at his house out of mere curiosity. + +The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about him, +first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and then at +the evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their angles, and +tinting with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and reliefs of the +carvings. The caprices of this white light gave a sinister expression +to both edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself encouraged the +superstitions that hung about the miser’s dwelling. The young man +called to mind the many traditions which made Cornelius a personage both +curious and formidable. Though quite decided through the violence of his +love to enter that house, and stay there long enough to accomplish his +design, he hesitated to take the final step, all the while aware that he +should certainly take it. But where is the man who, in a crisis of his +life, does not willingly listen to presentiments as he hangs above the +precipice? A lover worthy of being loved, the young man feared to die +before he had been received for love’s sake by the countess. + +This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not +feel the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, and +chilled his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his name, as +already he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. In case of +mishap, he could not claim the privileges of his rank nor the protection +of his friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier. If her husband suspected the nocturnal visit of a lover, +he was capable of roasting her alive in an iron cage, or of killing her +by degrees in the dungeons of a fortified castle. Looking down at the +shabby clothing in which he had disguised himself, the young nobleman +felt ashamed. His black leather belt, his stout shoes, his ribbed socks, +his linsey-woolsey breeches, and his gray woollen doublet made him +look like the clerk of some poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of +the fifteenth century it was like death itself to play the part of a +beggarly burgher, and renounce the privileges of his rank. But--to climb +the roof of the house where his mistress wept; to descend the chimney, +or creep along from gutter to gutter to the window of her room; to risk +his life to kneel beside her on a silken cushion before a glowing fire, +during the sleep of a dangerous husband, whose snores would double +their joy; to defy both heaven and earth in snatching the boldest of +all kisses; to say no word that would not lead to death or at least +to sanguinary combat if overheard,--all these voluptuous images and +romantic dangers decided the young man. However slight might be the +guerdon of his enterprise, could he only kiss once more the hand of his +lady, he still resolved to venture all, impelled by the chivalrous and +passionate spirit of those days. He never supposed for a moment that +the countess would refuse him the soft happiness of love in the midst of +such mortal danger. The adventure was too perilous, too impossible not +to be attempted and carried out. + +Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,--a custom fallen +elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, where +venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were not +put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across the +streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated burghers, +attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing lanterns, +echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, seemed to be +asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except through the roofs. +In those days the roofs of houses were much frequented after dark. The +streets were so narrow in the provincial towns, and even in Paris, that +robbers could jump from the roofs on one side to those on the other. +This perilous occupation was long the amusement of King Charles IX. in +his youth, if we may believe the memoirs of his day. + +Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young +nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, +when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, +which the writers of those days would have called “cornue,”--perhaps +with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his +sight, and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at the +spectacle before him. On each side of the door was a face framed in +a species of loophole. At first he took these two faces for grotesque +masks carved in stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, motionless, +discolored were they; but the cold air and the moonlight presently +enabled him to distinguish the faint white mist which living breath sent +from two purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, beneath the +shadow of the eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting clear fire, +like those of a wolf crouching in the brushwood as it hears the baying +of the hounds. The uneasy gleam of those eyes was turned on him so +fixedly that, after receiving it for fully a minute, during which he +examined the singular sight, he felt like a bird at which a setter +points; a feverish tumult rose in his soul, but he quickly repressed +it. The two faces, strained and suspicious, were doubtless those of +Cornelius and his sister. + +The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, +and whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his +pocket and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight +to the door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the +house as if it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept beneath +the threshold, and an eye appeared at a small and very strong iron +grating. + +“Who is there?” + +“A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels.” + +“What do you want?” + +“To enter.” + +“Your name?” + +“Philippe Goulenoire.” + +“Have you brought credentials?” + +“Here they are.” + +“Pass them through the box.” + +“Where is it?” + +“To your left.” + +Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box above +which was a loophole. + +“The devil!” thought he, “plainly the king comes here, as they say he +does; he couldn’t take more precautions at Plessis.” + +He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that +lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, “Close the traps +of the door.” + +A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts +run, the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, opened +to the slightest distance through which a man could pass. At the risk of +tearing off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather than walked +into La Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet face, the +eyebrows projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose and chin +so near together that a nut could scarcely pass between them,--a pallid, +haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently of only bones +and nerves,--guided the “soi-disant” foreigner silently into a lower +room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + +“Sit there,” she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool +placed at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no +fire. + +On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with +twisted legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little +bread-sops, hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools +placed beside the table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed +that the miserly pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the +door and pushed two iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, +the loopholes through which they had been gazing into the street; then +he returned to his seat. Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the +brother and sister dipping their sops into the egg in turn, and with +the utmost gravity and the same precision with which soldiers dip their +spoons in regular rotation into the mess-pot. This performance was done +in silence. But as he ate, Cornelius examined the false apprentice with +as much care and scrutiny as if he were weighing an old coin. + +Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, was +tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated by all +amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even furtively, at +the walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius detected him, +he would not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in his house. He +contented himself, therefore, by looking first at the egg and then at +the old woman, occasionally contemplating his future master. + +Louis XI.’s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired the +same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a sort +of intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his eyes; +but by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, penetrating, +powerful glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, and to +whom the phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has become +familiar. His thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air of +indescribable craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague +resemblance to the muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting forehead, +with many lines, showed great and splendid qualities and a nobility +of soul, the springs of which had been lowered by experience until the +cruel teachings of life had driven it back into the farthest recesses of +this most singular human being. He was certainly not an ordinary +miser; and his passion covered, no doubt, extreme enjoyments and secret +conceptions. + +“What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?” he said abruptly to his +future apprentice. + +“Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent.” + +“What is the freight on the Scheldt?” + +“Three sous parisis.” + +“Any news at Ghent?” + +“The brother of Lieven d’Herde is ruined.” + +“Ah!” + +After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee with +the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black velvet, open +in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous material being +defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent costume, formerly worn +by him as president of the tribunal of the Parchons, functions which had +won him the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + +Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further +questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from +a Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to his +good memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the manners +and habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the first +flush of his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to perceive +the difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the terrible +Fleming reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, and +remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders +of Maitre Cornelius. + +“Have you supped?” asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, +“You are not to sup.” + +The old maid trembled in spite of her brother’s tone; she looked at the +new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to +fill, and said with a specious smile:-- + +“You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as +the devil’s tail.” + +“I have supped,” he said. + +“Well then,” replied the miser, “you can come back and see me to-morrow. +I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to +sleep upon the matter.” + +“Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don’t know a soul +in this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in +prison. However,” he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing +in his words, “if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go.” + +The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + +“Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here.” + +“But--” said his sister, alarmed. + +“Silence,” replied Cornelius. “In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he +will answer for this young man. You know,” he whispered in his sister’s +ear, “we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That’s +a hostage, hey!” + +“And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like +a thief than a Fleming.” + +“Hush!” exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + +Both misers listened. A moment after the “Hush!” uttered by Cornelius, a +noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the +other side of the moat of the town. + +“It is the Plessis guard on their rounds,” said the sister. + +“Give me the key of the apprentice’s room,” said Cornelius. + +The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + +“Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?” cried Cornelius, in a +meaning tone of voice. “At your age can’t you see in the dark? It isn’t +difficult to find a key.” + +The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left +the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the +door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance +which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the +chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped +with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a +match-lock pistol with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible +weapon lay close to Cornelius. + +“How do you expect to earn your living with me?” said the latter. + +“I have but little money,” replied Philippe, “but I know good tricks in +business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, that +will satisfy me.” + +“A sou! a sou!” echoed the miser; “why, that’s a good deal!” + +At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + +“Come,” said Cornelius to Philippe. + +The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone +staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside +the hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the young +man paused. + +“No, no,” said Cornelius. “The devil! this nook is the place where the +king takes his ease.” + +The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under the +pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a little +room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The tower +stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like the +courtyards of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the farther +end, through an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden in which +nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had introduced. The +young nobleman took note of all this through the loopholes on the spiral +staircase, the moon casting, fortunately, a brilliant light. A cot, a +stool, a mismatched pitcher and basin formed the entire furniture of +the room. The light could enter only through square openings, placed at +intervals in the outside wall of the tower, according, no doubt, to the +exterior ornamentation. + +“Here is your lodging,” said Cornelius; “it is plain and solid and +contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this +room as _the others_ did.” + +After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, Cornelius +double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the staircase, +leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell-founder when on +opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without light, seated on a +stool, in a little garret from which so many of his predecessors had +gone to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a wild beast caught in +a trap. He jumped upon the stool and raised himself to his full height +in order to reach one of the little openings through which a faint light +shone. Thence he saw the Loire, the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, +the gloomy marvels of Plessis, where lights were gleaming in the deep +recesses of a few windows. Far in the distance lay the beautiful meadows +of Touraine and the silvery stream of her river. Every point of this +lovely nature had, at that moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the +waters, the roofs of the houses shone like diamonds in the trembling +light of the moon. The soul of the young seigneur could not repress a +sad and tender emotion. + +“Suppose it is my last farewell!” he said to himself. + +He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure +offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, nevertheless, +retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined each difficulty. To +him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural being seen through +the incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he fancied came from the +hotel de Poitiers, restored him to himself and to a sense of his true +situation. Throwing himself on his pallet to reflect on his course, he +heard a slight movement which echoed faintly from the spiral staircase. +He listened attentively, and the whispered words, “He has gone to bed,” + said by the old woman, reached his ear. By an accident unknown probably +to the architect, the slightest noise on the staircase sounded in the +room of the apprentices, so that Philippe did not lose a single movement +of the miser and his sister who were watching him. He undressed, lay +down, pretended to sleep, and employed the time during which the pair +remained on the staircase, in seeking means to get from his prison to +the hotel de Poitiers. + +About ten o’clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new +inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied +carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could +recognize the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, +occupy the whole second floor. Like all the houses of that period, this +floor was next below the roof, from which its windows projected, adorned +with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured. The roof itself was +edged with a sort of balustrade, concealing the gutters for the rain +water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile’s heads discharged +into the street. The young seigneur, after studying this topography as +carefully as a cat, believed he could make his way from the tower to the +roof, and thence to Madame de Vallier’s by the gutters and the help of a +gargoyle. But he did not count on the narrowness of the loopholes of the +tower; it was impossible to pass through them. He then resolved to get +out upon the roof of the house through the window of the staircase on +the second floor. To accomplish this daring project he must leave his +room, and Cornelius had carried off the key. + +By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed +under his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the +“coup de grace” in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the +victor to despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade +sharpened like a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like +a saw, but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it would +enter the body. The young man determined to use this latter blade to saw +through the wood around the lock. Happily for him the staple of the lock +was put on to the outside of the door by four stout screws. By the help +of his dagger he managed, not without great difficulty, to unscrew and +remove it altogether, carefully laying it aside and the four screws with +it. By midnight he was free, and he went down the stairs without his +shoes to reconnoitre the localities. + +He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down a +corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a window +opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of the hotel +de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. Nothing could +express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly made to the +Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the celebrated parish +church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining the tall broad +chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his steps to fetch +his dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light on the staircase +and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, carrying a lamp, his +eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon the corridor, at the +entrance of which he stood like a spectre. + +“If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me,” thought +the young man. + +The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. +In this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence +of mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the angle +of it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp in +advance of him, came into line with the current of air which the +young man could send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius +muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and retraced +his steps. The young man then rushed to his room, caught up his dagger +and returned to the blessed window, opened it softly and jumped upon the +roof. + +Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. +Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the +enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. +He leaned against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to +himself:-- + +“By which chimney can I get to her?” + +He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all +and felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made +up his mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger +securely in a joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to it, +threw the ladder down the chimney and risked himself upon it, trusting +to his good blade, and to the chance of not having mistaken his +mistress’s room. He knew not whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or awake, +but one thing he was resolved upon, he would hold the countess in his +arms if it cost the life of two men. + +Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently +still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. Pale +with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the light of +the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from her. We may +well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in their hearts. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + + +The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his +chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + +“Good luck to you, crony,” he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty way. + +“Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a +moment’s talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies and +all the jewels of the Duke of--” + +“Let us hear about that,” said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard +of Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, Olivier +de Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. “Tell me about it. +Another man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!” + +The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came with +slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group paused under +a tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers made a circle +about him. + +“Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me--” + began Cornelius. + +“He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!” exclaimed Louis, wagging his +head. + +“Oh, yes!” replied the silversmith, bitterly. “But methinks he’d have +snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me +by Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in +my hands. I will wager the Jew’s letter and seal were forged! In short, +sire, I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you admired so +much. They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the jewels of the +Elector of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! they’ll steal your +kingdom if you don’t take care. As soon as I missed the jewels I went +up to the room of that apprentice, who is, assuredly, a past-master in +thieving. This time we don’t lack proof. He had forced the lock of +his door. But when he got back to his room, the moon was down and he +couldn’t find all the screws. Happily, I felt one under my feet when +I entered the room. He was sound asleep, the beggar, tired out. Just +fancy, gentlemen, he got down into my strong-room by the chimney. +To-morrow, or to-night, rather, I’ll roast him alive. He had a silk +ladder, and his clothes were covered with marks of his clambering over +the roof and down the chimney. He meant to stay with me, and ruin +me, night after night, the bold wretch! But where are the jewels? The +country-folks coming into town early saw him on the roof. He must have +had accomplices, who waited for him by that embankment you have been +making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of fellows who come in boats; +crack! they get off with everything, and leave no traces! But we hold +this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! ah! a fine morsel he’ll be +for the gallows. With a little bit of _questioning_ beforehand, we shall +know all. Why, the glory of your reign is concerned in it! there ought +not to be robbers in the land under so great a king.” + +The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy +meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his life. +A deep silence reigned. + +“This is your business,” he said at length to Tristan; “take you hold of +it.” + +He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. +Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in company +with the grand provost. + +“Where are those thousand gold crowns?” he called to him. + +“Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for +your justice.” + +Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges +of the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of +young mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + +Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly +asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the same +ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary dangers +with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had even +postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a great +blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking the +moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed lock; he +had no patience to look for them. With the “laisser-aller” of a tired +man, he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. He did, +however, make a sort of compact with himself to awake at daybreak, but +the events of the day and the agitations of the night did not allow him +to keep faith with himself. Happiness is forgetful. Cornelius no longer +seemed formidable to the young man when he threw himself on the +pallet where so many poor wretches had wakened to their doom; and this +light-hearted heedlessness proved his ruin. While the king’s silversmith +rode back from Plessis, accompanied by the grand provost and his +redoubtable archers. The false Goulenoire was being watched by the old +sister, seated on the corkscrew staircase oblivious of the cold, and +knitting socks for Cornelius. + +The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that charming +night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. He saw +himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on her knees +in the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her persecutions +and the details of the count’s tyranny; he grew pitiful over the poor +lady, who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter of Louis XI. He +promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs to that terrible +father; everything, he assured her, should be settled as they wished, +the marriage broken off, the husband banished,--and all this within +reach of that husband’s sword, of which they might both be the victims +if the slightest noise awakened him. But in the young man’s dream the +gleam of the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the colors of the stuffs and +the tapestries were more vivid, more of love was in the air, more fire +about them, than there had been in the actual scene. The Marie of his +sleep resisted far less than the living Marie those adoring looks, +those tender entreaties, those adroit silences, those voluptuous +solicitations, those false generosities, which render the first moments +of a passion so completely ardent, and shed into the soul a fresh +delirium at each new step in love. + +Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de +Saint-Vallier granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the +tender passion. She willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, +her hands, her throat; she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion +and life of her lover; she permitted him to die for her; she yielded to +an intoxication which the sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but +farther than that she would not go; and she made her deliverance the +price of the highest rewards of his love. In those days, in order to +dissolve a marriage it was necessary to go to Rome; to obtain the help +of certain cardinals, and to appear before the sovereign pontiff +in person armed with the approval of the king. Marie was firm in +maintaining her liberty to love, that she might sacrifice it to +him later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient power to +establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make that +passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of his +highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many +sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to them +far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their love +cost blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great +dangers. But the Marie of his dream made small defence against the young +seigneur’s ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? Did the +false apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen in the +hotel de Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is difficult to +decide; and the honor of women demands that it be left, as it were, in +litigation. + +At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to forget +her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by an iron +hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:-- + +“Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!” + +The young man saw the black face of Tristan l’Hermite above him, and +recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew +staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost +guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing +either hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang +others, the so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and +rubbed his eyes. + +“Mort-Dieu!” he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. +“Now is the time to play our knives.” + +“Ho, ho!” cried Tristan, “that’s the speech of a noble. Methinks I see +Georges d’Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers.” + +Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d’Estouteville thought +less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon his +unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:-- + +“Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!” + +After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young +courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But the +myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such proceedings. When +Georges d’Estouteville reached the stairs they seized him dexterously, +not surprised by the vigorous thrust he made at them with his dagger, +the blade of which fortunately slipped on the corselet of a guard; then, +having disarmed him, they bound his hands, and threw him on the pallet +before their leader, who stood motionless and thoughtful. + +Tristan looked silently at the prisoner’s hands, then he said to +Cornelius, pointing to them:-- + +“Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a +noble.” + +“Say a thief!” cried the torconnier. “My good Tristan, noble or serf, he +has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your pretty +boots. He is, I don’t doubt it, the leader of that gang of devils, +visible and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, rob me, +murder me! They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this time we +shall get back the treasure, for the fellow has the face of the king of +Egypt. I shall recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I have lost; and +our worthy king shall have his share in the harvest.” + +“Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!” said Georges, +smiling. + +“Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!” cried the miser. + +The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges +d’Estouteville’s clothes and the lock of the door. + +“How did you get out those screws?” + +Georges kept silence. + +“Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the +holy rack,” said Tristan. + +“That’s what I call business!” cried Cornelius. + +“Take him off,” said the grand provost to the guards. + +Georges d’Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign from +their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity of a +nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + +An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the populace +kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From early morning +the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On all sides +the “apprentice,” said to be young and handsome, had awakened public +sympathy, and revived the hatred felt against Cornelius; so that there +was not a young man in the town, nor a young woman with a fresh face and +pretty feet to exhibit, who was not determined to see the victim. When +Georges issued from the house, led by one of the provost’s guard, who, +after he had mounted his horse, kept the strong leathern thong that +bound the prisoner tightly twisted round his arm, a horrible uproar +arose. Whether the populace merely wished to see this new victim, or +whether it intended to rescue him, certain it is that those behind +pressed those in front upon the little squad of cavalry posted around +the Malemaison. At this moment, Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed +the door, and slammed the iron shutters with the violence of panic +terror. Tristan, who was not accustomed to respect the populace of those +days (inasmuch as they were not yet the sovereign people), cared little +for a probable riot. + +“Push on! push on!” he said to his men. + +At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards +the end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number +knocked down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed +against the sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser +course of retreating to their homes. + +“Make room for the king’s justice!” cried Tristan. “What are you doing +here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your +dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your husband’s +stockings; get back to your needles.” + +Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, +they made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague +upon them. + +At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges +d’Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the +hotel de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the +count. She was mocking at _him_, poor devoted lover, who was going to +his death for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps +of the populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be +twenty-three years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a woman’s +love, loving ourselves with all the forces of our being, risking +our life with delight on the faith of a kiss, and then betrayed, to +understand the fury of hatred and despair which took possession of +Georges d’Estouteville’s heart at the sight of his laughing mistress, +from whom he received a cold and indifferent glance. No doubt she had +been there some time; she was leaning from the window with her arms on +a cushion; she was at her ease, and her old man seemed content. He, too, +was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A few tears escaped the eyes of the +young man; but when Marie de Saint-Vallier saw them she turned hastily +away. Those tears were suddenly dried, however, when Georges beheld the +red and white plumes of the page who was devoted to his interests. The +count took no notice of this servitor, who advanced to his mistress on +tiptoe. After the page had said a few words in her ear, Marie returned +to the window. Escaping for a moment the perpetual watchfulness of her +tyrant, she cast one glance upon Georges that was brilliant with the +fires of love and hope, seeming to say:-- + +“I am watching over you.” + +Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their +meaning more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, +in which terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation +all took part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to +martyrdom and from martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young +seigneur, light-hearted and content, walked gaily to his doom; thinking +that the horrors of the “question” were not sufficient payment for the +delights of his love. + +As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped him, +seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at full +speed. + +“What is it?” asked the provost. + +“Nothing that concerns you,” replied the officer, disdainfully. “The +king has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, whom +he invites to dinner.” + +The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to +Plessis, when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white +mule, he on his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, +in order to enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving slowly. +Georges was on foot, between two guards on horseback, one of whom held +him still by the leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his wife were +naturally in advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling with the +archers, the young page questioned them, speaking sometimes to the +prisoner, so that he adroitly managed to say to him in a low voice:-- + +“I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to +the king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against +you. Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you.” + +Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her +laughter was part of the heroism which women display in the great crises +of life. + +In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of “Quentin +Durward” to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, +we must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on +low land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by +the canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved +daughter, Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the +city of Tours and Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable +protection to the castle, but it offered a most precious road to +commerce. On the side towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, +the park was defended by a moat, the remains of which still show its +enormous breadth and depth. At a period when the power of artillery was +still in embryo, the position of Plessis, long since chosen by Louis XI. +for his favorite retreat, might be considered impregnable. The castle, +built of brick and stone, had nothing remarkable about it; but it was +surrounded by noble trees, and from its windows could be seen, through +vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the finest points of view in the +world. No rival mansion rose near this solitary castle, standing in the +very centre of the little plain reserved for the king and guarded by +four streams of water. + +If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and +from his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, +the opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille +waters, and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows that +opened on the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and the +embankment by which he had connected his favorite residence with the +city of Tours. If Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his castle +the luxury of architecture which Francois I. displayed afterwards at +Chambord, the dwelling of the kings of France would ever have remained +in Touraine. It is enough to see this splendid position and its magical +effects to be convinced of its superiority over the sites of all other +royal residences. + +Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more +than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of death +in the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; on the +point of increasing the territory of France by the possessions of the +Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with Marguerite, +heiress of Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, commander of +his troops in Flanders); having established his authority everywhere, +and now meditating ameliorations in his kingdom of all kinds, he saw +time slipping past him rapidly with no further troubles than those +of old age. Deceived by every one, even by the minions about him, +experience had intensified his natural distrust. The desire to live +became in him the egotism of a king who has incarnated himself in his +people; he wished to prolong his life in order to carry out his vast +designs. + +All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions +has since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. +had thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects +before the law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his +bold endeavors. On All-Saints’ eve he had gathered together the learned +goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in France a +unity of weights and measures, as he had already established the unity +of power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over his empire, +joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the natural +idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our history +has the great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. Amazing +assemblages of contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a spirit +unbelieving as to all things here below, devoutly believing in the +practices of religion; a man struggling with two powers greater than his +own--the present and the future; the future in which he feared eternal +punishment, a fear which led him to make so many sacrifices to the +Church; the present, namely his life itself, for the saving of which he +blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who crushed down all about him, +was himself crushed down by remorse, and by disease in the midst of the +great poem of defiant monarchy in which all power was concentrated. It +was once more the gigantic and ever magnificent combat of Man in the +highest manifestation of his forces tilting against Nature. + +While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days +between eleven o’clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short +promenade, sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in his +chamber. Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each other +without a word, standing in the recess of a window and watching their +master, who presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was heard were +the steps of the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de Montresor, +and Jean Dufou, Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and down the +adjoining hall. These two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the captain +of the Scottish guard, who was sleeping in his chair, according to +his usual custom. The king himself appeared to be dozing. His head had +drooped upon his breast; his cap, pulled forward on his forehead, hid +his eyes. Thus seated in his high chair, surmounted by the royal crown, +he seemed crouched together like a man who had fallen asleep in the +midst of some deep meditation. + +At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge +of Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + +“Who is that?” said the king. + +The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + +“He is dreaming,” said Coyctier, in a low voice. + +“Pasques-Dieu!” cried Louis XI., “do you think me mad? People are +crossing the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear +sounds more easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized,” + he added thoughtfully. + +“What a man!” said de Daim. + +Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the +town. He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:-- + +“Ha, ha! here’s my crony and his thief. And here comes my little +Marie de Saint-Vallier; I’d forgotten all about it. Olivier,” he said, +addressing the barber, “go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve some +good Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn’t forget +the lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I eat +lampreys?” he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + +For all answer the physician began to examine his master’s face. The two +men were a picture in themselves. + +History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, and +the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, decorated +with leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of Saint-Michel, are +not less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has represented the face +of that terrible monarch in his last years,--a sickly, hollow, yellow +and brown face, all the features of which expressed a sour craftiness, +a cold sarcasm. In that mask was the forehead of a great man, a brow +furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty with high thoughts; but in his +cheeks and on his lips there was something indescribably vulgar and +common. Looking at certain details of that countenance you would have +thought him a debauched husbandman, or a miserly peddler; and yet, above +these vague resemblances and the decrepitude of a dying old man, the +king, the man of power, rose supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, +seemed at first sight extinct; but a spark of courage and of anger +lurked there, and at the slightest touch it could burst into flames and +cast fire about him. The doctor was a stout burgher, with a florid face, +dressed in black, peremptory, greedy of gain, and self-important. These +two personages were framed, as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung +with high-warped tapestries of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of +carved beams, was blackened by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid +with arabesques in pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they +were at that period when the arts were beginning to produce their +choicest masterpieces. + +“Lampreys are not good for you,” replied the physician. + +That title, recently substituted for the former term of “myrrh-master,” + is still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at this period +given to doctors everywhere. + +“Then what may I eat?” asked the king, humbly. + +“Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you may +die on All-Souls’ Day.” + +“To-day!” cried the king in terror. + +“Compose yourself, sire,” replied Coyctier. “I am here. Try not to fret +your mind; find some way to amuse yourself.” + +“Ah!” said the king, “my daughter Marie used to succeed in that +difficult business.” + +As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, rapped +softly on the royal door. On receiving the king’s permission he entered +and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis XI. made +a sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who allowed her to +pass in first. + +“Good-day, my children,” said the king. + +“Sire,” replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, “I +want to speak to you in secret.” + +Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and +called out in a hollow voice, “Hola, Dufou!” + +Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered in +haste. + +“Go to the maitre d’hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for +dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to +dine alone to-day. Do you know, madame,” continued the king, pretending +to be slightly angry, “that you neglect me? It is almost three years +since I have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty,” he added, sitting +down and holding out his arms to her. “How thin you have grown! Why have +you let her grow so thin?” said the king, roughly, addressing the Comte +de Poitiers. + +The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she +almost pitied him. + +“Happiness, sire!” he stammered. + +“Ah! you love each other too much,--is that it?” said the king, +holding his daughter between his knees. “I did right to call you +Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want +of me?” he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. “After +sending me your--” + +In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king’s lips and said in +his ear,-- + +“I always thought you cautious and penetrating.” + +“Saint-Vallier,” said the king, laughing, “I think that Bridore has +something to say to you.” + +The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well +known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, and +knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + +“Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,--hey? Do I seem changed to +you?” + +“Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather I +deceived you?” + +“No,” he said, in a low voice, “I want to know truly what to expect.” + +“In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let my +truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?” + +“What is your cause?” asked the king, frowning and passing a hand across +his forehead. + +“Ah, sire,” she replied, “the young man you have had arrested for +robbing your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the +grand provost, is innocent of the robbery.” + +“How do you know that?” asked the king. Marie lowered her head and +blushed. + +“I need not ask if there is love in this business,” said the king, +raising his daughter’s head gently and stroking her chin. “If you don’t +confess every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell.” + +“Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?” + +“Where would be the pleasure?” cried the king, seeing only an amusement +in this affair. + +“Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?” + +“Oh! you sly little girl, haven’t you any confidence in me?” + +“Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty.” + +“So! he is a nobleman, is he?” cried the king. “Then he is not an +apprentice?” + +“He is certainly innocent,” she said. + +“I don’t see it so,” said the king, coldly. “I am the law and justice of +my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers.” + +“Come, don’t put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of that +young man.” + +“Is it yours already?” + +“Sire,” she said, “I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at--” + +“Then,” said Louis XI., interrupting her, “as I am not to know the +truth, I think Tristan had better clear it up.” + +Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:-- + +“Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief stole +nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you everything, +even though you may punish me.” + +“Ho, ho! this is getting serious,” cried the king, shoving up his cap. +“Speak out, my daughter.” + +“Well,” she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father’s ear, +“he was in my room all night.” + +“He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!” + +“I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a scoundrel. +That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of your +archers.” + +“Well, well!” cried the king; “you are hard to confess.” + +With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried +to the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For +the last moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, +shining through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a +listener’s foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the +door abruptly, and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + +“Pasques-Dieu!” he cried; “here’s an audacity that deserves the axe.” + +“Sire,” replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, “I would prefer an axe at my +throat to the ornament of marriage on my head.” + +“You may have both,” said Louis XI. “None of you are safe from such +infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham,” continued +the king, addressing the captain of the guard, “you are asleep! Where +is Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached in this way? +Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better served than I am.” + +After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to +draw the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more to +stifle the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north wind. + +“So, my daughter,” he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays with +a mouse, “Georges d’Estouteville was your lover last night?” + +“Oh, no, sire!” + +“No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think +my daughter beautiful?” + +“Oh! that is not it,” she said. “He kissed my feet and hands with an +ardor that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me +truly in all honor.” + +“Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such +nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just to +kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others.” + +“But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose.” + +Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of her +husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + +“What purpose?” + +The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange +confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the +pardon of her husband. + +“Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal +blood!” cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + +At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king’s +dinner. Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with +contracted brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all +his servitors in waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de +Saint-Vallier, thinking of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. +The deep silence which reigned was presently broken by the steps of +Tristan l’Hermite as he mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost +entered the hall, and, advancing toward the king, said:-- + +“Sire, the affair is settled.” + +“What! is it all over?” said the king. + +“Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a +touch of the ‘question.’” + +The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but +looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who +muttered in a low tone: “I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance of +my wife.” + +“Silence!” cried the king. “Some one is here who will wear out my +patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution,” he continued, +addressing the grand provost. “You will answer with your own body for +that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, +and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty +provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats +they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall +be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de +Saint-Vallier,” said the king, looking fixedly at the count, “I know +about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do +you hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of +lese-majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and +weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a long +journey.” + +The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he +added:-- + +“You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government +of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take +charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth I +shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I married +her to you.” + +Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father’s arm as if to +thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was laughing +to himself in his sleeve. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE HIDDEN TREASURE + + +Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and he +was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. This +taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a passion for +the “incognito,” one of the greatest pleasures of princes,--a sort of +momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little real life into +their existence, made insipid by the lack of opposition. Louis XI., +however, played the incognito openly. On these occasions he was always +the good fellow, endeavoring to please the people of the middle classes, +whom he made his allies against feudality. For some time past he had +found no opportunity to “make himself populace” and espouse the domestic +interests of some man “engarrie” (an old word still used in Tours, +meaning engaged) in litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the +anxieties of Maitre Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of +the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to +his daughter:-- + +“Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now +amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve +hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!” he continued, looking at the +seigneurs who were serving him. “Notre Dame! with a sum like that what +absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank +the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification +ready-made for this kingdom.” + +When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the +grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel +de Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de +Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + +“Monsieur,” said the king, “I told you to start at once. Say farewell +to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by an +escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they will be +in Venice before you get there.” + +Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret +instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of +men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in +haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made +deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin +the unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, +in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his +quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of the +robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his royal +master without uneasiness. + +“Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?” he said to the +king. + +Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and +his sister. + +“No, my old crony,” he said; “don’t worry yourself. They will sup at +Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good +in detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I +shall do so now.” + +“Find him, sire, and make no wager.” + +They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his +treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the casket +from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, then the +chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, easily +convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter supposition, +inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,--where, in truth, a fire +was seldom made,--and no sign that any one had passed down the flue; and +moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the roof which was almost +inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close investigation, marked +with that sagacity which distinguished the suspicious mind of Louis +XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, that no one had forced an +entrance into the strong-room of his silversmith. No marks of violence +were on the locks, nor on the iron coffers which contained the gold, +silver, and jewels deposited as securities by wealthy debtors. + +“If the robber opened this box,” said the king, “why did he take nothing +out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason had he for +leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer robber!” + +At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked at +each other for a moment. + +“Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your +protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?” + +“If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in +ignorance. That is one of my secrets.” + +“Then the devil is in my house!” cried the miser, piteously. + +In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his +silversmith’s cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was +casting on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and power +which seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, thinking he +had in some way offended his dangerous master. + +“Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!” cried Louis XI. abruptly. +“If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow who did it. +Make that old hag you call your sister come here,” he added. + +Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with his +hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis’s withered lips determined him. +Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + +“Have you any flour?” demanded the king. + +“Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter,” she answered. + +“Well, go and fetch some,” said the king. + +“What do you want to do with our flour, sire?” she cried, not the least +impressed by his royal majesty. + +“Old fool!” said Cornelius, “go and execute the orders of our gracious +master. Shall the king lack flour?” + +“Our good flour!” she grumbled, as she went downstairs. “Ah! my flour!” + +Then she returned, and said to the king:-- + +“Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?” + +At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, +from time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to +and from market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of flour. +The housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom she cast +the rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt venom upon +men. + +“It costs six sous the ‘septeree,’” she said. + +“What does that matter?” said the king. “Spread it on the floor; but be +careful to make an even layer of it--as if it had fallen like snow.” + +The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as though +the end of the world had come. + +“My flour, sire! on the ground! But--” + +Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the +intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents +on the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for the +empty bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she disappeared with +a heavy sigh. + +Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till +it looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, +followed by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When they +reached the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, “Are there two keys +to the lock?” + +“No, sire.” + +The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced with +large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret lock, +the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + +After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him +to post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest +secrecy, in the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of the +adjoining houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and escort +him back to Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he himself +would not sup with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close his +windows with the utmost care, that no single ray of light should escape +from the house, and then he departed with much pomp for Plessis along +the embankment; but there he secretly left his escort, and returned by +a door in the ramparts to the house of the torconnier. All these +precautions were so well taken that the people of Tours really thought +the king had returned to Plessis, and would sup on the morrow with +Cornelius. + +Towards eight o’clock that evening, as the king was supping with his +physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much +jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in +danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, +even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was +occupied as usual. + +“I hope,” said the king, laughing, “that my silversmith shall be robbed +to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, messieurs, +no one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my order, under +pain of grievous punishment.” + +Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first to +leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong-room. +He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the marks of +a large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. Carefully +avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the door of +the treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of fracture or +defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; but as they grew +gradually fainter, they finally left not the slightest trace, and it was +impossible for him to discover where the robber had fled. + +“Ho, crony!” called out the king, “you have been finely robbed this +time.” + +At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly +terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs and +corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, the +king chanced to observe the miser’s slippers and recognized the type of +sole that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a word, and +checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had been hanged +for the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once in the room +the king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot beside those +already existing, and easily convinced him that the robber of his +treasure was no other than himself. + +“The pearl necklace is gone!” cried Cornelius. “There is sorcery in +this. I never left my room.” + +“We’ll know all about it now,” said the king; the evident truthfulness +of his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + +He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and +asked:-- + +“What did you see during the night?” + +“Oh, sire!” said the lieutenant, “an amazing sight! Your silversmith +crept down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed to +be a shadow.” + +“I!” exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and +stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + +“Go away, all of you,” said the king, addressing the archers, “and tell +Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to leave their +rooms and come here to mine.--You have incurred the penalty of death,” + he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear him. “You have ten +murders on your conscience!” + +Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, +remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming’s face, he added:-- + +“You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. +You can get out of the claws of _my_ justice by payment of a good round +sum to my treasury, but if you don’t build at least one chapel in honor +of the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you throughout +eternity.” + +“Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make +thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns,” replied Cornelius +mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. “Thirteen hundred and +seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!” + +“He must have buried them in some hiding-place,” muttered the king, +beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. “That was the magnet +that invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure.” + +Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre +Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the adventure. + +“Sire,” replied the physician, “there is nothing supernatural in that. +Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is +the third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give +yourself the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see that +old man stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I noticed +in the two other cases I have already observed, a curious connection +between the actions of that nocturnal existence and the interests and +occupations of their daily life.” + +“Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man.” + +“I am your physician,” replied the other, insolently. + +At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with him +when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap with a +hasty motion. + +“At such times,” continued Coyctier, “persons attend to their business +while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued his +dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a day +in which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure.” + +“Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!” cried the king. + +“Where is it?” asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of nature, +heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while continuing +himself almost torpid with thought and the shock of this singular +misfortune. + +“Ha!” cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, +“somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when +asleep.” + +“Leave us,” said the king. + +When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and +chuckled coldly. + +“Messire Hoogworst,” he said, with a nod, “all treasures buried in +France belong to the king.” + +“Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and +fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need.” + +“Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you +can surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me.” + +“No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my death. +But what scheme have you for finding it?” + +“I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. You +might fear any one but me.” + +“Ah, sire!” cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king’s feet, “you +are the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; +and I will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing +my utmost to promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with +Monseigneur. She will bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of +lands, which will round out the glory of your crown.” + +“There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me,” said the king, +with frowning brows, “or else you have already done so.” + +“Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!” + +“All that is talk,” returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. +“You need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You +are selling me your influence--Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you +the master, and am I your servant?” + +“Ah, sire,” said the old man, “I was waiting to surprise you agreeably +with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was +awaiting confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What has +become of that young man?” + +“Enough!” said the king; “this is only one more blunder you have +committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my +knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this.” + +Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the +lower rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + +“Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have +put thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, I, +I am the robber!” + +Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat she +quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old maid +accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that she +trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She turned +pale by degrees, and her face,--the changes in which were difficult +to decipher among its wrinkles,--became distorted while her brother +explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and the +extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + +“Louis XI. and I,” he said in conclusion, “have just been lying to each +other like two peddlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that if he +follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king alone +can watch my wanderings at night. I don’t feel sure that his conscience, +near as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred thousand crowns. We +MUST be beforehand with him; we must find the hidden treasure and send +it to Ghent, and you alone--” + +Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the +sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of age. +When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly like a +man in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his sister, +too feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she was dead. +Maitre Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying out: + +“You cannot die now. There is time enough later--Oh! it is all over. The +old hag never could do anything at the right time.” + +He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble +feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, half +forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:-- + +“Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?--you who understood me so well! +Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With you, my +peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only known what +good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you would have +lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! thirteen hundred +thousand crowns! Won’t that wake you?--No, she is dead!” + +Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued +from his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange +exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. +Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened +features of his old friend. + +“What is the matter?” he asked. + +“Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She +precedes me there below,” he said, pointing to the floor with a dreadful +gesture. + +“Enough!” cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + +“I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang me, +if that’s your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is full of +gold. I give up all to you--” + +“Come, come, crony,” replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the +sight of this strange suffering, “we shall find your treasure some fine +night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. I will +come back in the course of this week--” + +“As you please, sire.” + +At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of the +chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other with an +expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + +“Adieu, my crony,” said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up +his cap. + +“May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!” replied the +silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + +After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between +them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man on +the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so well, +they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, that the +king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered the words, +“As you please, sire,” the repugnance that his visits would henceforth +cause to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a declaration of +war in the “Adieu, my crony,” of the king. + +Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the conduct +they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch possessed the +secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter could, by his +connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions that any king +of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of the house +of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then coveting. The +marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the people of Ghent +and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the influence of +Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now begun by +Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the command of the +army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two master-foxes were, +therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are paralyzed by chance. + +So, whether it were that from that day the king’s health failed and went +from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into France +Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, to +marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the +castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the +hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the pair +remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship. Happily for +Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister was the +actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by Tristan. +Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town would have +risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king could have +taken measures to protect it. + +But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so +far as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards +Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith spent +the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless occupation. +Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and came, smelling +for gold in every corner of his house; he studied the cracks and +crevices, he sounded the walls, he besought the trees of the garden, the +foundations of the house, the roofs of the turrets, the earth and the +heavens, to give him back his treasure. Often he stood motionless for +hours, casting his eyes on all sides, plunging them into the void. +Striving for the miracles of ecstasy and the powers of sorcery, he +tried to see his riches through space and obstacles. He was constantly +absorbed in one overwhelming thought, consumed with a single desire that +burned his entrails, gnawed more cruelly still by the ever-increasing +agony of the duel he was fighting with himself since his passion for +gold had turned to his own injury,--a species of uncompleted suicide +which kept him at once in the miseries of life and in those of death. + +Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident +into the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, like +Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. But +Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of neither the +one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his treasure,--a +novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. Sometimes, becoming +forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of his door wide open, +and then the passers in the street could see that already wizened man, +planted on his two legs in the midst of his untilled garden, absolutely +motionless, and casting on those who watched him a fixed gaze, the +insupportable light of which froze them with terror. If, by chance, he +walked through the streets of Tours, he seemed like a stranger in them; +he knew not where he was, nor whether the sun or the moon were shining. +Often he would ask his way of those who passed him, believing that he +was still in Ghent, and seeming to be in search of something lost. + +The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea +by which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the +fictitious being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel +claws perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, +Fear arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his +secret, the secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier could +post men to watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown gulf +into which he had cast his riches,--those riches he had watered with the +blood of so many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, arose Remorse. + +In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden +treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides +which, his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining powerful +anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful--alone with +night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that man, +instinctively perhaps, has best embodied--obedient thus to a moral truth +as yet devoid of actual proof. + +At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and +commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the +horrors of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain +thoughts more agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his +throat with a razor. + +This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then +restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was pillaged. +A tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine that a +contractor of public works, named Bohier, found the miser’s treasure +and used it in the construction of Chenonceaux, that marvellous chateau +which, in spite of the wealth of several kings and the taste of Diane +de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici for building, remains unfinished to +the present day. + +Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as +we know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the +departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career +was famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. +He was saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, +the illegitimate great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the +illegitimate wife, the beloved mistress of Henri II.--for bastardy and +love were hereditary in that family of nobles. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + +***** This file should be named 1454-0.txt or 1454-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/1454/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” + or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project +Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right +of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’ WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm’s +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. + +The Foundation’s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation’s web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/1454-0.zip b/old/1454-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b87eb62 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454-0.zip diff --git a/old/1454-h.zip b/old/1454-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3e29f9e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454-h.zip diff --git a/old/1454-h/1454-h.htm b/old/1454-h/1454-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..303634d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454-h/1454-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3292 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maitre Cornelius + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: February 25, 2010 [EBook #1454] +Last Updated: November 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + MAITRE CORNELIUS + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,—a fancy of the fashions of the day,—but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>MAITRE CORNELIUS</b> </a> + </h3> + <h3> + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE TORCONNIER + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE HIDDEN TREASURE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + MAITRE CORNELIUS + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + </h2> + <p> + In 1479, on All Saints’ day, the moment at which this history begins, + vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de + Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself to + the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during the + service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of which + were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. Nevertheless a + goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the saints on the + triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious offerings, the + merit and signification of which have never been sufficiently explained. + The lights on each altar and all the candelabra in the choir were burning. + Irregularly shed among a forest of columns and arcades which supported the + three naves of the cathedral, the gleam of these masses of candles barely + lighted the immense building, because the strong shadows of the columns, + projected among the galleries, produced fantastic forms which increased + the darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, the vaulted + ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at mid-day. + </p> + <p> + The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain figures + were so vaguely defined in the “chiaroscuro” that they seemed like + phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the scattered light, + attracted attention like the principal heads in a picture. Some statues + seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here and there eyes shone in + the flutings of the columns, the floor reflected looks, the marbles spoke, + the vaults re-echoed sighs, the edifice itself seemed endowed with life. + </p> + <p> + The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more + majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it poetical; + but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches unite + themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are felt in the + silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the clasping hands. The + concert of feelings in which all souls are rising heavenward produces an + inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The mystical exaltation of the + faithful reacts upon each of them; the feebler are no doubt borne upward + by the waves of this ocean of faith and love. Prayer, a power electrical, + draws our nature above itself. This involuntary union of all wills, + equally prostrate on the earth, equally risen into heaven, contains, no + doubt, the secret of the magic influences wielded by the chants of the + priests, the harmonies of the organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the + altar, the voices of the crowd and its silent contemplations. + Consequently, we need not be surprised to see in the middle-ages so many + tender passions begun in churches after long ecstasies,—passions + ending often in little sanctity, and for which women, as usual, were the + ones to do penance. Religious sentiment certainly had, in those days, an + affinity with love; it was either the motive or the end of it. Love was + still a religion, with its fine fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its + sublime devotions, which sympathized with those of Christianity. + </p> + <p> + The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance + between religion and love. In the first place society had no meeting-place + except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women were equals + nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and communicate. The + festivals of the Church were the theatre of former times; the soul of + woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than it is at a ball or the + opera in our day; and do not strong emotions invariably bring women back + to love? By dint of mingling with life and grasping it in all its acts and + interests, religion had made itself a sharer of all virtues, the + accomplice of all vices. Religion had passed into science, into politics, + into eloquence, into crimes, into the flesh of the sick man and the poor + man; it mounted thrones; it was everywhere. These semi-learned + observations will serve, perhaps, to vindicate the truth of this study, + certain details of which may frighten the perfected morals of our age, + which are, as everybody knows, a trifle straitlaced. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the organ, + mingling with the vibrations of the loud “A-men” as it issued from the + strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo through the + distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the beneficent words + of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, or fearing for his + purse in the tumult of the crowd when the worshippers dispersed, slipped + quietly away, at the risk of being called a bad Catholic. On which, a + nobleman, leaning against one of the enormous columns that surround the + choir, hastened to take possession of the seat abandoned by the worthy + Tourainean. Having done so, he quickly hid his face among the plumes of + his tall gray cap, kneeling upon the chair with an air of contrition that + even an inquisitor would have trusted. + </p> + <p> + Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to + recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a certain + gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,—a caustic, + jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their heads, and + gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + </p> + <p> + The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel + placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was customary + for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial families, and + even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the services, themselves + and their servants exclusively, in the various lateral chapels of the long + side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony is in practice to the present + day. A woman had her chapel as she now has her opera-box. The families who + hired these privileged places were required to decorate the altar of the + chapel thus conceded to them, and each made it their pride to adorn their + own sumptuously,—a vanity which the Church did not rebuke. In this + particular chapel a lady was kneeling close to the railing on a handsome + rug of red velvet with gold tassels, precisely opposite to the seat + vacated of the burgher. A silver-gilt lamp, hanging from the vaulted + ceiling of the chapel before an altar magnificently decorated, cast its + pale light upon a prayer-book held by the lady. The book trembled + violently in her hand when the young man approached her. + </p> + <p> + “A-men!” + </p> + <p> + To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully agitated, + though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly in a whisper:— + </p> + <p> + “You will ruin me.” + </p> + <p> + The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy + ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the + stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion + which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head + slightly that he might look into the chapel. + </p> + <p> + “He sleeps!” he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be heard + by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + </p> + <p> + The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum page + of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man had + designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the young + woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long breath and + raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward a picture of + the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the moistened glance, + revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she been wicked, she would + certainly have dissimulated. The personage who thus alarmed the lovers was + a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly bald, savage in expression, and + wearing a long and discolored white beard cut in a fan-tail. The cross of + Saint-Michel glittered on his breast; his coarse, strong hands, covered + with gray hairs, which had been clasped, had now dropped slightly apart in + the slumber to which he had imprudently yielded. The right hand seemed + about to fall upon his dagger, the hilt of which was in the form of an + iron shell. By the manner in which he had placed the weapon, this hilt was + directly under his hand; if, unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he + would wake, no doubt, instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic + lips, his pointed chin aggressively pushed forward, presented the + characteristic signs of a malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that + would surely enable him to divine all because he suspected everything. His + yellow forehead was wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to + believe nothing, to weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking their + gold, search out the meaning and the value of human actions. His bodily + frame, though deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both vigorous and + excitable; in short, you might have thought him a stunted ogre. + Consequently, an inevitable danger awaited the young lady whenever this + terrible seigneur woke. That jealous husband would surely not fail to see + the difference between a worthy old burgher who gave him no umbrage, and + the new-comer, young, slender, and elegant. + </p> + <p> + “Libera nos a malo,” she said, endeavoring to make the young man + comprehend her fears. + </p> + <p> + The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; + tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and + betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist no + longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, nurtured + by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately handsome; but + her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her interesting. She + had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair in the world. + Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a word, accepting a + look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. Love may never have been + more deeply felt than in those hearts, never more delightfully enjoyed, + but certainly no passion was ever more perilous. It was easy to divine + that to these two beings air, sound, foot-falls, etc., things indifferent + to other men, presented hidden qualities, peculiar properties which they + distinguished. Perhaps their love made them find faithful interpreters in + the icy hands of the old priest to whom they confessed their sins, and + from whom they received the Host at the holy table. Love profound! love + gashed into the soul like a scar upon the body which we carry through + life! When these two young people looked at each other, the woman seemed + to say to her lover, “Let us love each other and die!” To which the young + knight answered, “Let us love each other and not die.” In reply, she + showed him a sign her old duenna and two pages. The duenna slept; the + pages were young and seemingly careless of what might happen, either of + good or evil, to their masters. + </p> + <p> + “Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be managed.” + </p> + <p> + The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when the + hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. Feeling the + cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves instantly on his + wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of genius, he awoke with + his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though he had not slept at all. + The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, with one eye on his + mistress, had watched the husband with the other, and he now rose quickly, + effacing himself behind a column at the moment when the hand of the old + man fell; after which he disappeared, swiftly as a bird. The lady lowered + her eyes to her book and tried to seem calm; but she could not prevent her + face from blushing and her heart from beating with unnatural violence. The + old lord saw the unusual crimson on the cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids + of his wife. He looked about him cautiously, but seeing no one to + distrust, he said to his wife:— + </p> + <p> + “What are you thinking of, my dear?” + </p> + <p> + “The smell of the incense turns me sick,” she replied. + </p> + <p> + “It is particularly bad to-day?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to believe in + this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he resolved to watch his + treasure more carefully than before. + </p> + <p> + The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the “Soecula + soeculorum,” the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the church. + Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the general hurry + was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the duenna and the + youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he gave his arm to his + wife and told the other page to follow them. + </p> + <p> + As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side of + the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream of persons + detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great portals, and + poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his party. The mass + was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and he and his wife + were therefore pushed onward to the door by the pressure of the multitude + behind them. The husband tried to pass out first, dragging the lady by the + arm, but at that instant he was pulled vigorously into the street, and his + wife was torn from him by a stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once + that he had fallen into a trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting + himself for having slept, he collected his whole strength, seized his wife + once more by the sleeve of her gown, and strove with his other hand to + cling to the gate of the church; but the ardor of love carried the day + against jealous fury. The young man took his mistress round the waist, and + carried her off so rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the + brocaded stuff of silk and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve alone + remained in the hand of the old man. A roar like that of a lion rose + louder than the shouts of the multitude, and a terrible voice howled out + the words:— + </p> + <p> + “To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! + help!” + </p> + <p> + And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted to draw + his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself surrounded + and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would be dangerous to + wound. Several among them, especially those of the highest rank, answered + him with jests as they dragged him along the cloisters. + </p> + <p> + With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into an + open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden bench. By + the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the chapel was + dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in silence, clasping + hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The countess had not the cruel + courage to reproach the young man for the boldness to which they owed this + perilous and only instant of happiness. + </p> + <p> + “Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?” said the young man, + eagerly. “Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do thirty + leagues at a stretch.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” she cried, softly, “in what corner of the world could you hide a + daughter of King Louis XI.?” + </p> + <p> + “True,” replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not + foreseen. + </p> + <p> + “Why did you tear me from my husband?” she asked in a sort of terror. + </p> + <p> + “Alas!” said her lover, “I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel in + being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,—two + or three plans,—and now that I see you all seems accomplished.” + </p> + <p> + “But I am lost!” said the countess. + </p> + <p> + “We are saved!” the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his love. + “Listen to me carefully!” + </p> + <p> + “This will cost me my life!” she said, letting the tears that rolled in + her eyes flow down her cheeks. “The count will kill me,—to-night, + perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter has + endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he called me + ‘Marie-full-of-grace,’ because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew the man to whom + he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not dared complain, out of + pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach the king? My confessor + himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why I have consented to this + guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,—some one to tell the truth to + the king. Can I rely on—Oh!” she cried, turning pale and + interrupting herself, “here comes the page!” + </p> + <p> + The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + </p> + <p> + “Fear nothing,” said the young seigneur, “he is won! You can safely trust + him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for you he will + warn us of his coming. In the confessional,” he added, in a low voice, “is + a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he drew you for safety + out of the crowd, and placed you under his own protection in this chapel. + Therefore, everything is arranged to deceive him.” + </p> + <p> + At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression of + sadness settled down on her face. + </p> + <p> + “No one can deceive him,” she said. “To-night he will know all. Save me + from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him—” she + hesitated; then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to confess + the secrets of her marriage, she added: “Yes, tell him that to master me + the count bleeds me in both arms—to exhaust me. Tell him that my + husband drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a prisoner; + that—” + </p> + <p> + Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. In + her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken words, + to kiss her hands. + </p> + <p> + “Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is + grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My + dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let + yourself say but two words, or we are lost!” + </p> + <p> + “What will become of us?” she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall a + picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, she + cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!” + </p> + <p> + “To-night,” said the young man, “I shall be with you in your room.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” she asked naively. + </p> + <p> + They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid of + love. + </p> + <p> + “This evening,” he replied, “I shall offer myself as apprentice to Maitre + Cornelius, the king’s silversmith. I have obtained a letter of + recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is next to + yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find my way to + your apartment by the help of a silken ladder.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she said, petrified with horror, “if you love me don’t go to Maitre + Cornelius.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his youth, + “you do indeed love me!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said; “are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I confide + to you my honor. Besides,” she added, looking at him with dignity, “I am + so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But what is the good of + all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you should enter that house of + Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all his apprentices—” + </p> + <p> + “Have been hanged,” said the young man, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, don’t go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery.” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you,” he said, with a look + that made her drop her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “But my husband?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Here is something to put him to sleep,” replied her lover, drawing from + his belt a little vial. + </p> + <p> + “Not for always?” said the countess, trembling. + </p> + <p> + For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + </p> + <p> + “I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so old,” + he said. “God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other way.” + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me,” said the countess, blushing. “I am cruelly punished for my + sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared you + might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never yet been + able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would be repeated to + him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you,” she continued, distressed + by his silence, “I deserve your blame.” + </p> + <p> + And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + </p> + <p> + “Do not come,” she said, “my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to wait + for the help of Heaven—that will I do!” + </p> + <p> + She tried to leave the chapel. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” cried the young man, “order me to do so and I will kill him. You + will see me to-night.” + </p> + <p> + “I was wise to destroy that drug,” she said in a voice that was faint with + the pleasure of finding herself so loved. “The fear of awakening my + husband will save us from ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + “I pledge you my life,” said the young man, pressing her hand. + </p> + <p> + “If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then be + united,” she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful hopes. + </p> + <p> + “Monseigneur comes!” cried the page, rushing in. + </p> + <p> + Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had gained + with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, snatched a + kiss, which was not refused. + </p> + <p> + “To-night!” he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + </p> + <p> + Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding from + column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the nave. An + old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the side of the + countess and closed the iron railing before which the page was marching + gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + </p> + <p> + A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by + several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a + naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and to + rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + </p> + <p> + “Monseigneur, madame is there,” said the page, going forward to meet him. + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the + alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At + that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give vent + to his rage. + </p> + <p> + “What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?” asked the priest. + </p> + <p> + “Father, that is my husband,” said the countess. + </p> + <p> + The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of the + chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into the + confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be listening + attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said his wife, “you owe many thanks to this venerable canon, + who gave me a refuge here.” + </p> + <p> + The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, who + had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he answered + curtly: + </p> + <p> + “Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you.” + </p> + <p> + He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her + curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church + without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had + something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and + preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took his way + through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the cathedral + from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by the Chancellor + Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification given by Charles + VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his glorious labors. + </p> + <p> + The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, called + the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of servants had + entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a deep silence fell + on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs had their houses, for + this new quarter of the town was near to Plessis, the usual residence of + the king, to whom the courtiers, if sent for, could go in a moment. The + last house in this street was also the last in the town. It belonged to + Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis + XI. gave his utmost confidence in those financial transactions which his + crafty policy induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom. + </p> + <p> + Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre + Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that the + same architect had built them both and destined them for the use of + tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, and + both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their corners were + upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities remark in towns + where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet prevailed. The bays, which + had little depth, gave a great power of resistance to the iron shutters of + the windows and doors. The riots and the civil wars so frequent in those + tumultuous times were ample justification for these precautions. + </p> + <p> + As six o’clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey + Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the + hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made in + the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. Casting a + glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to be, he + continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the young man + had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout the town in + honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks of light, the + chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted meats pervaded the + town. After the conclusion of the church services, the inhabitants were + regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction which fancy can picture + better than words can paint. But at this particular spot a deep silence + reigned, because in these two houses lived two passions which never + rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the silent country. Beneath the shadow of + the steeples of Saint-Martin, these two mute dwellings, separated from the + others in the same street and standing at the crooked end of it, seemed + afflicted with leprosy. The building opposite to them, the home of the + criminals of the State, was also under a ban. A young man would be readily + impressed by this sudden contrast. About to fling himself into an + enterprise that was horribly hazardous, it is no wonder that the daring + young seigneur stopped short before the house of the silversmith, and + called to mind the many tales furnished by the life of Maitre Cornelius,—tales + which caused such singular horror to the countess. At this period a man of + war, and even a lover, trembled at the mere word “magic.” Few indeed were + the minds and the imaginations which disbelieved in occult facts and tales + of the marvellous. The lover of the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, one of the + daughters whom Louis XI. had in Dauphine by Madame de Sassenage, however + bold he might be in other respects, was likely to think twice before he + finally entered the house of a so-called sorcerer. + </p> + <p> + The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the security + which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, the terror + of the countess, and the hesitation that now took possession of the lover. + But, in order to make the readers of this nineteenth century understand + how such commonplace events could be turned into anything supernatural, + and to make them share the alarms of that olden time, it is necessary to + interrupt the course of this narrative and cast a rapid glance on the + preceding life and adventures of Maitre Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE TORCONNIER + </h2> + <p> + Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having drawn + upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found refuge and + protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious of the + advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the principal + commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he naturalized, + ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which was rarely done by + Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much as the Fleming pleased + the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; equally politic, equally + learned; superior, both of them, to their epoch; understanding each other + marvellously; they discarded and resumed with equal facility, the one his + conscience, the other his religion; they loved the same Virgin, one by + conviction, the other by policy; in short, if we may believe the jealous + tales of Olivier de Daim and Tristan, the king went to the house of the + Fleming for those diversions with which King Louis XI. diverted himself. + History has taken care to transmit to our knowledge the licentious tastes + of a monarch who was not averse to debauchery. The old Fleming found, no + doubt, both pleasure and profit in lending himself to the capricious + pleasures of his royal client. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those + years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made him + the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had spent + considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with him in + safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the locksmiths of + the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing those locksmiths to + his house in a way to compel their silence, were long the subject of + countless tales which enlivened the evening gatherings of the city. These + singular artifices on the part of the old man made every one suppose him + the possessor of Oriental riches. Consequently the <i>narrators</i> of + that region—the home of the tale in France—built rooms full of + gold and precious tones in the Fleming’s house, not omitting to attribute + all this fabulous wealth to compacts with Magic. + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, an + old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a gentle, + pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and courier. + During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery of + considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry showed + that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. The old + miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The young man + was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the “question” protesting + his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to escape torture; but when + the judge required them to say where the stolen property could be found, + they kept silence, were again put to the torture, judged, condemned, and + hanged. On their way to the scaffold they declared themselves innocent, + according to the custom of all persons about to be executed. + </p> + <p> + The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the criminals + were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate soon evaporated. + In those days wars and seditions furnished endless excitements, and the + drama of each day eclipsed that of the night before. More grieved by the + loss he had met with than by the death of his three servants, Maitre + Cornelius lived alone in his house with the old Flemish woman, his sister. + He obtained permission from the king to use state couriers for his private + affairs, sold his mules to a muleteer of the neighborhood, and lived from + that moment in the deepest solitude, seeing no one but the king, doing his + business by means of Jews, who, shrewd calculators, served him well in + order to gain his all-powerful protection. + </p> + <p> + Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old + “torconnier” a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. called + Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under the reign + of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a man who pressed + others by violent means. The epithet, “tortionnaire,” which remains to + this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old word torconnier, which + we often find spelt “tortionneur.” The poor young orphan devoted himself + carefully to the affairs of the old Fleming, pleased him much, and was + soon high in his good graces. During a winter’s night, certain diamonds + deposited with Maitre Cornelius by the King of England as security for a + sum of a hundred thousand crowns were stolen, and suspicion, of course, + fell on the orphan. Louis XI. was all the more severe because he had + answered for the youth’s fidelity. After a very brief and summary + examination by the grand provost, the unfortunate secretary was hanged. + After that no one dared for a long time to learn the arts of banking and + exchange from Maitre Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,—men + of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,—took service with the + silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young men + into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in which + they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had secret + communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than ever + suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before Louis + XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial was promptly + had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed Tristan l’Hermite + secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, the young Touraineans + were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an executioner. The two + families thus thrown into mourning were much respected; their complaints + obtained a hearing, and little by little it came to be believed that all + the victims whom the king’s silversmith had sent to the scaffold were + innocent. Some persons declared that the cruel miser imitated the king, + and sought to put terror and gibbets between himself and his fellow-men; + others said that he had never been robbed at all,—that these + melancholy executions were the result of cool calculations, and that their + real object was to relieve him of all fear for his treasure. + </p> + <p> + The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The + Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the “tortionnaire,” and + named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to the town + bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned them against + doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius was that of + persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired with instinctive + terror; others he impressed with the deep respect that most men feel for + limitless power and money, while to a few he certainly possessed the + attraction of mystery. His way of life, his countenance, and the favor of + the king, justified all the tales of which he had now become the subject. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his + persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king caused + his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish guard. Such + royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old miser had + bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the torconnier went out + but little; but the lords of the court paid him frequent visits. He lent + them money rather liberally, though capricious in his manner of doing so. + On certain days he refused to give them a penny; the next day he would + offer them large sums,—always at high interest and on good security. + A good Catholic, he went regularly to the services, always attending the + earliest mass at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased there, as + elsewhere, a chapel in perpetuity, he was separated even in church from + other Christians. A popular proverb of that day, long remembered in Tours, + was the saying: “You passed in front of the Fleming; ill-luck will happen + to you.” Passing in front of the Fleming explained all sudden pains and + evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of fortune among the Touraineans. + Even at court most persons attributed to Cornelius that fatal influence + which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic superstition has called the “evil + eye.” Without the terrible power of Louis XI., which was stretched like a + mantle over that house, the populace, on the slightest opportunity, would + have demolished La Malemaison, that “evil house” in the rue du Murier. And + yet Cornelius had been the first to plant mulberries in Tours, and the + Touraineans at that time regarded him as their good genius. Who shall + reckon on popular favor! + </p> + <p> + A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of France + were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he was gloomy + and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some inexplicable power + brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du Murier. Like a snail, + whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, he admitted to the king + that he was never at ease except under the bolts and behind the + vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet he knew very well that + whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the most dangerous spot on + earth for him. + </p> + <p> + “The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the + torconnier,” said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the festival + of All-Saints. “He says he has been robbed again, but he can’t hang + anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond came and asked + me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies he wanted to sell + me. ‘Pasques-Dieu! I don’t steal what I can take,’ I said to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Was he frightened?” asked the barber. + </p> + <p> + “Misers are afraid of only one thing,” replied the king. “My crony the + torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for good + reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done anything but + what is just and necessary.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet that old brigand overcharges you,” said the barber. + </p> + <p> + “You wish he did, don’t you?” replied the king, with the malicious look at + his barber. + </p> + <p> + “Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you and + the devil!” + </p> + <p> + “There, there!” said the king, “don’t put bad ideas into my head. My crony + is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have made—perhaps + because he owes me nothing.” + </p> + <p> + For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with his + aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood + declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the house, + waiting for the hour of the witches’ sabbath. This fact seemed the more + extraordinary because it was known to be the miser’s custom to lock up his + sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + </p> + <p> + As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of + being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of the + king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, but, + like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it were, of + that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, and age + intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, though she was + perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother whom she actually + surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily existence had something + mysterious and problematical about it. The old woman rarely took bread + from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the market, that the least + credulous of the townspeople ended by attributing to these strange beings + the knowledge of some secret for the maintenance of life. Those who + dabbled in alchemy declared that Maitre Cornelius had the power of making + gold. Men of science averred that he had found the Universal Panacea. + According to many of the country-people to whom the townsfolk talked of + him, Cornelius was a chimerical being, and many of them came into the town + to look at his house out of mere curiosity. + </p> + <p> + The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about him, + first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and then at the + evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their angles, and tinting + with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and reliefs of the carvings. + The caprices of this white light gave a sinister expression to both + edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself encouraged the superstitions that + hung about the miser’s dwelling. The young man called to mind the many + traditions which made Cornelius a personage both curious and formidable. + Though quite decided through the violence of his love to enter that house, + and stay there long enough to accomplish his design, he hesitated to take + the final step, all the while aware that he should certainly take it. But + where is the man who, in a crisis of his life, does not willingly listen + to presentiments as he hangs above the precipice? A lover worthy of being + loved, the young man feared to die before he had been received for love’s + sake by the countess. + </p> + <p> + This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not feel + the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, and chilled + his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his name, as already + he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. In case of mishap, he + could not claim the privileges of his rank nor the protection of his + friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. + If her husband suspected the nocturnal visit of a lover, he was capable of + roasting her alive in an iron cage, or of killing her by degrees in the + dungeons of a fortified castle. Looking down at the shabby clothing in + which he had disguised himself, the young nobleman felt ashamed. His black + leather belt, his stout shoes, his ribbed socks, his linsey-woolsey + breeches, and his gray woollen doublet made him look like the clerk of + some poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of the fifteenth century it was + like death itself to play the part of a beggarly burgher, and renounce the + privileges of his rank. But—to climb the roof of the house where his + mistress wept; to descend the chimney, or creep along from gutter to + gutter to the window of her room; to risk his life to kneel beside her on + a silken cushion before a glowing fire, during the sleep of a dangerous + husband, whose snores would double their joy; to defy both heaven and + earth in snatching the boldest of all kisses; to say no word that would + not lead to death or at least to sanguinary combat if overheard,—all + these voluptuous images and romantic dangers decided the young man. + However slight might be the guerdon of his enterprise, could he only kiss + once more the hand of his lady, he still resolved to venture all, impelled + by the chivalrous and passionate spirit of those days. He never supposed + for a moment that the countess would refuse him the soft happiness of love + in the midst of such mortal danger. The adventure was too perilous, too + impossible not to be attempted and carried out. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,—a custom + fallen elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, + where venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were not + put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across the + streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated burghers, + attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing lanterns, + echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, seemed to be + asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except through the roofs. In + those days the roofs of houses were much frequented after dark. The + streets were so narrow in the provincial towns, and even in Paris, that + robbers could jump from the roofs on one side to those on the other. This + perilous occupation was long the amusement of King Charles IX. in his + youth, if we may believe the memoirs of his day. + </p> + <p> + Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young + nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, + when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, + which the writers of those days would have called “cornue,”—perhaps + with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his sight, + and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at the spectacle + before him. On each side of the door was a face framed in a species of + loophole. At first he took these two faces for grotesque masks carved in + stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, motionless, discolored were + they; but the cold air and the moonlight presently enabled him to + distinguish the faint white mist which living breath sent from two + purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, beneath the shadow of the + eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting clear fire, like those of a + wolf crouching in the brushwood as it hears the baying of the hounds. The + uneasy gleam of those eyes was turned on him so fixedly that, after + receiving it for fully a minute, during which he examined the singular + sight, he felt like a bird at which a setter points; a feverish tumult + rose in his soul, but he quickly repressed it. The two faces, strained and + suspicious, were doubtless those of Cornelius and his sister. + </p> + <p> + The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, and + whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his pocket + and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight to the + door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the house as if + it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept beneath the threshold, + and an eye appeared at a small and very strong iron grating. + </p> + <p> + “Who is there?” + </p> + <p> + “A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you want?” + </p> + <p> + “To enter.” + </p> + <p> + “Your name?” + </p> + <p> + “Philippe Goulenoire.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you brought credentials?” + </p> + <p> + “Here they are.” + </p> + <p> + “Pass them through the box.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is it?” + </p> + <p> + “To your left.” + </p> + <p> + Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box above + which was a loophole. + </p> + <p> + “The devil!” thought he, “plainly the king comes here, as they say he + does; he couldn’t take more precautions at Plessis.” + </p> + <p> + He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that + lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, “Close the traps + of the door.” + </p> + <p> + A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts run, + the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, opened to the + slightest distance through which a man could pass. At the risk of tearing + off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather than walked into La + Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet face, the eyebrows + projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose and chin so near + together that a nut could scarcely pass between them,—a pallid, + haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently of only bones and + nerves,—guided the “soi-disant” foreigner silently into a lower + room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + </p> + <p> + “Sit there,” she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool placed + at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no fire. + </p> + <p> + On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with twisted + legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little bread-sops, + hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools placed beside the + table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed that the miserly + pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the door and pushed two + iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, the loopholes through + which they had been gazing into the street; then he returned to his seat. + Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the brother and sister dipping + their sops into the egg in turn, and with the utmost gravity and the same + precision with which soldiers dip their spoons in regular rotation into + the mess-pot. This performance was done in silence. But as he ate, + Cornelius examined the false apprentice with as much care and scrutiny as + if he were weighing an old coin. + </p> + <p> + Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, was + tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated by all + amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even furtively, at the + walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius detected him, he would + not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in his house. He contented + himself, therefore, by looking first at the egg and then at the old woman, + occasionally contemplating his future master. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI.‘s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired the + same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a sort of + intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his eyes; but + by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, penetrating, powerful + glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, and to whom the + phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has become familiar. His + thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air of indescribable + craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague resemblance to the + muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting forehead, with many lines, + showed great and splendid qualities and a nobility of soul, the springs of + which had been lowered by experience until the cruel teachings of life had + driven it back into the farthest recesses of this most singular human + being. He was certainly not an ordinary miser; and his passion covered, no + doubt, extreme enjoyments and secret conceptions. + </p> + <p> + “What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?” he said abruptly to his + future apprentice. + </p> + <p> + “Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent.” + </p> + <p> + “What is the freight on the Scheldt?” + </p> + <p> + “Three sous parisis.” + </p> + <p> + “Any news at Ghent?” + </p> + <p> + “The brother of Lieven d’Herde is ruined.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” + </p> + <p> + After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee with + the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black velvet, open + in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous material being + defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent costume, formerly worn + by him as president of the tribunal of the Parchons, functions which had + won him the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + </p> + <p> + Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further + questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from a + Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to his good + memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the manners and + habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the first flush of + his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to perceive the + difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the terrible Fleming + reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, and remembered how + the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders of Maitre + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “Have you supped?” asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, “You + are not to sup.” + </p> + <p> + The old maid trembled in spite of her brother’s tone; she looked at the + new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to + fill, and said with a specious smile:— + </p> + <p> + “You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as + the devil’s tail.” + </p> + <p> + “I have supped,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Well then,” replied the miser, “you can come back and see me to-morrow. I + have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to sleep + upon the matter.” + </p> + <p> + “Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don’t know a soul in + this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in + prison. However,” he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing in + his words, “if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go.” + </p> + <p> + The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + </p> + <p> + “Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here.” + </p> + <p> + “But—” said his sister, alarmed. + </p> + <p> + “Silence,” replied Cornelius. “In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he will + answer for this young man. You know,” he whispered in his sister’s ear, + “we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That’s a + hostage, hey!” + </p> + <p> + “And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like a + thief than a Fleming.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + </p> + <p> + Both misers listened. A moment after the “Hush!” uttered by Cornelius, a + noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the + other side of the moat of the town. + </p> + <p> + “It is the Plessis guard on their rounds,” said the sister. + </p> + <p> + “Give me the key of the apprentice’s room,” said Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?” cried Cornelius, in a + meaning tone of voice. “At your age can’t you see in the dark? It isn’t + difficult to find a key.” + </p> + <p> + The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left the + room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the door, + Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance which he + hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the chair-strip, + and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped with black + arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a match-lock pistol + with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible weapon lay close to + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “How do you expect to earn your living with me?” said the latter. + </p> + <p> + “I have but little money,” replied Philippe, “but I know good tricks in + business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, that will + satisfy me.” + </p> + <p> + “A sou! a sou!” echoed the miser; “why, that’s a good deal!” + </p> + <p> + At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” said Cornelius to Philippe. + </p> + <p> + The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone + staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside the + hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the young man + paused. + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” said Cornelius. “The devil! this nook is the place where the + king takes his ease.” + </p> + <p> + The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under the + pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a little + room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The tower stood + in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like the courtyards + of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the farther end, through + an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden in which nothing grew but + the mulberries which Cornelius had introduced. The young nobleman took + note of all this through the loopholes on the spiral staircase, the moon + casting, fortunately, a brilliant light. A cot, a stool, a mismatched + pitcher and basin formed the entire furniture of the room. The light could + enter only through square openings, placed at intervals in the outside + wall of the tower, according, no doubt, to the exterior ornamentation. + </p> + <p> + “Here is your lodging,” said Cornelius; “it is plain and solid and + contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this room + as <i>the others</i> did.” + </p> + <p> + After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, Cornelius + double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the staircase, + leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell-founder when on + opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without light, seated on a + stool, in a little garret from which so many of his predecessors had gone + to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a wild beast caught in a trap. + He jumped upon the stool and raised himself to his full height in order to + reach one of the little openings through which a faint light shone. Thence + he saw the Loire, the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, the gloomy marvels of + Plessis, where lights were gleaming in the deep recesses of a few windows. + Far in the distance lay the beautiful meadows of Touraine and the silvery + stream of her river. Every point of this lovely nature had, at that + moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the waters, the roofs of the + houses shone like diamonds in the trembling light of the moon. The soul of + the young seigneur could not repress a sad and tender emotion. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose it is my last farewell!” he said to himself. + </p> + <p> + He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure + offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, nevertheless, + retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined each difficulty. To + him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural being seen through the + incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he fancied came from the hotel + de Poitiers, restored him to himself and to a sense of his true situation. + Throwing himself on his pallet to reflect on his course, he heard a slight + movement which echoed faintly from the spiral staircase. He listened + attentively, and the whispered words, “He has gone to bed,” said by the + old woman, reached his ear. By an accident unknown probably to the + architect, the slightest noise on the staircase sounded in the room of the + apprentices, so that Philippe did not lose a single movement of the miser + and his sister who were watching him. He undressed, lay down, pretended to + sleep, and employed the time during which the pair remained on the + staircase, in seeking means to get from his prison to the hotel de + Poitiers. + </p> + <p> + About ten o’clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new + inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied + carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could recognize + the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, occupy the whole + second floor. Like all the houses of that period, this floor was next + below the roof, from which its windows projected, adorned with spandrel + tops that were richly sculptured. The roof itself was edged with a sort of + balustrade, concealing the gutters for the rain water which gargoyles in + the form of crocodile’s heads discharged into the street. The young + seigneur, after studying this topography as carefully as a cat, believed + he could make his way from the tower to the roof, and thence to Madame de + Vallier’s by the gutters and the help of a gargoyle. But he did not count + on the narrowness of the loopholes of the tower; it was impossible to pass + through them. He then resolved to get out upon the roof of the house + through the window of the staircase on the second floor. To accomplish + this daring project he must leave his room, and Cornelius had carried off + the key. + </p> + <p> + By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed under + his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the “coup de + grace” in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the victor to + despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade sharpened like + a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like a saw, but toothed + in the reverse direction from that by which it would enter the body. The + young man determined to use this latter blade to saw through the wood + around the lock. Happily for him the staple of the lock was put on to the + outside of the door by four stout screws. By the help of his dagger he + managed, not without great difficulty, to unscrew and remove it + altogether, carefully laying it aside and the four screws with it. By + midnight he was free, and he went down the stairs without his shoes to + reconnoitre the localities. + </p> + <p> + He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down a + corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a window + opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of the hotel + de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. Nothing could + express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly made to the + Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the celebrated parish + church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining the tall broad + chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his steps to fetch his + dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light on the staircase and + saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, carrying a lamp, his eyes + open to their fullest extent and fixed upon the corridor, at the entrance + of which he stood like a spectre. + </p> + <p> + “If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me,” thought + the young man. + </p> + <p> + The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. In + this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence of + mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the angle of + it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp in advance + of him, came into line with the current of air which the young man could + send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius muttered vague + words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and retraced his steps. The + young man then rushed to his room, caught up his dagger and returned to + the blessed window, opened it softly and jumped upon the roof. + </p> + <p> + Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. Perhaps + the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the enterprise + caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. He leaned + against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to himself:— + </p> + <p> + “By which chimney can I get to her?” + </p> + <p> + He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all and + felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made up his + mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger securely in a + joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to it, threw the ladder + down the chimney and risked himself upon it, trusting to his good blade, + and to the chance of not having mistaken his mistress’s room. He knew not + whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or awake, but one thing he was resolved + upon, he would hold the countess in his arms if it cost the life of two + men. + </p> + <p> + Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently + still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. Pale + with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the light of + the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from her. We may + well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in their hearts. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + </h2> + <p> + The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his + chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + </p> + <p> + “Good luck to you, crony,” he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty way. + </p> + <p> + “Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a + moment’s talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies and + all the jewels of the Duke of—” + </p> + <p> + “Let us hear about that,” said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard of + Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, Olivier de + Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. “Tell me about it. Another + man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!” + </p> + <p> + The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came with + slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group paused under a + tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers made a circle about + him. + </p> + <p> + “Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me—” + began Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!” exclaimed Louis, wagging his + head. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes!” replied the silversmith, bitterly. “But methinks he’d have + snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me by + Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in my + hands. I will wager the Jew’s letter and seal were forged! In short, sire, + I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you admired so much. + They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the jewels of the Elector + of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! they’ll steal your kingdom + if you don’t take care. As soon as I missed the jewels I went up to the + room of that apprentice, who is, assuredly, a past-master in thieving. + This time we don’t lack proof. He had forced the lock of his door. But + when he got back to his room, the moon was down and he couldn’t find all + the screws. Happily, I felt one under my feet when I entered the room. He + was sound asleep, the beggar, tired out. Just fancy, gentlemen, he got + down into my strong-room by the chimney. To-morrow, or to-night, rather, + I’ll roast him alive. He had a silk ladder, and his clothes were covered + with marks of his clambering over the roof and down the chimney. He meant + to stay with me, and ruin me, night after night, the bold wretch! But + where are the jewels? The country-folks coming into town early saw him on + the roof. He must have had accomplices, who waited for him by that + embankment you have been making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of + fellows who come in boats; crack! they get off with everything, and leave + no traces! But we hold this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! ah! a + fine morsel he’ll be for the gallows. With a little bit of <i>questioning</i> + beforehand, we shall know all. Why, the glory of your reign is concerned + in it! there ought not to be robbers in the land under so great a king.” + </p> + <p> + The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy + meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his life. A + deep silence reigned. + </p> + <p> + “This is your business,” he said at length to Tristan; “take you hold of + it.” + </p> + <p> + He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. + Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in company + with the grand provost. + </p> + <p> + “Where are those thousand gold crowns?” he called to him. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for your + justice.” + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges of + the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of young + mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + </p> + <p> + Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly + asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the same + ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary dangers + with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had even + postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a great + blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking the + moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed lock; he + had no patience to look for them. With the “laisser-aller” of a tired man, + he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. He did, however, + make a sort of compact with himself to awake at daybreak, but the events + of the day and the agitations of the night did not allow him to keep faith + with himself. Happiness is forgetful. Cornelius no longer seemed + formidable to the young man when he threw himself on the pallet where so + many poor wretches had wakened to their doom; and this light-hearted + heedlessness proved his ruin. While the king’s silversmith rode back from + Plessis, accompanied by the grand provost and his redoubtable archers. The + false Goulenoire was being watched by the old sister, seated on the + corkscrew staircase oblivious of the cold, and knitting socks for + Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that charming + night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. He saw + himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on her knees in + the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her persecutions and + the details of the count’s tyranny; he grew pitiful over the poor lady, + who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter of Louis XI. He + promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs to that terrible + father; everything, he assured her, should be settled as they wished, the + marriage broken off, the husband banished,—and all this within reach + of that husband’s sword, of which they might both be the victims if the + slightest noise awakened him. But in the young man’s dream the gleam of + the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the colors of the stuffs and the + tapestries were more vivid, more of love was in the air, more fire about + them, than there had been in the actual scene. The Marie of his sleep + resisted far less than the living Marie those adoring looks, those tender + entreaties, those adroit silences, those voluptuous solicitations, those + false generosities, which render the first moments of a passion so + completely ardent, and shed into the soul a fresh delirium at each new + step in love. + </p> + <p> + Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de Saint-Vallier + granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the tender passion. She + willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, her hands, her throat; + she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion and life of her lover; she + permitted him to die for her; she yielded to an intoxication which the + sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but farther than that she would + not go; and she made her deliverance the price of the highest rewards of + his love. In those days, in order to dissolve a marriage it was necessary + to go to Rome; to obtain the help of certain cardinals, and to appear + before the sovereign pontiff in person armed with the approval of the + king. Marie was firm in maintaining her liberty to love, that she might + sacrifice it to him later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient + power to establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make + that passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of + his highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many + sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to them + far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their love cost + blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great dangers. But + the Marie of his dream made small defence against the young seigneur’s + ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? Did the false + apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen in the hotel de + Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is difficult to decide; and + the honor of women demands that it be left, as it were, in litigation. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to forget + her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by an iron + hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:— + </p> + <p> + “Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!” + </p> + <p> + The young man saw the black face of Tristan l’Hermite above him, and + recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew + staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost + guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing either + hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang others, the + so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and rubbed his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Mort-Dieu!” he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. + “Now is the time to play our knives.” + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” cried Tristan, “that’s the speech of a noble. Methinks I see + Georges d’Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d’Estouteville thought + less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon his + unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!” + </p> + <p> + After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young + courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But the + myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such proceedings. When + Georges d’Estouteville reached the stairs they seized him dexterously, not + surprised by the vigorous thrust he made at them with his dagger, the + blade of which fortunately slipped on the corselet of a guard; then, + having disarmed him, they bound his hands, and threw him on the pallet + before their leader, who stood motionless and thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + Tristan looked silently at the prisoner’s hands, then he said to + Cornelius, pointing to them:— + </p> + <p> + “Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a + noble.” + </p> + <p> + “Say a thief!” cried the torconnier. “My good Tristan, noble or serf, he + has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your pretty + boots. He is, I don’t doubt it, the leader of that gang of devils, visible + and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, rob me, murder me! + They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this time we shall get back + the treasure, for the fellow has the face of the king of Egypt. I shall + recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I have lost; and our worthy king + shall have his share in the harvest.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!” said Georges, + smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!” cried the miser. + </p> + <p> + The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges + d’Estouteville’s clothes and the lock of the door. + </p> + <p> + “How did you get out those screws?” + </p> + <p> + Georges kept silence. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the holy + rack,” said Tristan. + </p> + <p> + “That’s what I call business!” cried Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + “Take him off,” said the grand provost to the guards. + </p> + <p> + Georges d’Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign from + their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity of a + nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + </p> + <p> + An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the populace + kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From early morning + the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On all sides the + “apprentice,” said to be young and handsome, had awakened public sympathy, + and revived the hatred felt against Cornelius; so that there was not a + young man in the town, nor a young woman with a fresh face and pretty feet + to exhibit, who was not determined to see the victim. When Georges issued + from the house, led by one of the provost’s guard, who, after he had + mounted his horse, kept the strong leathern thong that bound the prisoner + tightly twisted round his arm, a horrible uproar arose. Whether the + populace merely wished to see this new victim, or whether it intended to + rescue him, certain it is that those behind pressed those in front upon + the little squad of cavalry posted around the Malemaison. At this moment, + Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed the door, and slammed the iron + shutters with the violence of panic terror. Tristan, who was not + accustomed to respect the populace of those days (inasmuch as they were + not yet the sovereign people), cared little for a probable riot. + </p> + <p> + “Push on! push on!” he said to his men. + </p> + <p> + At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards the + end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number knocked + down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed against the + sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser course of + retreating to their homes. + </p> + <p> + “Make room for the king’s justice!” cried Tristan. “What are you doing + here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your + dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your husband’s + stockings; get back to your needles.” + </p> + <p> + Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, they + made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague upon + them. + </p> + <p> + At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges + d’Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the hotel + de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the count. She + was mocking at <i>him</i>, poor devoted lover, who was going to his death + for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps of the + populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be twenty-three + years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a woman’s love, loving + ourselves with all the forces of our being, risking our life with delight + on the faith of a kiss, and then betrayed, to understand the fury of + hatred and despair which took possession of Georges d’Estouteville’s heart + at the sight of his laughing mistress, from whom he received a cold and + indifferent glance. No doubt she had been there some time; she was leaning + from the window with her arms on a cushion; she was at her ease, and her + old man seemed content. He, too, was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A few + tears escaped the eyes of the young man; but when Marie de Saint-Vallier + saw them she turned hastily away. Those tears were suddenly dried, + however, when Georges beheld the red and white plumes of the page who was + devoted to his interests. The count took no notice of this servitor, who + advanced to his mistress on tiptoe. After the page had said a few words in + her ear, Marie returned to the window. Escaping for a moment the perpetual + watchfulness of her tyrant, she cast one glance upon Georges that was + brilliant with the fires of love and hope, seeming to say:— + </p> + <p> + “I am watching over you.” + </p> + <p> + Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their meaning + more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, in which + terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation all took + part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to martyrdom and from + martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young seigneur, light-hearted + and content, walked gaily to his doom; thinking that the horrors of the + “question” were not sufficient payment for the delights of his love. + </p> + <p> + As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped him, + seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at full speed. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” asked the provost. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing that concerns you,” replied the officer, disdainfully. “The king + has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, whom he + invites to dinner.” + </p> + <p> + The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to Plessis, + when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white mule, he on + his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, in order to + enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving slowly. Georges was on + foot, between two guards on horseback, one of whom held him still by the + leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his wife were naturally in + advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling with the archers, the young + page questioned them, speaking sometimes to the prisoner, so that he + adroitly managed to say to him in a low voice:— + </p> + <p> + “I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to the + king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against you. + Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you.” + </p> + <p> + Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her laughter + was part of the heroism which women display in the great crises of life. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of “Quentin + Durward” to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, we + must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on low + land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by the + canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved daughter, + Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the city of Tours and + Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable protection to the + castle, but it offered a most precious road to commerce. On the side + towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, the park was defended by a + moat, the remains of which still show its enormous breadth and depth. At a + period when the power of artillery was still in embryo, the position of + Plessis, long since chosen by Louis XI. for his favorite retreat, might be + considered impregnable. The castle, built of brick and stone, had nothing + remarkable about it; but it was surrounded by noble trees, and from its + windows could be seen, through vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the + finest points of view in the world. No rival mansion rose near this + solitary castle, standing in the very centre of the little plain reserved + for the king and guarded by four streams of water. + </p> + <p> + If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and from + his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, the + opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille waters, + and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows that opened on + the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and the embankment by + which he had connected his favorite residence with the city of Tours. If + Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his castle the luxury of + architecture which Francois I. displayed afterwards at Chambord, the + dwelling of the kings of France would ever have remained in Touraine. It + is enough to see this splendid position and its magical effects to be + convinced of its superiority over the sites of all other royal residences. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more + than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of death in + the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; on the point + of increasing the territory of France by the possessions of the Dukes of + Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with Marguerite, heiress of + Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, commander of his troops in + Flanders); having established his authority everywhere, and now meditating + ameliorations in his kingdom of all kinds, he saw time slipping past him + rapidly with no further troubles than those of old age. Deceived by every + one, even by the minions about him, experience had intensified his natural + distrust. The desire to live became in him the egotism of a king who has + incarnated himself in his people; he wished to prolong his life in order + to carry out his vast designs. + </p> + <p> + All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions has + since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. had + thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects before the + law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his bold + endeavors. On All-Saints’ eve he had gathered together the learned + goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in France a + unity of weights and measures, as he had already established the unity of + power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over his empire, + joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the natural + idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our history has the + great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. Amazing assemblages of + contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a spirit unbelieving as to all + things here below, devoutly believing in the practices of religion; a man + struggling with two powers greater than his own—the present and the + future; the future in which he feared eternal punishment, a fear which led + him to make so many sacrifices to the Church; the present, namely his life + itself, for the saving of which he blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who + crushed down all about him, was himself crushed down by remorse, and by + disease in the midst of the great poem of defiant monarchy in which all + power was concentrated. It was once more the gigantic and ever magnificent + combat of Man in the highest manifestation of his forces tilting against + Nature. + </p> + <p> + While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days between + eleven o’clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short promenade, + sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in his chamber. + Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each other without a + word, standing in the recess of a window and watching their master, who + presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was heard were the steps of + the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de Montresor, and Jean Dufou, + Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and down the adjoining hall. These + two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the captain of the Scottish guard, who + was sleeping in his chair, according to his usual custom. The king himself + appeared to be dozing. His head had drooped upon his breast; his cap, + pulled forward on his forehead, hid his eyes. Thus seated in his high + chair, surmounted by the royal crown, he seemed crouched together like a + man who had fallen asleep in the midst of some deep meditation. + </p> + <p> + At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge of + Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + </p> + <p> + “Who is that?” said the king. + </p> + <p> + The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + </p> + <p> + “He is dreaming,” said Coyctier, in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu!” cried Louis XI., “do you think me mad? People are crossing + the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear sounds more + easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized,” he added + thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “What a man!” said de Daim. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the town. + He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:— + </p> + <p> + “Ha, ha! here’s my crony and his thief. And here comes my little Marie de + Saint-Vallier; I’d forgotten all about it. Olivier,” he said, addressing + the barber, “go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve some good + Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn’t forget the + lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I eat lampreys?” + he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + </p> + <p> + For all answer the physician began to examine his master’s face. The two + men were a picture in themselves. + </p> + <p> + History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, and + the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, decorated with + leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of Saint-Michel, are not + less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has represented the face of + that terrible monarch in his last years,—a sickly, hollow, yellow + and brown face, all the features of which expressed a sour craftiness, a + cold sarcasm. In that mask was the forehead of a great man, a brow + furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty with high thoughts; but in his cheeks + and on his lips there was something indescribably vulgar and common. + Looking at certain details of that countenance you would have thought him + a debauched husbandman, or a miserly peddler; and yet, above these vague + resemblances and the decrepitude of a dying old man, the king, the man of + power, rose supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, seemed at first sight + extinct; but a spark of courage and of anger lurked there, and at the + slightest touch it could burst into flames and cast fire about him. The + doctor was a stout burgher, with a florid face, dressed in black, + peremptory, greedy of gain, and self-important. These two personages were + framed, as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung with high-warped + tapestries of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of carved beams, was + blackened by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid with arabesques in + pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they were at that period when + the arts were beginning to produce their choicest masterpieces. + </p> + <p> + “Lampreys are not good for you,” replied the physician. + </p> + <p> + That title, recently substituted for the former term of “myrrh-master,” is + still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at this period given + to doctors everywhere. + </p> + <p> + “Then what may I eat?” asked the king, humbly. + </p> + <p> + “Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you may + die on All-Souls’ Day.” + </p> + <p> + “To-day!” cried the king in terror. + </p> + <p> + “Compose yourself, sire,” replied Coyctier. “I am here. Try not to fret + your mind; find some way to amuse yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said the king, “my daughter Marie used to succeed in that difficult + business.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, rapped + softly on the royal door. On receiving the king’s permission he entered + and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis XI. made a + sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who allowed her to pass + in first. + </p> + <p> + “Good-day, my children,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, “I want + to speak to you in secret.” + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and called + out in a hollow voice, “Hola, Dufou!” + </p> + <p> + Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered in + haste. + </p> + <p> + “Go to the maitre d’hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for + dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to dine + alone to-day. Do you know, madame,” continued the king, pretending to be + slightly angry, “that you neglect me? It is almost three years since I + have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty,” he added, sitting down and + holding out his arms to her. “How thin you have grown! Why have you let + her grow so thin?” said the king, roughly, addressing the Comte de + Poitiers. + </p> + <p> + The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she almost + pitied him. + </p> + <p> + “Happiness, sire!” he stammered. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! you love each other too much,—is that it?” said the king, + holding his daughter between his knees. “I did right to call you + Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want of + me?” he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. “After + sending me your—” + </p> + <p> + In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king’s lips and said in + his ear,— + </p> + <p> + “I always thought you cautious and penetrating.” + </p> + <p> + “Saint-Vallier,” said the king, laughing, “I think that Bridore has + something to say to you.” + </p> + <p> + The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well + known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, and + knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,—hey? Do I seem changed to + you?” + </p> + <p> + “Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather I + deceived you?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said, in a low voice, “I want to know truly what to expect.” + </p> + <p> + “In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let my + truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “What is your cause?” asked the king, frowning and passing a hand across + his forehead. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire,” she replied, “the young man you have had arrested for robbing + your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the grand + provost, is innocent of the robbery.” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know that?” asked the king. Marie lowered her head and + blushed. + </p> + <p> + “I need not ask if there is love in this business,” said the king, raising + his daughter’s head gently and stroking her chin. “If you don’t confess + every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell.” + </p> + <p> + “Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?” + </p> + <p> + “Where would be the pleasure?” cried the king, seeing only an amusement in + this affair. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! you sly little girl, haven’t you any confidence in me?” + </p> + <p> + “Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty.” + </p> + <p> + “So! he is a nobleman, is he?” cried the king. “Then he is not an + apprentice?” + </p> + <p> + “He is certainly innocent,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t see it so,” said the king, coldly. “I am the law and justice of + my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers.” + </p> + <p> + “Come, don’t put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of that + young man.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it yours already?” + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” she said, “I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at—” + </p> + <p> + “Then,” said Louis XI., interrupting her, “as I am not to know the truth, + I think Tristan had better clear it up.” + </p> + <p> + Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief stole + nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you everything, even + though you may punish me.” + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho! this is getting serious,” cried the king, shoving up his cap. + “Speak out, my daughter.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father’s ear, + “he was in my room all night.” + </p> + <p> + “He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!” + </p> + <p> + “I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a scoundrel. + That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of your archers.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, well!” cried the king; “you are hard to confess.” + </p> + <p> + With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried to + the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For the last + moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, shining + through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a listener’s + foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the door abruptly, + and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu!” he cried; “here’s an audacity that deserves the axe.” + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, “I would prefer an axe at my + throat to the ornament of marriage on my head.” + </p> + <p> + “You may have both,” said Louis XI. “None of you are safe from such + infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham,” continued + the king, addressing the captain of the guard, “you are asleep! Where is + Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached in this way? + Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better served than I am.” + </p> + <p> + After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to draw + the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more to stifle + the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north wind. + </p> + <p> + “So, my daughter,” he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays with a + mouse, “Georges d’Estouteville was your lover last night?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sire!” + </p> + <p> + “No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think my + daughter beautiful?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! that is not it,” she said. “He kissed my feet and hands with an ardor + that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me truly in + all honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such + nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just to + kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others.” + </p> + <p> + “But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose.” + </p> + <p> + Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of her + husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + </p> + <p> + “What purpose?” + </p> + <p> + The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange + confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the pardon + of her husband. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal blood!” + cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + </p> + <p> + At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king’s dinner. + Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with contracted + brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all his servitors in + waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de Saint-Vallier, thinking + of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. The deep silence which + reigned was presently broken by the steps of Tristan l’Hermite as he + mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost entered the hall, and, + advancing toward the king, said:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, the affair is settled.” + </p> + <p> + “What! is it all over?” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a + touch of the ‘question.’” + </p> + <p> + The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but looked + at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who muttered in a + low tone: “I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance of my wife.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” cried the king. “Some one is here who will wear out my + patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution,” he continued, + addressing the grand provost. “You will answer with your own body for that + of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, and I + reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty + provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats they + frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall be at his + house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de Saint-Vallier,” + said the king, looking fixedly at the count, “I know about you. All your + blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do you hear me? By our Lady of + Clery! you have committed crimes of lese-majesty. Did I give you such a + pretty wife to make her pale and weakly? Go back to your own house, and + make your preparations for a long journey.” + </p> + <p> + The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he added:— + </p> + <p> + “You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government of + Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take charge + of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth I shall + watch over her with greater care than I have done since I married her to + you.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father’s arm as if to + thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was laughing to + himself in his sleeve. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE HIDDEN TREASURE + </h2> + <p> + Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and he + was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. This + taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a passion for + the “incognito,” one of the greatest pleasures of princes,—a sort of + momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little real life into + their existence, made insipid by the lack of opposition. Louis XI., + however, played the incognito openly. On these occasions he was always the + good fellow, endeavoring to please the people of the middle classes, whom + he made his allies against feudality. For some time past he had found no + opportunity to “make himself populace” and espouse the domestic interests + of some man “engarrie” (an old word still used in Tours, meaning engaged) + in litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the anxieties of Maitre + Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of the Comtesse de + Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to his daughter:— + </p> + <p> + “Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now + amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve + hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!” he continued, looking at the + seigneurs who were serving him. “Notre Dame! with a sum like that what + absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank the + Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification ready-made + for this kingdom.” + </p> + <p> + When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the + grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel de + Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de + Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said the king, “I told you to start at once. Say farewell to + your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by an + escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they will be in + Venice before you get there.” + </p> + <p> + Louis then gave the order—not without adding certain secret + instructions—to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad + of men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in + haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made + deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin the + unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, in the + house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his quality of king, + he had enough penetration to discover the secret of the robberies. + Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his royal master + without uneasiness. + </p> + <p> + “Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?” he said to the king. + </p> + <p> + Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and his + sister. + </p> + <p> + “No, my old crony,” he said; “don’t worry yourself. They will sup at + Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good in + detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I shall do + so now.” + </p> + <p> + “Find him, sire, and make no wager.” + </p> + <p> + They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his + treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the casket + from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, then the + chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, easily + convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter supposition, + inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,—where, in truth, a fire + was seldom made,—and no sign that any one had passed down the flue; + and moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the roof which was + almost inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close investigation, + marked with that sagacity which distinguished the suspicious mind of Louis + XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, that no one had forced an + entrance into the strong-room of his silversmith. No marks of violence + were on the locks, nor on the iron coffers which contained the gold, + silver, and jewels deposited as securities by wealthy debtors. + </p> + <p> + “If the robber opened this box,” said the king, “why did he take nothing + out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason had he for + leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer robber!” + </p> + <p> + At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked at + each other for a moment. + </p> + <p> + “Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your + protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?” + </p> + <p> + “If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in + ignorance. That is one of my secrets.” + </p> + <p> + “Then the devil is in my house!” cried the miser, piteously. + </p> + <p> + In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his + silversmith’s cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was casting + on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and power which + seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, thinking he had in + some way offended his dangerous master. + </p> + <p> + “Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!” cried Louis XI. abruptly. + “If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow who did it. Make + that old hag you call your sister come here,” he added. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with his + hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis’s withered lips determined him. + Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + </p> + <p> + “Have you any flour?” demanded the king. + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter,” she answered. + </p> + <p> + “Well, go and fetch some,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + “What do you want to do with our flour, sire?” she cried, not the least + impressed by his royal majesty. + </p> + <p> + “Old fool!” said Cornelius, “go and execute the orders of our gracious + master. Shall the king lack flour?” + </p> + <p> + “Our good flour!” she grumbled, as she went downstairs. “Ah! my flour!” + </p> + <p> + Then she returned, and said to the king:— + </p> + <p> + “Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?” + </p> + <p> + At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, from + time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to and from + market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of flour. The + housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom she cast the + rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt venom upon men. + </p> + <p> + “It costs six sous the ‘septeree,’” she said. + </p> + <p> + “What does that matter?” said the king. “Spread it on the floor; but be + careful to make an even layer of it—as if it had fallen like snow.” + </p> + <p> + The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as though + the end of the world had come. + </p> + <p> + “My flour, sire! on the ground! But—” + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the + intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents on + the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for the empty + bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she disappeared with a heavy + sigh. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till it + looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, followed + by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When they reached + the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, “Are there two keys to the + lock?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sire.” + </p> + <p> + The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced with + large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret lock, + the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him to + post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest secrecy, in + the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of the adjoining + houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and escort him back to + Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he himself would not sup + with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close his windows with the + utmost care, that no single ray of light should escape from the house, and + then he departed with much pomp for Plessis along the embankment; but + there he secretly left his escort, and returned by a door in the ramparts + to the house of the torconnier. All these precautions were so well taken + that the people of Tours really thought the king had returned to Plessis, + and would sup on the morrow with Cornelius. + </p> + <p> + Towards eight o’clock that evening, as the king was supping with his + physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much + jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in + danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, + even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was + occupied as usual. + </p> + <p> + “I hope,” said the king, laughing, “that my silversmith shall be robbed + to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, messieurs, no + one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my order, under pain + of grievous punishment.” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first to + leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong-room. + He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the marks of a + large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. Carefully + avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the door of the + treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of fracture or + defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; but as they grew + gradually fainter, they finally left not the slightest trace, and it was + impossible for him to discover where the robber had fled. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, crony!” called out the king, “you have been finely robbed this time.” + </p> + <p> + At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly + terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs and + corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, the king + chanced to observe the miser’s slippers and recognized the type of sole + that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a word, and + checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had been hanged for + the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once in the room the + king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot beside those already + existing, and easily convinced him that the robber of his treasure was no + other than himself. + </p> + <p> + “The pearl necklace is gone!” cried Cornelius. “There is sorcery in this. + I never left my room.” + </p> + <p> + “We’ll know all about it now,” said the king; the evident truthfulness of + his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and asked:— + </p> + <p> + “What did you see during the night?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sire!” said the lieutenant, “an amazing sight! Your silversmith crept + down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed to be a + shadow.” + </p> + <p> + “I!” exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and + stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + </p> + <p> + “Go away, all of you,” said the king, addressing the archers, “and tell + Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to leave their + rooms and come here to mine.—You have incurred the penalty of + death,” he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear him. “You have + ten murders on your conscience!” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, + remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming’s face, he added:— + </p> + <p> + “You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. You + can get out of the claws of <i>my</i> justice by payment of a good round + sum to my treasury, but if you don’t build at least one chapel in honor of + the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you throughout + eternity.” + </p> + <p> + “Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make + thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns,” replied Cornelius + mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. “Thirteen hundred and + seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!” + </p> + <p> + “He must have buried them in some hiding-place,” muttered the king, + beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. “That was the magnet that + invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure.” + </p> + <p> + Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre + Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the adventure. + </p> + <p> + “Sire,” replied the physician, “there is nothing supernatural in that. + Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is the + third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give yourself + the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see that old man + stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I noticed in the two + other cases I have already observed, a curious connection between the + actions of that nocturnal existence and the interests and occupations of + their daily life.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man.” + </p> + <p> + “I am your physician,” replied the other, insolently. + </p> + <p> + At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with him + when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap with a + hasty motion. + </p> + <p> + “At such times,” continued Coyctier, “persons attend to their business + while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued his + dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a day in + which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure.” + </p> + <p> + “Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!” cried the king. + </p> + <p> + “Where is it?” asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of nature, + heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while continuing himself + almost torpid with thought and the shock of this singular misfortune. + </p> + <p> + “Ha!” cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, + “somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when + asleep.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave us,” said the king. + </p> + <p> + When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and + chuckled coldly. + </p> + <p> + “Messire Hoogworst,” he said, with a nod, “all treasures buried in France + belong to the king.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and + fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need.” + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you can + surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me.” + </p> + <p> + “No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my death. + But what scheme have you for finding it?” + </p> + <p> + “I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. You + might fear any one but me.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire!” cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king’s feet, “you are + the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; and I + will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing my utmost to + promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with Monseigneur. She will + bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of lands, which will round + out the glory of your crown.” + </p> + <p> + “There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me,” said the king, + with frowning brows, “or else you have already done so.” + </p> + <p> + “Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!” + </p> + <p> + “All that is talk,” returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. “You + need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You are + selling me your influence—Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you + the master, and am I your servant?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sire,” said the old man, “I was waiting to surprise you agreeably + with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was awaiting + confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What has become of + that young man?” + </p> + <p> + “Enough!” said the king; “this is only one more blunder you have + committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my + knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this.” + </p> + <p> + Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the lower + rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have put + thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, I, I am + the robber!” + </p> + <p> + Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat she + quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old maid + accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that she + trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She turned + pale by degrees, and her face,—the changes in which were difficult + to decipher among its wrinkles,—became distorted while her brother + explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and the + extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + </p> + <p> + “Louis XI. and I,” he said in conclusion, “have just been lying to each + other like two peddlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that if he + follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king alone can + watch my wanderings at night. I don’t feel sure that his conscience, near + as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred thousand crowns. We MUST be + beforehand with him; we must find the hidden treasure and send it to + Ghent, and you alone—” + </p> + <p> + Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the + sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of age. + When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly like a man + in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his sister, too + feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she was dead. Maitre + Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying out: + </p> + <p> + “You cannot die now. There is time enough later—Oh! it is all over. + The old hag never could do anything at the right time.” + </p> + <p> + He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble + feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, half + forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:— + </p> + <p> + “Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?—you who understood me so + well! Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With you, + my peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only known what + good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you would have + lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! thirteen hundred + thousand crowns! Won’t that wake you?—No, she is dead!” + </p> + <p> + Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued from + his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange + exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. + Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened + features of his old friend. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She precedes + me there below,” he said, pointing to the floor with a dreadful gesture. + </p> + <p> + “Enough!” cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + </p> + <p> + “I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang me, if + that’s your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is full of + gold. I give up all to you—” + </p> + <p> + “Come, come, crony,” replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the + sight of this strange suffering, “we shall find your treasure some fine + night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. I will + come back in the course of this week—” + </p> + <p> + “As you please, sire.” + </p> + <p> + At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of the + chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other with an + expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + </p> + <p> + “Adieu, my crony,” said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up his + cap. + </p> + <p> + “May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!” replied the + silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + </p> + <p> + After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between + them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man on + the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so well, + they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, that the + king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered the words, “As + you please, sire,” the repugnance that his visits would henceforth cause + to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a declaration of war in + the “Adieu, my crony,” of the king. + </p> + <p> + Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the conduct + they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch possessed the + secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter could, by his + connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions that any king of + France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of the house of + Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then coveting. The marriage + of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the people of Ghent and the + Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the influence of Cornelius could + powerfully support the negotiations now begun by Desquerdes, the general + to whom Louis XI. had given the command of the army encamped on the + frontiers of Belgium. These two master-foxes were, therefore, like two + duellists, whose arms are paralyzed by chance. + </p> + <p> + So, whether it were that from that day the king’s health failed and went + from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into France + Marguerite of Burgundy—who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, to + marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the castle—certain + it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the hidden treasure; he + levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the pair remained in the + cautious condition of an armed friendship. Happily for Cornelius a rumor + was spread about Tours that his sister was the actual robber, and that she + had been secretly put to death by Tristan. Otherwise, if the true history + had been known, the whole town would have risen as one man to destroy the + Malemaison before the king could have taken measures to protect it. + </p> + <p> + But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so far as + the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards Cornelius + Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith spent the first + days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless occupation. Like + carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and came, smelling for gold + in every corner of his house; he studied the cracks and crevices, he + sounded the walls, he besought the trees of the garden, the foundations of + the house, the roofs of the turrets, the earth and the heavens, to give + him back his treasure. Often he stood motionless for hours, casting his + eyes on all sides, plunging them into the void. Striving for the miracles + of ecstasy and the powers of sorcery, he tried to see his riches through + space and obstacles. He was constantly absorbed in one overwhelming + thought, consumed with a single desire that burned his entrails, gnawed + more cruelly still by the ever-increasing agony of the duel he was + fighting with himself since his passion for gold had turned to his own + injury,—a species of uncompleted suicide which kept him at once in + the miseries of life and in those of death. + </p> + <p> + Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident into + the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, like + Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. But + Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of neither the + one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his treasure,—a + novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. Sometimes, becoming + forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of his door wide open, and + then the passers in the street could see that already wizened man, planted + on his two legs in the midst of his untilled garden, absolutely + motionless, and casting on those who watched him a fixed gaze, the + insupportable light of which froze them with terror. If, by chance, he + walked through the streets of Tours, he seemed like a stranger in them; he + knew not where he was, nor whether the sun or the moon were shining. Often + he would ask his way of those who passed him, believing that he was still + in Ghent, and seeming to be in search of something lost. + </p> + <p> + The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea by + which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the fictitious + being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel claws + perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, Fear + arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his secret, the + secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier could post men to + watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown gulf into which he had + cast his riches,—those riches he had watered with the blood of so + many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, arose Remorse. + </p> + <p> + In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden + treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides which, + his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining powerful + anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful—alone with + night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that man, + instinctively perhaps, has best embodied—obedient thus to a moral + truth as yet devoid of actual proof. + </p> + <p> + At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and + commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the horrors + of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain thoughts more + agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his throat with a + razor. + </p> + <p> + This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then + restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was pillaged. A + tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine that a contractor + of public works, named Bohier, found the miser’s treasure and used it in + the construction of Chenonceaux, that marvellous chateau which, in spite + of the wealth of several kings and the taste of Diane de Poitiers and + Catherine de’ Medici for building, remains unfinished to the present day. + </p> + <p> + Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as we + know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the + departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career was + famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. He was + saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, the illegitimate + great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the illegitimate wife, the + beloved mistress of Henri II.—for bastardy and love were hereditary + in that family of nobles. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + +***** This file should be named 1454-h.htm or 1454-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/1454/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” + or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project +Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right +of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’ WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm’s +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. + +The Foundation’s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation’s web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + </body> +</html> diff --git a/old/1454.txt b/old/1454.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86a2cc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2795 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maitre Cornelius + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: September, 1998 [Etext #1454] +Posting Date: February 25, 2010 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,--a fancy of the fashions of the day,--but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + + +In 1479, on All Saints' day, the moment at which this history begins, +vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de +Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself to +the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during the +service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of which +were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. Nevertheless +a goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the saints on the +triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious offerings, the +merit and signification of which have never been sufficiently explained. +The lights on each altar and all the candelabra in the choir were +burning. Irregularly shed among a forest of columns and arcades which +supported the three naves of the cathedral, the gleam of these masses of +candles barely lighted the immense building, because the strong shadows +of the columns, projected among the galleries, produced fantastic forms +which increased the darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, +the vaulted ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at +mid-day. + +The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain +figures were so vaguely defined in the "chiaroscuro" that they seemed +like phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the scattered +light, attracted attention like the principal heads in a picture. Some +statues seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here and there eyes +shone in the flutings of the columns, the floor reflected looks, the +marbles spoke, the vaults re-echoed sighs, the edifice itself seemed +endowed with life. + +The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more +majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it +poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches +unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are +felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the +clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising +heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The +mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the +feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith +and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself. +This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth, +equally risen into heaven, contains, no doubt, the secret of the magic +influences wielded by the chants of the priests, the harmonies of the +organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the altar, the voices of the crowd +and its silent contemplations. Consequently, we need not be surprised to +see in the middle-ages so many tender passions begun in churches after +long ecstasies,--passions ending often in little sanctity, and for +which women, as usual, were the ones to do penance. Religious sentiment +certainly had, in those days, an affinity with love; it was either +the motive or the end of it. Love was still a religion, with its fine +fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its sublime devotions, which +sympathized with those of Christianity. + +The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance +between religion and love. In the first place society had no +meeting-place except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women +were equals nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and +communicate. The festivals of the Church were the theatre of former +times; the soul of woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than +it is at a ball or the opera in our day; and do not strong emotions +invariably bring women back to love? By dint of mingling with life and +grasping it in all its acts and interests, religion had made itself a +sharer of all virtues, the accomplice of all vices. Religion had passed +into science, into politics, into eloquence, into crimes, into the flesh +of the sick man and the poor man; it mounted thrones; it was everywhere. +These semi-learned observations will serve, perhaps, to vindicate the +truth of this study, certain details of which may frighten the perfected +morals of our age, which are, as everybody knows, a trifle straitlaced. + +At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the organ, +mingling with the vibrations of the loud "A-men" as it issued from the +strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo through the +distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the beneficent +words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, or fearing +for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the worshippers dispersed, +slipped quietly away, at the risk of being called a bad Catholic. On +which, a nobleman, leaning against one of the enormous columns that +surround the choir, hastened to take possession of the seat abandoned by +the worthy Tourainean. Having done so, he quickly hid his face among +the plumes of his tall gray cap, kneeling upon the chair with an air of +contrition that even an inquisitor would have trusted. + +Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to +recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a certain +gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,--a caustic, +jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their heads, and +gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + +The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel +placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was +customary for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial +families, and even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the +services, themselves and their servants exclusively, in the various +lateral chapels of the long side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony +is in practice to the present day. A woman had her chapel as she now +has her opera-box. The families who hired these privileged places were +required to decorate the altar of the chapel thus conceded to them, and +each made it their pride to adorn their own sumptuously,--a vanity which +the Church did not rebuke. In this particular chapel a lady was kneeling +close to the railing on a handsome rug of red velvet with gold tassels, +precisely opposite to the seat vacated of the burgher. A silver-gilt +lamp, hanging from the vaulted ceiling of the chapel before an altar +magnificently decorated, cast its pale light upon a prayer-book held +by the lady. The book trembled violently in her hand when the young man +approached her. + +"A-men!" + +To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully +agitated, though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly +in a whisper:-- + +"You will ruin me." + +The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy +ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the +stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion +which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head +slightly that he might look into the chapel. + +"He sleeps!" he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be heard +by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + +The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum +page of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man had +designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the young +woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long breath +and raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward a picture +of the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the moistened +glance, revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she been wicked, +she would certainly have dissimulated. The personage who thus alarmed +the lovers was a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly bald, savage in +expression, and wearing a long and discolored white beard cut in a +fan-tail. The cross of Saint-Michel glittered on his breast; his coarse, +strong hands, covered with gray hairs, which had been clasped, had +now dropped slightly apart in the slumber to which he had imprudently +yielded. The right hand seemed about to fall upon his dagger, the hilt +of which was in the form of an iron shell. By the manner in which he +had placed the weapon, this hilt was directly under his hand; if, +unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he would wake, no doubt, +instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic lips, his pointed chin +aggressively pushed forward, presented the characteristic signs of a +malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that would surely enable him +to divine all because he suspected everything. His yellow forehead was +wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to believe nothing, to +weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking their gold, search out +the meaning and the value of human actions. His bodily frame, though +deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both vigorous and excitable; +in short, you might have thought him a stunted ogre. Consequently, an +inevitable danger awaited the young lady whenever this terrible seigneur +woke. That jealous husband would surely not fail to see the difference +between a worthy old burgher who gave him no umbrage, and the new-comer, +young, slender, and elegant. + +"Libera nos a malo," she said, endeavoring to make the young man +comprehend her fears. + +The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; +tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and +betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist +no longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, +nurtured by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately +handsome; but her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her +interesting. She had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair +in the world. Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a +word, accepting a look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. Love +may never have been more deeply felt than in those hearts, never more +delightfully enjoyed, but certainly no passion was ever more perilous. +It was easy to divine that to these two beings air, sound, foot-falls, +etc., things indifferent to other men, presented hidden qualities, +peculiar properties which they distinguished. Perhaps their love made +them find faithful interpreters in the icy hands of the old priest to +whom they confessed their sins, and from whom they received the Host +at the holy table. Love profound! love gashed into the soul like a scar +upon the body which we carry through life! When these two young people +looked at each other, the woman seemed to say to her lover, "Let us love +each other and die!" To which the young knight answered, "Let us love +each other and not die." In reply, she showed him a sign her old duenna +and two pages. The duenna slept; the pages were young and seemingly +careless of what might happen, either of good or evil, to their masters. + +"Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be managed." + +The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when +the hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. +Feeling the cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves +instantly on his wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of +genius, he awoke with his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though he +had not slept at all. The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, with +one eye on his mistress, had watched the husband with the other, and he +now rose quickly, effacing himself behind a column at the moment when +the hand of the old man fell; after which he disappeared, swiftly as a +bird. The lady lowered her eyes to her book and tried to seem calm; but +she could not prevent her face from blushing and her heart from beating +with unnatural violence. The old lord saw the unusual crimson on the +cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids of his wife. He looked about him +cautiously, but seeing no one to distrust, he said to his wife:-- + +"What are you thinking of, my dear?" + +"The smell of the incense turns me sick," she replied. + +"It is particularly bad to-day?" he asked. + +In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to believe +in this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he resolved to watch +his treasure more carefully than before. + +The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the "Soecula +soeculorum," the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the church. +Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the general +hurry was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the duenna and +the youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he gave his arm +to his wife and told the other page to follow them. + +As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side +of the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream +of persons detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great +portals, and poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his +party. The mass was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and +he and his wife were therefore pushed onward to the door by the pressure +of the multitude behind them. The husband tried to pass out first, +dragging the lady by the arm, but at that instant he was pulled +vigorously into the street, and his wife was torn from him by a +stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once that he had fallen into a +trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting himself for having slept, he +collected his whole strength, seized his wife once more by the sleeve +of her gown, and strove with his other hand to cling to the gate of the +church; but the ardor of love carried the day against jealous fury. +The young man took his mistress round the waist, and carried her off so +rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the brocaded stuff of silk +and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve alone remained in the hand +of the old man. A roar like that of a lion rose louder than the shouts +of the multitude, and a terrible voice howled out the words:-- + +"To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! +help!" + +And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted +to draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself +surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would be +dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the highest +rank, answered him with jests as they dragged him along the cloisters. + +With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into an +open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden bench. By +the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the chapel was +dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in silence, clasping +hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The countess had not the cruel +courage to reproach the young man for the boldness to which they owed +this perilous and only instant of happiness. + +"Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?" said the young man, +eagerly. "Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do thirty +leagues at a stretch." + +"Ah!" she cried, softly, "in what corner of the world could you hide a +daughter of King Louis XI.?" + +"True," replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not +foreseen. + +"Why did you tear me from my husband?" she asked in a sort of terror. + +"Alas!" said her lover, "I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel +in being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,--two +or three plans,--and now that I see you all seems accomplished." + +"But I am lost!" said the countess. + +"We are saved!" the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his love. +"Listen to me carefully!" + +"This will cost me my life!" she said, letting the tears that rolled +in her eyes flow down her cheeks. "The count will kill me,--to-night, +perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter has +endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he called +me 'Marie-full-of-grace,' because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew the man to +whom he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not dared complain, +out of pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach the king? +My confessor himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why I have +consented to this guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,--some one to +tell the truth to the king. Can I rely on--Oh!" she cried, turning pale +and interrupting herself, "here comes the page!" + +The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + +"Fear nothing," said the young seigneur, "he is won! You can safely +trust him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for you +he will warn us of his coming. In the confessional," he added, in a low +voice, "is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he drew +you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own protection +in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to deceive him." + +At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression of +sadness settled down on her face. + +"No one can deceive him," she said. "To-night he will know all. Save me +from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--" she hesitated; +then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to confess the +secrets of her marriage, she added: "Yes, tell him that to master me the +count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him that my husband +drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a prisoner; that--" + +Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. In +her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken words, +to kiss her hands. + +"Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is +grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My +dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let +yourself say but two words, or we are lost!" + +"What will become of us?" she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall a +picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, she +cried out:-- + +"Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!" + +"To-night," said the young man, "I shall be with you in your room." + +"How?" she asked naively. + +They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid of +love. + +"This evening," he replied, "I shall offer myself as apprentice to +Maitre Cornelius, the king's silversmith. I have obtained a letter of +recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is next +to yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find my way +to your apartment by the help of a silken ladder." + +"Oh!" she said, petrified with horror, "if you love me don't go to +Maitre Cornelius." + +"Ah!" he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his +youth, "you do indeed love me!" + +"Yes," she said; "are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I +confide to you my honor. Besides," she added, looking at him with +dignity, "I am so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But what +is the good of all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you should +enter that house of Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all his +apprentices--" + +"Have been hanged," said the young man, laughing. + +"Oh, don't go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery." + +"I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you," he said, with a +look that made her drop her eyes. + +"But my husband?" she said. + +"Here is something to put him to sleep," replied her lover, drawing from +his belt a little vial. + +"Not for always?" said the countess, trembling. + +For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + +"I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so +old," he said. "God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other +way." + +"Forgive me," said the countess, blushing. "I am cruelly punished for my +sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared you +might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never +yet been able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would +be repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you," she +continued, distressed by his silence, "I deserve your blame." + +And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + +"Do not come," she said, "my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to wait +for the help of Heaven--that will I do!" + +She tried to leave the chapel. + +"Ah!" cried the young man, "order me to do so and I will kill him. You +will see me to-night." + +"I was wise to destroy that drug," she said in a voice that was faint +with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. "The fear of awakening my +husband will save us from ourselves." + +"I pledge you my life," said the young man, pressing her hand. + +"If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then be +united," she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful hopes. + +"Monseigneur comes!" cried the page, rushing in. + +Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had gained +with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, snatched a +kiss, which was not refused. + +"To-night!" he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + +Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding from +column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the nave. +An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the side +of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page was +marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + +A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by +several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a +naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and to +rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + +"Monseigneur, madame is there," said the page, going forward to meet +him. + +The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the +alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At +that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give vent +to his rage. + +"What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?" asked the +priest. + +"Father, that is my husband," said the countess. + +The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of +the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into the +confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be listening +attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + +"Monsieur," said his wife, "you owe many thanks to this venerable canon, +who gave me a refuge here." + +The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, who +had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he answered +curtly: + +"Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you." + +He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her +curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church +without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had +something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and +preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took +his way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the +cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by the +Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification given +by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his glorious +labors. + +The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, +called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of servants +had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a deep +silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs had their +houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to Plessis, the usual +residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if sent for, could go in a +moment. The last house in this street was also the last in the town. It +belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an old Brabantian merchant, +to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost confidence in those financial +transactions which his crafty policy induced him to undertake outside of +his own kingdom. + +Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre +Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that +the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use of +tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, and +both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their corners +were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities remark +in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet prevailed. The +bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of resistance to the +iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots and the civil wars so +frequent in those tumultuous times were ample justification for these +precautions. + +As six o'clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey +Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the +hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds +made in the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. +Casting a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to +be, he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the +young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout +the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks +of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted meats +pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services, the +inhabitants were regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction which +fancy can picture better than words can paint. But at this particular +spot a deep silence reigned, because in these two houses lived two +passions which never rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the silent country. +Beneath the shadow of the steeples of Saint-Martin, these two mute +dwellings, separated from the others in the same street and standing +at the crooked end of it, seemed afflicted with leprosy. The building +opposite to them, the home of the criminals of the State, was also under +a ban. A young man would be readily impressed by this sudden contrast. +About to fling himself into an enterprise that was horribly hazardous, +it is no wonder that the daring young seigneur stopped short before the +house of the silversmith, and called to mind the many tales furnished by +the life of Maitre Cornelius,--tales which caused such singular horror +to the countess. At this period a man of war, and even a lover, trembled +at the mere word "magic." Few indeed were the minds and the imaginations +which disbelieved in occult facts and tales of the marvellous. The lover +of the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, one of the daughters whom Louis XI. +had in Dauphine by Madame de Sassenage, however bold he might be in +other respects, was likely to think twice before he finally entered the +house of a so-called sorcerer. + +The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the +security which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, +the terror of the countess, and the hesitation that now took possession +of the lover. But, in order to make the readers of this nineteenth +century understand how such commonplace events could be turned into +anything supernatural, and to make them share the alarms of that olden +time, it is necessary to interrupt the course of this narrative and cast +a rapid glance on the preceding life and adventures of Maitre Cornelius. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE TORCONNIER + + +Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having drawn +upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found refuge +and protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious of the +advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the principal +commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he naturalized, +ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which was rarely done +by Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much as the Fleming +pleased the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; equally politic, +equally learned; superior, both of them, to their epoch; understanding +each other marvellously; they discarded and resumed with equal facility, +the one his conscience, the other his religion; they loved the same +Virgin, one by conviction, the other by policy; in short, if we may +believe the jealous tales of Olivier de Daim and Tristan, the king went +to the house of the Fleming for those diversions with which King +Louis XI. diverted himself. History has taken care to transmit to our +knowledge the licentious tastes of a monarch who was not averse to +debauchery. The old Fleming found, no doubt, both pleasure and profit in +lending himself to the capricious pleasures of his royal client. + +Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those +years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made +him the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had spent +considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with him in +safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the locksmiths +of the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing those locksmiths +to his house in a way to compel their silence, were long the subject +of countless tales which enlivened the evening gatherings of the city. +These singular artifices on the part of the old man made every +one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches. Consequently the +_narrators_ of that region--the home of the tale in France--built rooms +full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming's house, not omitting to +attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts with Magic. + +Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, an +old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a gentle, +pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and +courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery of +considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry showed +that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. The old +miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The young man +was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the "question" protesting +his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to escape torture; but +when the judge required them to say where the stolen property could +be found, they kept silence, were again put to the torture, judged, +condemned, and hanged. On their way to the scaffold they declared +themselves innocent, according to the custom of all persons about to be +executed. + +The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the +criminals were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate +soon evaporated. In those days wars and seditions furnished endless +excitements, and the drama of each day eclipsed that of the night +before. More grieved by the loss he had met with than by the death of +his three servants, Maitre Cornelius lived alone in his house with the +old Flemish woman, his sister. He obtained permission from the king to +use state couriers for his private affairs, sold his mules to a muleteer +of the neighborhood, and lived from that moment in the deepest solitude, +seeing no one but the king, doing his business by means of Jews, who, +shrewd calculators, served him well in order to gain his all-powerful +protection. + +Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old +"torconnier" a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. +called Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under +the reign of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a man +who pressed others by violent means. The epithet, "tortionnaire," which +remains to this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old word +torconnier, which we often find spelt "tortionneur." The poor young +orphan devoted himself carefully to the affairs of the old Fleming, +pleased him much, and was soon high in his good graces. During a +winter's night, certain diamonds deposited with Maitre Cornelius by the +King of England as security for a sum of a hundred thousand crowns were +stolen, and suspicion, of course, fell on the orphan. Louis XI. was all +the more severe because he had answered for the youth's fidelity. +After a very brief and summary examination by the grand provost, the +unfortunate secretary was hanged. After that no one dared for a long +time to learn the arts of banking and exchange from Maitre Cornelius. + +In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,--men +of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,--took service with the +silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young men +into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in which +they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had secret +communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than ever +suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before +Louis XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial was +promptly had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed Tristan +l'Hermite secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, the +young Touraineans were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an +executioner. The two families thus thrown into mourning were much +respected; their complaints obtained a hearing, and little by little it +came to be believed that all the victims whom the king's silversmith had +sent to the scaffold were innocent. Some persons declared that the cruel +miser imitated the king, and sought to put terror and gibbets between +himself and his fellow-men; others said that he had never been robbed +at all,--that these melancholy executions were the result of cool +calculations, and that their real object was to relieve him of all fear +for his treasure. + +The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The +Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the "tortionnaire," and +named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to the +town bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned them +against doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius was +that of persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired with +instinctive terror; others he impressed with the deep respect that most +men feel for limitless power and money, while to a few he certainly +possessed the attraction of mystery. His way of life, his countenance, +and the favor of the king, justified all the tales of which he had now +become the subject. + +Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his +persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king caused +his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish guard. +Such royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old miser had +bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the torconnier went +out but little; but the lords of the court paid him frequent visits. +He lent them money rather liberally, though capricious in his manner of +doing so. On certain days he refused to give them a penny; the next day +he would offer them large sums,--always at high interest and on good +security. A good Catholic, he went regularly to the services, always +attending the earliest mass at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased +there, as elsewhere, a chapel in perpetuity, he was separated even +in church from other Christians. A popular proverb of that day, long +remembered in Tours, was the saying: "You passed in front of the +Fleming; ill-luck will happen to you." Passing in front of the Fleming +explained all sudden pains and evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of +fortune among the Touraineans. Even at court most persons attributed +to Cornelius that fatal influence which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic +superstition has called the "evil eye." Without the terrible power +of Louis XI., which was stretched like a mantle over that house, +the populace, on the slightest opportunity, would have demolished La +Malemaison, that "evil house" in the rue du Murier. And yet Cornelius +had been the first to plant mulberries in Tours, and the Touraineans at +that time regarded him as their good genius. Who shall reckon on popular +favor! + +A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of +France were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he +was gloomy and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some inexplicable +power brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du Murier. Like a +snail, whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, he admitted to +the king that he was never at ease except under the bolts and behind the +vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet he knew very well that +whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the most dangerous spot on +earth for him. + +"The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the +torconnier," said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the +festival of All-Saints. "He says he has been robbed again, but he can't +hang anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond came +and asked me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies he +wanted to sell me. 'Pasques-Dieu! I don't steal what I can take,' I said +to him." + +"Was he frightened?" asked the barber. + +"Misers are afraid of only one thing," replied the king. "My crony the +torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for good +reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done anything but +what is just and necessary." + +"And yet that old brigand overcharges you," said the barber. + +"You wish he did, don't you?" replied the king, with the malicious look +at his barber. + +"Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you and +the devil!" + +"There, there!" said the king, "don't put bad ideas into my head. +My crony is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have +made--perhaps because he owes me nothing." + +For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with +his aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood +declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the house, +waiting for the hour of the witches' sabbath. This fact seemed the more +extraordinary because it was known to be the miser's custom to lock up +his sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + +As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of +being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of the +king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, but, +like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it were, +of that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, and age +intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, though she +was perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother whom she +actually surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily existence had +something mysterious and problematical about it. The old woman rarely +took bread from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the market, that +the least credulous of the townspeople ended by attributing to these +strange beings the knowledge of some secret for the maintenance of life. +Those who dabbled in alchemy declared that Maitre Cornelius had the +power of making gold. Men of science averred that he had found the +Universal Panacea. According to many of the country-people to whom the +townsfolk talked of him, Cornelius was a chimerical being, and many of +them came into the town to look at his house out of mere curiosity. + +The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about him, +first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and then at +the evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their angles, and +tinting with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and reliefs of the +carvings. The caprices of this white light gave a sinister expression +to both edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself encouraged the +superstitions that hung about the miser's dwelling. The young man +called to mind the many traditions which made Cornelius a personage both +curious and formidable. Though quite decided through the violence of his +love to enter that house, and stay there long enough to accomplish his +design, he hesitated to take the final step, all the while aware that he +should certainly take it. But where is the man who, in a crisis of his +life, does not willingly listen to presentiments as he hangs above the +precipice? A lover worthy of being loved, the young man feared to die +before he had been received for love's sake by the countess. + +This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not +feel the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, and +chilled his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his name, as +already he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. In case of +mishap, he could not claim the privileges of his rank nor the protection +of his friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier. If her husband suspected the nocturnal visit of a lover, +he was capable of roasting her alive in an iron cage, or of killing her +by degrees in the dungeons of a fortified castle. Looking down at the +shabby clothing in which he had disguised himself, the young nobleman +felt ashamed. His black leather belt, his stout shoes, his ribbed socks, +his linsey-woolsey breeches, and his gray woollen doublet made him +look like the clerk of some poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of +the fifteenth century it was like death itself to play the part of a +beggarly burgher, and renounce the privileges of his rank. But--to climb +the roof of the house where his mistress wept; to descend the chimney, +or creep along from gutter to gutter to the window of her room; to risk +his life to kneel beside her on a silken cushion before a glowing fire, +during the sleep of a dangerous husband, whose snores would double +their joy; to defy both heaven and earth in snatching the boldest of +all kisses; to say no word that would not lead to death or at least +to sanguinary combat if overheard,--all these voluptuous images and +romantic dangers decided the young man. However slight might be the +guerdon of his enterprise, could he only kiss once more the hand of his +lady, he still resolved to venture all, impelled by the chivalrous and +passionate spirit of those days. He never supposed for a moment that +the countess would refuse him the soft happiness of love in the midst of +such mortal danger. The adventure was too perilous, too impossible not +to be attempted and carried out. + +Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,--a custom fallen +elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, where +venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were not +put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across the +streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated burghers, +attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing lanterns, +echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, seemed to be +asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except through the roofs. +In those days the roofs of houses were much frequented after dark. The +streets were so narrow in the provincial towns, and even in Paris, that +robbers could jump from the roofs on one side to those on the other. +This perilous occupation was long the amusement of King Charles IX. in +his youth, if we may believe the memoirs of his day. + +Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young +nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, +when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, +which the writers of those days would have called "cornue,"--perhaps +with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his +sight, and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at the +spectacle before him. On each side of the door was a face framed in +a species of loophole. At first he took these two faces for grotesque +masks carved in stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, motionless, +discolored were they; but the cold air and the moonlight presently +enabled him to distinguish the faint white mist which living breath sent +from two purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, beneath the +shadow of the eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting clear fire, +like those of a wolf crouching in the brushwood as it hears the baying +of the hounds. The uneasy gleam of those eyes was turned on him so +fixedly that, after receiving it for fully a minute, during which he +examined the singular sight, he felt like a bird at which a setter +points; a feverish tumult rose in his soul, but he quickly repressed +it. The two faces, strained and suspicious, were doubtless those of +Cornelius and his sister. + +The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, +and whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his +pocket and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight +to the door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the +house as if it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept beneath +the threshold, and an eye appeared at a small and very strong iron +grating. + +"Who is there?" + +"A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels." + +"What do you want?" + +"To enter." + +"Your name?" + +"Philippe Goulenoire." + +"Have you brought credentials?" + +"Here they are." + +"Pass them through the box." + +"Where is it?" + +"To your left." + +Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box above +which was a loophole. + +"The devil!" thought he, "plainly the king comes here, as they say he +does; he couldn't take more precautions at Plessis." + +He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that +lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, "Close the traps +of the door." + +A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts +run, the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, opened +to the slightest distance through which a man could pass. At the risk of +tearing off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather than walked +into La Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet face, the +eyebrows projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose and chin +so near together that a nut could scarcely pass between them,--a pallid, +haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently of only bones +and nerves,--guided the "soi-disant" foreigner silently into a lower +room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + +"Sit there," she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool +placed at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no +fire. + +On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with +twisted legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little +bread-sops, hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools +placed beside the table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed +that the miserly pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the +door and pushed two iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, +the loopholes through which they had been gazing into the street; then +he returned to his seat. Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the +brother and sister dipping their sops into the egg in turn, and with +the utmost gravity and the same precision with which soldiers dip their +spoons in regular rotation into the mess-pot. This performance was done +in silence. But as he ate, Cornelius examined the false apprentice with +as much care and scrutiny as if he were weighing an old coin. + +Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, was +tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated by all +amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even furtively, at +the walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius detected him, +he would not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in his house. He +contented himself, therefore, by looking first at the egg and then at +the old woman, occasionally contemplating his future master. + +Louis XI.'s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired the +same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a sort +of intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his eyes; +but by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, penetrating, +powerful glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, and to +whom the phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has become +familiar. His thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air of +indescribable craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague +resemblance to the muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting forehead, +with many lines, showed great and splendid qualities and a nobility +of soul, the springs of which had been lowered by experience until the +cruel teachings of life had driven it back into the farthest recesses of +this most singular human being. He was certainly not an ordinary +miser; and his passion covered, no doubt, extreme enjoyments and secret +conceptions. + +"What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?" he said abruptly to his +future apprentice. + +"Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent." + +"What is the freight on the Scheldt?" + +"Three sous parisis." + +"Any news at Ghent?" + +"The brother of Lieven d'Herde is ruined." + +"Ah!" + +After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee with +the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black velvet, open +in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous material being +defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent costume, formerly worn +by him as president of the tribunal of the Parchons, functions which had +won him the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + +Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further +questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from +a Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to his +good memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the manners +and habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the first +flush of his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to perceive +the difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the terrible +Fleming reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, and +remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders +of Maitre Cornelius. + +"Have you supped?" asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, +"You are not to sup." + +The old maid trembled in spite of her brother's tone; she looked at the +new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to +fill, and said with a specious smile:-- + +"You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as +the devil's tail." + +"I have supped," he said. + +"Well then," replied the miser, "you can come back and see me to-morrow. +I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to +sleep upon the matter." + +"Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don't know a soul +in this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in +prison. However," he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing +in his words, "if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go." + +The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + +"Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here." + +"But--" said his sister, alarmed. + +"Silence," replied Cornelius. "In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he +will answer for this young man. You know," he whispered in his sister's +ear, "we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That's +a hostage, hey!" + +"And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like +a thief than a Fleming." + +"Hush!" exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + +Both misers listened. A moment after the "Hush!" uttered by Cornelius, a +noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the +other side of the moat of the town. + +"It is the Plessis guard on their rounds," said the sister. + +"Give me the key of the apprentice's room," said Cornelius. + +The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + +"Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?" cried Cornelius, in a +meaning tone of voice. "At your age can't you see in the dark? It isn't +difficult to find a key." + +The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left +the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the +door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance +which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the +chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped +with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a +match-lock pistol with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible +weapon lay close to Cornelius. + +"How do you expect to earn your living with me?" said the latter. + +"I have but little money," replied Philippe, "but I know good tricks in +business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, that +will satisfy me." + +"A sou! a sou!" echoed the miser; "why, that's a good deal!" + +At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + +"Come," said Cornelius to Philippe. + +The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone +staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside +the hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the young +man paused. + +"No, no," said Cornelius. "The devil! this nook is the place where the +king takes his ease." + +The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under the +pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a little +room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The tower +stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like the +courtyards of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the farther +end, through an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden in which +nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had introduced. The +young nobleman took note of all this through the loopholes on the spiral +staircase, the moon casting, fortunately, a brilliant light. A cot, a +stool, a mismatched pitcher and basin formed the entire furniture of +the room. The light could enter only through square openings, placed at +intervals in the outside wall of the tower, according, no doubt, to the +exterior ornamentation. + +"Here is your lodging," said Cornelius; "it is plain and solid and +contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this +room as _the others_ did." + +After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, Cornelius +double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the staircase, +leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell-founder when on +opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without light, seated on a +stool, in a little garret from which so many of his predecessors had +gone to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a wild beast caught in +a trap. He jumped upon the stool and raised himself to his full height +in order to reach one of the little openings through which a faint light +shone. Thence he saw the Loire, the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, +the gloomy marvels of Plessis, where lights were gleaming in the deep +recesses of a few windows. Far in the distance lay the beautiful meadows +of Touraine and the silvery stream of her river. Every point of this +lovely nature had, at that moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the +waters, the roofs of the houses shone like diamonds in the trembling +light of the moon. The soul of the young seigneur could not repress a +sad and tender emotion. + +"Suppose it is my last farewell!" he said to himself. + +He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure +offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, nevertheless, +retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined each difficulty. To +him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural being seen through +the incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he fancied came from the +hotel de Poitiers, restored him to himself and to a sense of his true +situation. Throwing himself on his pallet to reflect on his course, he +heard a slight movement which echoed faintly from the spiral staircase. +He listened attentively, and the whispered words, "He has gone to bed," +said by the old woman, reached his ear. By an accident unknown probably +to the architect, the slightest noise on the staircase sounded in the +room of the apprentices, so that Philippe did not lose a single movement +of the miser and his sister who were watching him. He undressed, lay +down, pretended to sleep, and employed the time during which the pair +remained on the staircase, in seeking means to get from his prison to +the hotel de Poitiers. + +About ten o'clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new +inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied +carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could +recognize the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, +occupy the whole second floor. Like all the houses of that period, this +floor was next below the roof, from which its windows projected, adorned +with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured. The roof itself was +edged with a sort of balustrade, concealing the gutters for the rain +water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile's heads discharged +into the street. The young seigneur, after studying this topography as +carefully as a cat, believed he could make his way from the tower to the +roof, and thence to Madame de Vallier's by the gutters and the help of a +gargoyle. But he did not count on the narrowness of the loopholes of the +tower; it was impossible to pass through them. He then resolved to get +out upon the roof of the house through the window of the staircase on +the second floor. To accomplish this daring project he must leave his +room, and Cornelius had carried off the key. + +By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed +under his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the +"coup de grace" in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the +victor to despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade +sharpened like a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like +a saw, but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it would +enter the body. The young man determined to use this latter blade to saw +through the wood around the lock. Happily for him the staple of the lock +was put on to the outside of the door by four stout screws. By the help +of his dagger he managed, not without great difficulty, to unscrew and +remove it altogether, carefully laying it aside and the four screws with +it. By midnight he was free, and he went down the stairs without his +shoes to reconnoitre the localities. + +He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down a +corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a window +opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of the hotel +de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. Nothing could +express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly made to the +Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the celebrated parish +church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining the tall broad +chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his steps to fetch +his dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light on the staircase +and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, carrying a lamp, his +eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon the corridor, at the +entrance of which he stood like a spectre. + +"If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me," thought +the young man. + +The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. +In this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence +of mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the angle +of it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp in +advance of him, came into line with the current of air which the +young man could send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius +muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and retraced +his steps. The young man then rushed to his room, caught up his dagger +and returned to the blessed window, opened it softly and jumped upon the +roof. + +Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. +Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the +enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. +He leaned against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to +himself:-- + +"By which chimney can I get to her?" + +He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all +and felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made +up his mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger +securely in a joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to it, +threw the ladder down the chimney and risked himself upon it, trusting +to his good blade, and to the chance of not having mistaken his +mistress's room. He knew not whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or awake, +but one thing he was resolved upon, he would hold the countess in his +arms if it cost the life of two men. + +Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently +still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. Pale +with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the light of +the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from her. We may +well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in their hearts. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + + +The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his +chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + +"Good luck to you, crony," he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty way. + +"Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a +moment's talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies and +all the jewels of the Duke of--" + +"Let us hear about that," said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard +of Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, Olivier +de Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. "Tell me about it. +Another man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!" + +The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came with +slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group paused under +a tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers made a circle +about him. + +"Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me--" +began Cornelius. + +"He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!" exclaimed Louis, wagging his +head. + +"Oh, yes!" replied the silversmith, bitterly. "But methinks he'd have +snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me +by Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in +my hands. I will wager the Jew's letter and seal were forged! In short, +sire, I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you admired so +much. They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the jewels of the +Elector of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! they'll steal your +kingdom if you don't take care. As soon as I missed the jewels I went +up to the room of that apprentice, who is, assuredly, a past-master in +thieving. This time we don't lack proof. He had forced the lock of +his door. But when he got back to his room, the moon was down and he +couldn't find all the screws. Happily, I felt one under my feet when +I entered the room. He was sound asleep, the beggar, tired out. Just +fancy, gentlemen, he got down into my strong-room by the chimney. +To-morrow, or to-night, rather, I'll roast him alive. He had a silk +ladder, and his clothes were covered with marks of his clambering over +the roof and down the chimney. He meant to stay with me, and ruin +me, night after night, the bold wretch! But where are the jewels? The +country-folks coming into town early saw him on the roof. He must have +had accomplices, who waited for him by that embankment you have been +making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of fellows who come in boats; +crack! they get off with everything, and leave no traces! But we hold +this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! ah! a fine morsel he'll be +for the gallows. With a little bit of _questioning_ beforehand, we shall +know all. Why, the glory of your reign is concerned in it! there ought +not to be robbers in the land under so great a king." + +The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy +meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his life. +A deep silence reigned. + +"This is your business," he said at length to Tristan; "take you hold of +it." + +He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. +Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in company +with the grand provost. + +"Where are those thousand gold crowns?" he called to him. + +"Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for +your justice." + +Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges +of the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of +young mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + +Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly +asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the same +ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary dangers +with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had even +postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a great +blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking the +moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed lock; he +had no patience to look for them. With the "laisser-aller" of a tired +man, he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. He did, +however, make a sort of compact with himself to awake at daybreak, but +the events of the day and the agitations of the night did not allow him +to keep faith with himself. Happiness is forgetful. Cornelius no longer +seemed formidable to the young man when he threw himself on the +pallet where so many poor wretches had wakened to their doom; and this +light-hearted heedlessness proved his ruin. While the king's silversmith +rode back from Plessis, accompanied by the grand provost and his +redoubtable archers. The false Goulenoire was being watched by the old +sister, seated on the corkscrew staircase oblivious of the cold, and +knitting socks for Cornelius. + +The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that charming +night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. He saw +himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on her knees +in the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her persecutions +and the details of the count's tyranny; he grew pitiful over the poor +lady, who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter of Louis XI. He +promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs to that terrible +father; everything, he assured her, should be settled as they wished, +the marriage broken off, the husband banished,--and all this within +reach of that husband's sword, of which they might both be the victims +if the slightest noise awakened him. But in the young man's dream the +gleam of the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the colors of the stuffs and +the tapestries were more vivid, more of love was in the air, more fire +about them, than there had been in the actual scene. The Marie of his +sleep resisted far less than the living Marie those adoring looks, +those tender entreaties, those adroit silences, those voluptuous +solicitations, those false generosities, which render the first moments +of a passion so completely ardent, and shed into the soul a fresh +delirium at each new step in love. + +Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de +Saint-Vallier granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the +tender passion. She willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, +her hands, her throat; she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion +and life of her lover; she permitted him to die for her; she yielded to +an intoxication which the sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but +farther than that she would not go; and she made her deliverance the +price of the highest rewards of his love. In those days, in order to +dissolve a marriage it was necessary to go to Rome; to obtain the help +of certain cardinals, and to appear before the sovereign pontiff +in person armed with the approval of the king. Marie was firm in +maintaining her liberty to love, that she might sacrifice it to +him later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient power to +establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make that +passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of his +highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many +sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to them +far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their love +cost blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great +dangers. But the Marie of his dream made small defence against the young +seigneur's ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? Did the +false apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen in the +hotel de Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is difficult to +decide; and the honor of women demands that it be left, as it were, in +litigation. + +At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to forget +her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by an iron +hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:-- + +"Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!" + +The young man saw the black face of Tristan l'Hermite above him, and +recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew +staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost +guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing +either hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang +others, the so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and +rubbed his eyes. + +"Mort-Dieu!" he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. +"Now is the time to play our knives." + +"Ho, ho!" cried Tristan, "that's the speech of a noble. Methinks I see +Georges d'Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers." + +Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d'Estouteville thought +less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon his +unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:-- + +"Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!" + +After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young +courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But the +myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such proceedings. When +Georges d'Estouteville reached the stairs they seized him dexterously, +not surprised by the vigorous thrust he made at them with his dagger, +the blade of which fortunately slipped on the corselet of a guard; then, +having disarmed him, they bound his hands, and threw him on the pallet +before their leader, who stood motionless and thoughtful. + +Tristan looked silently at the prisoner's hands, then he said to +Cornelius, pointing to them:-- + +"Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a +noble." + +"Say a thief!" cried the torconnier. "My good Tristan, noble or serf, he +has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your pretty +boots. He is, I don't doubt it, the leader of that gang of devils, +visible and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, rob me, +murder me! They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this time we +shall get back the treasure, for the fellow has the face of the king of +Egypt. I shall recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I have lost; and +our worthy king shall have his share in the harvest." + +"Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!" said Georges, +smiling. + +"Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!" cried the miser. + +The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges +d'Estouteville's clothes and the lock of the door. + +"How did you get out those screws?" + +Georges kept silence. + +"Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the +holy rack," said Tristan. + +"That's what I call business!" cried Cornelius. + +"Take him off," said the grand provost to the guards. + +Georges d'Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign from +their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity of a +nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + +An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the populace +kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From early morning +the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On all sides +the "apprentice," said to be young and handsome, had awakened public +sympathy, and revived the hatred felt against Cornelius; so that there +was not a young man in the town, nor a young woman with a fresh face and +pretty feet to exhibit, who was not determined to see the victim. When +Georges issued from the house, led by one of the provost's guard, who, +after he had mounted his horse, kept the strong leathern thong that +bound the prisoner tightly twisted round his arm, a horrible uproar +arose. Whether the populace merely wished to see this new victim, or +whether it intended to rescue him, certain it is that those behind +pressed those in front upon the little squad of cavalry posted around +the Malemaison. At this moment, Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed +the door, and slammed the iron shutters with the violence of panic +terror. Tristan, who was not accustomed to respect the populace of those +days (inasmuch as they were not yet the sovereign people), cared little +for a probable riot. + +"Push on! push on!" he said to his men. + +At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards +the end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number +knocked down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed +against the sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser +course of retreating to their homes. + +"Make room for the king's justice!" cried Tristan. "What are you doing +here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your +dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your husband's +stockings; get back to your needles." + +Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, +they made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague +upon them. + +At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges +d'Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the +hotel de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the +count. She was mocking at _him_, poor devoted lover, who was going to +his death for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps +of the populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be +twenty-three years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a woman's +love, loving ourselves with all the forces of our being, risking +our life with delight on the faith of a kiss, and then betrayed, to +understand the fury of hatred and despair which took possession of +Georges d'Estouteville's heart at the sight of his laughing mistress, +from whom he received a cold and indifferent glance. No doubt she had +been there some time; she was leaning from the window with her arms on +a cushion; she was at her ease, and her old man seemed content. He, too, +was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A few tears escaped the eyes of the +young man; but when Marie de Saint-Vallier saw them she turned hastily +away. Those tears were suddenly dried, however, when Georges beheld the +red and white plumes of the page who was devoted to his interests. The +count took no notice of this servitor, who advanced to his mistress on +tiptoe. After the page had said a few words in her ear, Marie returned +to the window. Escaping for a moment the perpetual watchfulness of her +tyrant, she cast one glance upon Georges that was brilliant with the +fires of love and hope, seeming to say:-- + +"I am watching over you." + +Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their +meaning more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, +in which terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation +all took part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to +martyrdom and from martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young +seigneur, light-hearted and content, walked gaily to his doom; thinking +that the horrors of the "question" were not sufficient payment for the +delights of his love. + +As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped him, +seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at full +speed. + +"What is it?" asked the provost. + +"Nothing that concerns you," replied the officer, disdainfully. "The +king has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, whom +he invites to dinner." + +The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to +Plessis, when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white +mule, he on his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, +in order to enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving slowly. +Georges was on foot, between two guards on horseback, one of whom held +him still by the leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his wife were +naturally in advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling with the +archers, the young page questioned them, speaking sometimes to the +prisoner, so that he adroitly managed to say to him in a low voice:-- + +"I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to +the king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against +you. Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you." + +Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her +laughter was part of the heroism which women display in the great crises +of life. + +In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of "Quentin +Durward" to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, +we must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on +low land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by +the canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved +daughter, Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the +city of Tours and Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable +protection to the castle, but it offered a most precious road to +commerce. On the side towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, +the park was defended by a moat, the remains of which still show its +enormous breadth and depth. At a period when the power of artillery was +still in embryo, the position of Plessis, long since chosen by Louis XI. +for his favorite retreat, might be considered impregnable. The castle, +built of brick and stone, had nothing remarkable about it; but it was +surrounded by noble trees, and from its windows could be seen, through +vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the finest points of view in the +world. No rival mansion rose near this solitary castle, standing in the +very centre of the little plain reserved for the king and guarded by +four streams of water. + +If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and +from his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, +the opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille +waters, and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows that +opened on the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and the +embankment by which he had connected his favorite residence with the +city of Tours. If Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his castle +the luxury of architecture which Francois I. displayed afterwards at +Chambord, the dwelling of the kings of France would ever have remained +in Touraine. It is enough to see this splendid position and its magical +effects to be convinced of its superiority over the sites of all other +royal residences. + +Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more +than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of death +in the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; on the +point of increasing the territory of France by the possessions of the +Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with Marguerite, +heiress of Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, commander of +his troops in Flanders); having established his authority everywhere, +and now meditating ameliorations in his kingdom of all kinds, he saw +time slipping past him rapidly with no further troubles than those +of old age. Deceived by every one, even by the minions about him, +experience had intensified his natural distrust. The desire to live +became in him the egotism of a king who has incarnated himself in his +people; he wished to prolong his life in order to carry out his vast +designs. + +All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions +has since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. +had thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects +before the law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his +bold endeavors. On All-Saints' eve he had gathered together the learned +goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in France a +unity of weights and measures, as he had already established the unity +of power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over his empire, +joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the natural +idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our history +has the great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. Amazing +assemblages of contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a spirit +unbelieving as to all things here below, devoutly believing in the +practices of religion; a man struggling with two powers greater than his +own--the present and the future; the future in which he feared eternal +punishment, a fear which led him to make so many sacrifices to the +Church; the present, namely his life itself, for the saving of which he +blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who crushed down all about him, +was himself crushed down by remorse, and by disease in the midst of the +great poem of defiant monarchy in which all power was concentrated. It +was once more the gigantic and ever magnificent combat of Man in the +highest manifestation of his forces tilting against Nature. + +While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days +between eleven o'clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short +promenade, sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in his +chamber. Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each other +without a word, standing in the recess of a window and watching their +master, who presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was heard were +the steps of the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de Montresor, +and Jean Dufou, Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and down the +adjoining hall. These two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the captain +of the Scottish guard, who was sleeping in his chair, according to +his usual custom. The king himself appeared to be dozing. His head had +drooped upon his breast; his cap, pulled forward on his forehead, hid +his eyes. Thus seated in his high chair, surmounted by the royal crown, +he seemed crouched together like a man who had fallen asleep in the +midst of some deep meditation. + +At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge +of Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + +"Who is that?" said the king. + +The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + +"He is dreaming," said Coyctier, in a low voice. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" cried Louis XI., "do you think me mad? People are +crossing the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear +sounds more easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized," +he added thoughtfully. + +"What a man!" said de Daim. + +Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the +town. He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:-- + +"Ha, ha! here's my crony and his thief. And here comes my little +Marie de Saint-Vallier; I'd forgotten all about it. Olivier," he said, +addressing the barber, "go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve some +good Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn't forget +the lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I eat +lampreys?" he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + +For all answer the physician began to examine his master's face. The two +men were a picture in themselves. + +History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, and +the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, decorated +with leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of Saint-Michel, are +not less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has represented the face +of that terrible monarch in his last years,--a sickly, hollow, yellow +and brown face, all the features of which expressed a sour craftiness, +a cold sarcasm. In that mask was the forehead of a great man, a brow +furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty with high thoughts; but in his +cheeks and on his lips there was something indescribably vulgar and +common. Looking at certain details of that countenance you would have +thought him a debauched husbandman, or a miserly peddler; and yet, above +these vague resemblances and the decrepitude of a dying old man, the +king, the man of power, rose supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, +seemed at first sight extinct; but a spark of courage and of anger +lurked there, and at the slightest touch it could burst into flames and +cast fire about him. The doctor was a stout burgher, with a florid face, +dressed in black, peremptory, greedy of gain, and self-important. These +two personages were framed, as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung +with high-warped tapestries of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of +carved beams, was blackened by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid +with arabesques in pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they +were at that period when the arts were beginning to produce their +choicest masterpieces. + +"Lampreys are not good for you," replied the physician. + +That title, recently substituted for the former term of "myrrh-master," +is still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at this period +given to doctors everywhere. + +"Then what may I eat?" asked the king, humbly. + +"Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you may +die on All-Souls' Day." + +"To-day!" cried the king in terror. + +"Compose yourself, sire," replied Coyctier. "I am here. Try not to fret +your mind; find some way to amuse yourself." + +"Ah!" said the king, "my daughter Marie used to succeed in that +difficult business." + +As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, rapped +softly on the royal door. On receiving the king's permission he entered +and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis XI. made +a sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who allowed her to +pass in first. + +"Good-day, my children," said the king. + +"Sire," replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, "I +want to speak to you in secret." + +Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and +called out in a hollow voice, "Hola, Dufou!" + +Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered in +haste. + +"Go to the maitre d'hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for +dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to +dine alone to-day. Do you know, madame," continued the king, pretending +to be slightly angry, "that you neglect me? It is almost three years +since I have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty," he added, sitting +down and holding out his arms to her. "How thin you have grown! Why have +you let her grow so thin?" said the king, roughly, addressing the Comte +de Poitiers. + +The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she +almost pitied him. + +"Happiness, sire!" he stammered. + +"Ah! you love each other too much,--is that it?" said the king, +holding his daughter between his knees. "I did right to call you +Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want +of me?" he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. "After +sending me your--" + +In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king's lips and said in +his ear,-- + +"I always thought you cautious and penetrating." + +"Saint-Vallier," said the king, laughing, "I think that Bridore has +something to say to you." + +The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well +known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, and +knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + +"Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,--hey? Do I seem changed to +you?" + +"Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather I +deceived you?" + +"No," he said, in a low voice, "I want to know truly what to expect." + +"In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let my +truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?" + +"What is your cause?" asked the king, frowning and passing a hand across +his forehead. + +"Ah, sire," she replied, "the young man you have had arrested for +robbing your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the +grand provost, is innocent of the robbery." + +"How do you know that?" asked the king. Marie lowered her head and +blushed. + +"I need not ask if there is love in this business," said the king, +raising his daughter's head gently and stroking her chin. "If you don't +confess every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell." + +"Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?" + +"Where would be the pleasure?" cried the king, seeing only an amusement +in this affair. + +"Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?" + +"Oh! you sly little girl, haven't you any confidence in me?" + +"Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty." + +"So! he is a nobleman, is he?" cried the king. "Then he is not an +apprentice?" + +"He is certainly innocent," she said. + +"I don't see it so," said the king, coldly. "I am the law and justice of +my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers." + +"Come, don't put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of that +young man." + +"Is it yours already?" + +"Sire," she said, "I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at--" + +"Then," said Louis XI., interrupting her, "as I am not to know the +truth, I think Tristan had better clear it up." + +Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:-- + +"Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief stole +nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you everything, +even though you may punish me." + +"Ho, ho! this is getting serious," cried the king, shoving up his cap. +"Speak out, my daughter." + +"Well," she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father's ear, +"he was in my room all night." + +"He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!" + +"I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a scoundrel. +That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of your +archers." + +"Well, well!" cried the king; "you are hard to confess." + +With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried +to the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For +the last moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, +shining through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a +listener's foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the +door abruptly, and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" he cried; "here's an audacity that deserves the axe." + +"Sire," replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, "I would prefer an axe at my +throat to the ornament of marriage on my head." + +"You may have both," said Louis XI. "None of you are safe from such +infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham," continued +the king, addressing the captain of the guard, "you are asleep! Where +is Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached in this way? +Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better served than I am." + +After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to +draw the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more to +stifle the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north wind. + +"So, my daughter," he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays with +a mouse, "Georges d'Estouteville was your lover last night?" + +"Oh, no, sire!" + +"No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think +my daughter beautiful?" + +"Oh! that is not it," she said. "He kissed my feet and hands with an +ardor that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me +truly in all honor." + +"Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such +nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just to +kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others." + +"But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose." + +Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of her +husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + +"What purpose?" + +The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange +confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the +pardon of her husband. + +"Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal +blood!" cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + +At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king's +dinner. Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with +contracted brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all +his servitors in waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de +Saint-Vallier, thinking of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. +The deep silence which reigned was presently broken by the steps of +Tristan l'Hermite as he mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost +entered the hall, and, advancing toward the king, said:-- + +"Sire, the affair is settled." + +"What! is it all over?" said the king. + +"Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a +touch of the 'question.'" + +The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but +looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who +muttered in a low tone: "I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance of +my wife." + +"Silence!" cried the king. "Some one is here who will wear out my +patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution," he continued, +addressing the grand provost. "You will answer with your own body for +that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, +and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty +provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats +they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall +be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de +Saint-Vallier," said the king, looking fixedly at the count, "I know +about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do +you hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of +lese-majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and +weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a long +journey." + +The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he +added:-- + +"You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government +of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take +charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth I +shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I married +her to you." + +Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father's arm as if to +thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was laughing +to himself in his sleeve. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE HIDDEN TREASURE + + +Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and he +was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. This +taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a passion for +the "incognito," one of the greatest pleasures of princes,--a sort of +momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little real life into +their existence, made insipid by the lack of opposition. Louis XI., +however, played the incognito openly. On these occasions he was always +the good fellow, endeavoring to please the people of the middle classes, +whom he made his allies against feudality. For some time past he had +found no opportunity to "make himself populace" and espouse the domestic +interests of some man "engarrie" (an old word still used in Tours, +meaning engaged) in litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the +anxieties of Maitre Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of +the Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to +his daughter:-- + +"Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now +amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve +hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!" he continued, looking at the +seigneurs who were serving him. "Notre Dame! with a sum like that what +absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank +the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification +ready-made for this kingdom." + +When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the +grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel +de Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de +Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + +"Monsieur," said the king, "I told you to start at once. Say farewell +to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by an +escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they will be +in Venice before you get there." + +Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret +instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of +men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in +haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made +deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin +the unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, +in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his +quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of the +robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his royal +master without uneasiness. + +"Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?" he said to the +king. + +Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and +his sister. + +"No, my old crony," he said; "don't worry yourself. They will sup at +Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good +in detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I +shall do so now." + +"Find him, sire, and make no wager." + +They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his +treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the casket +from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, then the +chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, easily +convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter supposition, +inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,--where, in truth, a fire +was seldom made,--and no sign that any one had passed down the flue; and +moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the roof which was almost +inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close investigation, marked +with that sagacity which distinguished the suspicious mind of Louis +XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, that no one had forced an +entrance into the strong-room of his silversmith. No marks of violence +were on the locks, nor on the iron coffers which contained the gold, +silver, and jewels deposited as securities by wealthy debtors. + +"If the robber opened this box," said the king, "why did he take nothing +out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason had he for +leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer robber!" + +At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked at +each other for a moment. + +"Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your +protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?" + +"If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in +ignorance. That is one of my secrets." + +"Then the devil is in my house!" cried the miser, piteously. + +In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his +silversmith's cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was +casting on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and power +which seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, thinking he +had in some way offended his dangerous master. + +"Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!" cried Louis XI. abruptly. +"If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow who did it. +Make that old hag you call your sister come here," he added. + +Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with his +hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis's withered lips determined him. +Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + +"Have you any flour?" demanded the king. + +"Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter," she answered. + +"Well, go and fetch some," said the king. + +"What do you want to do with our flour, sire?" she cried, not the least +impressed by his royal majesty. + +"Old fool!" said Cornelius, "go and execute the orders of our gracious +master. Shall the king lack flour?" + +"Our good flour!" she grumbled, as she went downstairs. "Ah! my flour!" + +Then she returned, and said to the king:-- + +"Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?" + +At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, +from time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to +and from market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of flour. +The housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom she cast +the rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt venom upon +men. + +"It costs six sous the 'septeree,'" she said. + +"What does that matter?" said the king. "Spread it on the floor; but be +careful to make an even layer of it--as if it had fallen like snow." + +The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as though +the end of the world had come. + +"My flour, sire! on the ground! But--" + +Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the +intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents +on the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for the +empty bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she disappeared with +a heavy sigh. + +Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till +it looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, +followed by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When they +reached the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, "Are there two keys +to the lock?" + +"No, sire." + +The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced with +large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret lock, +the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + +After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him +to post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest +secrecy, in the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of the +adjoining houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and escort +him back to Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he himself +would not sup with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close his +windows with the utmost care, that no single ray of light should escape +from the house, and then he departed with much pomp for Plessis along +the embankment; but there he secretly left his escort, and returned by +a door in the ramparts to the house of the torconnier. All these +precautions were so well taken that the people of Tours really thought +the king had returned to Plessis, and would sup on the morrow with +Cornelius. + +Towards eight o'clock that evening, as the king was supping with his +physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much +jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in +danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, +even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was +occupied as usual. + +"I hope," said the king, laughing, "that my silversmith shall be robbed +to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, messieurs, +no one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my order, under +pain of grievous punishment." + +Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first to +leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong-room. +He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the marks of +a large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. Carefully +avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the door of +the treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of fracture or +defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; but as they grew +gradually fainter, they finally left not the slightest trace, and it was +impossible for him to discover where the robber had fled. + +"Ho, crony!" called out the king, "you have been finely robbed this +time." + +At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly +terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs and +corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, the +king chanced to observe the miser's slippers and recognized the type of +sole that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a word, and +checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had been hanged +for the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once in the room +the king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot beside those +already existing, and easily convinced him that the robber of his +treasure was no other than himself. + +"The pearl necklace is gone!" cried Cornelius. "There is sorcery in +this. I never left my room." + +"We'll know all about it now," said the king; the evident truthfulness +of his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + +He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and +asked:-- + +"What did you see during the night?" + +"Oh, sire!" said the lieutenant, "an amazing sight! Your silversmith +crept down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed to +be a shadow." + +"I!" exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and +stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + +"Go away, all of you," said the king, addressing the archers, "and tell +Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to leave their +rooms and come here to mine.--You have incurred the penalty of death," +he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear him. "You have ten +murders on your conscience!" + +Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, +remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming's face, he added:-- + +"You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. +You can get out of the claws of _my_ justice by payment of a good round +sum to my treasury, but if you don't build at least one chapel in honor +of the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you throughout +eternity." + +"Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make +thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns," replied Cornelius +mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. "Thirteen hundred and +seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!" + +"He must have buried them in some hiding-place," muttered the king, +beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. "That was the magnet +that invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure." + +Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre +Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the adventure. + +"Sire," replied the physician, "there is nothing supernatural in that. +Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is +the third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give +yourself the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see that +old man stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I noticed +in the two other cases I have already observed, a curious connection +between the actions of that nocturnal existence and the interests and +occupations of their daily life." + +"Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man." + +"I am your physician," replied the other, insolently. + +At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with him +when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap with a +hasty motion. + +"At such times," continued Coyctier, "persons attend to their business +while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued his +dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a day +in which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure." + +"Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!" cried the king. + +"Where is it?" asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of nature, +heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while continuing +himself almost torpid with thought and the shock of this singular +misfortune. + +"Ha!" cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, +"somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when +asleep." + +"Leave us," said the king. + +When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and +chuckled coldly. + +"Messire Hoogworst," he said, with a nod, "all treasures buried in +France belong to the king." + +"Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and +fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need." + +"Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you +can surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me." + +"No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my death. +But what scheme have you for finding it?" + +"I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. You +might fear any one but me." + +"Ah, sire!" cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king's feet, "you +are the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; +and I will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing +my utmost to promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with +Monseigneur. She will bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of +lands, which will round out the glory of your crown." + +"There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me," said the king, +with frowning brows, "or else you have already done so." + +"Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!" + +"All that is talk," returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. +"You need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You +are selling me your influence--Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you +the master, and am I your servant?" + +"Ah, sire," said the old man, "I was waiting to surprise you agreeably +with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was +awaiting confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What has +become of that young man?" + +"Enough!" said the king; "this is only one more blunder you have +committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my +knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this." + +Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the +lower rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + +"Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have +put thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, I, +I am the robber!" + +Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat she +quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old maid +accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that she +trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She turned +pale by degrees, and her face,--the changes in which were difficult +to decipher among its wrinkles,--became distorted while her brother +explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and the +extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + +"Louis XI. and I," he said in conclusion, "have just been lying to each +other like two peddlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that if he +follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king alone +can watch my wanderings at night. I don't feel sure that his conscience, +near as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred thousand crowns. We +MUST be beforehand with him; we must find the hidden treasure and send +it to Ghent, and you alone--" + +Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the +sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of age. +When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly like a +man in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his sister, +too feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she was dead. +Maitre Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying out: + +"You cannot die now. There is time enough later--Oh! it is all over. The +old hag never could do anything at the right time." + +He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble +feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, half +forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:-- + +"Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?--you who understood me so well! +Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With you, my +peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only known what +good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you would have +lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! thirteen hundred +thousand crowns! Won't that wake you?--No, she is dead!" + +Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued +from his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange +exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. +Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened +features of his old friend. + +"What is the matter?" he asked. + +"Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She +precedes me there below," he said, pointing to the floor with a dreadful +gesture. + +"Enough!" cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + +"I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang me, +if that's your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is full of +gold. I give up all to you--" + +"Come, come, crony," replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the +sight of this strange suffering, "we shall find your treasure some fine +night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. I will +come back in the course of this week--" + +"As you please, sire." + +At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of the +chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other with an +expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + +"Adieu, my crony," said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up +his cap. + +"May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!" replied the +silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + +After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between +them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man on +the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so well, +they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, that the +king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered the words, +"As you please, sire," the repugnance that his visits would henceforth +cause to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a declaration of +war in the "Adieu, my crony," of the king. + +Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the conduct +they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch possessed the +secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter could, by his +connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions that any king +of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of the house +of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then coveting. The +marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the people of Ghent +and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the influence of +Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now begun by +Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the command of the +army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two master-foxes were, +therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are paralyzed by chance. + +So, whether it were that from that day the king's health failed and went +from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into France +Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, to +marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the +castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the +hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the pair +remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship. Happily for +Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister was the +actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by Tristan. +Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town would have +risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king could have +taken measures to protect it. + +But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so +far as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards +Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith spent +the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless occupation. +Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and came, smelling +for gold in every corner of his house; he studied the cracks and +crevices, he sounded the walls, he besought the trees of the garden, the +foundations of the house, the roofs of the turrets, the earth and the +heavens, to give him back his treasure. Often he stood motionless for +hours, casting his eyes on all sides, plunging them into the void. +Striving for the miracles of ecstasy and the powers of sorcery, he +tried to see his riches through space and obstacles. He was constantly +absorbed in one overwhelming thought, consumed with a single desire that +burned his entrails, gnawed more cruelly still by the ever-increasing +agony of the duel he was fighting with himself since his passion for +gold had turned to his own injury,--a species of uncompleted suicide +which kept him at once in the miseries of life and in those of death. + +Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident +into the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, like +Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. But +Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of neither the +one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his treasure,--a +novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. Sometimes, becoming +forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of his door wide open, +and then the passers in the street could see that already wizened man, +planted on his two legs in the midst of his untilled garden, absolutely +motionless, and casting on those who watched him a fixed gaze, the +insupportable light of which froze them with terror. If, by chance, he +walked through the streets of Tours, he seemed like a stranger in them; +he knew not where he was, nor whether the sun or the moon were shining. +Often he would ask his way of those who passed him, believing that he +was still in Ghent, and seeming to be in search of something lost. + +The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea +by which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the +fictitious being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel +claws perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, +Fear arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his +secret, the secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier could +post men to watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown gulf +into which he had cast his riches,--those riches he had watered with the +blood of so many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, arose Remorse. + +In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden +treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides +which, his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining powerful +anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful--alone with +night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that man, +instinctively perhaps, has best embodied--obedient thus to a moral truth +as yet devoid of actual proof. + +At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and +commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the +horrors of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain +thoughts more agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his +throat with a razor. + +This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then +restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was pillaged. +A tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine that a +contractor of public works, named Bohier, found the miser's treasure +and used it in the construction of Chenonceaux, that marvellous chateau +which, in spite of the wealth of several kings and the taste of Diane +de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici for building, remains unfinished to +the present day. + +Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as +we know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the +departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career +was famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. +He was saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, +the illegitimate great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the +illegitimate wife, the beloved mistress of Henri II.--for bastardy and +love were hereditary in that family of nobles. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + +***** This file should be named 1454.txt or 1454.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/1454/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/1454.zip b/old/1454.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4db2d2e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1454.zip diff --git a/old/old/20050222-1454.txt b/old/old/20050222-1454.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d52055c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/20050222-1454.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2838 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + + +Title: Maitre Cornelius + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Release Date: February 22, 2005 [EBook #1454] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + + MAITRE CORNELIUS + + BY + + HONORE DE BALZAC + + + + Translated By + Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,--a fancy of the fashions of the day,--but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. + + + + MAITRE CORNELIUS + + + + CHAPTER I + + A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + +In 1479, on All Saints' day, the moment at which this history begins, +vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de +Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself +to the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during +the service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of +which were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. +Nevertheless a goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the +saints on the triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious +offerings, the merit and signification of which have never been +sufficiently explained. The lights on each altar and all the +candelabra in the choir were burning. Irregularly shed among a forest +of columns and arcades which supported the three naves of the +cathedral, the gleam of these masses of candles barely lighted the +immense building, because the strong shadows of the columns, projected +among the galleries, produced fantastic forms which increased the +darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, the vaulted +ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at mid-day. + +The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain +figures were so vaguely defined in the "chiaroscuro" that they seemed +like phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the +scattered light, attracted attention like the principal heads in a +picture. Some statues seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here +and there eyes shone in the flutings of the columns, the floor +reflected looks, the marbles spoke, the vaults re-echoed sighs, the +edifice itself seemed endowed with life. + +The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more +majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it +poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches +unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are +felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the +clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising +heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The +mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the +feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith +and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself. +This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth, +equally risen into heaven, contains, no doubt, the secret of the magic +influences wielded by the chants of the priests, the harmonies of the +organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the altar, the voices of the +crowd and its silent contemplations. Consequently, we need not be +surprised to see in the middle-ages so many tender passions begun in +churches after long ecstasies,--passions ending often in little +sanctity, and for which women, as usual, were the ones to do penance. +Religious sentiment certainly had, in those days, an affinity with +love; it was either the motive or the end of it. Love was still a +religion, with its fine fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its +sublime devotions, which sympathized with those of Christianity. + +The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance +between religion and love. In the first place society had no +meeting-place except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and +women were equals nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each +other and communicate. The festivals of the Church were the theatre of +former times; the soul of woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral +than it is at a ball or the opera in our day; and do not strong +emotions invariably bring women back to love? By dint of mingling with +life and grasping it in all its acts and interests, religion had made +itself a sharer of all virtues, the accomplice of all vices. Religion +had passed into science, into politics, into eloquence, into crimes, +into the flesh of the sick man and the poor man; it mounted thrones; +it was everywhere. These semi-learned observations will serve, perhaps, +to vindicate the truth of this study, certain details of which may +frighten the perfected morals of our age, which are, as everybody +knows, a trifle straitlaced. + +At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the +organ, mingling with the vibrations of the loud "A-men" as it issued +from the strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo +through the distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the +beneficent words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, +or fearing for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the +worshippers dispersed, slipped quietly away, at the risk of being +called a bad Catholic. On which, a nobleman, leaning against one of +the enormous columns that surround the choir, hastened to take +possession of the seat abandoned by the worthy Tourainean. Having done +so, he quickly hid his face among the plumes of his tall gray cap, +kneeling upon the chair with an air of contrition that even an +inquisitor would have trusted. + +Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to +recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a +certain gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,--a +caustic, jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their +heads, and gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + +The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel +placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was +customary for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial +families, and even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the +services, themselves and their servants exclusively, in the various +lateral chapels of the long side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony +is in practice to the present day. A woman had her chapel as she now +has her opera-box. The families who hired these privileged places were +required to decorate the altar of the chapel thus conceded to them, +and each made it their pride to adorn their own sumptuously,--a vanity +which the Church did not rebuke. In this particular chapel a lady was +kneeling close to the railing on a handsome rug of red velvet with +gold tassels, precisely opposite to the seat vacated of the burgher. A +silver-gilt lamp, hanging from the vaulted ceiling of the chapel +before an altar magnificently decorated, cast its pale light upon a +prayer-book held by the lady. The book trembled violently in her hand +when the young man approached her. + +"A-men!" + +To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully +agitated, though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly +in a whisper:-- + +"You will ruin me." + +The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy +ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the +stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion +which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head +slightly that he might look into the chapel. + +"He sleeps!" he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be +heard by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + +The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum +page of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man +had designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the +young woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long +breath and raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward +a picture of the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the +moistened glance, revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she +been wicked, she would certainly have dissimulated. The personage who +thus alarmed the lovers was a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly +bald, savage in expression, and wearing a long and discolored white +beard cut in a fan-tail. The cross of Saint-Michel glittered on his +breast; his coarse, strong hands, covered with gray hairs, which had +been clasped, had now dropped slightly apart in the slumber to which +he had imprudently yielded. The right hand seemed about to fall upon +his dagger, the hilt of which was in the form of an iron shell. By the +manner in which he had placed the weapon, this hilt was directly under +his hand; if, unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he would wake, +no doubt, instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic lips, his +pointed chin aggressively pushed forward, presented the characteristic +signs of a malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that would +surely enable him to divine all because he suspected everything. His +yellow forehead was wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to +believe nothing, to weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking +their gold, search out the meaning and the value of human actions. His +bodily frame, though deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both +vigorous and excitable; in short, you might have thought him a stunted +ogre. Consequently, an inevitable danger awaited the young lady +whenever this terrible seigneur woke. That jealous husband would +surely not fail to see the difference between a worthy old burgher who +gave him no umbrage, and the new-comer, young, slender, and elegant. + +"Libera nos a malo," she said, endeavoring to make the young man +comprehend her fears. + +The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; +tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and +betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist +no longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, +nurtured by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately +handsome; but her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her +interesting. She had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair +in the world. Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a +word, accepting a look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. +Love may never have been more deeply felt than in those hearts, never +more delightfully enjoyed, but certainly no passion was ever more +perilous. It was easy to divine that to these two beings air, sound, +foot-falls, etc., things indifferent to other men, presented hidden +qualities, peculiar properties which they distinguished. Perhaps their +love made them find faithful interpreters in the icy hands of the old +priest to whom they confessed their sins, and from whom they received +the Host at the holy table. Love profound! love gashed into the soul +like a scar upon the body which we carry through life! When these two +young people looked at each other, the woman seemed to say to her +lover, "Let us love each other and die!" To which the young knight +answered, "Let us love each other and not die." In reply, she showed +him a sign her old duenna and two pages. The duenna slept; the pages +were young and seemingly careless of what might happen, either of good +or evil, to their masters. + +"Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be +managed." + +The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when +the hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. +Feeling the cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves +instantly on his wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of +genius, he awoke with his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though +he had not slept at all. The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, +with one eye on his mistress, had watched the husband with the other, +and he now rose quickly, effacing himself behind a column at the +moment when the hand of the old man fell; after which he disappeared, +swiftly as a bird. The lady lowered her eyes to her book and tried to +seem calm; but she could not prevent her face from blushing and her +heart from beating with unnatural violence. The old lord saw the +unusual crimson on the cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids of his wife. +He looked about him cautiously, but seeing no one to distrust, he said +to his wife:-- + +"What are you thinking of, my dear?" + +"The smell of the incense turns me sick," she replied. + +"It is particularly bad to-day?" he asked. + +In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to +believe in this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he +resolved to watch his treasure more carefully than before. + +The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the "Soecula +soeculorum," the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the +church. Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the +general hurry was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the +duenna and the youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he +gave his arm to his wife and told the other page to follow them. + +As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side +of the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream of +persons detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great +portals, and poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his +party. The mass was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and +he and his wife were therefore pushed onward to the door by the +pressure of the multitude behind them. The husband tried to pass out +first, dragging the lady by the arm, but at that instant he was pulled +vigorously into the street, and his wife was torn from him by a +stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once that he had fallen into a +trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting himself for having slept, +he collected his whole strength, seized his wife once more by the +sleeve of her gown, and strove with his other hand to cling to the +gate of the church; but the ardor of love carried the day against +jealous fury. The young man took his mistress round the waist, and +carried her off so rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the +brocaded stuff of silk and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve +alone remained in the hand of the old man. A roar like that of a lion +rose louder than the shouts of the multitude, and a terrible voice +howled out the words:-- + +"To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! +help!" + +And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted to +draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself +surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would +be dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the +highest rank, answered him with jests as they dragged him along the +cloisters. + +With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into +an open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden +bench. By the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the +chapel was dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in +silence, clasping hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The +countess had not the cruel courage to reproach the young man for the +boldness to which they owed this perilous and only instant of +happiness. + +"Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?" said the young man, +eagerly. "Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do +thirty leagues at a stretch." + +"Ah!" she cried, softly, "in what corner of the world could you hide a +daughter of King Louis XI.?" + +"True," replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not +foreseen. + +"Why did you tear me from my husband?" she asked in a sort of terror. + +"Alas!" said her lover, "I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel +in being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,--two +or three plans,--and now that I see you all seems accomplished." + +"But I am lost!" said the countess. + +"We are saved!" the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his +love. "Listen to me carefully!" + +"This will cost me my life!" she said, letting the tears that rolled +in her eyes flow down her cheeks. "The count will kill me,--to-night, +perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter +has endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he +called me 'Marie-full-of-grace,' because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew +the man to whom he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not +dared complain, out of pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach +the king? My confessor himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why +I have consented to this guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,--some +one to tell the truth to the king. Can I rely on-- Oh!" she cried, +turning pale and interrupting herself, "here comes the page!" + +The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + +"Fear nothing," said the young seigneur, "he is won! You can safely +trust him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for +you he will warn us of his coming. In the confessional," he added, in +a low voice, "is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he +drew you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own +protection in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to +deceive him." + +At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression +of sadness settled down on her face. + +"No one can deceive him," she said. "To-night he will know all. Save +me from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--" she +hesitated; then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to +confess the secrets of her marriage, she added: "Yes, tell him that to +master me the count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him +that my husband drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a +prisoner; that--" + +Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. +In her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken +words, to kiss her hands. + +"Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is +grand-master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My +dear lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, +let yourself say but two words, or we are lost!" + +"What will become of us?" she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall +a picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, +she cried out:-- + +"Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!" + +"To-night," said the young man, "I shall be with you in your room." + +"How?" she asked naively. + +They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid +of love. + +"This evening," he replied, "I shall offer myself as apprentice to +Maitre Cornelius, the king's silversmith. I have obtained a letter of +recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is +next to yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find +my way to your apartment by the help of a silken ladder." + +"Oh!" she said, petrified with horror, "if you love me don't go to +Maitre Cornelius." + +"Ah!" he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his +youth, "you do indeed love me!" + +"Yes," she said; "are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I +confide to you my honor. Besides," she added, looking at him with +dignity, "I am so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But +what is the good of all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you +should enter that house of Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all +his apprentices--" + +"Have been hanged," said the young man, laughing. + +"Oh, don't go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery." + +"I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you," he said, with a +look that made her drop her eyes. + +"But my husband?" she said. + +"Here is something to put him to sleep," replied her lover, drawing +from his belt a little vial. + +"Not for always?" said the countess, trembling. + +For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + +"I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so +old," he said. "God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other +way." + +"Forgive me," said the countess, blushing. "I am cruelly punished for +my sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared +you might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never +yet been able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would be +repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you," she +continued, distressed by his silence, "I deserve your blame." + +And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + +"Do not come," she said, "my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to +wait for the help of Heaven--that will I do!" + +She tried to leave the chapel. + +"Ah!" cried the young man, "order me to do so and I will kill him. You +will see me to-night." + +"I was wise to destroy that drug," she said in a voice that was faint +with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. "The fear of awakening +my husband will save us from ourselves." + +"I pledge you my life," said the young man, pressing her hand. + +"If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then +be united," she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful +hopes. + +"Monseigneur comes!" cried the page, rushing in. + +Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had +gained with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, +snatched a kiss, which was not refused. + +"To-night!" he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + +Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding +from column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the +nave. An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the +side of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page +was marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + +A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by +several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a +naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and +to rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + +"Monseigneur, madame is there," said the page, going forward to meet +him. + +The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the +alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At +that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give +vent to his rage. + +"What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?" asked the +priest. + +"Father, that is my husband," said the countess. + +The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of +the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into +the confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be +listening attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + +"Monsieur," said his wife, "you owe many thanks to this venerable +canon, who gave me a refuge here." + +The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, +who had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he +answered curtly: + +"Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you." + +He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her +curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church +without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had +something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and +preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took his +way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the +cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by +the Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification +given by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his +glorious labors. + +The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, +called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of +servants had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a +deep silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs +had their houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to +Plessis, the usual residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if +sent for, could go in a moment. The last house in this street was also +the last in the town. It belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an +old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost +confidence in those financial transactions which his crafty policy +induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom. + +Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre +Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that +the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use +of tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, +and both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their +corners were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities +remark in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet +prevailed. The bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of +resistance to the iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots +and the civil wars so frequent in those tumultuous times were ample +justification for these precautions. + +As six o'clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey +Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the +hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made +in the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. +Casting a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love +to be, he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, +the young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout +the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks +of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted +meats pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services, +the inhabitants were regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction +which fancy can picture better than words can paint. But at this +particular spot a deep silence reigned, because in these two houses +lived two passions which never rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the +silent country. Beneath the shadow of the steeples of Saint-Martin, +these two mute dwellings, separated from the others in the same street +and standing at the crooked end of it, seemed afflicted with leprosy. +The building opposite to them, the home of the criminals of the State, +was also under a ban. A young man would be readily impressed by this +sudden contrast. About to fling himself into an enterprise that was +horribly hazardous, it is no wonder that the daring young seigneur +stopped short before the house of the silversmith, and called to mind +the many tales furnished by the life of Maitre Cornelius,--tales which +caused such singular horror to the countess. At this period a man of +war, and even a lover, trembled at the mere word "magic." Few indeed +were the minds and the imaginations which disbelieved in occult facts +and tales of the marvellous. The lover of the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier, one of the daughters whom Louis XI. had in Dauphine by +Madame de Sassenage, however bold he might be in other respects, was +likely to think twice before he finally entered the house of a +so-called sorcerer. + +The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the +security which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, +the terror of the countess, and the hesitation that now took +possession of the lover. But, in order to make the readers of this +nineteenth century understand how such commonplace events could be +turned into anything supernatural, and to make them share the alarms +of that olden time, it is necessary to interrupt the course of this +narrative and cast a rapid glance on the preceding life and adventures +of Maitre Cornelius. + + + + CHAPTER II + + THE TORCONNIER + +Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having +drawn upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found +refuge and protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious +of the advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the +principal commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he +naturalized, ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which +was rarely done by Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much +as the Fleming pleased the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; +equally politic, equally learned; superior, both of them, to their +epoch; understanding each other marvellously; they discarded and +resumed with equal facility, the one his conscience, the other his +religion; they loved the same Virgin, one by conviction, the other by +policy; in short, if we may believe the jealous tales of Olivier de +Daim and Tristan, the king went to the house of the Fleming for those +diversions with which King Louis XI. diverted himself. History has +taken care to transmit to our knowledge the licentious tastes of a +monarch who was not averse to debauchery. The old Fleming found, no +doubt, both pleasure and profit in lending himself to the capricious +pleasures of his royal client. + +Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those +years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made +him the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had +spent considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with +him in safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the +locksmiths of the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing +those locksmiths to his house in a way to compel their silence, were +long the subject of countless tales which enlivened the evening +gatherings of the city. These singular artifices on the part of the +old man made every one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches. +Consequently the _narrators_ of that region--the home of the tale in +France--built rooms full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming's +house, not omitting to attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts +with Magic. + +Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, +an old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a +gentle, pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and +courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery +of considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry +showed that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. +The old miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The +young man was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the +"question" protesting his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to +escape torture; but when the judge required them to say where the +stolen property could be found, they kept silence, were again put to +the torture, judged, condemned, and hanged. On their way to the +scaffold they declared themselves innocent, according to the custom +of all persons about to be executed. + +The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the +criminals were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate +soon evaporated. In those days wars and seditions furnished endless +excitements, and the drama of each day eclipsed that of the night +before. More grieved by the loss he had met with than by the death of +his three servants, Maitre Cornelius lived alone in his house with the +old Flemish woman, his sister. He obtained permission from the king to +use state couriers for his private affairs, sold his mules to a +muleteer of the neighborhood, and lived from that moment in the +deepest solitude, seeing no one but the king, doing his business by +means of Jews, who, shrewd calculators, served him well in order to +gain his all-powerful protection. + +Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old +"torconnier" a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. +called Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under +the reign of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a +man who pressed others by violent means. The epithet, "tortionnaire," +which remains to this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old +word torconnier, which we often find spelt "tortionneur." The poor +young orphan devoted himself carefully to the affairs of the old +Fleming, pleased him much, and was soon high in his good graces. +During a winter's night, certain diamonds deposited with Maitre +Cornelius by the King of England as security for a sum of a hundred +thousand crowns were stolen, and suspicion, of course, fell on the +orphan. Louis XI. was all the more severe because he had answered for +the youth's fidelity. After a very brief and summary examination by +the grand provost, the unfortunate secretary was hanged. After that no +one dared for a long time to learn the arts of banking and exchange +from Maitre Cornelius. + +In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans, +--men of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,--took service with +the silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two +young men into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner +in which they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had +secret communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than +ever suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before +Louis XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial +was promptly had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed +Tristan l'Hermite secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, +the young Touraineans were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an +executioner. The two families thus thrown into mourning were much +respected; their complaints obtained a hearing, and little by little +it came to be believed that all the victims whom the king's +silversmith had sent to the scaffold were innocent. Some persons +declared that the cruel miser imitated the king, and sought to put +terror and gibbets between himself and his fellow-men; others said +that he had never been robbed at all,--that these melancholy +executions were the result of cool calculations, and that their real +object was to relieve him of all fear for his treasure. + +The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The +Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the "tortionnaire," +and named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to +the town bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned +them against doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius +was that of persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired +with instinctive terror; others he impressed with the deep respect +that most men feel for limitless power and money, while to a few he +certainly possessed the attraction of mystery. His way of life, his +countenance, and the favor of the king, justified all the tales of +which he had now become the subject. + +Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his +persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king +caused his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish +guard. Such royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old +miser had bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the +torconnier went out but little; but the lords of the court paid him +frequent visits. He lent them money rather liberally, though +capricious in his manner of doing so. On certain days he refused to +give them a penny; the next day he would offer them large +sums,--always at high interest and on good security. A good Catholic, +he went regularly to the services, always attending the earliest mass +at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased there, as elsewhere, a chapel +in perpetuity, he was separated even in church from other Christians. +A popular proverb of that day, long remembered in Tours, was the +saying: "You passed in front of the Fleming; ill-luck will happen to +you." Passing in front of the Fleming explained all sudden pains and +evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of fortune among the +Touraineans. Even at court most persons attributed to Cornelius that +fatal influence which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic superstition has +called the "evil eye." Without the terrible power of Louis XI., which +was stretched like a mantle over that house, the populace, on the +slightest opportunity, would have demolished La Malemaison, that "evil +house" in the rue du Murier. And yet Cornelius had been the first to +plant mulberries in Tours, and the Touraineans at that time regarded +him as their good genius. Who shall reckon on popular favor! + +A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of +France were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he +was gloomy and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some +inexplicable power brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du +Murier. Like a snail, whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, +he admitted to the king that he was never at ease except under the +bolts and behind the vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet +he knew very well that whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the +most dangerous spot on earth for him. + +"The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the +torconnier," said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the +festival of All-Saints. "He says he has been robbed again, but he +can't hang anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond +came and asked me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies +he wanted to sell me. 'Pasques-Dieu! I don't steal what I can take,' I +said to him." + +"Was he frightened?" asked the barber. + +"Misers are afraid of only one thing," replied the king. "My crony the +torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for +good reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done +anything but what is just and necessary." + +"And yet that old brigand overcharges you," said the barber. + +"You wish he did, don't you?" replied the king, with the malicious +look at his barber. + +"Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you +and the devil!" + +"There, there!" said the king, "don't put bad ideas into my head. My +crony is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have made +--perhaps because he owes me nothing." + +For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with +his aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood +declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the +house, waiting for the hour of the witches' sabbath. This fact seemed +the more extraordinary because it was known to be the miser's custom +to lock up his sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + +As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of +being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of +the king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, +but, like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it +were, of that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, +and age intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, +though she was perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother +whom she actually surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily +existence had something mysterious and problematical about it. The old +woman rarely took bread from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the +market, that the least credulous of the townspeople ended by +attributing to these strange beings the knowledge of some secret for +the maintenance of life. Those who dabbled in alchemy declared that +Maitre Cornelius had the power of making gold. Men of science averred +that he had found the Universal Panacea. According to many of the +country-people to whom the townsfolk talked of him, Cornelius was a +chimerical being, and many of them came into the town to look at his +house out of mere curiosity. + +The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about +him, first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and +then at the evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their +angles, and tinting with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and +reliefs of the carvings. The caprices of this white light gave a +sinister expression to both edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself +encouraged the superstitions that hung about the miser's dwelling. The +young man called to mind the many traditions which made Cornelius a +personage both curious and formidable. Though quite decided through +the violence of his love to enter that house, and stay there long +enough to accomplish his design, he hesitated to take the final step, +all the while aware that he should certainly take it. But where is the +man who, in a crisis of his life, does not willingly listen to +presentiments as he hangs above the precipice? A lover worthy of being +loved, the young man feared to die before he had been received for +love's sake by the countess. + +This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not +feel the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, +and chilled his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his +name, as already he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. +In case of mishap, he could not claim the privileges of his rank nor +the protection of his friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the +Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. If her husband suspected the nocturnal +visit of a lover, he was capable of roasting her alive in an iron +cage, or of killing her by degrees in the dungeons of a fortified +castle. Looking down at the shabby clothing in which he had disguised +himself, the young nobleman felt ashamed. His black leather belt, his +stout shoes, his ribbed socks, his linsey-woolsey breeches, and his +gray woollen doublet made him look like the clerk of some +poverty-stricken justice. To a noble of the fifteenth century it was +like death itself to play the part of a beggarly burgher, and renounce +the privileges of his rank. But--to climb the roof of the house where +his mistress wept; to descend the chimney, or creep along from gutter +to gutter to the window of her room; to risk his life to kneel beside +her on a silken cushion before a glowing fire, during the sleep of a +dangerous husband, whose snores would double their joy; to defy both +heaven and earth in snatching the boldest of all kisses; to say no +word that would not lead to death or at least to sanguinary combat if +overheard,--all these voluptuous images and romantic dangers decided +the young man. However slight might be the guerdon of his enterprise, +could he only kiss once more the hand of his lady, he still resolved +to venture all, impelled by the chivalrous and passionate spirit of +those days. He never supposed for a moment that the countess would +refuse him the soft happiness of love in the midst of such mortal +danger. The adventure was too perilous, too impossible not to be +attempted and carried out. + +Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,--a custom +fallen elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, +where venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were +not put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across +the streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated +burghers, attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing +lanterns, echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, +seemed to be asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except +through the roofs. In those days the roofs of houses were much +frequented after dark. The streets were so narrow in the provincial +towns, and even in Paris, that robbers could jump from the roofs on +one side to those on the other. This perilous occupation was long the +amusement of King Charles IX. in his youth, if we may believe the +memoirs of his day. + +Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young +nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, +when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, +which the writers of those days would have called "cornue,"--perhaps +with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his +sight, and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at +the spectacle before him. On each side of the door was a face framed +in a species of loophole. At first he took these two faces for +grotesque masks carved in stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, +motionless, discolored were they; but the cold air and the moonlight +presently enabled him to distinguish the faint white mist which living +breath sent from two purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, +beneath the shadow of the eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting +clear fire, like those of a wolf crouching in the brushwood as it +hears the baying of the hounds. The uneasy gleam of those eyes was +turned on him so fixedly that, after receiving it for fully a minute, +during which he examined the singular sight, he felt like a bird at +which a setter points; a feverish tumult rose in his soul, but he +quickly repressed it. The two faces, strained and suspicious, were +doubtless those of Cornelius and his sister. + +The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, and +whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his +pocket and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight +to the door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the +house as if it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept +beneath the threshold, and an eye appeared at a small and very strong +iron grating. + +"Who is there?" + +"A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels." + +"What do you want?" + +"To enter." + +"Your name?" + +"Philippe Goulenoire." + +"Have you brought credentials?" + +"Here they are." + +"Pass them through the box." + +"Where is it?" + +"To your left." + +Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box +above which was a loophole. + +"The devil!" thought he, "plainly the king comes here, as they say he +does; he couldn't take more precautions at Plessis." + +He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that +lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, "Close the +traps of the door." + +A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts +run, the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, +opened to the slightest distance through which a man could pass. At +the risk of tearing off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather +than walked into La Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet +face, the eyebrows projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose +and chin so near together that a nut could scarcely pass between them, +--a pallid, haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently +of only bones and nerves,--guided the "soi-disant" foreigner silently +into a lower room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + +"Sit there," she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool +placed at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no +fire. + +On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with +twisted legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little +bread-sops, hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools +placed beside the table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed +that the miserly pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the +door and pushed two iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, +the loopholes through which they had been gazing into the street; then +he returned to his seat. Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the +brother and sister dipping their sops into the egg in turn, and with +the utmost gravity and the same precision with which soldiers dip +their spoons in regular rotation into the mess-pot. This performance +was done in silence. But as he ate, Cornelius examined the false +apprentice with as much care and scrutiny as if he were weighing an +old coin. + +Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, +was tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated +by all amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even +furtively, at the walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius +detected him, he would not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in +his house. He contented himself, therefore, by looking first at the +egg and then at the old woman, occasionally contemplating his future +master. + +Louis XI.'s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired +the same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a +sort of intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his +eyes; but by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, +penetrating, powerful glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, +and to whom the phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has +become familiar. His thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air +of indescribable craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague +resemblance to the muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting +forehead, with many lines, showed great and splendid qualities and a +nobility of soul, the springs of which had been lowered by experience +until the cruel teachings of life had driven it back into the farthest +recesses of this most singular human being. He was certainly not an +ordinary miser; and his passion covered, no doubt, extreme enjoyments +and secret conceptions. + +"What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?" he said abruptly to +his future apprentice. + +"Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent." + +"What is the freight on the Scheldt?" + +"Three sous parisis." + +"Any news at Ghent?" + +"The brother of Lieven d'Herde is ruined." + +"Ah!" + +After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee +with the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black +velvet, open in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous +material being defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent +costume, formerly worn by him as president of the tribunal of the +Parchons, functions which had won him the enmity of the Duke of +Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + +Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further +questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from +a Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to +his good memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the +manners and habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the +first flush of his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to +perceive the difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the +terrible Fleming reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, +and remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the +orders of Maitre Cornelius. + +"Have you supped?" asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, +"You are not to sup." + +The old maid trembled in spite of her brother's tone; she looked at +the new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might +have to fill, and said with a specious smile:-- + +"You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black +as the devil's tail." + +"I have supped," he said. + +"Well then," replied the miser, "you can come back and see me +to-morrow. I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, +I wish to sleep upon the matter." + +"Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don't know a soul in +this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in +prison. However," he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing +in his words, "if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go." + +The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + +"Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here." + +"But--" said his sister, alarmed. + +"Silence," replied Cornelius. "In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he +will answer for this young man. You know," he whispered in his +sister's ear, "we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to +Oosterlinck? That's a hostage, hey!" + +"And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more +like a thief than a Fleming." + +"Hush!" exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + +Both misers listened. A moment after the "Hush!" uttered by Cornelius, +a noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on +the other side of the moat of the town. + +"It is the Plessis guard on their rounds," said the sister. + +"Give me the key of the apprentice's room," said Cornelius. + +The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + +"Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?" cried Cornelius, in a +meaning tone of voice. "At your age can't you see in the dark? It +isn't difficult to find a key." + +The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left +the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the +door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance +which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the +chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped +with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a +match-lock pistol with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible +weapon lay close to Cornelius. + +"How do you expect to earn your living with me?" said the latter. + +"I have but little money," replied Philippe, "but I know good tricks +in business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, +that will satisfy me." + +"A sou! a sou!" echoed the miser; "why, that's a good deal!" + +At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + +"Come," said Cornelius to Philippe. + +The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone +staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside +the hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the +young man paused. + +"No, no," said Cornelius. "The devil! this nook is the place where the +king takes his ease." + +The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under +the pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a +little room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The +tower stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like +the courtyards of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the +farther end, through an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden +in which nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had +introduced. The young nobleman took note of all this through the +loopholes on the spiral staircase, the moon casting, fortunately, a +brilliant light. A cot, a stool, a mismatched pitcher and basin formed +the entire furniture of the room. The light could enter only through +square openings, placed at intervals in the outside wall of the tower, +according, no doubt, to the exterior ornamentation. + +"Here is your lodging," said Cornelius; "it is plain and solid and +contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this +room as _the others_ did." + +After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, +Cornelius double-locked the door, took away the key and descended +the staircase, leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a +bell-founder when on opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without +light, seated on a stool, in a little garret from which so many of his +predecessors had gone to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a +wild beast caught in a trap. He jumped upon the stool and raised +himself to his full height in order to reach one of the little +openings through which a faint light shone. Thence he saw the Loire, +the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, the gloomy marvels of Plessis, +where lights were gleaming in the deep recesses of a few windows. Far +in the distance lay the beautiful meadows of Touraine and the silvery +stream of her river. Every point of this lovely nature had, at that +moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the waters, the roofs of the +houses shone like diamonds in the trembling light of the moon. The +soul of the young seigneur could not repress a sad and tender emotion. + +"Suppose it is my last farewell!" he said to himself. + +He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure +offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, +nevertheless, retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined +each difficulty. To him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural +being seen through the incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he +fancied came from the hotel de Poitiers, restored him to himself and +to a sense of his true situation. Throwing himself on his pallet to +reflect on his course, he heard a slight movement which echoed faintly +from the spiral staircase. He listened attentively, and the whispered +words, "He has gone to bed," said by the old woman, reached his ear. +By an accident unknown probably to the architect, the slightest noise +on the staircase sounded in the room of the apprentices, so that +Philippe did not lose a single movement of the miser and his sister +who were watching him. He undressed, lay down, pretended to sleep, and +employed the time during which the pair remained on the staircase, in +seeking means to get from his prison to the hotel de Poitiers. + +About ten o'clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new +inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied +carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could +recognize the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, +occupy the whole second floor. Like all the houses of that period, +this floor was next below the roof, from which its windows projected, +adorned with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured. The roof +itself was edged with a sort of balustrade, concealing the gutters for +the rain water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile's heads +discharged into the street. The young seigneur, after studying this +topography as carefully as a cat, believed he could make his way from +the tower to the roof, and thence to Madame de Vallier's by the +gutters and the help of a gargoyle. But he did not count on the +narrowness of the loopholes of the tower; it was impossible to pass +through them. He then resolved to get out upon the roof of the house +through the window of the staircase on the second floor. To accomplish +this daring project he must leave his room, and Cornelius had carried +off the key. + +By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed +under his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the +"coup de grace" in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the +victor to despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade +sharpened like a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like +a saw, but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it +would enter the body. The young man determined to use this latter +blade to saw through the wood around the lock. Happily for him the +staple of the lock was put on to the outside of the door by four stout +screws. By the help of his dagger he managed, not without great +difficulty, to unscrew and remove it altogether, carefully laying it +aside and the four screws with it. By midnight he was free, and he +went down the stairs without his shoes to reconnoitre the localities. + +He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down +a corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a +window opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of +the hotel de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. +Nothing could express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly +made to the Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the +celebrated parish church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining +the tall broad chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his +steps to fetch his dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light +on the staircase and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, +carrying a lamp, his eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon +the corridor, at the entrance of which he stood like a spectre. + +"If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me," +thought the young man. + +The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. +In this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence +of mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the +angle of it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp +in advance of him, came into line with the current of air which the +young man could send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius +muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and +retraced his steps. The young man then rushed to his room, caught up +his dagger and returned to the blessed window, opened it softly and +jumped upon the roof. + +Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. +Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the +enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. +He leaned against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to +himself:-- + +"By which chimney can I get to her?" + +He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all +and felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made +up his mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger +securely in a joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to +it, threw the ladder down the chimney and risked himself upon it, +trusting to his good blade, and to the chance of not having mistaken +his mistress's room. He knew not whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or +awake, but one thing he was resolved upon, he would hold the countess +in his arms if it cost the life of two men. + +Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently +still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. +Pale with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the +light of the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from +her. We may well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in +their hearts. + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + +The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his +chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + +"Good luck to you, crony," he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty +way. + +"Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a +moment's talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies +and all the jewels of the Duke of--" + +"Let us hear about that," said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard +of Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, +Olivier de Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. "Tell me about +it. Another man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!" + +The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came +with slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group +paused under a tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers +made a circle about him. + +"Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me--" +began Cornelius. + +"He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!" exclaimed Louis, wagging his +head. + +"Oh, yes!" replied the silversmith, bitterly. "But methinks he'd have +snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me +by Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in +my hands. I will wager the Jew's letter and seal were forged! In +short, sire, I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you +admired so much. They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the +jewels of the Elector of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! +they'll steal your kingdom if you don't take care. As soon as I missed +the jewels I went up to the room of that apprentice, who is, +assuredly, a past-master in thieving. This time we don't lack proof. +He had forced the lock of his door. But when he got back to his room, +the moon was down and he couldn't find all the screws. Happily, I felt +one under my feet when I entered the room. He was sound asleep, the +beggar, tired out. Just fancy, gentlemen, he got down into my +strong-room by the chimney. To-morrow, or to-night, rather, I'll roast +him alive. He had a silk ladder, and his clothes were covered with marks +of his clambering over the roof and down the chimney. He meant to stay +with me, and ruin me, night after night, the bold wretch! But where +are the jewels? The country-folks coming into town early saw him on +the roof. He must have had accomplices, who waited for him by that +embankment you have been making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of +fellows who come in boats; crack! they get off with everything, and +leave no traces! But we hold this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! +ah! a fine morsel he'll be for the gallows. With a little bit of +_questioning_ beforehand, we shall know all. Why, the glory of your +reign is concerned in it! there ought not to be robbers in the land +under so great a king." + +The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy +meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his +life. A deep silence reigned. + +"This is your business," he said at length to Tristan; "take you hold +of it." + +He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. +Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in +company with the grand provost. + +"Where are those thousand gold crowns?" he called to him. + +"Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for +your justice." + +Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges +of the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of +young mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + +Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly +asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the +same ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary +dangers with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had +even postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a +great blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking +the moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed +lock; he had no patience to look for them. With the "laisser-aller" of +a tired man, he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. +He did, however, make a sort of compact with himself to awake at +daybreak, but the events of the day and the agitations of the night +did not allow him to keep faith with himself. Happiness is forgetful. +Cornelius no longer seemed formidable to the young man when he threw +himself on the pallet where so many poor wretches had wakened to their +doom; and this light-hearted heedlessness proved his ruin. While the +king's silversmith rode back from Plessis, accompanied by the grand +provost and his redoubtable archers. The false Goulenoire was being +watched by the old sister, seated on the corkscrew staircase oblivious +of the cold, and knitting socks for Cornelius. + +The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that +charming night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. +He saw himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on +her knees in the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her +persecutions and the details of the count's tyranny; he grew pitiful +over the poor lady, who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter +of Louis XI. He promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs +to that terrible father; everything, he assured her, should be settled +as they wished, the marriage broken off, the husband banished,--and +all this within reach of that husband's sword, of which they might +both be the victims if the slightest noise awakened him. But in the +young man's dream the gleam of the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the +colors of the stuffs and the tapestries were more vivid, more of love +was in the air, more fire about them, than there had been in the +actual scene. The Marie of his sleep resisted far less than the living +Marie those adoring looks, those tender entreaties, those adroit +silences, those voluptuous solicitations, those false generosities, +which render the first moments of a passion so completely ardent, and +shed into the soul a fresh delirium at each new step in love. + +Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de +Saint-Vallier granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the +tender passion. She willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, +her hands, her throat; she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion +and life of her lover; she permitted him to die for her; she yielded to +an intoxication which the sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but +farther than that she would not go; and she made her deliverance the +price of the highest rewards of his love. In those days, in order to +dissolve a marriage it was necessary to go to Rome; to obtain the help +of certain cardinals, and to appear before the sovereign pontiff in +person armed with the approval of the king. Marie was firm in +maintaining her liberty to love, that she might sacrifice it to him +later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient power to +establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make that +passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of his +highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many +sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to +them far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their +love cost blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great +dangers. But the Marie of his dream made small defence against the +young seigneur's ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? +Did the false apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen +in the hotel de Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is +difficult to decide; and the honor of women demands that it be left, +as it were, in litigation. + +At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to +forget her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by +an iron hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:-- + +"Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!" + +The young man saw the black face of Tristan l'Hermite above him, and +recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew +staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost +guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing +either hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang +others, the so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and +rubbed his eyes. + +"Mort-Dieu!" he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. +"Now is the time to play our knives." + +"Ho, ho!" cried Tristan, "that's the speech of a noble. Methinks I see +Georges d'Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers." + +Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d'Estouteville thought +less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon +his unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:-- + +"Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!" + +After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young +courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But +the myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such +proceedings. When Georges d'Estouteville reached the stairs they +seized him dexterously, not surprised by the vigorous thrust he made +at them with his dagger, the blade of which fortunately slipped on the +corselet of a guard; then, having disarmed him, they bound his hands, +and threw him on the pallet before their leader, who stood motionless +and thoughtful. + +Tristan looked silently at the prisoner's hands, then he said to +Cornelius, pointing to them:-- + +"Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a +noble." + +"Say a thief!" cried the torconnier. "My good Tristan, noble or serf, +he has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your +pretty boots. He is, I don't doubt it, the leader of that gang of +devils, visible and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, +rob me, murder me! They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this +time we shall get back the treasure, for the fellow has the face of +the king of Egypt. I shall recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I +have lost; and our worthy king shall have his share in the harvest." + +"Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!" said Georges, +smiling. + +"Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!" cried the miser. + +The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges +d'Estouteville's clothes and the lock of the door. + +"How did you get out those screws?" + +Georges kept silence. + +"Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the +holy rack," said Tristan. + +"That's what I call business!" cried Cornelius. + +"Take him off," said the grand provost to the guards. + +Georges d'Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign +from their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity +of a nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + +An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the +populace kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From +early morning the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On +all sides the "apprentice," said to be young and handsome, had +awakened public sympathy, and revived the hatred felt against +Cornelius; so that there was not a young man in the town, nor a young +woman with a fresh face and pretty feet to exhibit, who was not +determined to see the victim. When Georges issued from the house, led +by one of the provost's guard, who, after he had mounted his horse, +kept the strong leathern thong that bound the prisoner tightly twisted +round his arm, a horrible uproar arose. Whether the populace merely +wished to see this new victim, or whether it intended to rescue him, +certain it is that those behind pressed those in front upon the little +squad of cavalry posted around the Malemaison. At this moment, +Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed the door, and slammed the iron +shutters with the violence of panic terror. Tristan, who was not +accustomed to respect the populace of those days (inasmuch as they +were not yet the sovereign people), cared little for a probable riot. + +"Push on! push on!" he said to his men. + +At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards +the end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number +knocked down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed +against the sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser +course of retreating to their homes. + +"Make room for the king's justice!" cried Tristan. "What are you doing +here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your +dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your +husband's stockings; get back to your needles." + +Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, +they made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague +upon them. + +At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges +d'Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the +hotel de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the +count. She was mocking at _him_, poor devoted lover, who was going to +his death for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps +of the populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be +twenty-three years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a +woman's love, loving ourselves with all the forces of our being, +risking our life with delight on the faith of a kiss, and then +betrayed, to understand the fury of hatred and despair which took +possession of Georges d'Estouteville's heart at the sight of his +laughing mistress, from whom he received a cold and indifferent +glance. No doubt she had been there some time; she was leaning from +the window with her arms on a cushion; she was at her ease, and her +old man seemed content. He, too, was laughing, the cursed hunchback! +A few tears escaped the eyes of the young man; but when Marie de +Saint-Vallier saw them she turned hastily away. Those tears were +suddenly dried, however, when Georges beheld the red and white plumes +of the page who was devoted to his interests. The count took no notice +of this servitor, who advanced to his mistress on tiptoe. After the +page had said a few words in her ear, Marie returned to the window. +Escaping for a moment the perpetual watchfulness of her tyrant, she +cast one glance upon Georges that was brilliant with the fires of love +and hope, seeming to say:-- + +"I am watching over you." + +Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their +meaning more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, +in which terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation +all took part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to +martyrdom and from martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young +seigneur, light-hearted and content, walked gaily to his doom; +thinking that the horrors of the "question" were not sufficient +payment for the delights of his love. + +As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped +him, seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at +full speed. + +"What is it?" asked the provost. + +"Nothing that concerns you," replied the officer, disdainfully. "The +king has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, +whom he invites to dinner." + +The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to +Plessis, when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white +mule, he on his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, +in order to enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving +slowly. Georges was on foot, between two guards on horseback, one of +whom held him still by the leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his +wife were naturally in advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling +with the archers, the young page questioned them, speaking sometimes +to the prisoner, so that he adroitly managed to say to him in a low +voice:-- + +"I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to +the king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against +you. Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you." + +Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her +laughter was part of the heroism which women display in the great +crises of life. + +In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of "Quentin +Durward" to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, +we must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on +low land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by +the canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved +daughter, Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the +city of Tours and Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable +protection to the castle, but it offered a most precious road to +commerce. On the side towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, the +park was defended by a moat, the remains of which still show its +enormous breadth and depth. At a period when the power of artillery +was still in embryo, the position of Plessis, long since chosen by +Louis XI. for his favorite retreat, might be considered impregnable. +The castle, built of brick and stone, had nothing remarkable about it; +but it was surrounded by noble trees, and from its windows could be +seen, through vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the finest points of +view in the world. No rival mansion rose near this solitary castle, +standing in the very centre of the little plain reserved for the king +and guarded by four streams of water. + +If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and +from his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, +the opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille +waters, and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows +that opened on the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and +the embankment by which he had connected his favorite residence with +the city of Tours. If Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his +castle the luxury of architecture which Francois I. displayed +afterwards at Chambord, the dwelling of the kings of France would ever +have remained in Touraine. It is enough to see this splendid position +and its magical effects to be convinced of its superiority over the +sites of all other royal residences. + +Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more +than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of +death in the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; +on the point of increasing the territory of France by the possessions +of the Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with +Marguerite, heiress of Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, +commander of his troops in Flanders); having established his authority +everywhere, and now meditating ameliorations in his kingdom of all +kinds, he saw time slipping past him rapidly with no further troubles +than those of old age. Deceived by every one, even by the minions +about him, experience had intensified his natural distrust. The desire +to live became in him the egotism of a king who has incarnated himself +in his people; he wished to prolong his life in order to carry out his +vast designs. + +All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions +has since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. +had thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects +before the law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his +bold endeavors. On All-Saints' eve he had gathered together the +learned goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in +France a unity of weights and measures, as he had already established +the unity of power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over +his empire, joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the +natural idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our +history has the great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. +Amazing assemblages of contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a +spirit unbelieving as to all things here below, devoutly believing in +the practices of religion; a man struggling with two powers greater +than his own--the present and the future; the future in which he +feared eternal punishment, a fear which led him to make so many +sacrifices to the Church; the present, namely his life itself, for the +saving of which he blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who crushed +down all about him, was himself crushed down by remorse, and by +disease in the midst of the great poem of defiant monarchy in which +all power was concentrated. It was once more the gigantic and ever +magnificent combat of Man in the highest manifestation of his forces +tilting against Nature. + +While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days +between eleven o'clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short +promenade, sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in +his chamber. Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each +other without a word, standing in the recess of a window and watching +their master, who presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was +heard were the steps of the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de +Montresor, and Jean Dufou, Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and +down the adjoining hall. These two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the +captain of the Scottish guard, who was sleeping in his chair, +according to his usual custom. The king himself appeared to be dozing. +His head had drooped upon his breast; his cap, pulled forward on his +forehead, hid his eyes. Thus seated in his high chair, surmounted by +the royal crown, he seemed crouched together like a man who had fallen +asleep in the midst of some deep meditation. + +At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge +of Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + +"Who is that?" said the king. + +The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + +"He is dreaming," said Coyctier, in a low voice. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" cried Louis XI., "do you think me mad? People are +crossing the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear +sounds more easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized," +he added thoughtfully. + +"What a man!" said de Daim. + +Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the +town. He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:-- + +"Ha, ha! here's my crony and his thief. And here comes my little Marie +de Saint-Vallier; I'd forgotten all about it. Olivier," he said, +addressing the barber, "go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve +some good Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn't +forget the lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I +eat lampreys?" he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + +For all answer the physician began to examine his master's face. The +two men were a picture in themselves. + +History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, +and the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, +decorated with leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of +Saint-Michel, are not less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has +represented the face of that terrible monarch in his last years,--a +sickly, hollow, yellow and brown face, all the features of which +expressed a sour craftiness, a cold sarcasm. In that mask was the +forehead of a great man, a brow furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty +with high thoughts; but in his cheeks and on his lips there was +something indescribably vulgar and common. Looking at certain details +of that countenance you would have thought him a debauched husbandman, +or a miserly pedler; and yet, above these vague resemblances and the +decrepitude of a dying old man, the king, the man of power, rose +supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, seemed at first sight extinct; +but a spark of courage and of anger lurked there, and at the slightest +touch it could burst into flames and cast fire about him. The doctor +was a stout burgher, with a florid face, dressed in black, peremptory, +greedy of gain, and self-important. These two personages were framed, +as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung with high-warped tapestries +of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of carved beams, was blackened +by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid with arabesques in +pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they were at that period +when the arts were beginning to produce their choicest masterpieces. + +"Lampreys are not good for you," replied the physician. + +That title, recently substituted for the former term of +"myrrh-master," is still applied to the faculty in England. The +name was at this period given to doctors everywhere. + +"Then what may I eat?" asked the king, humbly. + +"Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you +may die on All-Souls' Day." + +"To-day!" cried the king in terror. + +"Compose yourself, sire," replied Coyctier. "I am here. Try not to +fret your mind; find some way to amuse yourself." + +"Ah!" said the king, "my daughter Marie used to succeed in that +difficult business." + +As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, +rapped softly on the royal door. On receiving the king's permission he +entered and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis +XI. made a sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who +allowed her to pass in first. + +"Good-day, my children," said the king. + +"Sire," replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, "I +want to speak to you in secret." + +Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and +called out in a hollow voice, "Hola, Dufou!" + +Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered +in haste. + +"Go to the maitre d'hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for +dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to +dine alone to-day. Do you know, madame," continued the king, +pretending to be slightly angry, "that you neglect me? It is almost +three years since I have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty," he +added, sitting down and holding out his arms to her. "How thin you +have grown! Why have you let her grow so thin?" said the king, +roughly, addressing the Comte de Poitiers. + +The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she +almost pitied him. + +"Happiness, sire!" he stammered. + +"Ah! you love each other too much,--is that it?" said the king, +holding his daughter between his knees. "I did right to call you +Mary-full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want +of me?" he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. "After +sending me your--" + +In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king's lips and said +in his ear,-- + +"I always thought you cautious and penetrating." + +"Saint-Vallier," said the king, laughing, "I think that Bridore has +something to say to you." + +The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well +known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, +and knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + +"Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,--hey? Do I seem changed to +you?" + +"Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather +I deceived you?" + +"No," he said, in a low voice, "I want to know truly what to expect." + +"In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let +my truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?" + +"What is your cause?" asked the king, frowning and passing a hand +across his forehead. + +"Ah, sire," she replied, "the young man you have had arrested for +robbing your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the +grand provost, is innocent of the robbery." + +"How do you know that?" asked the king. Marie lowered her head and +blushed. + +"I need not ask if there is love in this business," said the king, +raising his daughter's head gently and stroking her chin. "If you +don't confess every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell." + +"Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?" + +"Where would be the pleasure?" cried the king, seeing only an +amusement in this affair. + +"Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?" + +"Oh! you sly little girl, haven't you any confidence in me?" + +"Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty." + +"So! he is a nobleman, is he?" cried the king. "Then he is not an +apprentice?" + +"He is certainly innocent," she said. + +"I don't see it so," said the king, coldly. "I am the law and justice +of my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers." + +"Come, don't put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of +that young man." + +"Is it yours already?" + +"Sire," she said, "I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at--" + +"Then," said Louis XI., interrupting her, "as I am not to know the +truth, I think Tristan had better clear it up." + +Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:-- + +"Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief +stole nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you +everything, even though you may punish me." + +"Ho, ho! this is getting serious," cried the king, shoving up his cap. +"Speak out, my daughter." + +"Well," she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father's +ear, "he was in my room all night." + +"He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!" + +"I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a +scoundrel. That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of +your archers." + +"Well, well!" cried the king; "you are hard to confess." + +With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried +to the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For +the last moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, +shining through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a +listener's foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the +door abruptly, and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" he cried; "here's an audacity that deserves the axe." + +"Sire," replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, "I would prefer an axe at my +throat to the ornament of marriage on my head." + +"You may have both," said Louis XI. "None of you are safe from such +infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham," +continued the king, addressing the captain of the guard, "you are +asleep! Where is Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached +in this way? Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better +served than I am." + +After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to +draw the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more +to stifle the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north +wind. + +"So, my daughter," he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays +with a mouse, "Georges d'Estouteville was your lover last night?" + +"Oh, no, sire!" + +"No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think +my daughter beautiful?" + +"Oh! that is not it," she said. "He kissed my feet and hands with an +ardor that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me +truly in all honor." + +"Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such +nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just +to kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others." + +"But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose." + +Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of +her husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + +"What purpose?" + +The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange +confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the +pardon of her husband. + +"Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal +blood!" cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + +At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king's +dinner. Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with +contracted brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all his +servitors in waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de +Saint-Vallier, thinking of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon +him. The deep silence which reigned was presently broken by the +steps of Tristan l'Hermite as he mounted the grand staircase. The +grand provost entered the hall, and, advancing toward the king, +said:-- + +"Sire, the affair is settled." + +"What! is it all over?" said the king. + +"Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a +touch of the 'question.'" + +The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but +looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who +muttered in a low tone: "I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance +of my wife." + +"Silence!" cried the king. "Some one is here who will wear out my +patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution," he continued, +addressing the grand provost. "You will answer with your own body for +that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, +and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty +provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats +they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall +be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de +Saint-Vallier," said the king, looking fixedly at the count, "I know +about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do you +hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of +lese-majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and +weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a +long journey." + +The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he +added:-- + +"You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government +of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take +charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth +I shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I +married her to you." + +Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father's arm as if to +thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was +laughing to himself in his sleeve. + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE HIDDEN TREASURE + +Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and +he was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. +This taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a +passion for the "incognito," one of the greatest pleasures of princes, +--a sort of momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little +real life into their existence, made insipid by the lack of +opposition. Louis XI., however, played the incognito openly. On these +occasions he was always the good fellow, endeavoring to please the +people of the middle classes, whom he made his allies against +feudality. For some time past he had found no opportunity to "make +himself populace" and espouse the domestic interests of some man +"engarrie" (an old word still used in Tours, meaning engaged) in +litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the anxieties of Maitre +Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to his daughter:-- + +"Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now +amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve +hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!" he continued, looking at the +seigneurs who were serving him. "Notre Dame! with a sum like that what +absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank +the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification +ready-made for this kingdom." + +When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the +grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel de +Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de +Saint-Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + +"Monsieur," said the king, "I told you to start at once. Say farewell +to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by +an escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they +will be in Venice before you get there." + +Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret +instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of +men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in +haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made +deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin +the unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, +in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his +quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of +the robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his +royal master without uneasiness. + +"Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?" he said to the +king. + +Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and +his sister. + +"No, my old crony," he said; "don't worry yourself. They will sup at +Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good +in detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I +shall do so now." + +"Find him, sire, and make no wager." + +They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his +treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the +casket from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, +then the chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, +easily convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter +supposition, inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,--where, in +truth, a fire was seldom made,--and no sign that any one had passed +down the flue; and moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the +roof which was almost inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close +investigation, marked with that sagacity which distinguished the +suspicious mind of Louis XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, +that no one had forced an entrance into the strong-room of his +silversmith. No marks of violence were on the locks, nor on the iron +coffers which contained the gold, silver, and jewels deposited as +securities by wealthy debtors. + +"If the robber opened this box," said the king, "why did he take +nothing out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason +had he for leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer +robber!" + +At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked +at each other for a moment. + +"Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your +protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?" + +"If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in +ignorance. That is one of my secrets." + +"Then the devil is in my house!" cried the miser, piteously. + +In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his +silversmith's cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was +casting on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and +power which seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, +thinking he had in some way offended his dangerous master. + +"Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!" cried Louis XI. +abruptly. "If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow +who did it. Make that old hag you call your sister come here," he +added. + +Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with +his hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis's withered lips determined +him. Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + +"Have you any flour?" demanded the king. + +"Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter," she answered. + +"Well, go and fetch some," said the king. + +"What do you want to do with our flour, sire?" she cried, not the +least impressed by his royal majesty. + +"Old fool!" said Cornelius, "go and execute the orders of our gracious +master. Shall the king lack flour?" + +"Our good flour!" she grumbled, as she went downstairs. "Ah! my +flour!" + +Then she returned, and said to the king:-- + +"Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?" + +At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, +from time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to +and from market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of +flour. The housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom +she cast the rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt +venom upon men. + +"It costs six sous the 'septeree,'" she said. + +"What does that matter?" said the king. "Spread it on the floor; but +be careful to make an even layer of it--as if it had fallen like +snow." + +The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as +though the end of the world had come. + +"My flour, sire! on the ground! But--" + +Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the +intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents +on the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for +the empty bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she +disappeared with a heavy sigh. + +Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till +it looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, +followed by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When +they reached the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, "Are there +two keys to the lock?" + +"No, sire." + +The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced +with large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret +lock, the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + +After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him +to post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest +secrecy, in the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of +the adjoining houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and +escort him back to Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he +himself would not sup with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close +his windows with the utmost care, that no single ray of light should +escape from the house, and then he departed with much pomp for Plessis +along the embankment; but there he secretly left his escort, and +returned by a door in the ramparts to the house of the torconnier. All +these precautions were so well taken that the people of Tours really +thought the king had returned to Plessis, and would sup on the morrow +with Cornelius. + +Towards eight o'clock that evening, as the king was supping with his +physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much +jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in +danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, +even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was +occupied as usual. + +"I hope," said the king, laughing, "that my silversmith shall be +robbed to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, +messieurs, no one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my +order, under pain of grievous punishment." + +Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first +to leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the +strong-room. He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, +the marks of a large foot along the stairways and corridors of the +house. Carefully avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them +to the door of the treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign +of fracture or defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; +but as they grew gradually fainter, they finally left not the +slightest trace, and it was impossible for him to discover where the +robber had fled. + +"Ho, crony!" called out the king, "you have been finely robbed this +time." + +At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly +terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs +and corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, +the king chanced to observe the miser's slippers and recognized the +type of sole that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a +word, and checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had +been hanged for the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once +in the room the king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot +beside those already existing, and easily convinced him that the +robber of his treasure was no other than himself. + +"The pearl necklace is gone!" cried Cornelius. "There is sorcery in +this. I never left my room." + +"We'll know all about it now," said the king; the evident truthfulness +of his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + +He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and +asked:-- + +"What did you see during the night?" + +"Oh, sire!" said the lieutenant, "an amazing sight! Your silversmith +crept down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed +to be a shadow." + +"I!" exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and +stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + +"Go away, all of you," said the king, addressing the archers, "and +tell Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to +leave their rooms and come here to mine.--You have incurred the +penalty of death," he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear +him. "You have ten murders on your conscience!" + +Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, +remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming's face, he added:-- + +"You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. +You can get out of the claws of _my_ justice by payment of a good round +sum to my treasury, but if you don't build at least one chapel in +honor of the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you +throughout eternity." + +"Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make +thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns," replied Cornelius +mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. "Thirteen hundred and +seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!" + +"He must have buried them in some hiding-place," muttered the king, +beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. "That was the magnet +that invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure." + +Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre +Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the +adventure. + +"Sire," replied the physician, "there is nothing supernatural in that. +Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is the +third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give +yourself the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see +that old man stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I +noticed in the two other cases I have already observed, a curious +connection between the actions of that nocturnal existence and the +interests and occupations of their daily life." + +"Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man." + +"I am your physician," replied the other, insolently. + +At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with +him when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap +with a hasty motion. + +"At such times," continued Coyctier, "persons attend to their business +while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued +his dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a +day in which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure." + +"Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!" cried the king. + +"Where is it?" asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of +nature, heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while +continuing himself almost torpid with thought and the shock of this +singular misfortune. + +"Ha!" cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, +"somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when +asleep." + +"Leave us," said the king. + +When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and +chuckled coldly. + +"Messire Hoogworst," he said, with a nod, "all treasures buried in +France belong to the king." + +"Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and +fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need." + +"Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you +can surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me." + +"No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my +death. But what scheme have you for finding it?" + +"I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. +You might fear any one but me." + +"Ah, sire!" cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king's feet, "you +are the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; +and I will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing my +utmost to promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with +Monseigneur. She will bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of +lands, which will round out the glory of your crown." + +"There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me," said the +king, with frowning brows, "or else you have already done so." + +"Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!" + +"All that is talk," returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. +"You need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You +are selling me your influence--Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you +the master, and am I your servant?" + +"Ah, sire," said the old man, "I was waiting to surprise you agreeably +with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was +awaiting confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What +has become of that young man?" + +"Enough!" said the king; "this is only one more blunder you have +committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my +knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this." + +Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the +lower rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + +"Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have +put thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, +I, I am the robber!" + +Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat +she quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old +maid accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that +she trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She +turned pale by degrees, and her face,--the changes in which were +difficult to decipher among its wrinkles,--became distorted while her +brother explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and +the extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + +"Louis XI. and I," he said in conclusion, "have just been lying to +each other like two pedlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that +if he follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king +alone can watch my wanderings at night. I don't feel sure that his +conscience, near as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred +thousand crowns. We MUST be beforehand with him; we must find the +hidden treasure and send it to Ghent, and you alone--" + +Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the +sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of +age. When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly +like a man in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his +sister, too feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she +was dead. Maitre Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying +out: + +"You cannot die now. There is time enough later--Oh! it is all over. +The old hag never could do anything at the right time." + +He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble +feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, +half forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:-- + +"Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?--you who understood me so +well! Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With +you, my peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only +known what good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you +would have lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! +thirteen hundred thousand crowns! Won't that wake you?--No, she is +dead!" + +Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued +from his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange +exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. +Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened +features of his old friend. + +"What is the matter?" he asked. + +"Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She +precedes me there below," he said, pointing to the floor with a +dreadful gesture. + +"Enough!" cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + +"I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang +me, if that's your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is +full of gold. I give up all to you--" + +"Come, come, crony," replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the +sight of this strange suffering, "we shall find your treasure some +fine night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. +I will come back in the course of this week--" + +"As you please, sire." + +At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of +the chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other +with an expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + +"Adieu, my crony," said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up +his cap. + +"May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!" replied the +silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + +After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between +them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man +on the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so +well, they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, +that the king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered +the words, "As you please, sire," the repugnance that his visits would +henceforth cause to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a +declaration of war in the "Adieu, my crony," of the king. + +Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the +conduct they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch +possessed the secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter +could, by his connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions +that any king of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of +the house of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then +coveting. The marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the +people of Ghent and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the +influence of Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now +begun by Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the +command of the army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two +master-foxes were, therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are +paralyzed by chance. + +So, whether it were that from that day the king's health failed and +went from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into +France Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, +to marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the +castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the +hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the +pair remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship. +Happily for Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister +was the actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by +Tristan. Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town +would have risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king +could have taken measures to protect it. + +But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so far +as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards +Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith +spent the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless +occupation. Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and +came, smelling for gold in every corner of his house; he studied the +cracks and crevices, he sounded the walls, he besought the trees of +the garden, the foundations of the house, the roofs of the turrets, +the earth and the heavens, to give him back his treasure. Often he +stood motionless for hours, casting his eyes on all sides, plunging +them into the void. Striving for the miracles of ecstasy and the +powers of sorcery, he tried to see his riches through space and +obstacles. He was constantly absorbed in one overwhelming thought, +consumed with a single desire that burned his entrails, gnawed more +cruelly still by the ever-increasing agony of the duel he was fighting +with himself since his passion for gold had turned to his own injury, +--a species of uncompleted suicide which kept him at once in the +miseries of life and in those of death. + +Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident +into the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, +like Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. +But Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of +neither the one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his +treasure,--a novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. +Sometimes, becoming forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of +his door wide open, and then the passers in the street could see that +already wizened man, planted on his two legs in the midst of his +untilled garden, absolutely motionless, and casting on those who +watched him a fixed gaze, the insupportable light of which froze them +with terror. If, by chance, he walked through the streets of Tours, he +seemed like a stranger in them; he knew not where he was, nor whether +the sun or the moon were shining. Often he would ask his way of those +who passed him, believing that he was still in Ghent, and seeming to +be in search of something lost. + +The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea +by which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the +fictitious being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel +claws perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, +Fear arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his +secret, the secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier +could post men to watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown +gulf into which he had cast his riches,--those riches he had watered +with the blood of so many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, +arose Remorse. + +In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden +treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides +which, his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining +powerful anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful--alone +with night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that +man, instinctively perhaps, has best embodied--obedient thus to a +moral truth as yet devoid of actual proof. + +At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and +commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the +horrors of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain +thoughts more agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his +throat with a razor. + +This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then +restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was +pillaged. A tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine +that a contractor of public works, named Bohier, found the miser's +treasure and used it in the construction of Chenonceaux, that +marvellous chateau which, in spite of the wealth of several kings and +the taste of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici for building, +remains unfinished to the present day. + +Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as we +know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the +departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career +was famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. He +was saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, the +illegitimate great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the +illegitimate wife, the beloved mistress of Henri II.--for bastardy and +love were hereditary in that family of nobles. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAITRE CORNELIUS *** + +***** This file should be named 1454.txt or 1454.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.net/1/4/5/1454/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.net/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.net + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/old/20050222-1454.zip b/old/old/20050222-1454.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f782b1f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/20050222-1454.zip diff --git a/old/old/crnls10.txt b/old/old/crnls10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1348443 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/crnls10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2716 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac +#39 in our series by Balzac + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +Maitre Cornelius + +by Honore de Balzac + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +September, 1998 [Etext #1454] + + +Project Gutenberg Etext of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac +******This file should be named crnls10.txt or crnls10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, crnls11.txt. +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, crnls10a.txt. + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz +and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com + + +We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance +of the official release dates, for time for better editing. + +Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. To be sure you have an +up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes +in the first week of the next month. Since our ftp program has +a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a +look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a +new copy has at least one byte more or less. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +fifty hours is one conservative estimate for how long it we take +to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. This +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If our value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-two text +files per month, or 384 more Etexts in 1997 for a total of 1000+ +If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the +total should reach over 100 billion Etexts given away. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext +Files by the December 31, 2001. [10,000 x 100,000,000=Trillion] +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only 10% of the present number of computer users. 2001 +should have at least twice as many computer users as that, so it +will require us reaching less than 5% of the users in 2001. + + +We need your donations more than ever! + + +All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are +tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. (CMU = Carnegie- +Mellon University). + +For these and other matters, please mail to: + +Project Gutenberg +P. O. Box 2782 +Champaign, IL 61825 + +When all other email fails try our Executive Director: +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +We would prefer to send you this information by email +(Internet, Bitnet, Compuserve, ATTMAIL or MCImail). + +****** +If you have an FTP program (or emulator), please +FTP directly to the Project Gutenberg archives: +[Mac users, do NOT point and click. . .type] + +ftp uiarchive.cso.uiuc.edu +login: anonymous +password: your@login +cd etext/etext90 through /etext96 +or cd etext/articles [get suggest gut for more information] +dir [to see files] +get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files] +GET INDEX?00.GUT +for a list of books +and +GET NEW GUT for general information +and +MGET GUT* for newsletters. + +**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor** +(Three Pages) + + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this etext on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG- +tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor +Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at +Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project"). Among other +things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext +under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this +etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors, +officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost +and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or +indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause: +[1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification, +or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- + cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the etext (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the + net profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz +and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com + + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS +BY +HONORE DE BALZAC + + + + +Translated By +Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + +DEDICATION + + To Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech: + + Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated by + one of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I am + striving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with an + ancient jewel,--a fancy of the fashions of the day,--but you and a + few others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay my + debt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship. + + + + +MAITRE CORNELIUS + + + +CHAPTER I + +A CHURCH SCENE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY + +In 1479, on All Saints' day, the moment at which this history begins, +vespers were ending in the cathedral of Tours. The archbishop Helie de +Bourdeilles was rising from his seat to give the benediction himself +to the faithful. The sermon had been long; darkness had fallen during +the service, and in certain parts of the noble church (the towers of +which were not yet finished) the deepest obscurity prevailed. +Nevertheless a goodly number of tapers were burning in honor of the +saints on the triangular candle-trays destined to receive such pious +offerings, the merit and signification of which have never been +sufficiently explained. The lights on each altar and all the +candelabra in the choir were burning. Irregularly shed among a forest +of columns and arcades which supported the three naves of the +cathedral, the gleam of these masses of candles barely lighted the +immense building, because the strong shadows of the columns, projected +among the galleries, produced fantastic forms which increased the +darkness that already wrapped in gloom the arches, the vaulted +ceilings, and the lateral chapels, always sombre, even at mid-day. + +The crowd presented effects that were no less picturesque. Certain +figures were so vaguely defined in the "chiaroscuro" that they seemed +like phantoms; whereas others, standing in a full gleam of the +scattered light, attracted attention like the principal heads in a +picture. Some statues seemed animated, some men seemed petrified. Here +and there eyes shone in the flutings of the columns, the floor +reflected looks, the marbles spoke, the vaults re-echoed sighs, the +edifice itself seemed endowed with life. + +The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more +majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it +poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches +unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are +felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the +clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising +heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The +mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the +feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith +and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself. +This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth, +equally risen into heaven, contains, no doubt, the secret of the magic +influences wielded by the chants of the priests, the harmonies of the +organ, the perfumes and the pomps of the altar, the voices of the +crowd and its silent contemplations. Consequently, we need not be +surprised to see in the middle-ages so many tender passions begun in +churches after long ecstasies,--passions ending often in little +sanctity, and for which women, as usual, were the ones to do penance. +Religious sentiment certainly had, in those days, an affinity with +love; it was either the motive or the end of it. Love was still a +religion, with its fine fanaticism, its naive superstitions, its +sublime devotions, which sympathized with those of Christianity. + +The manners of that period will also serve to explain this alliance +between religion and love. In the first place society had no meeting- +place except before the altar. Lords and vassals, men and women were +equals nowhere else. There alone could lovers see each other and +communicate. The festivals of the Church were the theatre of former +times; the soul of woman was more keenly stirred in a cathedral than +it is at a ball or the opera in our day; and do not strong emotions +invariably bring women back to love? By dint of mingling with life and +grasping it in all its acts and interests, religion had made itself a +sharer of all virtues, the accomplice of all vices. Religion had +passed into science, into politics, into eloquence, into crimes, into +the flesh of the sick man and the poor man; it mounted thrones; it was +everywhere. These semi-learned observations will serve, perhaps, to +vindicate the truth of this study, certain details of which may +frighten the perfected morals of our age, which are, as everybody +knows, a trifle straitlaced. + +At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the +organ, mingling with the vibrations of the loud "A-men" as it issued +from the strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo +through the distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the +beneficent words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home, +or fearing for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the +worshippers dispersed, slipped quietly away, at the risk of being +called a bad Catholic. On which, a nobleman, leaning against one of +the enormous columns that surround the choir, hastened to take +possession of the seat abandoned by the worthy Tourainean. Having done +so, he quickly hid his face among the plumes of his tall gray cap, +kneeling upon the chair with an air of contrition that even an +inquisitor would have trusted. + +Observing the new-comer attentively, his immediate neighbors seemed to +recognize him; after which they returned to their prayers with a +certain gesture by which they all expressed the same thought,--a +caustic, jeering thought, a silent slander. Two old women shook their +heads, and gave each other a glance that seemed to dive into futurity. + +The chair into which the young man had slipped was close to a chapel +placed between two columns and closed by an iron railing. It was +customary for the chapter to lease at a handsome price to seignorial +families, and even to rich burghers, the right to be present at the +services, themselves and their servants exclusively, in the various +lateral chapels of the long side-aisles of the cathedral. This simony +is in practice to the present day. A woman had her chapel as she now +has her opera-box. The families who hired these privileged places were +required to decorate the altar of the chapel thus conceded to them, +and each made it their pride to adorn their own sumptuously,--a vanity +which the Church did not rebuke. In this particular chapel a lady was +kneeling close to the railing on a handsome rug of red velvet with +gold tassels, precisely opposite to the seat vacated of the burgher. A +silver-gilt lamp, hanging from the vaulted ceiling of the chapel +before an altar magnificently decorated, cast its pale light upon a +prayer-book held by the lady. The book trembled violently in her hand +when the young man approached her. + +"A-men!" + +To that response, sung in a sweet low voice which was painfully +agitated, though happily lost in the general clamor, she added rapidly +in a whisper:-- + +"You will ruin me." + +The words were said in a tone of innocence which a man of any delicacy +ought to have obeyed; they went to the heart and pierced it. But the +stranger, carried away, no doubt, by one of those paroxysms of passion +which stifle conscience, remained in his chair and raised his head +slightly that he might look into the chapel. + +"He sleeps!" he replied, in so low a voice that the words could be +heard by the young woman only, as sound is heard in its echo. + +The lady turned pale; her furtive glance left for a moment the vellum +page of the prayer-book and turned to the old man whom the young man +had designated. What terrible complicity was in that glance? When the +young woman had cautiously examined the old seigneur, she drew a long +breath and raised her forehead, adorned with a precious jewel, toward +a picture of the Virgin; that simple movement, that attitude, the +moistened glance, revealed her life with imprudent naivete; had she +been wicked, she would certainly have dissimulated. The personage who +thus alarmed the lovers was a little old man, hunchbacked, nearly +bald, savage in expression, and wearing a long and discolored white +beard cut in a fan-tail. The cross of Saint-Michel glittered on his +breast; his coarse, strong hands, covered with gray hairs, which had +been clasped, had now dropped slightly apart in the slumber to which +he had imprudently yielded. The right hand seemed about to fall upon +his dagger, the hilt of which was in the form of an iron shell. By the +manner in which he had placed the weapon, this hilt was directly under +his hand; if, unfortunately, the hand touched the iron, he would wake, +no doubt, instantly, and glance at his wife. His sardonic lips, his +pointed chin aggressively pushed forward, presented the characteristic +signs of a malignant spirit, a sagacity coldly cruel, that would +surely enable him to divine all because he suspected everything. His +yellow forehead was wrinkled like those of men whose habit it is to +believe nothing, to weigh all things, and who, like misers chinking +their gold, search out the meaning and the value of human actions. His +bodily frame, though deformed, was bony and solid, and seemed both +vigorous and excitable; in short, you might have thought him a stunted +ogre. Consequently, an inevitable danger awaited the young lady +whenever this terrible seigneur woke. That jealous husband would +surely not fail to see the difference between a worthy old burgher who +gave him no umbrage, and the new-comer, young, slender, and elegant. + +"Libera nos a malo," she said, endeavoring to make the young man +comprehend her fears. + +The latter raised his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes; +tears of love and of despair. At sight of them the lady trembled and +betrayed herself. Both had, no doubt, long resisted and could resist +no longer a love increasing day by day through invincible obstacles, +nurtured by terror, strengthened by youth. The lady was moderately +handsome; but her pallid skin told of secret sufferings that made her +interesting. She had, moreover, an elegant figure, and the finest hair +in the world. Guarded by a tiger, she risked her life in whispering a +word, accepting a look, and permitting a mere pressure of the hand. +Love may never have been more deeply felt than in those hearts, never +more delightfully enjoyed, but certainly no passion was ever more +perilous. It was easy to divine that to these two beings air, sound, +foot-falls, etc., things indifferent to other men, presented hidden +qualities, peculiar properties which they distinguished. Perhaps their +love made them find faithful interpreters in the icy hands of the old +priest to whom they confessed their sins, and from whom they received +the Host at the holy table. Love profound! love gashed into the soul +like a scar upon the body which we carry through life! When these two +young people looked at each other, the woman seemed to say to her +lover, "Let us love each other and die!" To which the young knight +answered, "Let us love each other and not die." In reply, she showed +him a sign her old duenna and two pages. The duenna slept; the pages +were young and seemingly careless of what might happen, either of good +or evil, to their masters. + +"Do not be frightened as you leave the church; let yourself be +managed." + +The young nobleman had scarcely said these words in a low voice, when +the hand of the old seigneur dropped upon the hilt of his dagger. +Feeling the cold iron he woke, and his yellow eyes fixed themselves +instantly on his wife. By a privilege seldom granted even to men of +genius, he awoke with his mind as clear, his ideas as lucid as though +he had not slept at all. The man had the mania of jealousy. The lover, +with one eye on his mistress, had watched the husband with the other, +and he now rose quickly, effacing himself behind a column at the +moment when the hand of the old man fell; after which he disappeared, +swiftly as a bird. The lady lowered her eyes to her book and tried to +seem calm; but she could not prevent her face from blushing and her +heart from beating with unnatural violence. The old lord saw the +unusual crimson on the cheeks, forehead, even the eyelids of his wife. +He looked about him cautiously, but seeing no one to distrust, he said +to his wife:-- + +"What are you thinking of, my dear?" + +"The smell of the incense turns me sick," she replied. + +"It is particularly bad to-day?" he asked. + +In spite of this sarcastic query, the wily old man pretended to +believe in this excuse; but he suspected some treachery and he +resolved to watch his treasure more carefully than before. + +The benediction was given. Without waiting for the end of the "Soecula +soeculorum," the crowd rushed like a torrent to the doors of the +church. Following his usual custom, the old seigneur waited till the +general hurry was over; after which he left his chapel, placing the +duenna and the youngest page, carrying a lantern, before him; then he +gave his arm to his wife and told the other page to follow them. + +As he made his way to the lateral door which opened on the west side +of the cloister, through which it was his custom to pass, a stream of +persons detached itself from the flood which obstructed the great +portals, and poured through the side aisle around the old lord and his +party. The mass was too compact to allow him to retrace his steps, and +he and his wife were therefore pushed onward to the door by the +pressure of the multitude behind them. The husband tried to pass out +first, dragging the lady by the arm, but at that instant he was pulled +vigorously into the street, and his wife was torn from him by a +stranger. The terrible hunchback saw at once that he had fallen into a +trap that was cleverly prepared. Repenting himself for having slept, +he collected his whole strength, seized his wife once more by the +sleeve of her gown, and strove with his other hand to cling to the +gate of the church; but the ardor of love carried the day against +jealous fury. The young man took his mistress round the waist, and +carried her off so rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the +brocaded stuff of silk and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve +alone remained in the hand of the old man. A roar like that of a lion +rose louder than the shouts of the multitude, and a terrible voice +howled out the words:-- + +"To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help! +help!" + +And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted to +draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself +surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would +be dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the +highest rank, answered him with jests as they dragged him along the +cloisters. + +With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into +an open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden +bench. By the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the +chapel was dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in +silence, clasping hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The +countess had not the cruel courage to reproach the young man for the +boldness to which they owed this perilous and only instant of +happiness. + +"Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?" said the young man, +eagerly. "Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do +thirty leagues at a stretch." + +"Ah!" she cried, softly, "in what corner of the world could you hide a +daughter of King Louis XI.?" + +"True," replied the young man, silenced by a difficulty he had not +foreseen. + +"Why did you tear me from my husband?" she asked in a sort of terror. + +"Alas!" said her lover, "I did not reckon on the trouble I should feel +in being near you, in hearing you speak to me. I have made plans,--two +or three plans,--and now that I see you all seems accomplished." + +"But I am lost!" said the countess. + +"We are saved!" the young man cried in the blind enthusiasm of his +love. "Listen to me carefully!" + +"This will cost me my life!" she said, letting the tears that rolled +in her eyes flow down her cheeks. "The count will kill me,--to-night, +perhaps! But go to the king; tell him the tortures that his daughter +has endured these five years. He loved me well when I was little; he +called me 'Marie-full-of-grace,' because I was ugly. Ah! if he knew +the man to whom he gave me, his anger would be terrible. I have not +dared complain, out of pity for the count. Besides, how could I reach +the king? My confessor himself is a spy of Saint-Vallier. That is why +I have consented to this guilty meeting, to obtain a defender,--some +one to tell the truth to the king. Can I rely on-- Oh!" she cried, +turning pale and interrupting herself, "here comes the page!" + +The poor countess put her hands before her face as if to veil it. + +"Fear nothing," said the young seigneur, "he is won! You can safely +trust him; he belongs to me. When the count contrives to return for +you he will warn us of his coming. In the confessional," he added, in +a low voice, "is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he +drew you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own +protection in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to +deceive him." + +At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression +of sadness settled down on her face. + +"No one can deceive him," she said. "To-night he will know all. Save +me from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--" she +hesitated; then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to +confess the secrets of her marriage, she added: "Yes, tell him that to +master me the count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him +that my husband drags me about by the hair of my head. Say that I am a +prisoner; that--" + +Her heart swelled, sobs choked her throat, tears fell from her eyes. +In her agitation she allowed the young man, who was muttering broken +words, to kiss her hands. + +"Poor darling! no one can speak to the king. Though my uncle is grand- +master of his archers, I could not gain admission to Plessis. My dear +lady! my beautiful sovereign! oh, how she has suffered! Marie, let +yourself say but two words, or we are lost!" + +"What will become of us?" she murmured. Then, seeing on the dark wall +a picture of the Virgin, on which the light from the lamp was falling, +she cried out:-- + +"Holy Mother of God, give us counsel!" + +"To-night," said the young man, "I shall be with you in your room." + +"How?" she asked naively. + +They were in such great peril that their tenderest words were devoid +of love. + +"This evening," he replied, "I shall offer myself as apprentice to +Maitre Cornelius, the king's silversmith. I have obtained a letter of +recommendation to him which will make him receive me. His house is +next to yours. Once under the roof of that old thief, I can soon find +my way to your apartment by the help of a silken ladder." + +"Oh!" she said, petrified with horror, "if you love me don't go to +Maitre Cornelius." + +"Ah!" he cried, pressing her to his heart with all the force of his +youth, "you do indeed love me!" + +"Yes," she said; "are you not my hope? You are a gentleman, and I +confide to you my honor. Besides," she added, looking at him with +dignity, "I am so unhappy that you would never betray my trust. But +what is the good of all this? Go, let me die, sooner than that you +should enter that house of Maitre Cornelius. Do you not know that all +his apprentices--" + +"Have been hanged," said the young man, laughing. + +"Oh, don't go; you will be made the victim of some sorcery." + +"I cannot pay too dearly for the joy of serving you," he said, with a +look that made her drop her eyes. + +"But my husband?" she said. + +"Here is something to put him to sleep," replied her lover, drawing +from his belt a little vial. + +"Not for always?" said the countess, trembling. + +For all answer the young seigneur made a gesture of horror. + +"I would long ago have defied him to mortal combat if he were not so +old," he said. "God preserve me from ridding you of him in any other +way." + +"Forgive me," said the countess, blushing. "I am cruelly punished for +my sins. In a moment of despair I thought of killing him, and I feared +you might have the same desire. My sorrow is great that I have never +yet been able to confess that wicked thought; but I fear it would be +repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you," she +continued, distressed by his silence, "I deserve your blame." + +And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently. + +"Do not come," she said, "my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to +wait for the help of Heaven--that will I do!" + +She tried to leave the chapel. + +"Ah!" cried the young man, "order me to do so and I will kill him. You +will see me to-night." + +"I was wise to destroy that drug," she said in a voice that was faint +with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. "The fear of awakening +my husband will save us from ourselves." + +"I pledge you my life," said the young man, pressing her hand. + +"If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then +be united," she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful +hopes. + +"Monseigneur comes!" cried the page, rushing in. + +Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had +gained with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count, +snatched a kiss, which was not refused. + +"To-night!" he said, slipping hastily from the chapel. + +Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portal safely, gliding +from column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the +nave. An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the +side of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page +was marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman. + +A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by +several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a +naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and +to rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral. + +"Monseigneur, madame is there," said the page, going forward to meet +him. + +The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the +alter, the old priest standing beside her and reading his breviary. At +that sight the count shook the iron railing violently as if to give +vent to his rage. + +"What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?" asked the +priest. + +"Father, that is my husband," said the countess. + +The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of +the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into +the confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be +listening attentively to the sounds in the cathedral. + +"Monsieur," said his wife, "you owe many thanks to this venerable +canon, who gave me a refuge here." + +The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends, +who had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he +answered curtly: + +"Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you." + +He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her +curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church +without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had +something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and +preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took his +way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the +cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by +the Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification +given by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his +glorious labors. + +The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling, +called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of +servants had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a +deep silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs +had their houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to +Plessis, the usual residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if +sent for, could go in a moment. The last house in this street was also +the last in the town. It belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an +old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost +confidence in those financial transactions which his crafty policy +induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom. + +Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre +Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that +the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use +of tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress, +and both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their +corners were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities +remark in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet +prevailed. The bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of +resistance to the iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots +and the civil wars so frequent in those tumultuous times were ample +justification for these precautions. + +As six o'clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey Saint- +Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the hotel +de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made in +the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. Casting +a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to be, +he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the +young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout +the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks +of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted +meats pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services, +the inhabitants were regaling themselves, with murmurs of satisfaction +which fancy can picture better than words can paint. But at this +particular spot a deep silence reigned, because in these two houses +lived two passions which never rejoiced. Beyond them stretched the +silent country. Beneath the shadow of the steeples of Saint-Martin, +these two mute dwellings, separated from the others in the same street +and standing at the crooked end of it, seemed afflicted with leprosy. +The building opposite to them, the home of the criminals of the State, +was also under a ban. A young man would be readily impressed by this +sudden contrast. About to fling himself into an enterprise that was +horribly hazardous, it is no wonder that the daring young seigneur +stopped short before the house of the silversmith, and called to mind +the many tales furnished by the life of Maitre Cornelius,--tales which +caused such singular horror to the countess. At this period a man of +war, and even a lover, trembled at the mere word "magic." Few indeed +were the minds and the imaginations which disbelieved in occult facts +and tales of the marvellous. The lover of the Comtesse de Saint- +Vallier, one of the daughters whom Louis XI. had in Dauphine by Madame +de Sassenage, however bold he might be in other respects, was likely +to think twice before he finally entered the house of a so-called +sorcerer. + +The history of Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst will fully explain the +security which the silversmith inspired in the Comte de Saint-Vallier, +the terror of the countess, and the hesitation that now took +possession of the lover. But, in order to make the readers of this +nineteenth century understand how such commonplace events could be +turned into anything supernatural, and to make them share the alarms +of that olden time, it is necessary to interrupt the course of this +narrative and cast a rapid glance on the preceding life and adventures +of Maitre Cornelius. + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE TORCONNIER + +Cornelius Hoogworst, one of the richest merchants in Ghent, having +drawn upon himself the enmity of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, found +refuge and protection at the court of Louis XI. The king was conscious +of the advantages he could gain from a man connected with all the +principal commercial houses of Flanders, Venice, and the Levant; he +naturalized, ennobled, and flattered Maitre Cornelius; all of which +was rarely done by Louis XI. The monarch pleased the Fleming as much +as the Fleming pleased the monarch. Wily, distrustful, and miserly; +equally politic, equally learned; superior, both of them, to their +epoch; understanding each other marvellously; they discarded and +resumed with equal facility, the one his conscience, the other his +religion; they loved the same Virgin, one by conviction, the other by +policy; in short, if we may believe the jealous tales of Olivier de +Daim and Tristan, the king went to the house of the Fleming for those +diversions with which King Louis XI. diverted himself. History has +taken care to transmit to our knowledge the licentious tastes of a +monarch who was not averse to debauchery. The old Fleming found, no +doubt, both pleasure and profit in lending himself to the capricious +pleasures of his royal client. + +Cornelius had now lived nine years in the city of Tours. During those +years extraordinary events had happened in his house, which had made +him the object of general execration. On his first arrival, he had +spent considerable sums in order to put the treasures he brought with +him in safety. The strange inventions made for him secretly by the +locksmiths of the town, the curious precautions taken in bringing +those locksmiths to his house in a way to compel their silence, were +long the subject of countless tales which enlivened the evening +gatherings of the city. These singular artifices on the part of the +old man made every one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches. +Consequently the NARRATORS of that region--the home of the tale in +France--built rooms full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming's +house, not omitting to attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts +with Magic. + +Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets, +an old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a +gentle, pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and +courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery +of considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry +showed that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates. +The old miser had his two valets and the secretary put in prison. The +young man was feeble and he died under the sufferings of the +"question" protesting his innocence. The valets confessed the crime to +escape torture; but when the judge required them to say where the +stolen property could be found, they kept silence, were again put to +the torture, judged, condemned, and hanged. On their way to the +scaffold they declared themselves innocent, according to the custom +of all persons about to be executed. + +The city of Tours talked much of this singular affair; but the +criminals were Flemish, and the interest felt in their unhappy fate +soon evaporated. In those days wars and seditions furnished endless +excitements, and the drama of each day eclipsed that of the night +before. More grieved by the loss he had met with than by the death of +his three servants, Maitre Cornelius lived alone in his house with the +old Flemish woman, his sister. He obtained permission from the king to +use state couriers for his private affairs, sold his mules to a +muleteer of the neighborhood, and lived from that moment in the +deepest solitude, seeing no one but the king, doing his business by +means of Jews, who, shrewd calculators, served him well in order to +gain his all-powerful protection. + +Some time after this affair, the king himself procured for his old +"torconnier" a young orphan in whom he took an interest. Louis XI. +called Maitre Cornelius familiarly by that obsolete term, which, under +the reign of Saint-Louis, meant a usurer, a collector of imposts, a +man who pressed others by violent means. The epithet, "tortionnaire," +which remains to this day in our legal phraseology, explains the old +word torconnier, which we often find spelt "tortionneur." The poor +young orphan devoted himself carefully to the affairs of the old +Fleming, pleased him much, and was soon high in his good graces. +During a winter's night, certain diamonds deposited with Maitre +Cornelius by the King of England as security for a sum of a hundred +thousand crowns were stolen, and suspicion, of course, fell on the +orphan. Louis XI. was all the more severe because he had answered for +the youth's fidelity. After a very brief and summary examination by +the grand provost, the unfortunate secretary was hanged. After that no +one dared for a long time to learn the arts of banking and exchange +from Maitre Cornelius. + +In course of time, however, two young men of the town, Touraineans,-- +men of honor, and eager to make their fortunes,--took service with the +silversmith. Robberies coincided with the admission of the two young +men into the house. The circumstances of these crimes, the manner in +which they were perpetrated, showed plainly that the robbers had +secret communication with its inmates. Become by this time more than +ever suspicious and vindictive, the old Fleming laid the matter before +Louis XI., who placed it in the hands of his grand provost. A trial +was promptly had and promptly ended. The inhabitants of Tours blamed +Tristan l'Hermite secretly for unseemly haste. Guilty or not guilty, +the young Touraineans were looked upon as victims, and Cornelius as an +executioner. The two families thus thrown into mourning were much +respected; their complaints obtained a hearing, and little by little +it came to be believed that all the victims whom the king's +silversmith had sent to the scaffold were innocent. Some persons +declared that the cruel miser imitated the king, and sought to put +terror and gibbets between himself and his fellow-men; others said +that he had never been robbed at all,--that these melancholy +executions were the result of cool calculations, and that their real +object was to relieve him of all fear for his treasure. + +The first effect of these rumors was to isolate Maitre Cornelius. The +Touraineans treated him like a leper, called him the "tortionnaire," +and named his house Malemaison. If the Fleming had found strangers to +the town bold enough to enter it, the inhabitants would have warned +them against doing so. The most favorable opinion of Maitre Cornelius +was that of persons who thought him merely baneful. Some he inspired +with instinctive terror; others he impressed with the deep respect +that most men feel for limitless power and money, while to a few he +certainly possessed the attraction of mystery. His way of life, his +countenance, and the favor of the king, justified all the tales of +which he had now become the subject. + +Cornelius travelled much in foreign lands after the death of his +persecutor, the Duke of Burgundy; and during his absence the king +caused his premises to be guarded by a detachment of his own Scottish +guard. Such royal solicitude made the courtiers believe that the old +miser had bequeathed his property to Louis XI. When at home, the +torconnier went out but little; but the lords of the court paid him +frequent visits. He lent them money rather liberally, though +capricious in his manner of doing so. On certain days he refused to +give them a penny; the next day he would offer them large +sums,--always at high interest and on good security. A good Catholic, +he went regularly to the services, always attending the earliest mass +at Saint-Martin; and as he had purchased there, as elsewhere, a chapel +in perpetuity, he was separated even in church from other Christians. +A popular proverb of that day, long remembered in Tours, was the +saying: "You passed in front of the Fleming; ill-luck will happen to +you." Passing in front of the Fleming explained all sudden pains and +evils, involuntary sadness, ill-turns of fortune among the +Touraineans. Even at court most persons attributed to Cornelius that +fatal influence which Italian, Spanish, and Asiatic superstition has +called the "evil eye." Without the terrible power of Louis XI., which +was stretched like a mantle over that house, the populace, on the +slightest opportunity, would have demolished La Malemaison, that "evil +house" in the rue du Murier. And yet Cornelius had been the first to +plant mulberries in Tours, and the Touraineans at that time regarded +him as their good genius. Who shall reckon on popular favor! + +A few seigneurs having met Maitre Cornelius on his journeys out of +France were surprised at his friendliness and good-humor. At Tours he +was gloomy and absorbed, yet always he returned there. Some +inexplicable power brought him back to his dismal house in the rue du +Murier. Like a snail, whose life is so firmly attached to its shell, +he admitted to the king that he was never at ease except under the +bolts and behind the vermiculated stones of his little bastille; yet +he knew very well that whenever Louis XI. died, the place would be the +most dangerous spot on earth for him. + +"The devil is amusing himself at the expense of our crony, the +torconnier," said Louis XI. to his barber, a few days before the +festival of All-Saints. "He says he has been robbed again, but he +can't hang anybody this time unless he hangs himself. The old vagabond +came and asked me if, by chance, I had carried off a string of rubies +he wanted to sell me. 'Pasques-Dieu! I don't steal what I can take,' I +said to him." + +"Was he frightened?" asked the barber. + +"Misers are afraid of only one thing," replied the king. "My crony the +torconnier knows very well that I shall not plunder him unless for +good reason; otherwise I should be unjust, and I have never done +anything but what is just and necessary." + +"And yet that old brigand overcharges you," said the barber. + +"You wish he did, don't you?" replied the king, with the malicious +look at his barber. + +"Ventre-Mahom, sire, the inheritance would be a fine one between you +and the devil!" + +"There, there!" said the king, "don't put bad ideas into my head. My +crony is a more faithful man than those whose fortunes I have made-- +perhaps because he owes me nothing." + +For the last two years Maitre Cornelius had lived entirely alone with +his aged sister, who was thought a witch. A tailor in the neighborhood +declared that he had often seen her at night, on the roof of the +house, waiting for the hour of the witches' sabbath. This fact seemed +the more extraordinary because it was known to be the miser's custom +to lock up his sister at night in a bedroom with iron-barred windows. + +As he grew older, Cornelius, constantly robbed, and always fearful of +being duped by men, came to hate mankind, with the one exception of +the king, whom he greatly respected. He fell into extreme misanthropy, +but, like most misers, his passion for gold, the assimilation, as it +were, of that metal with his own substance, became closer and closer, +and age intensified it. His sister herself excited his suspicions, +though she was perhaps more miserly, more rapacious than her brother +whom she actually surpassed in penurious inventions. Their daily +existence had something mysterious and problematical about it. The old +woman rarely took bread from the baker; she appeared so seldom in the +market, that the least credulous of the townspeople ended by +attributing to these strange beings the knowledge of some secret for +the maintenance of life. Those who dabbled in alchemy declared that +Maitre Cornelius had the power of making gold. Men of science averred +that he had found the Universal Panacea. According to many of the +country-people to whom the townsfolk talked of him, Cornelius was a +chimerical being, and many of them came into the town to look at his +house out of mere curiosity. + +The young seigneur whom we left in front of that house looked about +him, first at the hotel de Poitiers, the home of his mistress, and +then at the evil house. The moonbeams were creeping round their +angles, and tinting with a mixture of light and shade the hollows and +reliefs of the carvings. The caprices of this white light gave a +sinister expression to both edifices; it seemed as if Nature herself +encouraged the superstitions that hung about the miser's dwelling. The +young man called to mind the many traditions which made Cornelius a +personage both curious and formidable. Though quite decided through +the violence of his love to enter that house, and stay there long +enough to accomplish his design, he hesitated to take the final step, +all the while aware that he should certainly take it. But where is the +man who, in a crisis of his life, does not willingly listen to +presentiments as he hangs above the precipice? A lover worthy of being +loved, the young man feared to die before he had been received for +love's sake by the countess. + +This mental deliberation was so painfully interesting that he did not +feel the cold wind as it whistled round the corner of the building, +and chilled his legs. On entering that house, he must lay aside his +name, as already he had laid aside the handsome garments of nobility. +In case of mishap, he could not claim the privileges of his rank nor +the protection of his friends without bringing hopeless ruin on the +Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. If her husband suspected the nocturnal +visit of a lover, he was capable of roasting her alive in an iron +cage, or of killing her by degrees in the dungeons of a fortified +castle. Looking down at the shabby clothing in which he had disguised +himself, the young nobleman felt ashamed. His black leather belt, his +stout shoes, his ribbed socks, his linsey-woolsey breeches, and his +gray woollen doublet made him look like the clerk of some poverty- +stricken justice. To a noble of the fifteenth century it was like +death itself to play the part of a beggarly burgher, and renounce the +privileges of his rank. But--to climb the roof of the house where his +mistress wept; to descend the chimney, or creep along from gutter to +gutter to the window of her room; to risk his life to kneel beside her +on a silken cushion before a glowing fire, during the sleep of a +dangerous husband, whose snores would double their joy; to defy both +heaven and earth in snatching the boldest of all kisses; to say no +word that would not lead to death or at least to sanguinary combat if +overheard,--all these voluptuous images and romantic dangers decided +the young man. However slight might be the guerdon of his enterprise, +could he only kiss once more the hand of his lady, he still resolved +to venture all, impelled by the chivalrous and passionate spirit of +those days. He never supposed for a moment that the countess would +refuse him the soft happiness of love in the midst of such mortal +danger. The adventure was too perilous, too impossible not to be +attempted and carried out. + +Suddenly all the bells in the town rang out the curfew,--a custom +fallen elsewhere into desuetude, but still observed in the provinces, +where venerable habits are abolished slowly. Though the lights were +not put out, the watchmen of each quarter stretched the chains across +the streets. Many doors were locked; the steps of a few belated +burghers, attended by their servants, armed to the teeth and bearing +lanterns, echoed in the distance. Soon the town, garroted as it were, +seemed to be asleep, and safe from robbers and evil-doers, except +through the roofs. In those days the roofs of houses were much +frequented after dark. The streets were so narrow in the provincial +towns, and even in Paris, that robbers could jump from the roofs on +one side to those on the other. This perilous occupation was long the +amusement of King Charles IX. in his youth, if we may believe the +memoirs of his day. + +Fearing to present himself too late to the old silversmith, the young +nobleman now went up to the door of the Malemaison intending to knock, +when, on looking at it, his attention was excited by a sort of vision, +which the writers of those days would have called "cornue,"--perhaps +with reference to horns and hoofs. He rubbed his eyes to clear his +sight, and a thousand diverse sentiments passed through his mind at +the spectacle before him. On each side of the door was a face framed +in a species of loophole. At first he took these two faces for +grotesque masks carved in stone, so angular, distorted, projecting, +motionless, discolored were they; but the cold air and the moonlight +presently enabled him to distinguish the faint white mist which living +breath sent from two purplish noses; then he saw in each hollow face, +beneath the shadow of the eyebrows, two eyes of porcelain blue casting +clear fire, like those of a wolf crouching in the brushwood as it +hears the baying of the hounds. The uneasy gleam of those eyes was +turned on him so fixedly that, after receiving it for fully a minute, +during which he examined the singular sight, he felt like a bird at +which a setter points; a feverish tumult rose in his soul, but he +quickly repressed it. The two faces, strained and suspicious, were +doubtless those of Cornelius and his sister. + +The young man feigned to be looking about him to see where he was, and +whether this were the house named on a card which he drew from his +pocket and pretended to read in the moonlight; then he walked straight +to the door and struck three blows upon it, which echoed within the +house as if it were the entrance to a cave. A faint light crept +beneath the threshold, and an eye appeared at a small and very strong +iron grating. + +"Who is there?" + +"A friend, sent by Oosterlinck, of Brussels." + +"What do you want?" + +"To enter." + +"Your name?" + +"Philippe Goulenoire." + +"Have you brought credentials?" + +"Here they are." + +"Pass them through the box." + +"Where is it?" + +"To your left." + +Philippe Goulenoire put the letter through the slit of an iron box +above which was a loophole. + +"The devil!" thought he, "plainly the king comes here, as they say he +does; he couldn't take more precautions at Plessis." + +He waited for more than a quarter of an hour in the street. After that +lapse of time, he heard Cornelius saying to his sister, "Close the +traps of the door." + +A clinking of chains resounded from within. Philippe heard the bolts +run, the locks creak, and presently a small low door, iron-bound, +opened to the slightest distance through which a man could pass. At +the risk of tearing off his clothing, Philippe squeezed himself rather +than walked into La Malemaison. A toothless old woman with a hatchet +face, the eyebrows projecting like the handles of a cauldron, the nose +and chin so near together that a nut could scarcely pass between them, +--a pallid, haggard creature, her hollow temples composed apparently +of only bones and nerves,--guided the "soi-disant" foreigner silently +into a lower room, while Cornelius followed prudently behind him. + +"Sit there," she said to Philippe, showing him a three-legged stool +placed at the corner of a carved stone fireplace, where there was no +fire. + +On the other side of the chimney-piece was a walnut table with twisted +legs, on which was an egg in a plate and ten or a dozen little bread- +sops, hard and dry and cut with studied parsimony. Two stools placed +beside the table, on one of which the old woman sat down, showed that +the miserly pair were eating their suppers. Cornelius went to the door +and pushed two iron shutters into their place, closing, no doubt, the +loopholes through which they had been gazing into the street; then he +returned to his seat. Philippe Goulenoire (so called) next beheld the +brother and sister dipping their sops into the egg in turn, and with +the utmost gravity and the same precision with which soldiers dip +their spoons in regular rotation into the mess-pot. This performance +was done in silence. But as he ate, Cornelius examined the false +apprentice with as much care and scrutiny as if he were weighing an +old coin. + +Philippe, feeling that an icy mantle had descended on his shoulders, +was tempted to look about him; but, with the circumspection dictated +by all amorous enterprises, he was careful not to glance, even +furtively, at the walls; for he fully understood that if Cornelius +detected him, he would not allow so inquisitive a person to remain in +his house. He contented himself, therefore, by looking first at the +egg and then at the old woman, occasionally contemplating his future +master. + +Louis XI.'s silversmith resembled that monarch. He had even acquired +the same gestures, as often happens where persons dwell together in a +sort of intimacy. The thick eyebrows of the Fleming almost covered his +eyes; but by raising them a little he could flash out a lucid, +penetrating, powerful glance, the glance of men habituated to silence, +and to whom the phenomenon of the concentration of inward forces has +become familiar. His thin lips, vertically wrinkled, gave him an air +of indescribable craftiness. The lower part of his face bore a vague +resemblance to the muzzle of a fox, but his lofty, projecting +forehead, with many lines, showed great and splendid qualities and a +nobility of soul, the springs of which had been lowered by experience +until the cruel teachings of life had driven it back into the farthest +recesses of this most singular human being. He was certainly not an +ordinary miser; and his passion covered, no doubt, extreme enjoyments +and secret conceptions. + +"What is the present rate of Venetian sequins?" he said abruptly to +his future apprentice. + +"Three-quarters at Brussels; one in Ghent." + +"What is the freight on the Scheldt?" + +"Three sous parisis." + +"Any news at Ghent?" + +"The brother of Lieven d'Herde is ruined." + +"Ah!" + +After giving vent to that exclamation, the old man covered his knee +with the skirt of his dalmatian, a species of robe made of black +velvet, open in front, with large sleeves and no collar, the sumptuous +material being defaced and shiny. These remains of a magnificent +costume, formerly worn by him as president of the tribunal of the +Parchons, functions which had won him the enmity of the Duke of +Burgundy, was now a mere rag. + +Philippe was not cold; he perspired in his harness, dreading further +questions. Until then the brief information obtained that morning from +a Jew whose life he had formerly saved, had sufficed him, thanks to +his good memory and the perfect knowledge the Jew possessed of the +manners and habits of Maitre Cornelius. But the young man who, in the +first flush of his enterprise, had feared nothing was beginning to +perceive the difficulties it presented. The solemn gravity of the +terrible Fleming reacted upon him. He felt himself under lock and key, +and remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the +orders of Maitre Cornelius. + +"Have you supped?" asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified, +"You are not to sup." + +The old maid trembled in spite of her brother's tone; she looked at +the new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might +have to fill, and said with a specious smile:-- + +"You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black +as the devil's tail." + +"I have supped," he said. + +"Well then," replied the miser, "you can come back and see me to- +morrow. I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I +wish to sleep upon the matter." + +"Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don't know a soul in +this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in +prison. However," he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing +in his words, "if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go." + +The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly. + +"Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here." + +"But--" said his sister, alarmed. + +"Silence," replied Cornelius. "In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he +will answer for this young man. You know," he whispered in his +sister's ear, "we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to +Oosterlinck? That's a hostage, hey!" + +"And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more +like a thief than a Fleming." + +"Hush!" exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound. + +Both misers listened. A moment after the "Hush!" uttered by Cornelius, +a noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on +the other side of the moat of the town. + +"It is the Plessis guard on their rounds," said the sister. + +"Give me the key of the apprentice's room," said Cornelius. + +The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp. + +"Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?" cried Cornelius, in a +meaning tone of voice. "At your age can't you see in the dark? It +isn't difficult to find a key." + +The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left +the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the +door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance +which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the +chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped +with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a match- +lock pistol with its formidable trigger. This new and terrible weapon +lay close to Cornelius. + +"How do you expect to earn your living with me?" said the latter. + +"I have but little money," replied Philippe, "but I know good tricks +in business. If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you, +that will satisfy me." + +"A sou! a sou!" echoed the miser; "why, that's a good deal!" + +At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key. + +"Come," said Cornelius to Philippe. + +The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone +staircase, the round well of which rose through a high turret, beside +the hall in which they had been sitting. At the first floor up the +young man paused. + +"No, no," said Cornelius. "The devil! this nook is the place where the +king takes his ease." + +The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under +the pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound. It was a +little room, all of stone, cold and without ornament of any kind. The +tower stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard, which, like +the courtyards of all provincial houses, was narrow and dark. At the +farther end, through an iron railing, could be seen a wretched garden +in which nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had +introduced. The young nobleman took note of all this through the +loopholes on the spiral staircase, the moon casting, fortunately, a +brilliant light. A cot, a stool, a mismatched pitcher and basin formed +the entire furniture of the room. The light could enter only through +square openings, placed at intervals in the outside wall of the tower, +according, no doubt, to the exterior ornamentation. + +"Here is your lodging," said Cornelius; "it is plain and solid and +contains all that is needed for sleep. Good night! Do not leave this +room as THE OTHERS did." + +After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings, +Cornelius double-locked the door, took away the key and descended the +staircase, leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell- +founder when on opening his mould he finds nothing. Alone, without +light, seated on a stool, in a little garret from which so many of his +predecessors had gone to the scaffold, the young fellow felt like a +wild beast caught in a trap. He jumped upon the stool and raised +himself to his full height in order to reach one of the little +openings through which a faint light shone. Thence he saw the Loire, +the beautiful slopes of Saint-Cyr, the gloomy marvels of Plessis, +where lights were gleaming in the deep recesses of a few windows. Far +in the distance lay the beautiful meadows of Touraine and the silvery +stream of her river. Every point of this lovely nature had, at that +moment, a mysterious grace; the windows, the waters, the roofs of the +houses shone like diamonds in the trembling light of the moon. The +soul of the young seigneur could not repress a sad and tender emotion. + +"Suppose it is my last farewell!" he said to himself. + +He stood there, feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure +offered him, and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who, +nevertheless, retains some glimmer of hope. His mistress illumined +each difficulty. To him she was no longer a woman, but a supernatural +being seen through the incense of his desires. A feeble cry, which he +fancied came from the hotel de Poitiers, restored him to himself and +to a sense of his true situation. Throwing himself on his pallet to +reflect on his course, he heard a slight movement which echoed faintly +from the spiral staircase. He listened attentively, and the whispered +words, "He has gone to bed," said by the old woman, reached his ear. +By an accident unknown probably to the architect, the slightest noise +on the staircase sounded in the room of the apprentices, so that +Philippe did not lose a single movement of the miser and his sister +who were watching him. He undressed, lay down, pretended to sleep, and +employed the time during which the pair remained on the staircase, in +seeking means to get from his prison to the hotel de Poitiers. + +About ten o'clock Cornelius and his sister, convinced that their new +inmate was sleeping, retired to their rooms. The young man studied +carefully the sounds they made in doing so, and thought he could +recognize the position of their apartments; they must, he believed, +occupy the whole second floor. Like all the houses of that period, +this floor was next below the roof, from which its windows projected, +adorned with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured. The roof +itself was edged with a sort of balustrade, concealing the gutters for +the rain water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile's heads +discharged into the street. The young seigneur, after studying this +topography as carefully as a cat, believed he could make his way from +the tower to the roof, and thence to Madame de Vallier's by the +gutters and the help of a gargoyle. But he did not count on the +narrowness of the loopholes of the tower; it was impossible to pass +through them. He then resolved to get out upon the roof of the house +through the window of the staircase on the second floor. To accomplish +this daring project he must leave his room, and Cornelius had carried +off the key. + +By way of precaution, the young man had brought with him, concealed +under his clothes, one of those poignards formerly used to give the +"coup de grace" in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the +victor to despatch him. This horrible weapon had on one side a blade +sharpened like a razor, and on the other a blade that was toothed like +a saw, but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it +would enter the body. The young man determined to use this latter +blade to saw through the wood around the lock. Happily for him the +staple of the lock was put on to the outside of the door by four stout +screws. By the help of his dagger he managed, not without great +difficulty, to unscrew and remove it altogether, carefully laying it +aside and the four screws with it. By midnight he was free, and he +went down the stairs without his shoes to reconnoitre the localities. + +He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down +a corridor to several chambers, at the end of which corridor was a +window opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of +the hotel de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there. +Nothing could express his joy, unless it be the vow which he instantly +made to the Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the +celebrated parish church of the Escrignoles at Tours. After examining +the tall broad chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his +steps to fetch his dagger, when to his horror, he beheld a vivid light +on the staircase and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian, +carrying a lamp, his eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon +the corridor, at the entrance of which he stood like a spectre. + +"If I open the window and jump upon the roofs, he will hear me," +thought the young man. + +The terrible old miser advanced, like the hour of death to a criminal. +In this extremity Philippe, instigated by love, recovered his presence +of mind; he slipped into a doorway, pressing himself back into the +angle of it, and awaited the old man. When Cornelius, holding his lamp +in advance of him, came into line with the current of air which the +young man could send from his lungs, the lamp was blown out. Cornelius +muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and +retraced his steps. The young man then rushed to his room, caught up +his dagger and returned to the blessed window, opened it softly and +jumped upon the roof. + +Once at liberty under the open sky, he felt weak, so happy was he. +Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the +enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle. +He leaned against the balustrade, quivering with joy and saying to +himself:-- + +"By which chimney can I get to her?" + +He looked at them all. With the instinct given by love, he went to all +and felt them to discover in which there had been a fire. Having made +up his mind on that point, the daring young fellow stuck his dagger +securely in a joint between two stones, fastened a silken ladder to +it, threw the ladder down the chimney and risked himself upon it, +trusting to his good blade, and to the chance of not having mistaken +his mistress's room. He knew not whether Saint-Vallier was asleep or +awake, but one thing he was resolved upon, he would hold the countess +in his arms if it cost the life of two men. + +Presently his feet gently touched the warm embers; he bent more gently +still and saw the countess seated in an armchair; and she saw him. +Pale with joy and palpitating, the timid creature showed him, by the +light of the lamp, Saint-Vallier lying in a bed about ten feet from +her. We may well believe their burning silent kisses echoed only in +their hearts. + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE ROBBERY OF THE JEWELS OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA + +The next day, about nine in the morning, as Louis XI. was leaving his +chapel after hearing mass, he found Maitre Cornelius on his path. + +"Good luck to you, crony," he said, shoving up his cap in his hasty +way. + +"Sire, I would willingly pay a thousand gold crowns if I could have a +moment's talk with you; I have found the thief who stole the rubies +and all the jewels of the Duke of--" + +"Let us hear about that," said Louis XI., going out into the courtyard +of Plessis, followed by his silversmith, Coyctier his physician, +Olivier de Daim, and the captain of his Scottish guard. "Tell me about +it. Another man to hang for you! Hola, Tristan!" + +The grand provost, who was walking up and down the courtyard, came +with slow steps, like a dog who exhibits his fidelity. The group +paused under a tree. The king sat down on a bench and the courtiers +made a circle about him. + +"Sire, a man who pretended to be a Fleming has got the better of me--" +began Cornelius. + +"He must be crafty indeed, that fellow!" exclaimed Louis, wagging his +head. + +"Oh, yes!" replied the silversmith, bitterly. "But methinks he'd have +snared you yourself. How could I distrust a beggar recommended to me +by Oosterlinck, one hundred thousand francs of whose money I hold in +my hands. I will wager the Jew's letter and seal were forged! In +short, sire, I found myself this morning robbed of those jewels you +admired so much. They have been ravished from me, sire! To steal the +jewels of the Elector of Bavaria! those scoundrels respect nothing! +they'll steal your kingdom if you don't take care. As soon as I missed +the jewels I went up to the room of that apprentice, who is, +assuredly, a past-master in thieving. This time we don't lack proof. +He had forced the lock of his door. But when he got back to his room, +the moon was down and he couldn't find all the screws. Happily, I felt +one under my feet when I entered the room. He was sound asleep, the +beggar, tired out. Just fancy, gentlemen, he got down into my strong- +room by the chimney. To-morrow, or to-night, rather, I'll roast him +alive. He had a silk ladder, and his clothes were covered with marks +of his clambering over the roof and down the chimney. He meant to stay +with me, and ruin me, night after night, the bold wretch! But where +are the jewels? The country-folks coming into town early saw him on +the roof. He must have had accomplices, who waited for him by that +embankment you have been making. Ah, sire, you are the accomplice of +fellows who come in boats; crack! they get off with everything, and +leave no traces! But we hold this fellow as a key, the bold scoundrel! +ah! a fine morsel he'll be for the gallows. With a little bit of +QUESTIONING beforehand, we shall know all. Why, the glory of your +reign is concerned in it! there ought not to be robbers in the land +under so great a king." + +The king was not listening. He had fallen into one of those gloomy +meditations which became so frequent during the last years of his +life. A deep silence reigned. + +"This is your business," he said at length to Tristan; "take you hold +of it." + +He rose, walked a few steps away, and the courtiers left him alone. +Presently he saw Cornelius, mounted on his mule, riding away in +company with the grand provost. + +"Where are those thousand gold crowns?" he called to him. + +"Ah! sire, you are too great a king! there is no sum that can pay for +your justice." + +Louis XI. smiled. The courtiers envied the frank speech and privileges +of the old silversmith, who promptly disappeared down the avenue of +young mulberries which led from Tours to Plessis. + +Exhausted with fatigue, the young seigneur had indeed fallen soundly +asleep. Returning from his gallant adventure, he no longer felt the +same ardor and courage to defend himself against distant or imaginary +dangers with which he had rushed into the perils of the night. He had +even postponed till the morrow the cleaning of his soiled garments; a +great blunder, in which all else conspired. It was true that, lacking +the moonlight, he had missed finding all the screws of that cursed +lock; he had no patience to look for them. With the "laisser-aller" of +a tired man, he trusted to his luck, which had so far served him well. +He did, however, make a sort of compact with himself to awake at +daybreak, but the events of the day and the agitations of the night +did not allow him to keep faith with himself. Happiness is forgetful. +Cornelius no longer seemed formidable to the young man when he threw +himself on the pallet where so many poor wretches had wakened to their +doom; and this light-hearted heedlessness proved his ruin. While the +king's silversmith rode back from Plessis, accompanied by the grand +provost and his redoubtable archers. The false Goulenoire was being +watched by the old sister, seated on the corkscrew staircase oblivious +of the cold, and knitting socks for Cornelius. + +The young man continued to dream of the secret delights of that +charming night, ignorant of the danger that was galloping towards him. +He saw himself on a cushion at the feet of the countess, his head on +her knees in the ardor of his love; he listened to the story of her +persecutions and the details of the count's tyranny; he grew pitiful +over the poor lady, who was, in truth, the best-loved natural daughter +of Louis XI. He promised her to go on the morrow and reveal her wrongs +to that terrible father; everything, he assured her, should be settled +as they wished, the marriage broken off, the husband banished,--and +all this within reach of that husband's sword, of which they might +both be the victims if the slightest noise awakened him. But in the +young man's dream the gleam of the lamp, the flame of their eyes, the +colors of the stuffs and the tapestries were more vivid, more of love +was in the air, more fire about them, than there had been in the +actual scene. The Marie of his sleep resisted far less than the living +Marie those adoring looks, those tender entreaties, those adroit +silences, those voluptuous solicitations, those false generosities, +which render the first moments of a passion so completely ardent, and +shed into the soul a fresh delirium at each new step in love. + +Following the amorous jurisprudence of the period, Marie de Saint- +Vallier granted to her lover all the superficial rights of the tender +passion. She willingly allowed him to kiss her foot, her robe, her +hands, her throat; she avowed her love, she accepted the devotion and +life of her lover; she permitted him to die for her; she yielded to an +intoxication which the sternness of her semi-chastity increased; but +farther than that she would not go; and she made her deliverance the +price of the highest rewards of his love. In those days, in order to +dissolve a marriage it was necessary to go to Rome; to obtain the help +of certain cardinals, and to appear before the sovereign pontiff in +person armed with the approval of the king. Marie was firm in +maintaining her liberty to love, that she might sacrifice it to him +later. Nearly every woman in those days had sufficient power to +establish her empire over the heart of a man in a way to make that +passion the history of his whole life, the spring and principle of his +highest resolutions. Women were a power in France; they were so many +sovereigns; they had forms of noble pride; their lovers belonged to +them far more than they gave themselves to their lovers; often their +love cost blood, and to be their lover it was necessary to incur great +dangers. But the Marie of his dream made small defence against the +young seigneur's ardent entreaties. Which of the two was the reality? +Did the false apprentice in his dream see the true woman? Had he seen +in the hotel de Poitiers a lady masked in virtue? The question is +difficult to decide; and the honor of women demands that it be left, +as it were, in litigation. + +At the moment when the Marie of the dream may have been about to +forget her high dignity as mistress, the lover felt himself seized by +an iron hand, and the sour voice of the grand provost said to him:-- + +"Come, midnight Christian, who seeks God on the roofs, wake up!" + +The young man saw the black face of Tristan l'Hermite above him, and +recognized his sardonic smile; then, on the steps of the corkscrew +staircase, he saw Cornelius, his sister, and behind them the provost +guard. At that sight, and observing the diabolical faces expressing +either hatred or curiosity of persons whose business it was to hang +others, the so-called Philippe Goulenoire sat up on his pallet and +rubbed his eyes. + +"Mort-Dieu!" he cried, seizing his dagger, which was under the pillow. +"Now is the time to play our knives." + +"Ho, ho!" cried Tristan, "that's the speech of a noble. Methinks I see +Georges d'Estouteville, the nephew of the grand master of the archers. + +Hearing his real name uttered by Tristan, young d'Estouteville thought +less of himself than of the dangers his recognition would bring upon +his unfortunate mistress. To avert suspicion he cried out:-- + +"Ventre-Mahom! help, help to me, comrades!" + +After that outcry, made by a man who was really in despair, the young +courtier gave a bound, dagger in hand, and reached the landing. But +the myrmidons of the grand provost were accustomed to such +proceedings. When Georges d'Estouteville reached the stairs they +seized him dexterously, not surprised by the vigorous thrust he made +at them with his dagger, the blade of which fortunately slipped on the +corselet of a guard; then, having disarmed him, they bound his hands, +and threw him on the pallet before their leader, who stood motionless +and thoughtful. + +Tristan looked silently at the prisoner's hands, then he said to +Cornelius, pointing to them:-- + +"Those are not the hands of a beggar, nor of an apprentice. He is a +noble." + +"Say a thief!" cried the torconnier. "My good Tristan, noble or serf, +he has ruined me, the villain! I want to see his feet warmed in your +pretty boots. He is, I don't doubt it, the leader of that gang of +devils, visible and invisible, who know all my secrets, open my locks, +rob me, murder me! They have grown rich out of me, Tristan. Ha! this +time we shall get back the treasure, for the fellow has the face of +the king of Egypt. I shall recover my dear rubies, and all the sums I +have lost; and our worthy king shall have his share in the harvest." + +"Oh, our hiding-places are much more secure than yours!" said Georges, +smiling. + +"Ha! the damned thief, he confesses!" cried the miser. + +The grand provost was engaged in attentively examining Georges +d'Estouteville's clothes and the lock of the door. + +"How did you get out those screws?" + +Georges kept silence. + +"Oh, very good, be silent if you choose. You will soon confess on the +holy rack," said Tristan. + +"That's what I call business!" cried Cornelius. + +"Take him off," said the grand provost to the guards. + +Georges d'Estouteville asked permission to dress himself. On a sign +from their chief, the men put on his clothing with the clever rapidity +of a nurse who profits by the momentary tranquillity of her nursling. + +An immense crowd cumbered the rue du Murier. The growls of the +populace kept increasing, and seemed the precursors of a riot. From +early morning the news of the robbery had spread through the town. On +all sides the "apprentice," said to be young and handsome, had +awakened public sympathy, and revived the hatred felt against +Cornelius; so that there was not a young man in the town, nor a young +woman with a fresh face and pretty feet to exhibit, who was not +determined to see the victim. When Georges issued from the house, led +by one of the provost's guard, who, after he had mounted his horse, +kept the strong leathern thong that bound the prisoner tightly twisted +round his arm, a horrible uproar arose. Whether the populace merely +wished to see this new victim, or whether it intended to rescue him, +certain it is that those behind pressed those in front upon the little +squad of cavalry posted around the Malemaison. At this moment, +Cornelius, aided by his sister, closed the door, and slammed the iron +shutters with the violence of panic terror. Tristan, who was not +accustomed to respect the populace of those days (inasmuch as they +were not yet the sovereign people), cared little for a probable riot. + +"Push on! push on!" he said to his men. + +At the voice of their leader the archers spurred their horses towards +the end of the street. The crowd, seeing one or two of their number +knocked down by the horses and trampled on, and some others pressed +against the sides of the horses and nearly suffocated, took the wiser +course of retreating to their homes. + +"Make room for the king's justice!" cried Tristan. "What are you doing +here? Do you want to be hanged too? Go home, my friends, go home; your +dinner is getting burnt. Hey! my good woman, go and darn your +husband's stockings; get back to your needles." + +Though such speeches showed that the grand provost was in good humor, +they made the most obstreperous fly as if he were flinging the plague +upon them. + +At the moment when the first movement of the crowd took place, Georges +d'Estouteville was stupefied at seeing, at one of the windows of the +hotel de Poitiers, his dear Marie de Saint-Vallier, laughing with the +count. She was mocking at HIM, poor devoted lover, who was going to +his death for her. But perhaps she was only amused at seeing the caps +of the populace carried off on the spears of the archers. We must be +twenty-three years old, rich in illusions, able to believe in a +woman's love, loving ourselves with all the forces of our being, +risking our life with delight on the faith of a kiss, and then +betrayed, to understand the fury of hatred and despair which took +possession of Georges d'Estouteville's heart at the sight of his +laughing mistress, from whom he received a cold and indifferent +glance. No doubt she had been there some time; she was leaning from +the window with her arms on a cushion; she was at her ease, and her +old man seemed content. He, too, was laughing, the cursed hunchback! A +few tears escaped the eyes of the young man; but when Marie de Saint- +Vallier saw them she turned hastily away. Those tears were suddenly +dried, however, when Georges beheld the red and white plumes of the +page who was devoted to his interests. The count took no notice of +this servitor, who advanced to his mistress on tiptoe. After the page +had said a few words in her ear, Marie returned to the window. +Escaping for a moment the perpetual watchfulness of her tyrant, she +cast one glance upon Georges that was brilliant with the fires of love +and hope, seeming to say:-- + +"I am watching over you." + +Had she cried the words aloud, she could not have expressed their +meaning more plainly than in that glance, full of a thousand thoughts, +in which terror, hope, pleasure, the dangers of their mutual situation +all took part. He had passed, in that one moment, from heaven to +martyrdom and from martyrdom back to heaven! So then, the brave young +seigneur, light-hearted and content, walked gaily to his doom; +thinking that the horrors of the "question" were not sufficient +payment for the delights of his love. + +As Tristan was about leaving the rue du Murier, his people stopped +him, seeing an officer of the Scottish guard riding towards them at +full speed. + +"What is it?" asked the provost. + +"Nothing that concerns you," replied the officer, disdainfully. "The +king has sent me to fetch the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier, +whom he invites to dinner." + +The grand provost had scarcely reached the embankment leading to +Plessis, when the count and his wife, both mounted, she on her white +mule, he on his horse, and followed by two pages, joined the archers, +in order to enter Plessis-lez-Tours in company. All were moving +slowly. Georges was on foot, between two guards on horseback, one of +whom held him still by the leathern thong. Tristan, the count, and his +wife were naturally in advance; the criminal followed them. Mingling +with the archers, the young page questioned them, speaking sometimes +to the prisoner, so that he adroitly managed to say to him in a low +voice:-- + +"I jumped the garden wall and took a letter to Plessis from madame to +the king. She came near dying when she heard of the accusation against +you. Take courage. She is going now to speak to the king about you." + +Love had already given strength and wiliness to the countess. Her +laughter was part of the heroism which women display in the great +crises of life. + +In spite of the singular fancy which possessed the author of "Quentin +Durward" to place the royal castle of Plessis-lez-Tours upon a height, +we must content ourselves by leaving it where it really was, namely on +low land, protected on either side by the Cher and the Loire; also by +the canal Sainte-Anne, so named by Louis XI. in honor of his beloved +daughter, Madame de Beaujeu. By uniting the two rivers between the +city of Tours and Plessis this canal not only served as a formidable +protection to the castle, but it offered a most precious road to +commerce. On the side towards Brehemont, a vast and fertile plain, the +park was defended by a moat, the remains of which still show its +enormous breadth and depth. At a period when the power of artillery +was still in embryo, the position of Plessis, long since chosen by +Louis XI. for his favorite retreat, might be considered impregnable. +The castle, built of brick and stone, had nothing remarkable about it; +but it was surrounded by noble trees, and from its windows could be +seen, through vistas cut in the park (plexitium), the finest points of +view in the world. No rival mansion rose near this solitary castle, +standing in the very centre of the little plain reserved for the king +and guarded by four streams of water. + +If we may believe tradition, Louis XI. occupied the west wing, and +from his chamber he could see, at a glance the course of the Loire, +the opposite bank of the river, the pretty valley which the Croisille +waters, and part of the slopes of Saint-Cyr. Also, from the windows +that opened on the courtyard, he saw the entrance to his fortress and +the embankment by which he had connected his favorite residence with +the city of Tours. If Louis XI. had bestowed upon the building of his +castle the luxury of architecture which Francois I. displayed +afterwards at Chambord, the dwelling of the kings of France would ever +have remained in Touraine. It is enough to see this splendid position +and its magical effects to be convinced of its superiority over the +sites of all other royal residences. + +Louis XI., now in the fifty-seventh year of his age, had scarcely more +than three years longer to live; already he felt the coming on of +death in the attacks of his mortal malady. Delivered from his enemies; +on the point of increasing the territory of France by the possessions +of the Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of the Dauphin with +Marguerite, heiress of Burgundy (brought about by means of Desquerdes, +commander of his troops in Flanders); having established his authority +everywhere, and now meditating ameliorations in his kingdom of all +kinds, he saw time slipping past him rapidly with no further troubles +than those of old age. Deceived by every one, even by the minions +about him, experience had intensified his natural distrust. The desire +to live became in him the egotism of a king who has incarnated himself +in his people; he wished to prolong his life in order to carry out his +vast designs. + +All that the common-sense of publicists and the genius of revolutions +has since introduced of change in the character of monarchy, Louis XI. +had thought of and devised. Unity of taxation, equality of subjects +before the law (the prince being then the law) were the objects of his +bold endeavors. On All-Saints' eve he had gathered together the +learned goldsmiths of his kingdom for the purpose of establishing in +France a unity of weights and measures, as he had already established +the unity of power. Thus, his vast spirit hovered like an eagle over +his empire, joining in a singular manner the prudence of a king to the +natural idiosyncracies of a man of lofty aims. At no period in our +history has the great figure of Monarchy been finer or more poetic. +Amazing assemblages of contrasts! a great power in a feeble body; a +spirit unbelieving as to all things here below, devoutly believing in +the practices of religion; a man struggling with two powers greater +than his own--the present and the future; the future in which he +feared eternal punishment, a fear which led him to make so many +sacrifices to the Church; the present, namely his life itself, for the +saving of which he blindly obeyed Coyctier. This king, who crushed +down all about him, was himself crushed down by remorse, and by +disease in the midst of the great poem of defiant monarchy in which +all power was concentrated. It was once more the gigantic and ever +magnificent combat of Man in the highest manifestation of his forces +tilting against Nature. + +While awaiting his dinner, a repast which was taken in those days +between eleven o'clock and mid-day, Louis XI., returning from a short +promenade, sat down in a huge tapestried chair near the fireplace in +his chamber. Olivier de Daim, and his doctor, Coyctier, looked at each +other without a word, standing in the recess of a window and watching +their master, who presently seemed asleep. The only sound that was +heard were the steps of the two chamberlains on service, the Sire de +Montresor, and Jean Dufou, Sire de Montbazon, who were walking up and +down the adjoining hall. These two Tourainean seigneurs looked at the +captain of the Scottish guard, who was sleeping in his chair, +according to his usual custom. The king himself appeared to be dozing. +His head had drooped upon his breast; his cap, pulled forward on his +forehead, hid his eyes. Thus seated in his high chair, surmounted by +the royal crown, he seemed crouched together like a man who had fallen +asleep in the midst of some deep meditation. + +At this moment Tristan and his cortege crossed the canal by the bridge +of Sainte-Anne, about two hundred feet from the entrance to Plessis. + +"Who is that?" said the king. + +The two courtiers questioned each other with a look of surprise. + +"He is dreaming," said Coyctier, in a low voice. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" cried Louis XI., "do you think me mad? People are +crossing the bridge. It is true I am near the chimney, and I may hear +sounds more easily than you. That effect of nature might be utilized," +he added thoughtfully. + +"What a man!" said de Daim. + +Louis XI. rose and went toward one of the windows that looked on the +town. He saw the grand provost, and exclaimed:-- + +"Ha, ha! here's my crony and his thief. And here comes my little Marie +de Saint-Vallier; I'd forgotten all about it. Olivier," he said, +addressing the barber, "go and tell Monsieur de Montbazon to serve +some good Bourgeuil wine at dinner, and see that the cook doesn't +forget the lampreys; Madame le comtesse likes both those things. Can I +eat lampreys?" he added, after a pause, looking anxiously at Coyctier. + +For all answer the physician began to examine his master's face. The +two men were a picture in themselves. + +History and romance-writers have consecrated the brown camlet coat, +and the breeches of the same stuff, worn by Louis XI. His cap, +decorated with leaden medallions, and his collar of the order of +Saint-Michel, are not less celebrated; but no writer, no painter has +represented the face of that terrible monarch in his last years,--a +sickly, hollow, yellow and brown face, all the features of which +expressed a sour craftiness, a cold sarcasm. In that mask was the +forehead of a great man, a brow furrowed with wrinkles, and weighty +with high thoughts; but in his cheeks and on his lips there was +something indescribably vulgar and common. Looking at certain details +of that countenance you would have thought him a debauched husbandman, +or a miserly pedler; and yet, above these vague resemblances and the +decrepitude of a dying old man, the king, the man of power, rose +supreme. His eyes, of a light yellow, seemed at first sight extinct; +but a spark of courage and of anger lurked there, and at the slightest +touch it could burst into flames and cast fire about him. The doctor +was a stout burgher, with a florid face, dressed in black, peremptory, +greedy of gain, and self-important. These two personages were framed, +as it were, in that panelled chamber, hung with high-warped tapestries +of Flanders, the ceiling of which, made of carved beams, was blackened +by smoke. The furniture, the bed, all inlaid with arabesques in +pewter, would seem to-day more precious than they were at that period +when the arts were beginning to produce their choicest masterpieces. + +"Lampreys are not good for you," replied the physician. + +That title, recently substituted for the former term of "myrrh- +master," is still applied to the faculty in England. The name was at +this period given to doctors everywhere. + +"Then what may I eat?" asked the king, humbly. + +"Salt mackerel. Otherwise, you have so much bile in motion that you +may die on All-Souls' Day." + +"To-day!" cried the king in terror. + +"Compose yourself, sire," replied Coyctier. "I am here. Try not to +fret your mind; find some way to amuse yourself." + +"Ah!" said the king, "my daughter Marie used to succeed in that +difficult business." + +As he spoke, Imbert de Bastarnay, sire of Montresor and Bridore, +rapped softly on the royal door. On receiving the king's permission he +entered and announced the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Vallier. Louis +XI. made a sign. Marie appeared, followed by her old husband, who +allowed her to pass in first. + +"Good-day, my children," said the king. + +"Sire," replied his daughter in a low voice, as she embraced him, "I +want to speak to you in secret." + +Louis XI. appeared not to have heard her. He turned to the door and +called out in a hollow voice, "Hola, Dufou!" + +Dufou, seigneur of Montbazon and grand cup-bearer of France, entered +in haste. + +"Go to the maitre d'hotel, and tell him I must have salt mackerel for +dinner. And go to Madame de Beaujeu, and let her know that I wish to +dine alone to-day. Do you know, madame," continued the king, +pretending to be slightly angry, "that you neglect me? It is almost +three years since I have seen you. Come, come here, my pretty," he +added, sitting down and holding out his arms to her. "How thin you +have grown! Why have you let her grow so thin?" said the king, +roughly, addressing the Comte de Poitiers. + +The jealous husband cast so frightened a look at his wife that she +almost pitied him. + +"Happiness, sire!" he stammered. + +"Ah! you love each other too much,--is that it?" said the king, +holding his daughter between his knees. "I did right to call you Mary- +full-of-grace. Coyctier, leave us! Now, then, what do you want of me?" +he said to his daughter the moment the doctor had gone. "After sending +me your--" + +In this danger, Marie boldly put her hand on the king's lips and said +in his ear,-- + +"I always thought you cautious and penetrating." + +"Saint-Vallier," said the king, laughing, "I think that Bridore has +something to say to you." + +The count left the room; but he made a gesture with his shoulders well +known to his wife, who could guess the thoughts of the jealous man, +and knew she must forestall his cruel designs. + +"Tell me, my child, how do you think I am,--hey? Do I seem changed to +you?" + +"Sire, do you want me to tell you the real truth, or would you rather +I deceived you?" + +"No," he said, in a low voice, "I want to know truly what to expect." + +"In that case, I think you look very ill to-day; but you will not let +my truthfulness injure the success of my cause, will you?" + +"What is your cause?" asked the king, frowning and passing a hand +across his forehead. + +"Ah, sire," she replied, "the young man you have had arrested for +robbing your silversmith Cornelius, and who is now in the hands of the +grand provost, is innocent of the robbery." + +"How do you know that?" asked the king. Marie lowered her head and +blushed. + +"I need not ask if there is love in this business," said the king, +raising his daughter's head gently and stroking her chin. "If you +don't confess every morning, my daughter, you will go to hell." + +"Cannot you oblige me without forcing me to tell my secret thoughts?" + +"Where would be the pleasure?" cried the king, seeing only an +amusement in this affair. + +"Ah! do you want your pleasure to cost me grief?" + +"Oh! you sly little girl, haven't you any confidence in me?" + +"Then, sire, set the young nobleman at liberty." + +"So! he is a nobleman, is he?" cried the king. "Then he is not an +apprentice?" + +"He is certainly innocent," she said. + +"I don't see it so," said the king, coldly. "I am the law and justice +of my kingdom, and I must punish evil-doers." + +"Come, don't put on that solemn face of yours! Give me the life of +that young man." + +"Is it yours already?" + +"Sire," she said, "I am pure and virtuous. You are jesting at--" + +"Then," said Louis XI., interrupting her, "as I am not to know the +truth, I think Tristan had better clear it up." + +Marie turned pale, but she made a violent effort and cried out:-- + +"Sire, I assure you, you will regret all this. The so-called thief +stole nothing. If you will grant me his pardon, I will tell you +everything, even though you may punish me." + +"Ho, ho! this is getting serious," cried the king, shoving up his cap. +"Speak out, my daughter." + +"Well," she said, in a low voice, putting her lips to her father's +ear, "he was in my room all night." + +"He could be there, and yet rob Cornelius. Two robberies!" + +"I have your blood in my veins, and I was not born to love a +scoundrel. That young seigneur is the nephew of the captain-general of +your archers." + +"Well, well!" cried the king; "you are hard to confess." + +With the words the king pushed his daughter from his knee, and hurried +to the door of the room, but softly on tiptoe, making no noise. For +the last moment or two, the light from a window in the adjoining hall, +shining through a space below the door, had shown him the shadow of a +listener's foot projected on the floor of his chamber. He opened the +door abruptly, and surprised the Comte de Saint-Vallier eavesdropping. + +"Pasques-Dieu!" he cried; "here's an audacity that deserves the axe." + +"Sire," replied Saint-Vallier, haughtily, "I would prefer an axe at my +throat to the ornament of marriage on my head." + +"You may have both," said Louis XI. "None of you are safe from such +infirmities, messieurs. Go into the farther hall. Conyngham," +continued the king, addressing the captain of the guard, "you are +asleep! Where is Monsieur de Bridore? Why do you let me be approached +in this way? Pasques-Dieu! the lowest burgher in Tours is better +served than I am." + +After scolding thus, Louis re-entered his room; but he took care to +draw the tapestried curtain, which made a second door, intended more +to stifle the words of the king than the whistling of the harsh north +wind. + +"So, my daughter," he said, liking to play with her as a cat plays +with a mouse, "Georges d'Estouteville was your lover last night?" + +"Oh, no, sire!" + +"No! Ah! by Saint-Carpion, he deserves to die. Did the scamp not think +my daughter beautiful?" + +"Oh! that is not it," she said. "He kissed my feet and hands with an +ardor that might have touched the most virtuous of women. He loves me +truly in all honor." + +"Do you take me for Saint-Louis, and suppose I should believe such +nonsense? A young fellow, made like him, to have risked his life just +to kiss your little slippers or your sleeves! Tell that to others." + +"But, sire, it is true. And he came for another purpose." + +Having said these words, Marie felt that she had risked the life of +her husband, for Louis instantly demanded: + +"What purpose?" + +The adventure amused him immensely. But he did not expect the strange +confidences his daughter now made to him after stipulating for the +pardon of her husband. + +"Ho, ho, Monsieur de Saint-Vallier! So you dare to shed the royal +blood!" cried the king, his eyes lighting with anger. + +At this moment the bell of Plessis sounded the hour of the king's +dinner. Leaning on the arm of his daughter, Louis XI. appeared with +contracted brows on the threshold of his chamber, and found all his +servitors in waiting. He cast an ambiguous look on the Comte de Saint- +Vallier, thinking of the sentence he meant to pronounce upon him. The +deep silence which reigned was presently broken by the steps of +Tristan l'Hermite as he mounted the grand staircase. The grand provost +entered the hall, and, advancing toward the king, said:-- + +"Sire, the affair is settled." + +"What! is it all over?" said the king. + +"Our man is in the hands of the monks. He confessed the theft after a +touch of the 'question.'" + +The countess gave a sign, and turned pale; she could not speak, but +looked at the king. That look was observed by Saint-Vallier, who +muttered in a low tone: "I am betrayed; that thief is an acquaintance +of my wife." + +"Silence!" cried the king. "Some one is here who will wear out my +patience. Go at once and put a stop to the execution," he continued, +addressing the grand provost. "You will answer with your own body for +that of the criminal, my friend. This affair must be better sifted, +and I reserve to myself the doing of it. Set the prisoner at liberty +provisionally; I can always recover him; these robbers have retreats +they frequent, lairs where they lurk. Let Cornelius know that I shall +be at his house to-night to begin the inquiry myself. Monsieur de +Saint-Vallier," said the king, looking fixedly at the count, "I know +about you. All your blood could not pay for one drop of mine; do you +hear me? By our Lady of Clery! you have committed crimes of lese- +majesty. Did I give you such a pretty wife to make her pale and +weakly? Go back to your own house, and make your preparations for a +long journey." + +The king stopped at these words from a habit of cruelty; then he +added:-- + +"You will leave to-night to attend to my affairs with the government +of Venice. You need be under no anxiety about your wife; I shall take +charge of her at Plessis; she will certainly be safe here. Henceforth +I shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I +married her to you." + +Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father's arm as if to +thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was +laughing to himself in his sleeve. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE HIDDEN TREASURE + +Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and +he was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life. +This taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a +passion for the "incognito," one of the greatest pleasures of princes, +--a sort of momentary abdication, which enables them to put a little +real life into their existence, made insipid by the lack of +opposition. Louis XI., however, played the incognito openly. On these +occasions he was always the good fellow, endeavoring to please the +people of the middle classes, whom he made his allies against +feudality. For some time past he had found no opportunity to "make +himself populace" and espouse the domestic interests of some man +"engarrie" (an old word still used in Tours, meaning engaged) in +litigious affairs, so that he shouldered the anxieties of Maitre +Cornelius eagerly, and also the secret sorrows of the Comtesse de +Saint-Vallier. Several times during dinner he said to his daughter:-- + +"Who, think you, could have robbed my silversmith? The robberies now +amount to over twelve hundred thousand crowns in eight years. Twelve +hundred thousand crowns, messieurs!" he continued, looking at the +seigneurs who were serving him. "Notre Dame! with a sum like that what +absolutions could be bought in Rome! And I might, Pasques-Dieu! bank +the Loire, or, better still, conquer Piedmont, a fine fortification +ready-made for this kingdom." + +When dinner was over, Louis XI. took his daughter, his doctor, and the +grand provost, with an escort of soldiers, and rode to the hotel de +Poitiers in Tours, where he found, as he expected, the Comte de Saint- +Vallier awaiting his wife, perhaps to make away with her life. + +"Monsieur," said the king, "I told you to start at once. Say farewell +to your wife now, and go to the frontier; you will be accompanied by +an escort of honor. As for your instructions and credentials, they +will be in Venice before you get there." + +Louis then gave the order--not without adding certain secret +instructions--to a lieutenant of the Scottish guard to take a squad of +men and accompany the ambassador to Venice. Saint-Vallier departed in +haste, after giving his wife a cold kiss which he would fain have made +deadly. Louis XI. then crossed over to the Malemaison, eager to begin +the unravelling of the melancholy comedy, lasting now for eight years, +in the house of his silversmith; flattering himself that, in his +quality of king, he had enough penetration to discover the secret of +the robberies. Cornelius did not see the arrival of the escort of his +royal master without uneasiness. + +"Are all those persons to take part in the inquiry?" he said to the +king. + +Louis XI. could not help smiling as he saw the fright of the miser and +his sister. + +"No, my old crony," he said; "don't worry yourself. They will sup at +Plessis, and you and I alone will make the investigation. I am so good +in detecting criminals, that I will wager you ten thousand crowns I +shall do so now." + +"Find him, sire, and make no wager." + +They went at once into the strong room, where the Fleming kept his +treasure. There Louis, who asked to see, in the first place, the +casket from which the jewels of the Duke of Burgundy had been taken, +then the chimney down which the robber was supposed to have descended, +easily convinced his silversmith of the falsity of the latter +supposition, inasmuch as there was no soot on the hearth,--where, in +truth, a fire was seldom made,--and no sign that any one had passed +down the flue; and moreover that the chimney issued at a part of the +roof which was almost inaccessible. At last, after two hours of close +investigation, marked with that sagacity which distinguished the +suspicious mind of Louis XI., it was clear to him, beyond all doubt, +that no one had forced an entrance into the strong-room of his +silversmith. No marks of violence were on the locks, nor on the iron +coffers which contained the gold, silver, and jewels deposited as +securities by wealthy debtors. + +"If the robber opened this box," said the king, why did he take +nothing out of it but the jewels of the Duke of Bavaria? What reason +had he for leaving that pearl necklace which lay beside them? A queer +robber!" + +At that remark the unhappy miser turned pale: he and the king looked +at each other for a moment. + +"Then, sire, what did that robber whom you have taken under your +protection come to do here, and why did he prowl about at night?" + +"If you have not guessed why, my crony, I order you to remain in +ignorance. That is one of my secrets." + +"Then the devil is in my house!" cried the miser, piteously. + +In any other circumstances the king would have laughed at his +silversmith's cry; but he had suddenly become thoughtful, and was +casting on the Fleming those glances peculiar to men of talent and +power which seem to penetrate the brain. Cornelius was frightened, +thinking he had in some way offended his dangerous master. + +"Devil or angel, I have him, the guilty man!" cried Louis XI. +abruptly. "If you are robbed again to-night, I shall know to-morrow +who did it. Make that old hag you call your sister come here," he +added. + +Cornelius almost hesitated to leave the king alone in the room with +his hoards; but the bitter smile on Louis's withered lips determined +him. Nevertheless he hurried back, followed by the old woman. + +"Have you any flour?" demanded the king. + +"Oh yes; we have laid in our stock for the winter," she answered. + +"Well, go and fetch some," said the king. + +"What do you want to do with our flour, sire?" she cried, not the +least impressed by his royal majesty. + +"Old fool!" said Cornelius, "go and execute the orders of our gracious +master. Shall the king lack flour?" + +"Our good flour!" she grumbled, as she went downstairs. "Ah! my +flour!" + +Then she returned, and said to the king:-- + +"Sire, is it only a royal notion to examine my flour?" + +At last she reappeared, bearing one of those stout linen bags which, +from time immemorial, have been used in Touraine to carry or bring, to +and from market, nuts, fruits, or wheat. The bag was half full of +flour. The housekeeper opened it and showed it to the king, on whom +she cast the rapid, savage look with which old maids appear to squirt +venom upon men. + +"It costs six sous the 'septeree,'" she said. + +"What does that matter?" said the king. "Spread it on the floor; but +be careful to make an even layer of it--as if it had fallen like +snow." + +The old maid did not comprehend. This proposal astonished her as +though the end of the world had come. + +"My flour, sire! on the ground! But--" + +Maitre Cornelius, who was beginning to understand, though vaguely, the +intentions of the king, seized the bag and gently poured its contents +on the floor. The old woman quivered, but she held out her hand for +the empty bag, and when her brother gave it back to her she +disappeared with a heavy sigh. + +Cornelius then took a feather broom and gently smoothed the flour till +it looked like a fall of snow, retreating step by step as he did so, +followed by the king, who seemed much amused by the operation. When +they reached the door Louis XI. said to his silversmith, "Are there +two keys to the lock?" + +"No, sire." + +The king then examined the structure of the door, which was braced +with large plates and bars of iron, all of which converged to a secret +lock, the key of which was kept by Cornelius. + +After examining everything, the king sent for Tristan, and ordered him +to post several of his men for the night, and with the greatest +secrecy, in the mulberry trees on the embankment and on the roofs of +the adjoining houses, and to assemble at once the rest of his men and +escort him back to Plessis, so as to give the idea in the town that he +himself would not sup with Cornelius. Next, he told the miser to close +his windows with the utmost care, that no single ray of light should +escape from the house, and then he departed with much pomp for Plessis +along the embankment; but there he secretly left his escort, and +returned by a door in the ramparts to the house of the torconnier. All +these precautions were so well taken that the people of Tours really +thought the king had returned to Plessis, and would sup on the morrow +with Cornelius. + +Towards eight o'clock that evening, as the king was supping with his +physician, Cornelius, and the captain of his guard, and holding much +jovial converse, forgetting for the time being that he was ill and in +danger of death, the deepest silence reigned without, and all passers, +even the wariest robber, would have believed that the Malemaison was +occupied as usual. + +"I hope," said the king, laughing, "that my silversmith shall be +robbed to-night, so that my curiosity may be satisfied. Therefore, +messieurs, no one is to leave his chamber to-morrow morning without my +order, under pain of grievous punishment." + +Thereupon, all went to bed. The next morning, Louis XI. was the first +to leave his apartment, and he went at once to the door of the strong- +room. He was not a little astonished to see, as he went along, the +marks of a large foot along the stairways and corridors of the house. +Carefully avoiding those precious footprints, he followed them to the +door of the treasure-room, which he found locked without a sign of +fracture or defacement. Then he studied the direction of the steps; +but as they grew gradually fainter, they finally left not the +slightest trace, and it was impossible for him to discover where the +robber had fled. + +"Ho, crony!" called out the king, "you have been finely robbed this +time." + +At these words the old Fleming hurried out of his chamber, visibly +terrified. Louis XI. made him look at the foot-prints on the stairs +and corridors, and while examining them himself for the second time, +the king chanced to observe the miser's slippers and recognized the +type of sole that was printed in flour on the corridors. He said not a +word, and checked his laughter, remembering the innocent men who had +been hanged for the crime. The miser now hurried to his treasure. Once +in the room the king ordered him to make a new mark with his foot +beside those already existing, and easily convinced him that the +robber of his treasure was no other than himself. + +"The pearl necklace is gone!" cried Cornelius. "There is sorcery in +this. I never left my room." + +"We'll know all about it now," said the king; the evident truthfulness +of his silversmith making him still more thoughtful. + +He immediately sent for the men he had stationed on the watch and +asked:-- + +"What did you see during the night?" + +"Oh, sire!" said the lieutenant, "an amazing sight! Your silversmith +crept down the side of the wall like a cat; so lightly that he seemed +to be a shadow." + +"I!" exclaimed Cornelius; after that one word, he remained silent, and +stood stock-still like a man who has lost the use of his limbs. + +"Go away, all of you," said the king, addressing the archers, "and +tell Messieurs Conyngham, Coyctier, Bridore, and also Tristan, to +leave their rooms and come here to mine.--You have incurred the +penalty of death," he said to Cornelius, who, happily, did not hear +him. "You have ten murders on your conscience!" + +Thereupon Louis XI. gave a silent laugh, and made a pause. Presently, +remarking the strange pallor on the Fleming's face, he added:-- + +"You need not be uneasy; you are more valuable to bleed than to kill. +You can get out of the claws of MY justice by payment of a good round +sum to my treasury, but if you don't build at least one chapel in +honor of the Virgin, you are likely to find things hot for you +throughout eternity." + +"Twelve hundred and thirty, and eighty-seven thousand crowns, make +thirteen hundred and seventeen thousand crowns," replied Cornelius +mechanically, absorbed in his calculations. "Thirteen hundred and +seventeen thousand crowns hidden somewhere!" + +"He must have buried them in some hiding-place," muttered the king, +beginning to think the sum royally magnificent. "That was the magnet +that invariably brought him back to Tours. He felt his treasure." + +Coyctier entered at this moment. Noticing the attitude of Maitre +Cornelius, he watched him narrowly while the king related the +adventure. + +"Sire," replied the physician, "there is nothing supernatural in that. +Your silversmith has the faculty of walking in his sleep. This is the +third case I have seen of that singular malady. If you would give +yourself the amusement of watching him at such times, you would see +that old man stepping without danger at the very edge of the roof. I +noticed in the two other cases I have already observed, a curious +connection between the actions of that nocturnal existence and the +interests and occupations of their daily life." + +"Ah! Maitre Coyctier, you are a wise man." + +"I am your physician," replied the other, insolently. + +At this answer, Louis XI. made the gesture which was customary with +him when a good idea was presented to his mind; he shoved up his cap +with a hasty motion. + +"At such times," continued Coyctier, "persons attend to their business +while asleep. As this man is fond of hoarding, he has simply pursued +his dearest habit. No doubt each of these attacks have come on after a +day in which he has felt some fears about the safety of his treasure." + +"Pasques-Dieu! and such treasure!" cried the king. + +"Where is it?" asked Cornelius, who, by a singular provision of +nature, heard the remarks of the king and his physician, while +continuing himself almost torpid with thought and the shock of this +singular misfortune. + +"Ha!" cried Coyctier, bursting into a diabolical, coarse laugh, +"somnambulists never remember on their waking what they have done when +asleep." + +"Leave us," said the king. + +When Louis XI. was alone with his silversmith, he looked at him and +chuckled coldly. + +"Messire Hoogworst," he said, with a nod, "all treasures buried in +France belong to the king." + +"Yes, sire, all is yours; you are the absolute master of our lives and +fortunes; but, up to this moment, you have only taken what you need." + +"Listen to me, old crony; if I help you to recover this treasure, you +can surely, and without fear, agree to divide it with me." + +"No, sire, I will not divide it; I will give it all to you, at my +death. But what scheme have you for finding it?" + +"I shall watch you myself when you are taking your nocturnal tramps. +You might fear any one but me." + +"Ah, sire!" cried Cornelius, flinging himself at the king's feet, "you +are the only man in the kingdom whom I would trust for such a service; +and I will try to prove my gratitude for your goodness, by doing my +utmost to promote the marriage of the Burgundian heiress with +Monseigneur. She will bring you a noble treasure, not of money, but of +lands, which will round out the glory of your crown." + +"There, there, Dutchman, you are trying to hoodwink me," said the +king, with frowning brows, "or else you have already done so." + +"Sire! can you doubt my devotion? you, who are the only man I love!" + +"All that is talk," returned the king, looking the other in the eyes. +"You need not have waited till this moment to do me that service. You +are selling me your influence--Pasques-Dieu! to me, Louis XI.! Are you +the master, and am I your servant?" + +"Ah, sire," said the old man, "I was waiting to surprise you agreeably +with news of the arrangements I had made for you in Ghent; I was +awaiting confirmation from Oosterlinck through that apprentice. What +has become of that young man?" + +"Enough!" said the king; "this is only one more blunder you have +committed. I do not like persons to meddle in my affairs without my +knowledge. Enough! leave me; I wish to reflect upon all this." + +Maitre Cornelius found the agility of youth to run downstairs to the +lower rooms where he was certain to find his sister. + +"Ah! Jeanne, my dearest soul, a hoard is hidden in this house; I have +put thirteen hundred thousand crowns and all the jewels somewhere. I, +I, I am the robber!" + +Jeanne Hoogworst rose from her stool and stood erect as if the seat +she quitted were of red-hot iron. This shock was so violent for an old +maid accustomed for years to reduce herself by voluntary fasts, that +she trembled in every limb, and horrible pains were in her back. She +turned pale by degrees, and her face,--the changes in which were +difficult to decipher among its wrinkles,--became distorted while her +brother explained to her the malady of which he was the victim, and +the extraordinary situation in which he found himself. + +"Louis XI. and I," he said in conclusion, "have just been lying to +each other like two pedlers of coconuts. You understand, my girl, that +if he follows me, he will get the secret of the hiding-place. The king +alone can watch my wanderings at night. I don't feel sure that his +conscience, near as he is to death, can resist thirteen hundred +thousand crowns. We MUST be beforehand with him; we must find the +hidden treasure and send it to Ghent, and you alone--" + +Cornelius stopped suddenly, and seemed to be weighing the heart of the +sovereign who had had thoughts of parricide at twenty-two years of +age. When his judgment of Louis XI. was concluded, he rose abruptly +like a man in haste to escape a pressing danger. At this instant, his +sister, too feeble or too strong for such a crisis, fell stark; she +was dead. Maitre Cornelius seized her, and shook her violently, crying +out: + +"You cannot die now. There is time enough later--Oh! it is all over. +The old hag never could do anything at the right time." + +He closed her eyes and laid her on the floor. Then the good and noble +feelings which lay at the bottom of his soul came back to him, and, +half forgetting his hidden treasure, he cried out mournfully:-- + +"Oh! my poor companion, have I lost you?--you who understood me so +well! Oh! you were my real treasure. There it lies, my treasure! With +you, my peace of mind, my affections, all, are gone. If you had only +known what good it would have done me to live two nights longer, you +would have lived, solely to please me, my poor sister! Ah, Jeanne! +thirteen hundred thousand crowns! Won't that wake you?--No, she is +dead!" + +Thereupon, he sat down, and said no more; but two great tears issued +from his eyes and rolled down his hollow cheeks; then, with strange +exclamations of grief, he locked up the room and returned to the king. +Louis XI. was struck with the expression of sorrow on the moistened +features of his old friend. + +"What is the matter?" he asked. + +"Ah! sire, misfortunes never come singly. My sister is dead. She +precedes me there below," he said, pointing to the floor with a +dreadful gesture. + +"Enough!" cried Louis XI., who did not like to hear of death. + +"I make you my heir. I care for nothing now. Here are my keys. Hang +me, if that's your good pleasure. Take all, ransack the house; it is +full of gold. I give up all to you--" + +"Come, come, crony," replied Louis XI., who was partly touched by the +sight of this strange suffering, "we shall find your treasure some +fine night, and the sight of such riches will give you heart to live. +I will come back in the course of this week--" + +"As you please, sire." + +At that answer the king, who had made a few steps toward the door of +the chamber, turned round abruptly. The two men looked at each other +with an expression that neither pen nor pencil can reproduce. + +"Adieu, my crony," said Louis XI. at last in a curt voice, pushing up +his cap. + +"May God and the Virgin keep you in their good graces!" replied the +silversmith humbly, conducting the king to the door of the house. + +After so long a friendship, the two men found a barrier raised between +them by suspicion and gold; though they had always been like one man +on the two points of gold and suspicion. But they knew each other so +well, they had so completely the habit, one may say, of each other, +that the king could divine, from the tone in which Cornelius uttered +the words, "As you please, sire," the repugnance that his visits would +henceforth cause to the silversmith, just as the latter recognized a +declaration of war in the "Adieu, my crony," of the king. + +Thus Louis XI. and his torconnier parted much in doubt as to the +conduct they ought in future to hold to each other. The monarch +possessed the secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter +could, by his connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions +that any king of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of +the house of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then +coveting. The marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the +people of Ghent and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the +influence of Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now +begun by Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the +command of the army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two +master-foxes were, therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are +paralyzed by chance. + +So, whether it were that from that day the king's health failed and +went from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into +France Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438, +to marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the +castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the +hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the +pair remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship. +Happily for Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister +was the actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by +Tristan. Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town +would have risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king +could have taken measures to protect it. + +But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so far +as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards +Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith +spent the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless +occupation. Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and +came, smelling for gold in every corner of his house; he studied the +cracks and crevices, he sounded the walls, he besought the trees of +the garden, the foundations of the house, the roofs of the turrets, +the earth and the heavens, to give him back his treasure. Often he +stood motionless for hours, casting his eyes on all sides, plunging +them into the void. Striving for the miracles of ecstasy and the +powers of sorcery, he tried to see his riches through space and +obstacles. He was constantly absorbed in one overwhelming thought, +consumed with a single desire that burned his entrails, gnawed more +cruelly still by the ever-increasing agony of the duel he was fighting +with himself since his passion for gold had turned to his own injury, +--a species of uncompleted suicide which kept him at once in the +miseries of life and in those of death. + +Never was a Vice more punished by itself. A miser, locked by accident +into the subterranean strong-room that contains his treasures, has, +like Sardanapalus, the happiness of dying in the midst of his wealth. +But Cornelius, the robber and the robbed, knowing the secret of +neither the one nor the other, possessed and did not possess his +treasure,--a novel, fantastic, but continually terrible torture. +Sometimes, becoming forgetful, he would leave the little gratings of +his door wide open, and then the passers in the street could see that +already wizened man, planted on his two legs in the midst of his +untilled garden, absolutely motionless, and casting on those who +watched him a fixed gaze, the insupportable light of which froze them +with terror. If, by chance, he walked through the streets of Tours, he +seemed like a stranger in them; he knew not where he was, nor whether +the sun or the moon were shining. Often he would ask his way of those +who passed him, believing that he was still in Ghent, and seeming to +be in search of something lost. + +The most perennial and the best materialized of human ideas, the idea +by which man reproduces himself by creating outside of himself the +fictitious being called Property, that mental demon, drove its steel +claws perpetually into his heart. Then, in the midst of this torture, +Fear arose, with all its accompanying sentiments. Two men had his +secret, the secret he did not know himself. Louis XI. or Coyctier +could post men to watch him during his sleep and discover the unknown +gulf into which he had cast his riches,--those riches he had watered +with the blood of so many innocent men. And then, beside his fear, +arose Remorse. + +In order to prevent during his lifetime the abduction of his hidden +treasure, he took the most cruel precautions against sleep; besides +which, his commercial relations put him in the way of obtaining +powerful anti-narcotics. His struggles to keep awake were awful--alone +with night, silence, Remorse, and Fear, with all the thoughts that +man, instinctively perhaps, has best embodied--obedient thus to a +moral truth as yet devoid of actual proof. + +At last this man so powerful, this heart so hardened by political and +commercial life, this genius, obscure in history, succumbed to the +horrors of the torture he had himself created. Maddened by certain +thoughts more agonizing than those he had as yet resisted, he cut his +throat with a razor. + +This death coincided, almost, with that of Louis XI. Nothing then +restrained the populace, and Malemaison, that Evil House, was +pillaged. A tradition exists among the older inhabitants of Touraine +that a contractor of public works, named Bohier, found the miser's +treasure and used it in the construction of Chenonceaux, that +marvellous chateau which, in spite of the wealth of several kings and +the taste of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici for building, +remains unfinished to the present day. + +Happily for Marie de Sassenage, the Comte de Saint-Vallier died, as we +know, in his embassy. The family did not become extinct. After the +departure of the count, the countess gave birth to a son, whose career +was famous in the history of France under the reign of Francois I. He +was saved by his daughter, the celebrated Diane de Poitiers, the +illegitimate great-granddaughter of Louis XI., who became the +illegitimate wife, the beloved mistress of Henri II.--for bastardy and +love were hereditary in that family of nobles. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Maitre Cornelius, by Honore de Balzac + diff --git a/old/old/crnls10.zip b/old/old/crnls10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..40ef958 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/crnls10.zip |